2016 Christmas Music Marathon - Day 2

"Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And you will conceive in our womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:30-33)
Mary was just a teenager engaged to Joseph when the angel of the Lord appeared to her. He told her what was going to take place very soon and that her life would be changed forever. That is a lot of information for a young woman to absorb. Still, her answer to the angel was, "Behold the maidservant of the lord! Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) Mary simply made herself available to God and a Savior was born.

2015 Christmas Music Marathon Day 5

The prophecy spoken of in Jeremiah was made known to a new generation some 470 years after God spoke to the prophet.
"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.  Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Have you ever read a portion of scripture and not truly grasped all of the message that was being proclaimed by the verses in front of you? One has to wonder if Mary grasped the magnitude of the message that Gabriel brought to her. "Mary Did You Know".

Christmas Music Marathon Day 6

Wordless Wednesday

Memories of Christmas' Past

"Then the angel of the Lord said to her, Rejoice hightly favored one, the Lord is with our blessed are you among women...And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of The Highest..." (Luke 2:28, 31-32)

One can only wonder what went through Mary's mind when the angel Gabriel visited her that night and gave her the news that she would be the one that God would use to bring His gift of love and salvation into this world.  Did Mary truly understand all that she was told?  Did she comprehend the scope of her mission?  One can only ask, "Mary Did You Know?"

Christmas Music Marathon - Day 3

Kathy Matea says it all in the intro to this song. The lyrics were originally written by Mark Lowery. I have heard several arrangements of this song, but I think Kathy's is still my favorite.



Here is the songwriter singing his own arrangement. You can tell that this is coming from the heart.