Sweet Sunday

How great the chasm that lay between us

How high the mountain, I could not climb

In desperation, I turned to Heaven

And I spoke Your name into the night

Then through the darkness

Your loving-kindness

Tore through the shadows of my soul

The work is finished, the end is written

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?

What heart could fathom such boundless grace?

The God of ages stepped down from glory

To wear my sin and bear my shame

The cross has spoken, I am forgiven

The King of kings calls me His own

Beautiful Savior, I'm Yours forever

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise

Your buried body began to breathe

Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me

Then came the morning that sealed the promise

Your buried body began to breathe

Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me

Jesus, Yours is the victory

Yours is the victory, Jesus

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Jesus Christ, You're my living hope

Jesus, my living hope

You're my living hope

Nah-tivity Nonsense

I am constantly irritated amused amazed by the stuff I read on the Internet. That it only really started in the form we now know nearly 20 years ago and people have taken to it -- and complaining on it -- without reservation...is, like, wow!

We have a generation of people, some call the Millennials. I see them more as the Baby Boomers 2.0. They seem to complain about, er, um, question everything.

I came across a photo the other day about a nativity set someone had at her house.

She brought up the idea that white entitlement or privilege was prevalent in Christmas stuff, that her nativity scene figurines were blond and that made them from Ohio (not sure how many blonds live in Ohio, but idle grass...) She claims that they are miscolored because Jesus was Jewish...and this is apparently a #christmasfail.

Three people agreed with her -- with vehemence. One even complained how she'd been on a quest for a "non-blond" more "culturally accurate" set. She promised to get two, if she found one.

...

First of all, none of us was there. There are no photos, pictures, drawing, paintings of Jesus and his parents at that time period. Why couldn't they be blond? What is that "white privilege" or "entitlement"? Blond people exist today. Who's to say they weren't the coloring of the first people and the rest changed pigmentation as people moved away from the Garden area? No one knows what color came first. And who really cares? At the end of the day, we are all people with different pigmentation. That's it. No colors. Just people.

I know. I know. Spoken like a true white person.

Sigh.

Second of all, the person in question is white. Or, as I prefer to say, Caucasian. What gives? Why is she "white bashing" when that's her own background? It seems to me that a person who bashes her own skin tone is just trying to be part of the crowd, beating the tired drum of the liberals of our country. She has no credibility.

Thump. Thump. Sigh.

And third of all, who cares? I know I already added that to my "first of all," but it bears repeating. I am white and my family is white. Not one of us is blond, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a nativity set that is blond...and white...and in a wooden building -- eek! -- (because they apparently used a cave). The idea is that a nativity scene -- with a little baby Jesus -- points us to the true meaning of the holiday. Does it really matter if he's black, white, brown, green with polka dots? Not really. It's something we bring out once-a-year for about a month or so. We add it to the other decorations and gaze at it occasionally. We don't worship it. We don't think it's the be-all-to-end-all. It's just part of the scenery.

And if having a more culturally appropriate set is important to your family because culturally you are different, then kudos to you. But if you're white and your set is white, enjoy it for what it is: a small reminder that Christmas is a gift, a blessing, a privilege in itself -- not another time to complain and jump on the liberal millennial band wagon.

Your whiteness precludes you from that.

Let's just be people. Together. Celebrating. Worshiping. Without reservation.

That's Heaven.

Sweet Sunday

From our worship time at church:



                                            "You're Beautiful"

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful

I see You there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful

I see Your face, I see Your face
I see Your face, You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're beautiful

~Phil Wickham

Sweet Sunday

I found my old iPod Touch the other day. It was such a gift. From the photos it held to all the music and books, I'd forgotten how much I loved it before I got my iPhone.

Here's a gem from my "Worship Songs" playlist:


I love knowing that God is FOR and WITH us!! How about you?

Sweet Sunday

The worship songs at church almost always fit the mood/feelings/burdens of the week that just finished.

And that's no accident.

It's just how God works.

The encouragement He gives us is immense. Sometimes, we think we're the only ones going through whatever it is that we're going through. We trudge through the week feeling weary and worn down. But then He gives us a song on Sunday that meets us and encourages us beyond measure.

That's called a "God thing" and a really sweet Sunday!

Jesus really is ALL to us. Enjoy!