I heard the bells....

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

(one of my faves... hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas!)

1. I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

2. I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

3. And in despair I bowed my head
'There is no peace on earth,' I said,
'For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.'

4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.'

5. Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Christmas concerts

Friday night I got to go see Leeland, Sixpence None the Richer, Sarah Groves, and Jars of Clay in concert, courtesy of a family from school. It was GREAT, but also highlighted to me some of my pet peeves about Christian concerts and about performers in general.

Ever since the Newsboys started charging $30 to get into their "Worship" tour, I've been really ticked at the idea of Christian concerts as worship services. Yes, in one sense, all Christian acts should be those of worship, but in another sense, formal worship only takes place on Sunday, in church, led by a pastor, with other believers. Yeah, I'm a Presbyterian. Sue me. Actually don't... I have no money. But the good thing about that is: worship is free. Only one of the acts got on a big kick about how we were there to worship, but it was enough to annoy me. If it were a worship service, they shouldn't have charged admission. And, that guy isn't my pastor, my spiritual leader, or anybody in the position to lead me in worship anyway. Besides the deep-seeded theological problem I have with that, there were other moments that were just funny.

The pastor of the host church was praying to open the show, and I was watching him on the big telescreen. I was totally okay until he prayed, "help us to, as the old song says, love thee more dearly..." and I started laughing so hard I was crying. The song he quoted from was "Day by Day" from Godspell. After the prayer, I promptly burst into song. I know the guy meant it sincerely, but it just tickled me to no end that for his serious, heartfelt prayer, he prayed words from a bad 70's musical about Jesus. Of course, it was one of those things made funnier by the fact that it was a totally inappropriate time for me to bust out laughing.

The guy from Leeland provided some amusement for me with his worship pose. He would squat slightly with his arms akimbo, elbows bent, fists clenched, like he was getting ready to take off on his very own jet pack. Leigh from Sixpence was obviously nervous and couldn't stop swinging her free arm around. The bass player for Sarah Groves, as my friend pointed out to me, looked like Gollum the way he was hunching over his instrument.

All this just added to the fun, though. It was, in all, a fantastic show. My favorite moment was probably Jars of Clay, when they played Little Drummer Boy, and the band members starting rocking out with Dan going to town on the bass drum. I'm all ready for Christmas now.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

Last night, for the first time in the history of being an Eggleston, I ate all my dinner at a restaurant and then finished half of William's. And then ate ice cream. Pregnancy has officially turned my universe upside down and inside out.