O Come!

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The Hebrew language doesn’t have exclamation points,
but it does have “O”s.

“Be exalted, O God,” (Psalm 57:11) could be written “Be exalted, God!!!!!”
“Hear my cry, O God,” (Psalm 61:1) is the same as “Hear my cry, God!!!!”

The “O” is used to add earnestness to an appeal
and to show strong emotion.

In Hebrew, a repeated word is supposed to make us
stand up and take notice.
A word used three times in a row is supposed to make us
fall down on our faces.

“Holy, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord God Almighty.” (Revelation 4:8)

In the hymn “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the word “come” is used 7 times in the first stanza. The repetitive word is supposed to grab our attention. The chorus implements the triple-word-rule with each phrase growing more fervent.

O come let us adore Him.
O come let us adore Him.
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Put another way:
Come, let us adore Him!!
Come ON, let us adore Him!!!
Oh for heaven’s sake, COME ON NOW, let us adore Him!!!!

That’s my invitation to you on the 12 days leading up to Christmas.
Come and adore Him with me every day through Christmas Eve!
O come!

Three-minute devotionals will be aired on WCNP 89.5 daily at 8:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (give or take a few minutes) starting on Friday, December 13th. You can also find them on the WCNP Facebook page or at www.wcnpfm.org.

Or stop by here every day!

Thanksgiving 1948

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Thanksgiving 1948

Grandpa and Grandma
Uncle Franklin and Aunt Ardith
Uncle Morris and Aunt Phyllis
Cousins Candy, Jerry, Jim and Joe

That’s my mother on the far right,
holding my brother.
Dad must have taken the picture.

The men were in suits and ties.
The women sported hair rolls and pin curls.
The children gathered around Grandma.
The turkey was ready to be carved.

Thanksgiving 2024 will look a little different.

I have no lace curtains or flowery wallpaper.
There will be no linen tablecloth.
I will not wear bright red lipstick.

But, hopefully, the children will gather around Nonnie.
And, hopefully, the 18 pound turkey will feed us all.
And, hopefully, we will give thanks for another year
with everyone around the table.

Some things never change.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord.”
Psalm 92:1

Thankful

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One of my favorite authors is Wendell Berry. Our neighborhood book club just finished Hannah Coulter so I am enchanted all over again with Port William and all my dear fictional friends. They remind me of the good salt-of-the-earth people I grew up around—people who loved the land and who knew how to be neighborly. I’m thankful for Berry’s words in this season, and I’m basking in their beauty.

“You mustn’t wish for another life.
You mustn’t want to be somebody else.
What you must do is this:
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.*
I am not all the way capable of so much,
but those are the right instructions.”

Hannah Coulter

“I tremble with gratitude
for my children and their children
who take pleasure in one another.

At our dinners together, the dead
enter and pass among us
in living love and in memory.

And so the young are taught.”

Leavings: Poems

* 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18