Find a quiet moment to read…sing…hum as you read…this beautiful hymn written in the 19th century. It is the Salvation message. It is of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Our Messiah.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above, While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond’ring love. O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth, And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!
How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n; So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.
Where children pure and happy pray to the blessed Child, Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild; Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door, The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; Oh, come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.
May we spend time this Christmas Day to be with You, Lord Jesus. May we be still and know that You are God. May we calm our spirit to see and hear You in all we are and do. May this day, this season, be filled to overflowing with You, our Messiah.
You mean so very much to me, Lord.
I thank You for coming into my life and saving me from myself, from my sin. You adorn me with Yourself and continue to grow me as I decrease so that I can be more and more like You. I come before You this day and know that You are my Lord. In Your beautiful and holy Name, I pray. Amen.
History of song:“Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) wrote this beloved Christmas hymn for the Sunday school children at his Philadelphia parish, Holy Trinity Church, following a pilgrimage to Bethlehem in 1865, according to British hymnologist J. R. Watson. The hymn was printed on an informal leaflet in December 1868 and then appeared in The Sunday School Hymnal in 1871. In the United States, the hymn is generally sung to its original tune, ST. LOUIS by Louis H. Redner (1831-1908), a wealthy real estate broker who served as a church organist for his avocation.”
peace … come: photo of Yosemite in winter from wallup.net; + graphic/’peace …come” added by ~ linda @ pixlr
“And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:11
This post is different for me but I have been listening to the sounds of trains since we moved to Lufkin. Trains have always delighted me, since I was a young girl.
A number of trains run through this town each and every day. As they move from one end to another, they cross intersections of the town so the horn must be blown.
From our home, we cannot see the train, but it can be heard, especially when the wind is out of the north and northeast. Clear and loud…these sounds make me smile. Take a short listen of what it (almost) sounds like for me (just listening to the beginning is enough to hear what I hear, except I am further away):
The train was endearing for me as a little girl. When I was young, we lived on a Naval hospital base, about 4 miles from a railroad track. When Daddy got home from work at the hospital, he would pile 2 of us girls in the car, go down to the tracks and wait for the five-something o’clock train (letting Mom get dinner without the 2 older kids while the youngest, being an infant, was napping). We loved to wave to the engineer and he would blow that horn for us. I was in early elementary school so counting the cars was a great exercise for my brain. Of course, my sister (3 years younger) wanted to imitate me so she was learning to count too. The train draws me back to those younger days and times with my father.
While living there in this small town, the second graders got to go to the San Diego Zoo for a field trip. We lived a bit over 100 miles away. We boarded buses early in the morning, taking us to the Riverside, CA train station. From there we boarded the train to San Diego. We spent the better part of the day at the zoo after a wonderful train ride. Then back on the train to Riverside and buses to home. What a great field trip! That was 63 years ago and I remember it as if it were yesterday!
“CALIFORNIA San Diego – Santa Fe Train Station, Bekins 1950s”
When my Daddy became very ill, my parents sent us from Washington, D.C. (where he was stationed) to Boston on the train for a couple of weeks to vacation with some family friends. The three of us girls rode together, alone. I was 12 and my sisters were 9 and 6 at the time. We thought we had grown up…riding the train without our parents. We ate on the train, turned our tickets into the conductor, walked through a couple of cars, and watched people. Fun for us and helped us forget how sick Daddy was.
I lived in Washington, D.C. twice in my life. For the adult period, I was teaching in the DC Public Schools. Union Station became a favorite place for me. I would change subways there, catching the Red Line. I would often go upstairs for a minute, above the underground rails, before catching that homeward-bound train, just to see the beautiful old station. At Christmas, they would have a few concerts in the Main Hall. Oh my, it was so beautiful and wonderful!
During the 1980s, retail stores and restaurants began to be added in several areas of the station. I returned to our Capital in 2013. I was so saddened by the transformation that had happened to Union Station between 1989 and 2013…crowded with people, stores, cafes, island-type tiny shops. It was so noisy. What was once a gorgeous station was no more. BUT…the Federal Railroad Administration and the State Historic Preservation Office stepped in and by May 2016, the Main Hall has been renovated back to the way it had been. Oh, how glad I am to see this picture and the way it is NOW…again!
Union Station, Washington, D.C. 2017
Kenneth and I have been on a few trains drawn by steam engines…delightful rides through lovely scenery too.
Here is just an example of the sounds which they are famous for, and make me smile!
The Metro Subway in Washington, D.C. gives me pleasure in a different sense than a train…smooth, mellow, fast or slow, light or dark depending on where I am on the line. The subway became my main transportation while I lived and worked there. I rode the bus too as I had no car. I liked that.
The sounds and feelings of trains and subways are so special to me. I just love them.
A.B. Simpson (1843 – 1919) wrote: “God is looking for men on whom He can put the weight of all His love and power and faithful promises. God’s engines are strong enough to draw any weight we attach to them.Unfortunately the cable which we fasten to the engine is often too weak to hold the weight of our prayer; therefore God is drilling us, disciplining us to stability and certainty in the life of faith. Let us learn our lessons and stand fast.”
And a sweet hymn to offer before we go today:
“Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad”
Author: Eliza Roxey Snow 1804-1887; Author: M. E. Abbey (Minister in GA in 1890s)
…that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.Psalm 48:14 (guiding Scripture for hymn)
Life is like a mountain railroad, With an engineer that’s brave; We must make the run successful, From the cradle to the grave; Watch the curves, the fills, the tunnels; Never falter, never quail; Keep your hand upon the throttle, And your eye upon the rail.
Refrain: Blessed Savior, Thou wilt guide us, Till we reach the blissful shore, Where the angels wait to join us In Thy praise forevermore.
You will roll up grades of trial; You will cross the bridge of strife; See that Christ is your conductor On this lightning train of life; Always mindful of obstruction, Do your duty, never fail; Keep your hand upon the throttle, And your eye upon the rail.[Refrain]
You will often find obstructions, Look for storms and wind and rain; On a fill, or curve, or trestle They will almost ditch your train; Put your trust alone in Jesus, Never falter, never fail; Keep your hand upon the throttle, And your eye upon the rail. [Refrain]
As you roll across the trestle, Spanning Jordan’s swelling tide, You behold the Union Depot Into which your train will glide; There you’ll meet the Sup’rintendent, God the Father, God the Son, With the hearty, joyous plaudit, “Weary pilgrim, welcome home.” [Refrain]
Yes, “weary pilgrim, welcome home.” What a blessing to think upon this, most of all.
Being Woven 