Wednesday, December 25, 2013

What is your favorite Christmas Carol?

I love Christmas music.  The old carols bring back wonderful memories.  Of course, the way they were sung when I was growing up isn't the same way they are sung today.  Progress is great, and I know there's a new generation of kids we need to appeal to, but some of us who've been listening a long time would like a couple of carols done the way they were written using the tempo the author intended.

I will say one of my favorite Christmas albums is Repeat the Sounding Joy by Phillips Craig and Dean. (1996)  Okay, it's a little old, but the songs on that album still resound with joy and glory.  The song I love the most is Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.  The song touches my heart every time I heard it.
O come, o come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mours in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears

O come, Thou Dayspring come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to fight

Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanual
Shall come to Thee, O Israel.

O come, Though Wisdom from on high
And order all things far and  night
to us the path of knowledge show
And cause us in her ways to go.

Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanual
Shall come to Thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease
And be Thyself our King of peace.

Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanual
Shall come to Thee, O Israel.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Eve 2013

Merry Christmas.  This will be the most unusual Christmas I've spent, but it will be very joyous.  I have finished all my chemo for the lymphoma, and things look good. I have to thank my wonderful doctor, and the nurses and staff of Texas Ontology in McKinney.  They have faithfully worked with me and taken blood, given chemo and never once was anyone down or less than encouraging.  They are truly angels in uniform.

Now, I'll admit, I don't feel so hot.  I'm not going to wrestle any alligators in the coming weeks, but I am looking forward to writing again.   I haven't been writing because I'm in that stage of chemo where you get 'chemo brain' and can't think too clearly.  But my editors at Love Inspired have given me extra time to finish this second book in my Rodeo Heroes series.

Unfortunately, my numbers are too low to go to Christmas dinner with my family, but my husband will bring home a plate from the dinner. We have done a smaller version of decorating. My daughter

and husband brought us small tree so my husband doesn't have to go into the attic and get the big tree.  It works and I am thankful.
And here is my new cover for my March 14 book.