Amber & Heather

Most of us think of heather as a plant that grows on the hillside in Scotland, amongst other places. And amber? Amber is that stuff that they found the mosquito in which they extracted DNA from in the film Jurassic Park, right?

Wrong. People everywhere are redefining these words. They are, in fact, becoming substitutes for my actual NAME.

Yes, that's right. I have been called Amber on more occasions than I can count, and most recently, I became "Heather."

Other popular substitutions for my name include August and my favorite...April.

I just want to know why it is that people cannot remember my name. If I can remember the very ethnic names of most of my students, and pronounce them correctly, then why can American adults not seem to remember my name, a synonym for the season fall? It's not that difficult, people.

AUTUMN. A six letter word. Memorize it. Embrace it. I'd do the same for you!!!

The Grinch!!!

"Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot

But the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville did not!"

Here are a few pics of the play from this evening! One kid threw up backstage before we even started. Another got sick in the middle of the show and had to come sit down in the audience. Ah, all in a day's work. Good times were had by all!!!

The Grinch & Max (This is in rehearsal...Max did actually have a dog costume for the show!)

Me with Cindy-Lou Who

Reynolds & I with Cindy-Lou, post show

Stille Nacht

Pictures from my White Elephant Party this evening!

The table is set!

Stacee, Julie & Moi

Small Group: Natalie, Kelli, Ashley & Me

The boys small group: Justin, Scott, Jeff & Chad

Julie & Mike with the Severed Head Singing Santa

Waumba Crew acting crazy (as usual)

How the world's most famous Christmas carol came to be written

In 1818, a roving band of actors was performing in towns throughout the Austrian Alps. On December 23 they arrived at Oberndorf, a village near Salzburg. There they were scheduled to perform the story of Christ's birth in the Church of St. Nicholas.

Unfortunately, the St. Nicholas' church organ wasn't working and would not be repaired before Christmas. (Note: some versions of the story point to mice as the problem; others say rust was the culprit). Because the church organ was out of commission, the actors presented their Christmas drama in a private home. That Christmas presentation put assistant pastor Josef Mohr in a meditative mood. So, instead of walking straight to his house, Mohr took a longer way home. The longer path took him up over a hill overlooking the village.

From that hilltop, Mohr looked down on the peaceful snow-covered village. Reveling in the wintry night's majestic silence, he gazed down at the glowing scene. His thoughts about the Christmas play caused him to remember a poem he had written a couple of years earlier. That poem was about the night when angels announced the birth of the long-awaited Messiah to shepherds on a hillside.

Mohr decided those words would make a good carol for his congregation the following evening at their Christmas eve service. However, he didn't have any music to which that poem could be sung. So, the next day Mohr went to see the church organist, Franz Xaver Gruber. Gruber only had a few hours to come up with a melody which could be sung with a guitar. However, by that evening, Gruber had managed to compose a simple musical setting for Mohr's poem. It didn't matter that the organ was broken. They now had a Christmas carol they could sing without it. On Christmas Eve, the little Oberndorf congregation heard Gruber and Mohr sing their new composition to the accompaniment of Gruber's guitar.

Weeks later, well-known organ builder Karl Mauracher arrived to fix the St. Nicholas church organ. When he finished, Mauracher stepped back to let Gruber test the instrument. When Gruber sat down, his fingers began playing the simple melody he had written for Mohr's Christmas poem. Deeply impressed, Mauracher took the music and words of "Silent Night" back to his own Alpine village, Kapfing. There, two well-known families of singers -- the Rainers and the Strassers -- heard it. Captivated by "Silent Night," both groups put the new song into their Christmas season repertoire.

Silent night! holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
'Round yon virgin mother and Child!
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

The Strasser sisters spread the carol throughout northern Europe. In 1834, after they had performed "Silent Night" for King Frederick William IV of Prussia, that king ordered his cathedral choir to sing it every Christmas eve.

The Rainers brought the song to the United States in 1839, singing it (in German) at the Alexander Hamilton Monument located outside New York City's Trinity Church. In 1863, nearly fifty years after being first sung in German, "Silent Night" was translated into English (by either Jane Campbell or John Young). In 1871 the English version was published in an American hymnal: Charles Hutchins' Sunday School Hymnal.

Long time, no blog!

I realized that I have not blogged in forever, so here it is! My blog! So much has been going on lately that I have been sidetracked. My small group (left) went to the Cagle's Dairy Corn Maize once again this year and it was harder than we remembered! Still, fun times!

Thanksgiving break was a marvelous way to catch up with myself, and to relax but also get some things done around the house. During the break I was able to completely repaint my kitchen, which I am very proud of! Now it's two very subtle and calming shades of green that I am enjoying. Next step---cabinet gutting and renovation! I'm thinking this will happen post-Christmas though. Trying to be responsible with the funds!

At school we are working hard to prepare for singing next Thursday evening at the PTA Southern Supper with Santa. Then, on Friday we have our first chorus field trip to see The Nutcracker and that evening we sing at the Gwinnett Gladiators Sing for Santa event. Busy busy! Then, two weeks later we have our big Christmas chorus show which involves the singing of many carols plus a reinactment of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I'm excited!

I guess that's about it for now!!!

Remedy

I read this article in Atlanta Magazine about a woman who is a former strip club dancer who is now a Christian and has this amazing minstry where she and other former exotic dancers go into strip clubs and hand out goody baskets to the girls who work there. They also hold worship services in the middle of a questionable area of Atlanta which is evidently right near one of said clubs. So far, they have helped something like 125 girls get out of this lifestyle. I thought that was pretty life-changing.

Then, tonight at the Romania Partnership night, Pastor Gelu told this story of a time before Vox Domini Church was established when he and an American friend were out evangelising on the streets of Timisoara. He felt very uncomfortable doing that, and they are were getting ready to go home when his friend said, "Let's just go get that guy on the bike." So they chased down this man who was riding a bike and when they finally caught him and told him about Jesus right there, he responded by saying, "I've been waiting all my life for someone to tell me this."

It's been a really tough weekend, but God is still God and I am so blessed because of Jesus. This song by David Crowder Band just reminds me of who I am---who we are as Christians---and what a big world there is out there, just waiting for someone to tell them there's another way.

REMEDY, by David Crowder Band

Here we are, Here we are
The broken and used, Mistreated, abused
Here we are

Here You are, Here You are
The beautiful one, Who came like a Son
Here You are

So we lift up our voices, We open our hands
To cling to the love, That we can't comprehend

Oh, lift up your voices, And lift up your heads
To sing of the love, That has freed us from sin

CHORUS
He is the one, Who has saved us
He is the one, Who embraced us
He is the one who has come, And is coming again
He's the remedy

Here we are, Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure, Here we are

Here You are, Here You are
Our beautiful King, Bringing relief
Here You are with us

So we lift up our voices, And open our hands
Let go of the things, That have kept us from Him

[Chorus]

Oh, I can't comprehend, I can't take it all in
Never understand, Such perfect love come
For the broken and beat, For the wounded and weak
Oh, come fall at His feet
He's the remedy, He's the remedy

So sing, sing

You are the one, Who has saved us
You are the one, Who forgave us
You are the one who has come, And is coming again
To make it alright, Oh, to make it alright
You're the remedy, Oh, in us
You're the remedy

Let us be the remedy
Let us bring the remedy

I love that last bit..."Let US be the remedy..." That is what we are called to be to a dying world, isn't it?

Malachi's Prayer!

A friend of mine from college just posted her first-grade son's prayer from last night before he went to bed and I thought it was a riot. Bless his heart! I enjoyed it so much that I thought I'd post it here:

"Dear God, How are you? I was very good today. I stayed on green, got a hundred on my spelling test, and I'm star student of the week. Please bless Mom, Dad, Mary Ruth, and the dogs. And keep the Tooth Fairy safe when she travels to my house. Keep her warm because it's cold at night. Please let her leave me more money. If she does I promise I'll take canned goods to the student council food drive next week. And forgive me of my sins. Amen"

A Recap

How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His chosen Son, to make a wretch His treasure.

Our sermon series the past four weeks has been, "Judgment Call," by Andy Stanley and I have learned several things lately about what the Bible actually says regarding judging others and being judged by others. As Christians, we go either one of two ways: we tend to think, "I can't judge because I'm a Christian," or we feel that we are the ultimate judges because we are Christians.

In Andy's first talk, he addressed the fact that as Christians, when we see something another person is doing that bothers us, we are to first look in the mirror and assess what it is that God is trying to address in our own lives. After that, we may be in a position to judge another, but only another believer. It is really unfair to try and judge a secular person by a standard that they do not subscribe to. Without addressing my own sin first, I have no leverage to help address the sins of others. He also talked about how when we sincerely have our hearts broken over something a friend is involved in, that is when it is time to approach others and confront them.

I think about this often. It seems that I am perpetually juggling the ball labeled "other people's problems" and I'll be honest, it stresses me out a great deal at times. How can my heart be breaking over so many people at once, and yet I'm supposed to balance my job, my friends, my family, and my many other responsibilities? This is still somewhat of a mystery to me.

Andy concluded the series by talking about awkward situations, those talks that nobody really wants to have, but those which are necessary for growth and ultimately, restoration. He also addressed our response to being the one who is having judgment passed on you unfairly. In that position, my responsibility is to forgive the person who has misjudged me and pray for them. Andy says that we either give our enemies power or we forgive them.

I thought of this from a psychological standpoint, and it really makes a lot of sense. When we begin to believe the lies that people speak into our lives, whether or not we admit it, we actually are giving power over to those people. For example, if someone has been told all their life that they are dumb, eventually they may begin to believe that they are. That person then, has in essence, given power to all those who have called her dumb by allowing them to create who she is. This strategy is something that we work to rewire in my school often. We try to uncreate the wrong messages parents have sent their children while we can still intervene. It's hard work! But how much more does God desire to restore our hearts from past judgments? Far more! He is so amazing and so forgiving. And that is what we must work toward...realizing that sometimes judging at the right moment is a loving thing to do and at other times, receiving judgment is necessary. And we must recognize that God wants us to forgive those in our past who have misjudged us and move on. Easier said than done for sure!