Winter Funnies

With thanks to Doug. Doug gives gifts all year round for your pleasure and my pleasure.

I Am Alpha And Omega

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Revelation 21:1-

"The Mom Song"

Enjoy! Of course, I never did this. I've seen the song on video before, but never with captions, and I could not get all the words in the past.

Thanks to my niece.

O Virgo Virginum

O Virgo Virginum (An Anglican Bonus)

O Virgin of virgins,
how shall this be?
For neither before was any like thee,
nor shall there be after.
Daughters of Jerusalem,
why marvel ye at me?
That which ye behold is a divine mystery.

O Virgo virginum,
quomodo fiet istud?
Quia nec primam similem visa es
nec habere sequentem.
Filiae Ierusalem,
quid me admiramini?
Divinum est mysterium hoc quod cernitis.

Luke 1:26-35

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

Alas! I have not found music for "O Virgo", since this antiphon only appears in the Sarum (Anglican) Rite. The other videos come from a Roman Catholic source.

Image from ChantBlog.

Text from Apostolcity.

Hanukkah Blessings - Second Through Eighth Nights

First Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom Asher Kiddeshonu Be-mitsvoysov Ve-tsivonu Lehadlik Neyr Shel khanuko.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Second Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom She-oso Nissim La-avoseynu Ba-yyomim Ho-heym Ba-zzman Ha-zze.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

From About.com.

My Wee ChristmasTree

My wee Christmas tree
Dressed in pretty orbs and lights
Charlie Brown's no more

My first idea to simplify decorating the Christmas tree away from the seven footer, which was our previous practice, was a small twig tree, but I could not find a twig tree. My daughter-in-law knew that I was looking for something small and simple, and she found a Charlie Brownish tree with sparse branches, few needles, and a pine cone here and there. I loved the tree. It was perfect.

Howevah! I dressed the tree, and dressed the tree, and dressed the tree again in ornaments and lights, until the Charlie Brown effect was gone, vanished, disappeared. Who can tell if it has full branches with needles on every inch? No one, because it is so drenched in decorations. There it is. It is what it is.

Another plus with this wee tree is that I can carry it to the closet upstairs, still wearing its finery, place a dustcover over it, and - voila! - it's ready to be carried down the next year and placed on its table. The damask tablecloth was an after Christmas discovery, priced at $6.00 reduced from $26.00.

Hanukkah Blessing - First Night

First Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom Asher Kiddeshonu Be-mitsvoysov Ve-tsivonu Lehadlik Neyr Shel khanuko.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Second Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom She-oso Nissim La-avoseynu Ba-yyomim Ho-heym Ba-zzman Ha-zze.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Third Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom She-hekheyonu Ve-kiymonu Ve-higgi'onu La-zzman Ha-zze.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

From About.com.

Snow In New Roads, Louisiana

This is nothing compared to the snow in the colder parts of the country, but it was a big deal for New Roads. We were not there when it snowed, but a neighbor sent me these pictures. A true winter wonderland for those parts. Here in Thibodaux, we had a light snow, which did not stick.

The top picture shows the back of our house, and the lower picture shows the back pasture. The pictures are blurred because I enlarged them.



UPDATE: I should have noted that these pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, back when I was moaning about having no power.

O Emmanuel

December 22

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

Latin

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Oxford.

Text from Fish Eaters.

Will You Hold My Word In Your Heart?

Will you bear my word to the world?
This world?
Will you hold my word in your heart?
This heart, your heart, in this time in history, in this place,
in your skin, in your faith, in your life?

What challenging questions from Jane R., at Acts of Hope, in her lovely sermon this morning on the 4th Sunday of Advent. Please do read the rest. Jane preaches in poetry.