Hearthstone Companion

 I am sure that you guessed the title of this post is in German. That is because this song was originally written in German. It is none other than Silent Night. This song has been recorded more than any other song in history. It also is the song at the forefront of one of my favorite historical events of all time.  In 1818, Joseph Mohr was placed in charge of the music for Christmas Eve Mass at his church,  St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. He had spent months planning every detail. As he made last-minute preparations, he discovered a horrible problem. The organ wouldn't play. He climbed underneath fiddling with the keys, stops, pedals, and anything he could possibly think of to fix it. He realized there was no fixing it. What was he going to do? Christmas Eve midnight mass was only hours away! He stopped and prayed for God to help him come up with a plan. That was when he remembered he had written a 6 stanza Christmas poem inspired by a walk from his grandfather...

"Go Tell It on the Mountain" was the work of an unknown slave, before the Civil War. The idea is one of excitement, of not being able to contain your information. An idea that we should shout from the mountain tops and tell everyone we know that Jesus has come. The African American slave who created this beautiful song was probably imagining how the shepherds felt in the fields. Luke 2:9-11 says:  9 An angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and suddenly they became very frightened. 10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am bringing you some good news. It will be a joy to all the people. 11 Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord .  But why is His birth so significant? Why does it matter? Isn't every birth exciting? It is. The excitement of the birth of Jesus is not merely because He was born, as is with all other babies, but it was because He came to die. The literal defin...

The First Noel was put to print in 1833, but it was written approximately 300 years before that. The author is unknown but was likely a peasant. During the Middle Ages, most people were illiterate. He didn't "write" the song in the traditional sense (on paper). It was a song of the people, a Christmas folk song. The church, at the time, would've rejected it as "new music". So it wouldn't have been sung in church. There is also a small scriptural discrepancy. Beings the author was illiterate, he/she wouldn't have been able to read the Bible on his/her own. Besides that fact, Bibles at that time were not well circulated, and most common people never saw an actual Bible in person. In the second verse is says , They looked up, and saw a star, shining in the east, beyond them far; and to the earth it gave great light and so it continued both day and night. In actuality, the shepherds didn't follow the star to the stable to see Jesus. The angels appe...

 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is known as one of America's greatest poets. He was born in 1807, and as a young boy he began school when he was 3 yrs old.  He was reading classic literature at the age of 6, and by the age of 19 he was a college professor. He got married in 1831 and by 1834 he was known as one of the most respected scholars in our country. Henry and his wife moved to Massachusetts so he could teach at Harvard. But soon after the move, his wife became sick and she died.  Henry was devastated.  He focused on his teaching as he dealt with his grief. It took him 7 long years to get over the tragedy enough to want to remarry, but remarry he did. Henry and his new lovely wife welcomed 5 children and it was a happy time. In 1861, after 18 years of marriage, another devastating event fell upon Henry's life. While his wife was lighting a match, her clothes caught fire and she burned to death.  While he was still in dark despair over the loss of his second wi...

 I haven't written in my blog for a long time. My goal is to start writing more frequently because it is something that I enjoy doing. I changed the name of my blog to Hearthstone Companion, because no matter the subject I write about, I'd love for you to imagine you and I sitting together and talking at a Hearthstone sipping coffee or hot chocolate.  For the month of December, I plan to blog about different Christmas carols and their meaning, history, or truths we can cling to this Christmas season.  The song I will begin with is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". During the Middle Ages, most of the songs that were sung at church were dark, somber and melancholy.  They lacked the ability to evoke enthusiasm or inspiration. So the peasants took it upon themselves to make their own Christmas carols. In doing so they led a quiet rebellion against the current tone of religious music writing.  Although the church leaders would've disapproved of the song, it truly presen...

Last fall my friend started sharing posts about gut health. She had asked me if I wanted to try this "pink drink".  I didn't bite. But I always read her posts and it did interest me. She went on a weekend get away with her husband and posted a picture of herself,  she looked fabulous and happy. Her comment was, "I've never felt better!" My friend's before and current picture is here: Well, I would like to feel like I've never felt better. But, I continued to just watch her posts from afar. For 4 more months......... Beginning of January I decided to get in on a 7 day trial of this pink drink. It can't hurt and $20 was worth trying it. So I did it, I took the plunge. The pink drink is not sweet at all, kinda tastes like pink lemonade to me. But it is doable. I am a super picky person and I like the taste of it. What I found was that I had more energy, and my quality of sleep was astonishing, I also lost 7 lbs. I have hypothyroidism and there...

I love Christmas. It is full of memories and excitement. The lights, the decorations, the music, family time, all of it adds to the Christmas season. I am excited when Christmas music starts playing on the radio. I especially love all of the Christmas songs proclaiming the birth of Jesus. Just thinking about that night, the night Jesus was born, songs such as Silent Night, O Holy Night, Away in a Manger, and many more. A favorite song of mine about the birth of Jesus is "2000 Decembers Ago."  Below is not the song in its entirety, but the lyrics that are my favorite. Were the sheep as amazed as the shepherds At the new star that lit up the sky? Did the willow trees whisper excitement To the rivers and streams passing by? Did the joy ricochet off the mountains 'Til it filled up the valleys below? Did all the world sense love abounding 2000 Decembers ago? Was anyone able to look at the stable And not see a child but a King I wish, I could hear back over the y...

The day had finally come. I was full of excitement but also full of fear. It came in a furry. Bill was focused on getting laundry switched. We made the phone call to our parents and headed to the hospital. Five hours later, I was holding a little bundle of joy in my arms.  It was a clean slate, an adventure, my heart was full of love! We had this little son to raise for God's glory. I could hardly wait to see what life would bring. Graduation? That is an eternity away. It won't come for a very long time.  Well, that "very long time" came in a blink of an eye. May 18, 2018 is my oldest son's very LAST day of school. May 20, 2018 is the day he will graduate from high school. I even remember getting a t-shirt with an order of Disney books. It was a size 3T. It came when he was only a couple weeks old. "This shirt will never fit him!", I thought. I have had many hopes and dreams for this boy of mine. I have prayed for him, and I have...

You're phone is ringing. Ugh! Not again! You are so busy today. You feel like throwing your phone out the car window. "I'll just let it go to voicemail." So you keep driving, on the way to your appointment. It's 6:50am, and you have to be there by 7:00am. "Wish this traffic would just move out of the way. I have places to be!". Then, the ringing begins again. "What does this person want?!" Another red light, "I guess I can check and see who keeps bothering me." So you grab your phone off of the passenger seat and glance at the missed call. Your phone reads, "Missed Call from 'President of the United States'". WHAT?! All of a sudden that call becomes quite the opposite of what it was a few minutes ago. It is now of the utmost importance. Oh no, will the president try calling again? You make a quick phone call and cancel your appointment. You know you must make yourself available in case he tries calling again. You ...

I was listening to a song that I have come to truly love!!!! Oceans. If you have never listened to it, here is a link to the you tube video with lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw But as I was thinking about it-  One of the lines reads, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders", do I really desire that? I sing it to my Lord, but is it sincere?  Do I want to experience situations that force me to deepen my trust in God?  We go about saying that we trust God. We trust him to care for us, and ours, in our neatly manicured fenced in yard. It may include a beautiful big shade tree, and lovely, fragrant perennials. We are happy there- comfortable. Thankful! EASY to trust God. The sun shines there. But on the other side of the white picket fence, beyond the safety of of that border, there is a storm raging. It is ugly, it is painful, definitely NOT comfortable. It is harder to trust in God's plan out there. How far does our trust go?  We oft...

I have been very bothered/saddened this past week, regarding the accidental drowning death of the little 3 yr old girl in Iowa City last Monday. One week ago today. I cannot imagine the grief her parents feel. It has consumed my mind. I don't go very long without thinking about it- and praying for her family. If you want to read her mother's blog regarding the accident you can find it here: http://foodhealthlifelove.blogspot.com/2014/07/abby.html?spref=fb  I saw a post asking for prayer for her on Tuesday as she had little to no brain activity. They were asking for a miracle! I prayed all day that God would awaken her mind, show that He CAN heal her little body, and bring life back into her. I learned later that day that she had passed away in the morning. Feeling so very saddened by that news, I switched gears and started praying for her family- that God would just shower comfort and peace upon them. But, I kept thinking. WHY???? God totally could've healed little Ab...

I am going to start writing in my blog a few times a week, about personal experiences I have had, that I KNOW were God working in my life. I think it is good to record these things- because they are things we should share, and tell our children, and just to REMEMBER.  Some days it might be long- and just 1 story, and some days I might include several stories, that are shorter. They will not be in chronological order, but might be about last week one day, and 15 years ago the next. :) So I hope you enjoy my experiences and I pray that it encourages you to record your own God moments. :) Beings yesterday was Mother's Day- I have to share this story first. We love the Iowa State Fair. Several years ago- we were at the fair for the day- we had our 3 boys with us. They were probably 9, 7 and 5 at the time.  We were sitting in the kids area just east of the Agricultural Building around lunch time. Noonish. I enjoy people watching-Bill and I were just sitting on a bench watchi...

My heart is still heavy. I am still feeling quite a bit of sadness for the Shepley's. Even though we know intellectually that God has a plan,  in our humanity- this just doesn't make sense!  I have been just praying fervently for Renae and the girls!!! I heard a song today that I've heard many times- but today it held a new light. Here are the words to the chorus:  All I know is I'm not home yet This is not where I belong Take this world and give me Jesus This is not where I belong The first verse so reminded me of how Renae has probably felt this last week:  Sometimes it feels like I'm watching from the outside Sometimes it feels like I'm breathing but am I alive I won't keep searching for answers that aren't here to find The answers for "Why"  are not here to find! We will never have answers this side of Heaven- as to why God decided to take Noel now.  In essence- he didn't "take" him from home- he brought him...