Isaiah 60:1
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you."
Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
I love the beauty and imagery of those verses when it speaks of the birth of Jesus! So beautiful!
I know it's been awhile since I posted. I have noticed that there are just periods of time when I don't feel the need to blog. And then there are times when God impresses upon me urgently to put some things down. This past Sunday morning at church was one of those times. It was so strong I actually had to write it down as it came into my mind which I don't usually like to do because my mind is racing so much faster then I can write and it gets pretty garbled. But not this time.
But it has still has taken me a few days to find the quiet time that I needed to put these things down. This is never a quick process for me. There's a lot of prayer, reflection, etc that goes into this for the most part. Sometimes I try to rush it and end up with a mess that I have to go back and straighten out later. LOL!
Before I get into the main part of this post, I want to share a little bit with you about my first season with Undivided. It was really amazing. It has given me a whole new lease on Christmas. And I have made new family members within the group. We usually say "friends" but these people are much more than that to me.
We are performing at Marietta Square if the weather permits. I'm hoping we will be able to so please keep praying. Check out the link at http://nativityonthemariettasquare.org. This entire experience has been one of the most blessed of any in my entire life! We have a break until the end of January and I'm bummed! I'm going to attach a couple of our videos here, let me know what you think.
Also this is our website. http://undividedvocalorchestra.weebly.com/ It's new so there's not a lot of info on there yet.
This is such a wonderful Christmas this year for us because Sebastian is 2 and he's enjoying Christmas so much this year. Amanda brought him to our concert at Sanctuary the other night & it was so cute. He kept hollering "there she is!" "Gramma" it was so sweet. But then Santa came out & I no longer existed. It has been wonderful to have a little one to share the season with again!
I very much want to close this on a positive note but I would be remiss not to write the things that God laid on my heart because of the events of last Friday in Connecticut.
First of all, my heart has grieved greatly over these things but maybe not for the reason that you think. It is but it isn't. When great tragedy strikes we are shaken, staggered & stricken. We are at a loss for words & we try to make sense of the senseless. We look for reasons but the reasons are not what we expect them to be. They are simply a symptom of the fallen condition of mankind.
Because we have made certain decisions, we must live with the inevitable outcome. And this is just one of those situations. No one wants to believe that but it's true nonetheless. It's scriptural, it's prophecy & it's unavoidable.
This is what the Lord spoke to me when I sat in church with tears streaming down my face: He said as grieved as you are by what has happened to those precious, innocent children, how do you think I feel? I couldn't even imagine an answer to that. But He said, You grieve for these children whose lives were cut short, who had only begun to live but do you grieve for the millions who were never even given a chance? He does! He grieves for every single child sacrificed for the sake of convenience.
I remember being shocked when the Old Testament spoke of people who worshipped Molech sacrificing their children. How awful but we do the same thing. Where are the tears shed for them? Who are the ones calling out for a ban on those methods of killing? It's heart wrenching. But all this is simply a symptom of a society that no longer values human life, specifically children's. We value animals more. But then we're shocked when these things happen. It's all related to our morals & to our priorities.
A little over 2000 years ago, God sent a baby into the world, He stepped down from heaven's throne, wrapped himself in human flesh & became one of us so that He could experience what we experience & give His life for us.
It was the grandest expression of God's love, grace and mercy upon the human race since the beginning of time. God could have turned His back on fallen man and said that it was not worth the sacrifice of His beloved Son, but He didn't. He chose to send Jesus Christ into the world as a ransom for our sins.
I just want to remind everyone that after the flood, God promised He would not destroy humankind again no matter how wicked they became. But He does allow us to live with the consequences of our actions. That's what FREE WILL is all about. As you reflect on the events in Connecticut & the Christmas season, try to think about how God feels, of all He's given to you, your blessings, His Son, a wonderful life. Then think about what you owe Him. Everything! Then live like you know this!
I love you & pray that you have a wonderful & meaningful Christmas every day of your life!
