Christmas thoughts
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One of the songs on Clay Aiken's Christmas album was new to me. It's fairly
new to the world in general (early 90's, written by Buddy Greene and Mark
Lowry ). I looked up a couple of other renditions, but I didn't like them
better. Lyrics lose power without the context of their tunes, but poetically
speaking, there are some big moments here:
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Would one day walk on water
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters
Did you know
That your baby boy
Has come to make you new
This child that you delivered
Will soon deliver you
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will calm the storm with His hand
Did you know
That your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod
When you kiss
Your little baby, you kiss the face of God
Oh Mary did you know
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation
Mary did you know
That you baby boy
Would one day rule the nations
Did you know
That your baby boy
Is Heaven's perfect Lamb
This sleeping child
You're holding
Is the great
I Am
---------------------------
I love Christmas, and Christmas has inspired some of the most wonderful music
and art over the past thousand years. This is a good example.
It's not the literal meaning of the words of "Mary did you Know" that
inspires me, it's the spiritual/emotional concept of God being born perfectly new
again every year. (Other religions have annual renewal moments too.) And I'm
touched by such ideas surrounding the relationship between a mother and child in
any context.
How should a mother treat a child? How should a father be?
Christians should treat others as they would treat Jesus. That's pretty
clear in the Bible. So shouldn't every baby be treated as though he were the baby
Jesus?
What about those who aren't Christian? Isn't each child a new potential? A
dawn? The start of an unforeseen adventure in which the mother is a
supporting character and not the hero?
Even atheists see the moment of shining perfection in a birth.
The better we handle the trust given us by a child, the better people we are,
and the better the child's young life, adulthood and old age will be. We're
not just dealing with little children. We're dealing with the whole of life
itself, which will outlast us all. We are dealing with joy and with eternity.
Merry Christmas,
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
new to the world in general (early 90's, written by Buddy Greene and Mark
Lowry ). I looked up a couple of other renditions, but I didn't like them
better. Lyrics lose power without the context of their tunes, but poetically
speaking, there are some big moments here:
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Would one day walk on water
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters
Did you know
That your baby boy
Has come to make you new
This child that you delivered
Will soon deliver you
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will calm the storm with His hand
Did you know
That your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod
When you kiss
Your little baby, you kiss the face of God
Oh Mary did you know
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation
Mary did you know
That you baby boy
Would one day rule the nations
Did you know
That your baby boy
Is Heaven's perfect Lamb
This sleeping child
You're holding
Is the great
I Am
---------------------------
I love Christmas, and Christmas has inspired some of the most wonderful music
and art over the past thousand years. This is a good example.
It's not the literal meaning of the words of "Mary did you Know" that
inspires me, it's the spiritual/emotional concept of God being born perfectly new
again every year. (Other religions have annual renewal moments too.) And I'm
touched by such ideas surrounding the relationship between a mother and child in
any context.
How should a mother treat a child? How should a father be?
Christians should treat others as they would treat Jesus. That's pretty
clear in the Bible. So shouldn't every baby be treated as though he were the baby
Jesus?
What about those who aren't Christian? Isn't each child a new potential? A
dawn? The start of an unforeseen adventure in which the mother is a
supporting character and not the hero?
Even atheists see the moment of shining perfection in a birth.
The better we handle the trust given us by a child, the better people we are,
and the better the child's young life, adulthood and old age will be. We're
not just dealing with little children. We're dealing with the whole of life
itself, which will outlast us all. We are dealing with joy and with eternity.
Merry Christmas,
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
queenjane555
> I love Christmas, and Christmas has inspired some of the mostWe just saw my 9 yr old niece's Christmas program televised on
>wonderful music and art over the past thousand years.
public access (you know...where the kids all stand on risers and
sing for their parents, and the music teacher hopes it all works
out)...i was really suprised that they were singing lots of songs i
had never heard of (and werent all that great) "Yankee Doodle
Santa"?? sheesh. I remember when i was in elem. school the kids
singing beautiful renditions of "Silent Night", or even newer songs
like "Up on the Roof Top" (dont know if thats the real name of the
song)...but i only recognized one song ("We Wish You A Merry
Christmas")from my niece's program. I wouldve thought that they
excluded any religious songs to be more "inclusive" (although based
upon where we live i bet nearly 100 percent of the kids do celebrate
Xmas in one form or another)...but they also included what they
called "an old time spiritual" that had a religious theme. It seems
there was a culteral literacy or something that wasnt being passed
on, and the whole thing seemed kinda sad to me, to have these kids
singing newly made-up songs with little meaning, to a prerecorded
tape (that had other, recorded kids singing on it as well), when
there is such a rich history of holiday music around that couldve
been used.
They did have a harp player there, which was kind of nice and not
something i am used to seeing.
Katherine
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Thanks, Sandra.
I knew which song you were talking about before you started. Unfortunately
for me, it was quite overworked in my church-going days, so I can't really
relate to its beauty anymore. But now it's stuck in my head!
I think your post is one for the ages.
Karen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I knew which song you were talking about before you started. Unfortunately
for me, it was quite overworked in my church-going days, so I can't really
relate to its beauty anymore. But now it's stuck in my head!
I think your post is one for the ages.
Karen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/19/04 5:47:35 AM, tuckervill2@... writes:
<< I knew which song you were talking about before you started.
Unfortunately
for me, it was quite overworked in my church-going days, so I can't really
relate to its beauty anymore. But now it's stuck in my head! >>
I had just missed it, pretty much avoiding C&W the past few decades and
missing out on most "contemporary Christian" stuff. Once in a while a phrase leaps
out, though and that song had several leaping and dancing phrases (to quote
another happy but 500 year old Christmas song, "shepherds and lasses go leaping
and dancing, leaping and dancing the eve of Noel...").
It stunned me, to hear Clay Aiken sing it.
Sandra
<< I knew which song you were talking about before you started.
Unfortunately
for me, it was quite overworked in my church-going days, so I can't really
relate to its beauty anymore. But now it's stuck in my head! >>
I had just missed it, pretty much avoiding C&W the past few decades and
missing out on most "contemporary Christian" stuff. Once in a while a phrase leaps
out, though and that song had several leaping and dancing phrases (to quote
another happy but 500 year old Christmas song, "shepherds and lasses go leaping
and dancing, leaping and dancing the eve of Noel...").
It stunned me, to hear Clay Aiken sing it.
Sandra