Let all within us praise His holy name

Well, I have had one of those days where you range from one extreme to another.

This morning I woke up even though I really wanted to stay in bed. I went and taught Sunday school. Until this point it was a pretty average day.

Then it was time for church. One of my favorite things about Sunday morning service is worship. I love being able to praise my Jesus in the midst of a crowd of others worshipping too. I love worshipping on my own too, but I find that there is something unique about corporate worship and I love it.

As it is the first Sunday in December I was expecting a Christmas song.
I was not expecting Oh Holy Night. Which is one of my favorite Christmas songs ever, if not my total favorite. Even more surprising was the inclusion of the often neglected second verse. (I've bolded the parts that I especially appreciate)

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Behold your King.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.


Then Pastor John shared about Abraham and Isaac and the call to sacrifice Isaac. I have never heard it put in such terms but today Pastor John said the God called Abraham to "sacrifice his laughter" For some reason this made me ponder the story/situation in a new light.


After church there were some emotional lows and I almost let myself drag myself into a state of emotasticness by allowing all the craziness around me to get to me. But I decided to shake it off and went and had a yummy lunch with my good friends including Brian and Becca who I miss a lot, and can't wait for everyone's finals to be over so it can be winter break.

Then I went to church and helped with the Christmas Movie Party. I think it was fun and amazing. One little girl kept hugging me, and although I don't know her, I think her mom knows people from the church. She was absolutely adorable though. My No touching of the Stacey rule really doesn't apply to most people I know, I think I am becoming more comfortable with hugs, because I didn't freak out that a strange child came and hurtled herself around my neck. The little girl made me ponder some things, but those things are best left internal for a bit. I think.

After a while I was getting cold and Nicky needed a break from her game so Jason took over for her and Nicky took over my game which was the lollipop tree game. So I went and sat by the sound equipment and waited for the movie. Then Nate was playing a slideshow from convention and a horrific picture of me comes on the screen and I was like Nate, Don't use funky pictures of me and he just laughed at me, and then some boy who I don't know was standing there watching the screen and was like hey that is that Girl right there pretty loudly. WHich made me groan and Nate laugh even more. Thankfully it was busy enough that I don't think anyone heard him. I hope.

Then Denise and I went out and discussed general shenanigans and some interesting plans for the new year. Which I will hopefully be unveiling to my adoring public (LOL That's You Guys!) on December 31st, just a few short days away.

So the day went from average to amazing, to ponderable, to horrible to good and fun. It felt very yoyo ish. In the midst of it all I am fighting off Asthma-y issues. I don't think I am sick sick, but my lungs are wheezy and I've been coughing. and my eyes and nose have been allergyish. It may be because I let Maggie sleep in my bed the other day, ignoring the fact that I am allergic to dogs and cats. They (the allergies) aren't usually this annoying though.

Tomorrow I have a presentation on the Monument to the Historic Defenders of Leningrad in my humanities class. I get to use photos and experience from my trip. But I need to get the powerpoint done and write the paper. I am looking forward to this though. I LOVE Russia!