Monday, December 8, 2008

This is the day the Lord has made

Mondays are probably my least favorite day of the week. I know. Everyone always hates Mondays. The Mamas and the Papas sang a song all about it and its woes. "Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day." There's one thing that I can seem to trust about Mondays. Along with the normal reasons that most people detest Mondays, it seems to be a more than normal day of frustration at work. It's not so much the work itself as some of the intricacies of working with people. I'm not going into more detail than that.

Monday evenings I have Bible study at church. There are countless reasons why that should be a good end to a frustrating day. Often, though, the day has worn me out to the point that I just feel grumpy by the time I need to head to Bible study. I honestly wish it could be some other night of the week, a lot so I could head there not feeling drained. That's the night that seems to work the best, so I just get over it.

Yesterday I got out of work about an hour late. (I guess that made up for the hour I missed early in the morning getting a new crown at the dentist:) After work, I still had some preparation to do before Bible study. That meant that I didn't even get time to eat dinner before I went. On the way I was listening to a book on CD. (Marley and me. Funny book. I think it's going to be sad, but well worth it so far. Looking forward to seeing the movie around Christmas time.) I decided I wanted to listen to music. I couldn't find the CD I wanted, so I quickly put in a mix my friend originally made for her sister. The first song was Psalm 118 by Shane & Shane. Here it is. Tell me. How can you sing the words to that song, the words of the Psalm, and not be revived? When I stopped and really thought about the words I was singing, almost without thinking because I've heard them so many times, I couldn't help but stop and smile. What a great God I serve. He answers when I call. He is my salvation. His love endures forever. FOREVER. He is my strength. He is my song. I've included a few of the verses from the Psalm below.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

On a side note, but still related to music, the CD I mentioned here was A Cathedral Christmas ~ A Capella. Some of you may know who they are, but probably not all. The recording is from 1985. Not everyone is necessarily a fan of quartet music, but this CD is pretty special. The vocals are so rich that it's almost not noticeable at first that they didn't need the addition of instruments. My family listened to this tape so much that we wore it out. I've now sent copies to both of my siblings as well as my parents. Each one smiled as soon as it started playing. We also had a mix with the Muppets singing The 12 Days of Christmas with John Denver. Yep. That's pretty dated as well. What can I say? Sentimental value trumps being outdated.


I'm thinking it's time for a small gift basket. I got the chance to take the day off work today to make some caramel. One of my co-workers wanted it badly enough for her husband that she's paying me very well. So....leave a comment. I'm interested in hearing your favorite Christmas CD/song, and also your very favorite holiday candy/dessert/treat, whatever. A random winner will get a sampling of my favorite Christmas candy and music.

4 comments:

sherri said...

Cheryl, I love that song...Psalm 118 by Shane and Shane. I was priviledged to get to dance to it a couple years ago when I was dancing for Restored to Glory. We even danced during the ceremony of a wedding to that song...it's beautiful.

My favorite Christmas CD right now is Mercy Me's latest...a lot of great songs on there. And a favorite Christmas dessert has got to be simply my mom's cut-out sugar cookies. :)

The caramel looks heavenly! :)

Anonymous said...

Cheryl,
I, too, have the Cathedrals tape you mentioned and listen to it during the holidays. I also liked the Imperials Christmas tape-mine is long worn out and no longer available. I liked their song that began, "As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our King-let us always remember why He came..." One of my favorite songs is by Paul Sandburg, "How Should A King Come?" Are you old enough to remember the Locust Grove chorus singing that? Bob Schrock had one of the solo parts. My favorite Christmas dessert-or one we usually have at Christmas-date pudding. That caramel looks good! I'm impressed that you make it-I seldom try making candy...too difficult. Blessings to you!

Anne Meg said...

you're cute!!!

Mary said...

I love a cassette that Becky got somewhere and I cannot find it on CD anywhere. I'm hoping that she'll make me a copy before her cassette wears out. Anyway it's called Precious Child and it's mostly guitar with some vocals and even a little narrative thrown in. There are a few country artists on it and it's very folksy original stuff. I don't know if I have a favorite song but you know what line I love, love, love? "He comes to make His blessings known...far as the curse is found." Right smack in the middle of Joy To The World is that precious gem of a truth. He is a wonderfully complete Savior.

My favorite sweet has always been cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are the simplest most wonderful treat in the whole world.