Song # 25 - Joy to the World!

Song #25

"Joy to the World! The Lord is Come"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The wait is over! The Lord is Come! This is the best day of the whole year - the day we celebrate Jesus' birth! I hope this day is full of joy for you.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come; let earth receive her King;
let ev'ry heart prepare Him room, and heav'n and nature sing, 
and heav'n and nature sing, and heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns; let all their songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy
repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

Nor more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found, far as far as the curse is found,

He rules the world with truth and grace, and make the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love, and wonders and wonders of his love!

Song #24 - Silent Night

Song #24

"Silent Night"

You knew that the Christmas Eve song would be "Silent Night," didn't you? Tonight I attended the Christmas Eve Service at my parents' church (Urban Heights Covenant Church) in Iowa. It was wonderful. Every song we sang has made an appearance somewhere in this blog already, with the exception of tomorrow's song. I always think there's room for new Christmas songs (just like there's always room in your heart to love more) but there's just something about the tried and true standbys that really make it feel like Christmas to me. 

I love singing Silent Night by candlelight. The hustle and bustle of the day (well, the whole season, actually) melts away, and it's just voices singing by the soft glow of candles. How peaceful. I love that we light the candles from the Christ candle. It is this flame that slowly spreads around the sanctuary until everyone's candle is lit. Jesus came as a Light into this dark world of ours. He is our redeeming grace. Alleluia!


Silent night! holy night! All is calm, all is bright
'round yon virgin mother and child, holy infant so tender and mild
sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night! holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight,
glories stream from heaven afar, heav'nly hosts sing alleluia;
Christ, the Savior, is born! Christ, the Savior, is born!

Silent night! holy night! Son of God, love's pure light,
radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

Song #23 - O Little Town of Bethlehem

Song #23

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see the lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light:
the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond'ring love.
O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to all on earth.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessing of his heav'n.
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

Song #22 - O Come, All Ye Faithful

Song #22

"O Come, All Ye Faithful"

Don't be jealous, but Santa Claus already visited the Johnson household! So that our family could all celebrate together this year, we moved the timeline up a few days. I've already eaten the Swedish meatballs, the obligatory bites of pickled herring and lutefisk, the lefse and -- - hey - wait a minute! I didn't have any rice pudding yet!

You know those moments that aren't exactly awesome when they happen, but you know you'll be able to laugh about them in the future? Well, we had one of those moments last night, just as we sat down to enjoy our traditional "Christmas Eve" meal. We had just started eating when a small plastic ball flew from across the room, directly hitting my dad's wine glass, spraying the entire contents of the glass all over him (red wine, of course), the table, the plates, and the wall behind us. Direct hit! (Kid culprit was equally horrified and will undoubtedly be reminded of this incident for the rest of his life...)

Somehow, the meal got cleared away without fanfare, and here I am, left to ponder the fact that I didn't have rice pudding yet. Well, perhaps it's good that I still have something to anticipate. Even though the presents have been opened, I don't want Christmas to be over ("Alexa, play Christmas music."). And it's not! I rejoice for the precious family time already shared, and still anticipate the birth of our savior! With that, another song for advent:

O Come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; 

come and behold him, born the King of angels; 

O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, O sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above;

glory to God, all glory in the highest;

O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.

Yea, Lord we greet thee, born this happy morning, O Jesus to thee be all glory giv'n;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord!

Song #21 -While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night

Song #21

"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night"

This song is basically Luke 2:8-14.

While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground,

the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around, and glory shone around.

"Fear not!" said he, for mighty dread had seized their troubled mind;

"Glad tidings of great joy I bring to you and human kind, to you and human kind.

"To you, in David's town, this day is born of David's line

the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and this shall be the sign, and this shall be the sign:

"The heav'nly babe you there shall find to human view displayed,

all meanly wrapped in swathing bands, and in a manger laid, and in a manger laid."

Thus spoke the seraph, and forthwith appeared a shining throng

of angels praising God, who thus addressed their joyful song, addressed their joyful song:

"All glory be to God on high, and to the earth be peace;

good will henceforth from heav'n to all begin and never cease, begin and never cease!"

Song #20 - O Come O Come Emmanuel

Song #20

"O Come O Come Emmanuel"

Oh yeah. I forgot that having the house filled with three small children and siblings who haven't all been together for Christmas in years might pose some challenges as far as downtime to write my blog today! As much as I've enjoyed writing this blog, I don't want to miss out on the memories being created around me one bit, so I think this week, the entries will be short and sweet. I've got family to be with! 

As we round the bend to Christmas Day, I'm thinking about songs of advent - songs of expectancy - even more. 

O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, 
that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel!

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel!

O come, thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things, far and nigh;
to us the path of knowledge show, and cause us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel!

O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind;
bid now our sad divisions cease, and be thyself our King of peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel!

Song #19 - Come On Ring Those Bells

Song #19

"Come on, ring those bells"

Last night as I lay in bed, I was overcome with a craving for Chex Mix. Forget visions of sugar plums! My packing was underway (and by underway, I mean that I had neatly folded a pile of long-sleeved t-shirts) and I was ready for a good night's sleep. My head hit the pillow, and boom, I wanted Chex Mix! You know how there are just certain things that really make it feel like you're on Christmas Vacation? Well, my Mom's Chex Mix is one of those things. I know that when I get to my parents' house tonight, there will be Chex Mix. 

Just like certain foods put me in to the holiday spirit, so do certain songs. (And you're like, Kim, isn't that what this whole blog is about?) Today's song is special because it has marked the Christmas season for me my entire life. Evie and me go back to the record player days. And, still, after all these years, pressing play (yes, she was upgraded from record to cassette tape to CD and then mp3) on Evie's Christmas Album brings me back to the happiest childhood a kid could ask for. I do believe I have my mom to blame thank for my devotion to Christmas music. Thanks, Mom!

This blog is being typed (painfully slowly on a touchpad, I might add) at a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet (I made that up; I have no clue what the current altitude is), but by the time you read it, I will have listened to track 1, "Come on ring those bells," munched some Chex Mix, and will be full-on Christmassing.

Signing of, safe and sound, from Urbandale, Iowa

Come on ring those bells performed by Evie Tornquist YouTube