Holiday Favorites

[Amie]

This song is one of my Christmas favorites. It brings tears to my eyes every time! I hope that you enjoy it, and will consider sharing some of your favorites as well :).

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XODganqCxB8



The Gift

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Was walking to market one day
She stopped for a rest by the roadside
Where a bird with a broken wing lay
A few moments passed till she saw it
For its feathers were covered with sand
But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
In the warmth of Maria's small hand

She happily gave her last peso
On a cage made of rushes and twine
She fed it loose corn from the market
And watched it grow stronger with time

Now the gift giving service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the townfolks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring

She waited 'til just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
"Maria, what brings you to me?
If the bird in the cage is your offering,
Open the door and let me see."
Though she trembled, she did as He asked her
And out of the cage the bird flew
Soaring up into the rafters
On a wing that had healed good as new

Just then the midnight bells rang out
And the little bird started to sing
A song that no words could recapture
Whose beauty was fit for a king

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
To that cascade of notes sweet and long
As her offerings was lifted to heaven
By the very first nightingale's song


Amie

[Amie]

K, so finally there's a Heavy Metal Christmas album out :D. Twisted Sister released "Twisted Christmas". It's available on Rhapsody, I downloaded some songs there. So here's the "twisted" sound of "Oh Come Oh Ye Faithful": http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4638131139238568108&q=twisted+sister+oh+come+oh+ye+faithful&hl=en

"Oh come let us adore him!"

[Amie]

"Oh Holy night"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7e3FX2EkOkI
Beautifully sung by Kelly Clarkson

O' Holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt His worth

The thrill of hope,
The weary world rejoices
For yonder brings a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees
Oh, hear the angel's voices
O' night divine
O' night when Christ was born
O' night divine
O' night,
O' night divine

O' Holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Oh...
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt His worth

The thrill of hope,
The weary world rejoices
For yonder brings a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees
Oh, hear the angel's voices
O' night divine
O' night when Christ was born
O' night divine
O' night,
O' night di...divine

[Amie]

If you have a favorite, I would be happy to try and find the video for you..

[Amie]

A more mature sounding version of "Oh Holy Night" sung by Mariah Carey: http://youtube.com/watch?v=g64zUxkC_pQ

[Tam]

We were just discussing in another group a while back about the fact that there's quite a universal message in most traditional Christmas music. In fundamentalism, it can be sung but tends to be "set straight" and "corrected" in religious settings. Makes me think that the "pagan" world actually has a clearer picture of how it all comes together than the world of religion. Tami

[Amie]

Tami,

I think that each side is missing one another - if that makes sense?

Amie

[Tam]

Amie, definitely something to ponder. :)

[Amie]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QH7XRpLIdxo

[Amie]

Cute!! These kids are really talented :) "Christmelicious": http://youtube.com/watch?v=JMwjz6N-KZE (to the tune of "Fergelicious")

Silliness... Spongebob and "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer": http://youtube.com/watch?v=McaTaaDkfCU

[Amie]

This one has to be the favorite of all of those believing in fulfilled eschatology :)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hLXXI5jivm0


Joy to the world!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.


Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.


No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.


He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

[Amie]

Here we go again! Happy Holidays!

"Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy"
Fast forward 1:50 to get past the talk if you prefer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zMhSjDqvRs

[Jotham]

Waaay back in the mid 70's and through the 80's i managed 8 record stores in California, Nevada, and Oregon. Of all the Christmas albums that i heard during that time my favorite, still to this day, is Jon Anderson's (http://www.jonanderson.com/) "Three Ships" released in 1985.


http://www.jonanderson.com/images/cover_3Ships.jpg

Jon was the "Voice" of the rock band YES. Very distinctinve. And the album is excellently produced and very fun to listen to. It's usually the one you'd hear driving by my house in August while i'm washing the vehicles in the driveway!!

While some of Jon's stuff is a bit out there theologicaly speaking (i think he is some sort of universalist with a splash of Kirshna or similar) The bottom line for him is sumed up nicely in this snippet:


..."Whether you know or not, Christ is always here, always with us and so is Christmas. You don't need presents. You don't need trees, lights or snow. You only need Love. love for yourself. Then you can love others."

a chorus from one of his own Christmas songs:


Save All Your Dreams
To Be A Better Child
To Be A Better Child
This One Gift of Love
Came on a Good Day
Came on a Good Day
Bringing all pure love to life




: ) Thom

[Amie]

Thom,

Look what I found: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZrWxH-aut4M

:) Amie

[Jotham]

Amie that is soooo cool. Jon is quite silly in that music video! I've seen him on videos before and he just has so much fun. He is like a big kid. And several times i've seen him just surrounded by dozens of children all being crazy and signing, clanging on hand instruments and such. He also did a couple songs with a boys choir from some private school somewhere.

When i first heard his version of Oh Holy Nite i got goose bumps.

Oh Holy Nite YouTube Music Video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ak4-LX0Mqr0&feature=related).

and this one is fun too:

Easier Said than Done (http://youtube.com/watch?v=l9RzjhEkkYs&feature=related) !

I think it was the Lord that said something to the effect of; "If they are not against me, they are for me"...gotta look it up. Might be jumblin' it a bit. My take is that I'm moved to envisioning a glorified God and His Son through Jon's songs, so even if his theology is a bit off (and i'm not sure where he stands), God is glorified in such songs sung with love and heartfelt meaning as i believe Jon presented them.

Thank you for the link to the 3 ships video, hadn't seen any of those!

: ) Thom