Life At Unity
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Calendar
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December 21, 2024: Away in a Manger (GTG #115)
“Away in a manager, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head…” I sang this hymn as a lullaby to our newborn Savannah as she was born days before her first Christmas. The soft, simple tune and slow meter calmed us both in such a beautifully chaotic season. We…
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December 20, 2024: Good Christian Friends, Rejoice (GTG #132)
“Christ is born today!”“Christ was born for this!”“Christ was born to save!” Good Christian Friends, Rejoice is an ancient carol from the 14th century. The text describes Christ’s birth and what it means for us. Each stanza and its meaning is summarized by the last phrase of each stanza. The first stanza tells what happened…
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December 19, 2024: We Three Kings of Orient Are (GTG #151)
“Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom;…” The third gift. I understand the first two: gold and frankincense. Those are gifts fit for a King. But the third gift? Myrrh? A bitter perfume? How did that get in there? Christmas is a time of joy and hope and peace. A…
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December 18, 2024: Mary Did You Know?
Mary, Did You Know? A simple question…or is it? The answers to this repetitive question move me into a contemplative spirit each Advent season. The song lyrically reminds us of Jesus’ miracles, the gift of salvation and who God is. I ponder the magnitude of a baby boy that ‘came from Heaven where angels trod’…
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December 17, 2024: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
lyrics by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow When I was a child, Santa couldn’t wait too long to start delivering presents, otherwise he wouldn’t be done by Christmas morning. Our house was on the early delivery list. At dusk on Christmas Eve, Daddy would take us to Rocky Butte, an outcrop from which our house was visible,…
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December 16, 2024: What Child is This? (GTG #145)
“What Child is this, who, laid to rest,On Mary’s lap is sleeping?Whom angels greet with anthems sweetWhile shepherds watch are keeping?This, this is Christ the King,Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;haste, haste to bring him laud,the babe, the son of Mary!” Scripture Reference: Luke 2:8 – 14 As we enter this Advent season, we are…
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December 15, 2024: Infant Holy, Infant Lowly (GTG #128)
“…Christ the babe is Lord of all!Christ the babe is Lord of all!”“…Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,praises voicing, greet the morrow;Christ the babe was born for you!Christ the babe was born for you!” This hymn is one of my favorites because it reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways. At Christmas, we remember…
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December 14, 2024: O Little Town of Bethlehem (GTG #121)
“How silently, how silently,the wonderous gift is given!So God imparts to human heartsthe blessings of his heaven.” O Little Town of Bethlehem was written in 1868 by Phillips Brooks for the children of his church. It was inspired by his memories of a meaningful Christmas Eve he spent in Bethlehem. In the hymn’s familiar words,…
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December 13, 2024: The First Nowell (GTG #147)
I must admit that I signed up to write the devotion on The First Nowell because this is not my favorite Christmas hymn. This well-known hymn originated in the thirteenth or fourteenth century in the Cornwell region of Southern England. Sung as part of “Miracle Plays” or theatrical presentations of biblical stories, it tells the…
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December 12, 2024: Angels, From the Realms of Glory (GTG #143)
“Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king”“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2: 13-14, KJV This beloved hymn was written by the Scottish poet and…