2009 holiday season

it has been a wonderful season of celebrating and I want to share with you all some of my memories!

I have had the great joy of attending some studies led by local followers this semester and this season they had a worship and outreach service that I went to. It was an incredible party filled with singing, drama (shown below - it was about the things that stop us from really giving our whole hearts to the Lord - our masks that we put on), a sermon, testimonies, and dinner afterwards. Quite a few people chose to follow that night because of the impact that it made by Father moving in their hearts!

these are the girls that are all roommates at a local university. we had a party on Christmas Eve (Ping An Ye in Chinese) where we shared about Christmas, watched a movie, and gave some special gifts! they were very interested and we are excited about connecting with them again after they return from the winter holiday

after movie-watching, we ended up singing and dancing...and we pretty much went all out - ballet, Jackson's thriller, line dancing, and you better believe it, the Texas 2-step :)

on Christmas day, celebrated with some special friends here in the city. we had a time of worship, advent candles, and prayer. this below is my friend's beautiful tree that was packed-out underneath with all of our gifts to each other

after presents we had a big feast, a celebration of group traditions, and then hung out together the rest of the day playing games and chatting, ending the night with none other than Its a Wonderful Life! this picture is of one of the traditions of giving everyone a pair of leather slippers because leather is a characteristic symbol of some of the local minority people. mine are the red ones...too bad I didn't get the maroon ones :)!

this is a picture of the massive amount of goodies that the winter team brought over for us as gifts! what an incredible blessing!

this one is of me in front of our Christmas tree with the stocking and hat that my mom sent over with the winter team! you can't really tell in the picture but the hat is a chimney with santa's feet sticking out of the top - when the group first gave me the gift, I was thinking that it sure was strange for my mom to send over a cheesy santa decoration to put in my house but when I opened it up, I realized that it was a hat...which while it still was a little cheesy, was much more appreciated because of my love for hats thanks mom! :)

the day after christmas, me and my roommate, Rebecca, had a party at our apartment with some of our Mongolian classmates! we have all become good friends this semester and so this party was real relaxed and we had a really sweet and fun time together! this first one is of us teaching them some christmas songs (please check out the girl on the left....you would never guess that she doesn't know how to play because she has mastered the rocker face!)

some of the girls found my A&M little baseball set that I got as a gift this summer in my room and they wanted to know more about baseball...so then I proceeded to pull out the real gloves and we played a little mini game so that they could learn :)

Father was so gracious to provide a wonderful and blessed holiday season in spite of being away from my family. He also allowed my family and I to continue to celebrate together, even if it wasn't exactly like we would have preferred, but still a joy and a gift from Father. He is so faithful to His children!

how were your holidays spent? what were the highlights?

haiti

we don't have to feel totally helpless

friends, please be praying

and giving if you are able redcross.org

He is in control.

advent

with Christmas coming and going, this has been a season of reflecting on advent

its not a new word or concept. most of our churches have been celebrating advent in the weeks leading up to Christmas for as long as we can remember. in our group here, we also celebrated by lighting a candle every Sunday and with each passing week we talked about Christ as Messiah, as our Shepherd, as our joy, and as our great hope, not only with the first advent but also with the promise of the second one.

I have seen this done for years, but this year it hit me each week with a beautiful and profound freshness that filled me with deep joy and hope

another reason that added to this new joy and acknowledgement, was several songs that spoke of the glory of advent - the radiance that came with the waiting, the hoping, the promise, and the fulfilled coming of Christ

-O Holy Night

this is an old and lifelong favorite. I don't really know how to explain it other than I get chill bumps and I feel a peace in the deepest parts of me every single time I hear it. there are very few songs that do this to me. whatever reason why it moves me I am not totally aware of but, I praise God for it.

long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth

a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Christ is the Lord! Oh, praise His name forever His power and glory evermore proclaim!

these next few are new ones to me this season that have quickly turned into favorites:

- Winter Snow by Audrey Assad (on the Chris Tomlin Christmas CD - gotta keep looking for more stuff from this gal - amazing voice and style)

I love this one because of the contrast in the expected coming and in His actual coming. He could have come with a bam - with all of the pomp and glory worthy of a King, worthy of the Messiah. but He didn't. He came quiet and humbly, from the very beginning of His earthly life, showing that He came to serve and love and give His life for us in every possible way.

I also love how it speaks of our choice to follow Him. how He could have 'ravished our hearts' and blown us away with His glory, but He came and lived life and waited 30 years to begin His ministry. His quiet coming shows the beauty and necessity of faith. and even though that faith is tough to come by at times, it is the very thing that He desires of us. it is humbling and challenging and beautiful

Could’ve come like a mighty storm
with all the strength of a hurricane
You could’ve come like a forest fire
with the power of heaven in your flame

But You came like a winter snow
quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
to the earth below

Could’ve swept in like a tidal wave
or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
to wipe away the things we’ve scarred

No, Your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
It was still, it was small, it was hidden

oh, You came like a winter snow
quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
to the earth below

- Welcome to Our World by Chris Rice

I'm pretty sure this song has been around for awhile but for whatever sad reason, I have missed out on it until this season.

I love how it shows what this precious tiny baby would eventually experience in our place, on our behalf - 'fragile finger sent to heal us....tiny heart whose blood will save us'...

and 'rob our sin and make us holy' is such an amazing declaration of the power of the cross and its sanctifying work

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking

How we need to hear from God

You've been promised, we've been waiting

Welcome Holy Child

Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home

Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence

Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born
So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

and finally,

-Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus especially the Christy Nockels version :)

this is just jam-packed with truth and I love it. I even love the 'thous' and 'thys'. I love how it brings His advent together with what that means for our lives - freedom, deliverance, rest, strength, comfort, hope, joy, fulfillment, worth, the Spirit, eternal life.

hallelujah.

thank you Charles Wesley for penning these words and thank you Holy Spirit who is the only One who could have inspired, with such beauty, these words that speak of the glory of the coming and the power of the gospel

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

I know its been weeks since Christmas but I have not really been able to get these songs and these thoughts out of my head, so I think that was a clear push by our Father to share them with you guys. I hope that we can continue to find such great hope and joy in the advent which was promised, fulfilled, and which brought to us restoration and forgiveness.

and for the second coming...oh, what a great and glorious hope that we have! rest assured, sweet friends, that the second advent of Jesus will come. and with it will come all His glory and Lordship and power.

no matter what season it is, may we be ever excited for the second advent and ever grateful for the first