I have not blogged in so long.

It seems by the time I sit at my computer, the children are up and active. There just isn’t time to sit and share our latest happenings- we are busy living.

Still, I don’t want to forget anything, so today I am up before the children and before the sun. I’m hoping to maybe get a few of these things typed out.

For the last several years, our family has kicked off the Christmas season with “The Messiah”, performed by Alabama Civic Chorale. At the end of September, those singing begin to attend practices after church.

Why do we participate in “The Messiah” every year?

When it is done, I’m left to realize the entire experience has been rich and meaningful. The choir director is so good to include notes about Handel and his writing of this amazing classical work. He had a great burden over the music he was writing. He knew the spiritual significance.

It has certainly left an impact on my life, and on the lives of my older children.

A few years back, my children and I decided to commit to memory Isaiah 53. Basically, the entire gospel in one chapter, one of my favorite parts of “The Messiah” is hearing that chapter made into music.

I realize having heard it performed now for several years, you really don’t get as much out of it when you listen as you do singing with the group (or at least that was the case for me!). There is something amazing when you dwell on those passages of scripture (well, all scripture, lol!). It becomes part of your thoughts and part of who you are. It is beautiful and the Lord speaks to us through the Word that is hidden in our hearts.

Just a few of my favorite folks:

 

 

Another thing I love about “The Messiah” is the spiritual impact it makes on the community. When we first heard of the opportunity to include this as part of our family holiday celebration, Paul and I knew this was the right thing. I can’t imagine a more profitable use of time, especially where sharing the gospel is concerned. While there are so many that will not come to church on a Sunday morning, they will come to listen to The Messiah performed, and are actually listening to the entire gospel message being shared. It is beautiful.

Of course, as a homeschool mom, (well, really just a mom!), this has been a fantastic cultural experience for my children. They learn a great classical work and about a man who had obviously been gifted by the Lord. They learn about his life and about the world in which he lived. It is an amazing experience.

Our choir director is an incredibly gifted woman who has performed this work with her family for the last 70 years. She shares her love for this piece along with her love for music.

I actually didn’t know how to read sheet music at all, when I first went to sing with Courtney. The director is patient and there are always other folks willing to share and teach music theory. I felt like I had taken away something I wanted to learn for years. It was an unexpected blessing!!

It was in my adult life when I first heard “The Messiah” performed. It has become such a solid part of our holiday season, I can’t imagine not going to hear it, much less for my children to participate. “The Messiah” has become a marker of sorts, for the holidays to begin for our family.

The 2017 group from my family included Courtney, Jessica, Timothy and now Daniel!

It was wonderful to see these sweet people in the loft singing. They are a handsome group, don’t you agree? -And I was full of thankfulness that Daniel was here this holiday season. There was so much going on in our home last year, one being that he was not here. It just felt like we were missing someone important. The Lord was good and brought him back.

Matthew did not sing this year, though he has previously. He has had a full life these last few months. I hope he will be able to sing with the group next year. I think he was missed by everyone. They even left his nametag up on the board, just in case he might reconsider.

At the end of the evening, when the music is done and I’m standing back with my children, there is this deep feeling of praise to a Lord who was sent for MY sins. He came as a baby, but (and this what I love so much about this music), his life was so much more. At Christmas, we tend to only think about that baby, Jesus. In reality, Christmas is about the gift- a king who came as a baby, but would grow into the man who would hang for our sins and be resurrected days later.

It is the miracle of Christmas.