In the First Light

To continue the riff ... The whole gospel story is here. Birth of the Son of God yet man. His earthly ministry. His suffering and death on the cross. The resurrection. His present and future reign.

And again a father's — and now grandfather's :-) — perspective: "That her baby, not yet speaking, was the word of God to man." I remember holding my children as infants and, more recently, my grandson while thinking of this concept and trying to imagine that the Word of God was once such as this. Oh, the depths He went to, to show His love for us. I can scarce take it in.

In the First Light

In the first light of a new day no one knew he had arrived
Things continued as they had been while a newborn softly cried
But the heavens wrapped in wonder knew the meaning of his birth
In the weakness of a baby they knew God had come to earth

As his mother held him closely it was hard to understand
That her baby, not yet speaking, was the word of God to man
He would tell them of his kingdom but their hearts would not believe
They would hate him and in anger they would nail him to a tree

But the sadness would be broken as the song of life arose
And the firstborn of creation would ascend and take his throne
He had left it to redeem us but before his life began
He knew he'd come back, not as a baby, but as the Lord of every man

Hear the angels as they're singing on the morning of his birth
But how much greater will our song be when he comes again to earth
Hear the angels as they're singing on the morning of his birth
But how much greater will our song be when he comes to rule the earth!

One Quiet Moment

I'm going to riff off of Hendri X for this post and the next one ...

I feel very much like he does about O, Holy Night. Yet moving Christmas songs don't have to be 150 years old. (Not that he said they do.) Two of my absolute favorite of all time Christmas songs are "contemporary" compositions penned by my friend, Bob Kauflin, and recorded by a group called Glad. These two songs are In the First Light and One Quiet Moment. Just about every time I hear either one of these songs — or even think of their lyrics like I am now — I weep with wonder and joy. I'd love to post links to MP3's of these songs, but that would be like a major copyright violation, so read the lyrics, listen to the snippets from the links above and imagine.

There are so many things in this song that conjure up vivid pictures and feelings. But I think the one line that always, ALWAYS, puts a lump in my throat is — speaking of Jesus walking with his parents as a young child — "And some days the fingers that had fashioned the stars, Would reach out to hold them when the walk was too far." Wow. I don't now, maybe being a father has something to do with it, but the joy and love there is when your little 4 year-old grabs your hand when walking cannot be measured. Couple that idea with that little hand being the one that created the stars and sent them into their celestial dance, and you get a glimpse of how far Jesus humbled Himself to become man, yet the distance of that great step down shows equally His love for us.

Oh, God. Your ways are too wonderful for me. I cannot comprehend your unfathomable riches. But what joy it is to search out your ways and your truth.

One Quiet Moment

One quiet moment, on a star–clustered night,
Two weary travelers knew an end was in sight;
So the soon-to-be mother, grasped her husband’s strong hand,
And paused to remember where the journey began.

Nine months of yearning filled with joy and with pain;
He almost had left her, but then chose to remain
Close by the woman he had not even kissed,
Who would bear him a son that would never be his.

And in one quiet moment, a woman and man
Accepted the part they would have in God’s plan;
To give up His glory, and be born as a man.
In one quiet moment.

They dreamed of the times they would spend with their son,
Taking trips through the hillsides and watching Him run.
And some days the fingers that had fashioned the stars,
Would reach out to hold them when the walk was too far.

They wrestled with knowing that His life would bring change;
Their friends would grow distant, and shun them as strange.
Though they tried not to think it, in their hearts they were sure,
That their baby was destined to die for the world.

And in one quiet moment, a woman and man
Accepted the part they would have in God’s plan;
To give up His glory, and be born as a man.
In one quiet moment, one quiet moment.

One quiet moment they could suddenly hear
Thousands of angels singing so clear;
“Glory to God, His Salvation is near!”
In this one quiet moment
In this one quiet moment
One quiet moment.

Old Time Radio Hour

Love is all, love is you

Cross-posted with my Xanga ...

 

 

The Beatles.

Love.

I like it.

I want it.

Mucho.

 

 

Hear it yourself: http://www.thebeatles.com/hearlove.

 

New Job; Old Baggage

"How do you like your new job?"

Or some reasonable facsimile thereof.

I keep running into people I haven't seen in a while and that, more or less, is what they ask me. I am thankful I have a job. I am thankful it pays pretty well. I am thankful it is something I know how to do and don't really have to "get up to speed."

But.

It's in a public school. Which I swore I'd never teach in again. It is with middle schoolers. Which I swore I'd never teach again. With sixth graders none-the-less! Which I swore I'd never teach in the first place. I teach SIX classes a day. I've never taught six classes a day. Back in good ol' FCPS, the union made sure that five was the limit. On average, it's a 45+ minute commute one-way. My teaching day doesn't end until 4-frickin'-30. If I have just a 90-minute after school rehearsal (a relatively short rehearsal time), I don't get home before 7:15, usually later.

A further quick note about teaching six classes a day. That's 170 kids that flow through my classroom every day. Trying to remember names, keep order, and advance some sort of learning is like dancing on marbles.

I'm exhausted. I come home, eat a bite of dinner. And vege for the evening. I have plenty I could do, but my brain is so fried, I honestly can't recall any of those things that could be attended to.

Always in the past, the thing that made teaching rewarding was the students. I got to know them after spending months with them. And there were always at least a few each year who were just a pleasure to teach and to know. I don't get that with this situation. Because of the "middle school concept", the kids cycle through drama, and other exploration-type classes, every nine weeks. So, just as I'm beginning to really get to know the kids, they're gone and a new crop comes in. So, I really can't get to know them well enough to have any real feelings of care for them. Heck, I can't even get all of their names memorized before the nine weeks is up. They end up being just a nameless (though not faceless) mob.

I know I've written a lot more negatives than positives, but in terms of "how I like my job", the positives and negatives are pretty balanced. Most of the time. So I don't really know how to answer people. They want to hear good news. But even my best attempts at just highlighting the positives in answer still come out sounding like damning with faint praise.

I hope people stop asking soon.

I've long battled contentment "issues" in regard with my various jobs over the years. It truly breaks my heart that I apparently have learned little.

God, save me from myself.

First Post

Hmmm ... Will I follow Hendri X and leave Xanga? We'll see.