Advent Tunes

A friend at the church office sent me a link to an article posted on "Relevant" magazine's website in which the editors picked their favorite spiritual Christmas tunes. (Read it here.) The story is complete with a free playlist of the songs that you can listen to over and over simply by creating an account with Lala.

In the spirit of great Christmas music, I've created my own Advent playlist for you on Lala. It comprises a couple more obscure hymns (imagine that!) than "Relevant's" list, is far less trendy, and excludes Relient K's "I Celebrate the Day" (great melody; the theology is just a little limp), but there are one or two overlapping songs. Unfortunately, there were also a couple of songs I wanted to include that Lala doesn't have...

wherethecloudsettles' Favorite...

1. Third Day's Christmas Offerings is consistently good. This song sticks out to me because it's one of my favorite carols in general.

2. I admit, Sufjan Stevens is "weirdly weird"...or "beautifully weird," depending on who you talk to. But I fell in love with "Once in Royal David's City" when we sang it at Third during Advent a couple of years ago. And I've come to love Sufjan's quirky version of this neglected hymn on his Songs for Christmas album.

3. Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven is old school, and maybe a little cheesy. But ever since I played Mary in a Christmas musical at Vale Baptist (the musical was called "The Perfect Gift," and I can still sing a great rendition of "No Room for You"), I have loved imagining what it must have been like to be the mother of Jesus. So something about this song gets to me!

4. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel might be my favorite all-time Christmas hymn. Bold statement, I know. But yall know I love songs that talk about Israel--there's something powerful about reflecting on God's hesed, or "covenant faithfulness" to His people. Rosie Thomas' version of the song is, I think, inspired. I usurped this one from "Relevant's" list, and I just love it!

5. I first heard Jars of Clay's rendition of Little Drummer Boy in my Grandpa Corwin's minivan back in middle school. It's still the best version of the classic I've ever heard. Very back-in-the-day Jars sounding.

6. Union grad Chris Rice's "Welcome to Our World" is a long-time favorite that ties manger to cross beautifully. Lala's version (from an album with a title too lame to mention...) is a letdown compared to the track from Deep Enough to Dream. If you're going to purchase it on iTunes, I'd highly recommend the latter.

7. Emmanuel, from Chris Tomlin's Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs for Worship, doesn't sound especially Christmasy, but you've got to love the rich lyrics.

8. Of course I can't resist including some Caedmon's Call in any playlist! City on a Hill produced this compilation album last year, and Caedmon's Babe in the Straw is a favorite.

9. Hillsong put out a Christmas album a couple of years ago called Celebrating Christmas that to be honest, I could take or leave but for this one song. O Rejoice is this powerful invitation to behold the God-man. It's easily my favorite modern Christmas song. Lala doesn't feature it for some reason, but you can listen to the full MP3 here.

10. Sandra McCracken sent an e-mail the week before last announcing a new album she'll be releasing in the next few months--it's a sequel to The Builder and the Architect, which was a hymns project. The new album includes a Luther hymn called This is the Christ, and as a Christmas treat, she offered a rough version of the recording to fans via Noisetrade. You can download it for free just by forwarding the link to five friends. Just scroll down the left-hand side of this blog to find the widget. I've loved the song and can't wait for the rest of the album!

11. I couldn't have been more thrilled on Sunday when the Walnut Hill praise band broke into Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus during the offering. Since I've been reading a book by that title (see previous post), I have meditated on the words of the song some this season. After singing it in church on Sunday, I decided to look for an audio version to download. I found several that I really liked--Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockles do a great rendition on Tomlin's Christmas CD and Red Mountain Church, one of my favorite hymns resurgence groups has a beautiful modern arrangement as well. But my favorite is by Daniel Renstrom, a relative newcomer on the worship/hymns scene. His album was produced by Nathan Nockles, and from what I can tell it's really solid. It reminds me of the worship band at West End--just that beautiful blend of rich, old songs put to really quality guitar-driven music. You can listen to a clip of the song here.

So there you have it: my favorite Christmas tunes. I hope they inspire you to press in to the heart of God this Advent Season!

Advent Readings

In my quest to find Christmas afresh this year, I ordered a book of Advent meditations called Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas. It's a collection of 22 essays and sermons by theologians such as John Piper, Tim Keller, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, and R.C. Sproul. It also includes a sermon excerpt of Skip Ryan's, who is the chaplain of Asian Access and a Dallas friend's pastor at Park Cities Pres! The book draws its title from Charles Wesley's hymn by the same name. Check out the lyrics of this lesser known hymn--they're incredible!

These readings have been a beautiful complement to the daily Advent Scriptures. I thought I would share a little snippet with you in order to endorse the book. Keller writes:

'In the first chapter of Luke, Elizabeth says, "Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." Elizabeth is saying to Mary--and to us--"if you really believe what the angel told you about this baby, if you take it in, you'll be blessed.'

"But our English word 'blessed' is so limp and lightweight. In English we use blessed to mean something like 'inspired.' But in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, the word for blessed meant something much deeper than that. To be blessed brings you back to full shalom, full human functioning; if makes you everything God meant for you to be. To be blessed is to be strengthened and repaired in every one of your human capacities, to be utterly transformed.

"What Elizabeth is saying to Mary, and what Luke is saying to us is, 'Do you believe that this beautiful idea of the Incarnation will really happen? If you believe it, and if you will take it into the center of your life, you're blessed, transformed, and utterly changed.'"

I love that! To internalize the Incarnation is to be transformed into all that God intended us to be (i.e. to be regenerated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit).

So even as this week feels a little frantic, I'm determined not to "bustle about but only in vain" (Psalm 39:6), but in all things to "believe that what the Lord has said will be accomplished" (Luke 1:45).

Grace and peace,
Chelsea

Advent Scriptures

Is it just me, or does Christmas get easily buried beneath a slew of parties and cookies and tinsel? We're just days into the Advent season, and my mind is spinning. I love the pace of Christmastime at Walnut Hill because there are so many wonderful festivities--like the Happy Birthday Jesus Party held this morning for preschoolers, or the fun-spirited parties I'm busy planning for our middle and high school students. But somehow, before it all even started, I felt dry. At Thanksgiving I told my mom I was pining for the rhythm of Advent as it's celebrated at Third Pres in Richmond.

So, the relatively new-found Presbyterian in me (of course, I say that tongue-and-cheek since I work for a non-denominational church now!) decided this would be the year: the year I do my own daily Advent readings. The year I intentionally set aside time every day to not lose Christmas under a pile of wrapping paper. Not that Presbyterians are the only ones to celebrate Advent--it's just that before I attended Presbyterian churches, all I knew of Advent was the calendar full of chocolate my grandparents gave me every year.

I'm loving this new Advent rhythm. Every morning, I snuggle back under the covers, post-shower, with my Bible and read the morning Advent Scripture for the day. Every evening, I lounge on my couch in front of my five-foot Balsam Fir and meditate on the evening Scripture. It's a sweet tradition that is melting away the stress and distraction of the day. (Kind of like the daily chocolate from those Advent calendars!) I'm beginning to relax into the presence of God as I ponder His coming. Slowly, He's preparing my heart for Christmas.

But Advent isn't all about relaxing. Actually, it's more about anticipating. I love how Lauren Winner puts it in Girl Meets God:

"It's Advent, the weeks before Christmas, which means we are waiting for Jesus. It is the season of expectation, of being primed and pumped, the season during which you are supposed to cultivate longing for Him, the type of longing you feel when your beloved has been out of town for three weeks but you know he is coming home tonight.

"Every creative attempt to make the season meaningful, to steal it back inside the church, away from the shopping malls and cheesy radio stations, has been tried, and most of those creative attempts have proved wanting. Perhaps the problem is that we don't know what the meaning of this holiday, of Jesus' pushing into the world, is. If we did, we wouldn't have to worry about consumerism; if we knew what the Incarnation meant, we'd be so preoccupied with awe that we wouldn't notice all the shopping."

So that's my goal this year. To really get at the Incarnation. To anticipate not only Christmas, but also the Second Coming of my King in a fresh way. To know that all the shopping, baking, and wrapping is small fries compared to the glory of this God who made Himself small for me. Like chomping on an Oscar Myer wiener when there's a banquet waiting.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning...The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-2, 14

To read the Advent Scripture along with me this year, check out my adaptation of a 2005 Advent calendar (below) that I found on reformationtheology.com. Advent Readings 2009
I've also made it available on the Walnut Hill Youth page for our students and adult leaders.

Good Read: "A Biblical Theology of Alcohol"

Rob Tims, a friend, former boss, and a favorite theologian, wrote a great blog post about alcohol. Rob looks at the issue of alcohol from a systematic theological standpoint, meaning he's not just proof-texting Scripture, but considering what the whole Bible says about the topic. I think you'll find he presents a really balanced view. I especially appreciated the questions he recommends Christians ask to hone their Biblical understanding of alcohol. Read the article here.

Thanksgiving and Peace

Two verses--Philippians 4:5-7 and Colossians 3:15-17--have resonated this past month as I've grappled with my grandma's death and as I've continued to transition into a new job, home, and life in Connecticut. Interestingly, they share the themes of thanksgiving and peace. As I've meditated on these verses, I've realized how closely related those ideas really are. In fact, thanksgiving begets peace. And that's been a beautiful concept for me leading up to Thanksgiving--and especially during this season when I've so needed the peace of God to just pervade my life and my heart.

Philippians 4:5-7 says "The Lord is near! Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, make your requests know to God. And the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Some translations say "Be careful for nothing." I love that! We can forge boldly ahead in our lives if we are taking our concerns to the Lord with thankful hearts.

I think of Corrie ten Boom, one of my early heroines. While I was growing up, my mom would always remind me that Corrie and her sister thanked God even for the lice while they were imprisoned in a concentration camp for hiding Jews in their home. (The lice kept the guards away so that Corrie and Betsie could host a Bible study in the barracks.) There is something about a heart of gratitude that allows us to live freely and joyfully!

I also love Colossians 3:15-17: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

I'm thankful for so many things this year--for family and friends, for the blessing of a job and a ministry that I love, and most of all, for His grace poured out through Christ, setting us free to experience true gratitude and tangible peace.

Love and thanksgiving!
chelsea

Harvard Professor on the Origin of Life

I've been listening to Mark Driscoll's (Mars Hill Church in Seattle) sermon series on doctrine while I work out. It's kind of like systematic theology in a nutshell. I'm loving the refresher on some of my classes at SBTS from last year and would commend the series to you if you're looking for a little theological nibble. (You can download it for free on iTunes under Mars Hills Church.)

In his sermon on creation, Driscoll quotes Nobel Prize winner and Harvard biology professor Dr. George Wald:

"When it comes to the origin of life, we have only two possibilities as to how life arose. One is spontaneous generation arising to evolution; the other is a supernatural creative act of God. There is no third possibility…spontaneous generation was scientifically disproved one hundered years ago by Louis Pasteur, Spellanzani, Reddi, and others. That leads us scientifically to only one conclusion- that life arose as a supernatural creative act of God…I will not accept that philosophically because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation arising to evolution."

Hmm. So a Harvard biology professor is basing his understanding of the origin of life on a personal philosophical preference? Pretty scary, when you consider how widely accepted this disproved theory is in the scientific community today. (If you don't believe me, check out my post on the documentary Expelled.)

I love what Driscoll says to encourage the Christian who isn't sure what he believes in the old earth/new earth debacle that divides so many Christians today:

"To my Christian brothers and sisters, who say 'I believe in one God who created the heavens and the earth and I don't know how old the earth is...,' do not feel ashamed and embarrassed that somehow you are negating scientific methodology and coming to your presuppositions with biases. You are coming to the same logical conclusion as a Nobel Prize winner, and you are accepting the facts where he is unwilling to, by his own admission."

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20

Grandma

During my sophomore year of college, I took a nonfiction writing class with Josephine Humphries, an acclaimed Southern fiction and nonfiction writer with whom I was enamored. One day in her office, Jo asked me what I wanted to write that semester. When I told her I didn't know, she replied, "I know. You want to write something true." I always thought that was beautiful. The problem with wanting to write something true, though, is that it is a daunting thing. I'm finding that's especially the case when one wants to write about someone who is gone. At least, that's how it's been in these weeks following my grandma's death.

Oh how I want to capture her spunk and grace and generosity! But language, much as I love it, is so limiting. I've decided to summon up my courage and give it a go because remembering is therapeutic.

Grandma's love for me--for all of us girls (her daughters and granddaughters)--was so lavish. You could see it in the candy bowls that littered her game table. No matter the occasion, one candy bowl just wasn't enough. There were usually at least six, all filled with our favorite candy. Chocolate covered raisins for Dad, Butterfingers for the Brown girls, Grandpa's favorite spice drops, boxes of Russell Stover that we all loved, and other treats that changed seasonally. As for me, I didn't discriminate. (I inherited my sweet tooth from Grandma Russell and Grandpa Corwin, my mom's mom and my dad's dad.)

There was also a kitchen drawer filled to nearly over flowing with Bazooka bubble gum, of which we were allowed to eat as many pieces as we wanted. My cousins and I would "chew the sugar out"--as Grandma put it--of one piece, and then go back for another and another, relishing the jokes and the juicy sweetness of each piece. At Grandma and Grandpa's, I was never told to save room for dinner. It was perfectly acceptable to munch on candy and chew bubble gum until I was nearly sick. And even after all that, I was still allowed to have desert: usually a bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce and the four or five different kinds of sprinkles my grandparents kept in their pantry for just such occasions. (No one else ate them except for me.) Luckily, each of us had a toothbrush at Grandma and Grandpa's as well. It sounds like a silly comparison, but from my grandma, I learned what God's abounding generosity looks like. He isn't stingy with His forgiveness or His blessings; He never holds out or tells us to save room later. He wants us to be filled to overflowing with His sweet gifts.

It wasn't just with sweets that Grandma was lavish--her affection for us was so sincere. The Dean-Russell women are expressive almost without exception. In fact, the family tie to Mary Todd Lincoln reminds us all that we have to watch this about ourselves, lest expressiveness turn to craziness! But oh, how I love expressive, warm people, and Grandma was the epitome of expressive and warm. You would walk into her house and her whole body would just tremble with excitement. And then she would hug you--the best hugs in the whole world, I think!--and then quickly hold you at arms length again so she could look you over. At that, she would promptly exclaim "Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!" her mannerisms oozing excitement. I'm not sure, actually, if she said that to everyone, or just to me. Maybe she had her own special greeting for each of us. Regardless, it's one of the things I've missed most about her--knowing I'll never again hear her say that this side of Heaven. It's a beautiful thing to know love like that: that someone so genuinely delights in you. The security that came from that kind of love freed me to love her in a really special way.

Grandma was always up for anything. When 101 Dalmations came out in theaters, she and my Aunt Kathy took the four of us girls to see it in Champaign. We all loved it so much that when it was over, Grandma exclaimed, "Do you want to see it again?!" Of course we were delighted, so she went and paid for six more tickets. I think that was the only time in my life I ever watched the same movie twice in a row in the theater--it was such a treat!

I think it was Grandma Russell who taught me to love sleepovers. I always felt so lucky as a little girl because I had two grandmas, and both of them would sleep in my bed with me when I stayed at their houses or when one came to stay with me. There were so many fun sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The most storied took place every year on Christmas Eve until I was six years old. My three cousins and I would read Jolly Old Santa Claus, a tradition started by our moms and carried on by Taylor and me to this day. Then we would sleep length-wise in a double bed...although, there was never much sleeping. We would lie awake most of the night, listening for reindeer hooves, telling silly stories, and imagining what elaborate gifts would await us in the morning. Even though Grandma didn't sleep with us those Christmases, it was her influence that made them so special. When at last the parents became exasperated by our late night antics, you could still see the twinkle in her eye, discretely egging on our fun.

And for every Christmas sleepover, there were a dozen more everyday ones. My cousin Lindsey and I would plan overnights at Grandma and Grandpa's house every so often. Grandma would crash on the couch with us in the midst of our movie marathons and girl talk. Even into our teens (junior high for me and high school for Linds) she kept this tradition with us. What a girl she was to keep up with us in all our giggles and silliness! These past few years Grandma preferred to stay up late into the night and sleep late in the morning. I often thought of her while I studied at night and wished we lived in the same city. I would have loved to snuggle up with hot chocolate and a movie like we did so many nights at their house growing up.

I know there were many times when Grandma stayed at our house, but I remember two in particular. One was when Taylor was born. I was in kindergarten and was so excited to have a baby sister. But I was also desperately needing some attention (imagine that!) with a new baby around, so it was special to have my Grandma Cherry and Grandpa Corwin there before Taylor LaRue graced us with her presence and Grandma and Grandpa Russell afterward. Grandma and I read a lot together that week and she did all the things my mom would have otherwise done. She walked with me in those first few days of big sisterhood; she was, after all, a big sister herself. I know she was over the moon with excitement about her sweet new baby granddaughter, but I remember feeling just as appreciated and loved by her as ever--what a gift to a six-year-old in the midst of that huge change!

The second time I remember vividly was in third grade. By then, I had a guinea pig, Marshmallow, living in my bedroom. Plenty of seventy-year-old women would have thought this was gross--and actually, Grandma probably did, but you'd have never known it. She even petted my furry little rodent friend and nodded knowingly when I confided that Marshmallow was a Christian. (I had, of course, shared the gospel with her, having not yet understood the theology of souls). Grandma also helped me study for the school spelling bee that week. She was so proud that I had made it to the finals. She had something of a photographic memory and was an excellent speller herself. Just as she did in everything in my life, Grandma cheered me on so enthusiastically that week. She spent hours combing through the thick newsprint spelling guide with me, testing me on harder and harder words and relentlessly going back over the words I had missed. Neither of us are very disciplined people, so I think it's a testament to how much she loved me and to just how much fun she was to be around.

Grandma also introduced me to many new foods. What a cook! Anyone who could successfully convince this picky child to try apple sauce, green beans, vegetable soup, and hamburgers was pretty impressive. And what's more, I actually learned to like those things because of Grandma's cooking. Truly, I didn't eat hamburgers until I was in second or third grade. I'm not sure why, but they grossed me out. And then one night, Grandma and Grandpa fried me up one of their legendary bacon cheeseburgers. My family will tell you that it's Grandma's green beans or cheesy potatoes that take the cake--and those recipes are utterly delicious, to be sure. But take it from me, there is just nothing like one of these burgers. Mom says the secret is that Grandma and Grandpa fry them up really "hot and quick." I think the secret is that they somehow always manage to fry up the best bacon I've ever tasted in my life--it's reminiscent of those Christmas mornings at their house after all the presents had been opened and the kitchen smelled like a little piece of heaven as the skillets sizzled. I'm telling you, those burgers changed my life!

One of the things I loved most about my grandma was the depth of her walk with God. The intensity with which she loved the Lord Jesus was an inspiration to me from a young age--today I consider her one of the spiritual greats (and now she is part of that "great cloud of witnesses" Paul talks about!). In little ways she would impart spiritual wisdom to me just by sharing little tidbits of Scripture in conversation and in the everyday things. She was a mighty, mighty prayer warrior on my behalf and for many others. I know that she and Grandpa prayed for me everyday of my life, not just by name but by specific situations in my life that needed lifting up. They were both so invested in that way, and it showed in the way they asked me about what was going on in my life, and most of all in the way they rejoiced with me when God answered in a powerful way. I think of them as the furnace that has fueled so much of God's blessing in my life--there they were, laying each of my concerns before the Lord. So much of what I've experienced of God, His call on my life, the places He's taken me, I owe to their faithful intercession. The sweetest gift I received at my grandma's funeral services last month were the two women who came up to me to tell me that it was Grandma led them to the Lord. And I know from past stories that there were many more such women whom Grandma walked with and prayed for in hopes that they would know her Savior. What a legacy she has left behind!

Grandma had this rare gift for making things special. As if the extravagant gifts under the tree weren't enough on Christmas morning, our stockings would have up to 20-some gifts in them. Never did Scotch tape and Steak 'n' Shake gift certificates and pretty Post-it notes feel like such treasures! Whether it was a visit to her house, a trip to Curtis Apple Orchard, or just practicing for the school spelling bee, everything was a celebration with her. The girl loved to party!

Oh sweet Grandpa Russell, Grandma Cherry, and Grandpa Corwin: Please know that you are so precious to me, that each of you holds a spot in my heart so dear I can hardly stand it, that I count myself absolutely the most blessed girl in the whole world to have such wonderful people for grandparents--people I would want as friends even if you didn't belong to me! So please don't despair when I say that I just feel orphaned and strangely alone without Grandma Russell. I've always heard people describe that feeling after losing a parent, but you all have been so crucial in my life--in raising me, spoiling me, and lifting me up in prayer--that I think losing one of you is affecting me in a similar way.

I started to feel it coming on Easter if I'm honest with myself. Sarah had come home with Matt and me for the holiday, so I was filled to brim with joy and love to have two of my dearest friends and my parents, Taylor, and my four grandparents all near that weekend. Grandma had not been well the previous time I was home, so I was just bursting at the seams to see her and it was such a special day. At the end of it, I was a wreck. Sometimes the things that are said and the prayers that are prayed when I'm with my grandparents are so sweet that the parting really is difficult and there are some tears. But this time I was just falling apart as I we left and for a good hour on the road back to Nashville with Matt and Sar.

But the last time I saw Grandma was at a party. It is just a perfect last memory and so appropriate, considering that, as my mom says, she was a party girl at heart! And truly, she was in her element that night. It was the hundredth anniversary of Penn. Avenue Baptist Church in Urbana, and by divine appointment, it was also the day I was coming home from Nashville before moving to Connecticut. Grandma hadn't been able to get out much these past few years, so her going to the celebration at church was no small event. Grandpa was looking sharp in a suit and tie, and Grandma, her hair done and makeup perfect, was the life of the party. I pushed her around in her wheelchair (the first time I had ever seen her in a wheelchair) and literally got swarmed by crowds of women who couldn't wait to hug her neck. It was so much fun to watch her just soak it all in, her friends doting on her and telling her how beautiful she looked. As I write this, the tears are coming because I am realizing we didn't take any pictures that night. How I would love to have one of her surrounded by her friends!

I know it's at a party where we'll meet again. Only this will be the Party to end all parties! Maybe it's not the best theology to imagine wearing clothes in Heaven (and I do just hate weak theology). But in my mind's eye, I picture Grandma and myself in party dresses. Maybe with big bows that Grandpa can tie for us (he is really the best at tying bows). Or polka dots. I'm sorry; I just can't picture the Wedding Feast of the Lamb without party dresses--don't judge me!


And oh, will we party!

Kick off our pretty shoes...

dance the night away...

worship the King of Kings.

Party girl style.