Live Bethlehem in Santa Clara

This December, Reed went on a work trip to Europe (which I'll try my hardest to get him to post about), so Cal and I were on our own for about a week and a half. To pass the time, we filled our days (and evenings) with lots of Christmas activities. One event we tried out for the first time this year was the live Bethlehem in Santa Clara.  

It was really well done -- I was blown away!  Tons of volunteers were dressed up as Roman centurions, artisans, merchants, shepherds, tax collectors, wise men, etc., each with their own area or market stall where visitors could interact with them and learn about what life was like at the time of Christ's birth.

We met up with our friends, and the kids had fun being taken from stall to stall for various activities. Here they are making talents by pressing a circular mold into the clay:

Cal watching a leather-maker fan a flame with a bellows:

Cal got to make a mud brick:

...and learned how to press wine out of grapes:

Then, of course, the performers acted out the nativity scene, with shepherds running in & wise men arriving on real camels. I loved asking Cal about what was happening, because he actually "gets it" this year.

Afterward, we got free hot chocolate from a stand set up in front of the church for the visitors. The perfect treat for a freezing cold night!

The fruits of a fun and busy day:

Bell Choir (Again!)

Since my pregnancy has been so uncomfortable, I've been saying no to a lot of events that sound fun this Christmas season in an attempt to preserve what little energy I do have.  But one thing that was tempting enough to convince me was Christmas bell choir. If you remember, my aunt Heather and I rang with Jessica's group last Christmas, and when she asked us to participate again this year, neither of us could turn it down.

All the ringers were returning members from last year, which was really fun, and meant that we got into the groove of working together faster than we did last year. We performed at the Palo Alto Creche Festival, with our own 45-minute program (last year we just did two numbers as part of another group's program). We did about a dozen songs. It was a little daunting to learn all of the music, but I think we did a great job. Jessica chose beautiful arrangements of religious carols. It's so fun working with this group of people.

Reed took a few videos of the performance. Here is a clip of "What Child is This?":

I got a chance to sing during the program, too. Here is a clip of "Gesu Bambino", with the bells accompanying me underneath:

The Palo Alto Stake really does such a wonderful job with the festival. In addition to the continuous musical programs that serenade visitors, there are hundreds of nativities, grouped by theme or origin. One feature of the festival that we took advantage of this year was the children's room, where volunteers told the nativity story with marionette puppets.

Cal was absolutely transfixed. He loved the show so much that he suggested "Fluffy Marionette" as a name for the new baby. Thanks, Cal. We'll keep that in mind.

"For Such a Time as This"

I know it probably has a lot to do with being sick, but I've had some feelings lately that I can't really put a label on. My heart has just felt heavy, my spirit overwhelmed. I've been keeping a journal of thoughts, and I've been praying and reading a lot of scripture, looking for peace. Today, as I was looking for a blank CD, I stumbled upon a long lost concert choir CD from 2004 -- 8 years ago! Can it be that long? It wasn't our professional one, just an archival CD with several low-quality recordings of live performances. I was honestly curious to see what was on it; I didn't recognize many of the titles listed on the CD skin.

What a wonderful trip down a very forgotten memory lane! I loved listening to each track, gasping as I found myself remembering intricate melodies and words that haven't so much as tickled a neuron in almost a decade. But as I listened to the following song "For Such a Time As This", my feelings changed from nostalgia to reassurance. They are such beautiful, enheartening words, set so naturally to a pensive melody. It fed my soul. The artwork is Brian Kershisnik, and the subject matter was equally as meaningful to me. Do you know what it is?

For such a time as this,

For times of drought and shallowness,

Of wild and dusty wilderness,

Plant us deep in wonder, God,

Humble in thy holy word.

In wonder planted deep,

In marvel at Creation's play,

At starlit night and sunlit day,

Root us well in gratitude,

Awestruck by beatitude.

By thankful wonder fed,

Like oak trees reaching high and broad,

And rooted fast in Thee, oh God,

Grow us in compassion full,

Christ the firstfruit of us all.

Compassion green and bless

Our lives to rampant fruitfulness,

For crying out at wickedness,

May we fruits of justice bear,

Harvest of Thy love and care.

May all our lives bear fruit,

Not from our will but to us due,

But all our fruitfulness from You,

Hearts of justice, hearts of peace,

Just for such a time as this.

~Wayne Watson

Christ and the Rich Man

Today, in our Sunday School Lesson, we were taught about the story of the

rich man who asked Christ how to obtain eternal life.

The instructor displayed the painting shown above, by Heinrich Hoffman. This painting always reminds me of my friend Kirstin. I remember walking into her room one day during college, and she was posting it on her wall. She'd just returned from a semester in Spain, and was unpacking some things for her desk and walls. I asked her about it, and I'll never forget her response. She said, "I think this is one of the most memorable lessons from the New Testament, at least for me. The fact that Christ would tell him to give his riches unto the poor, and that the young man just couldn't do it . . . it is a huge lesson to me, and a reminder to search my life for things that may be holding me back from true devotion to Christ."

I will never forget that conversation, nor will I forget Kirstin's good example to me. Whenever I see this painting, I am reminded of a close friend who is striving to have no limits to her sacrifice and devotion to the gospel. And I recommit to doing the same.

What Stood Shall Stand

I LOVE this arrangement. The song is about the hope of a resurrection, and I cry every time I hear it.

What Stood Will Stand
PAUL HALLEY (b.1952)

What stood will stand, though all be fallen,
The good return that time has stolen.
Though creatures groan in misery,
Their flesh prefigures liberty
To end travail and bring to birth
Their new perfection in new earth.
At word of that enlivening
Let the trees of the wood all sing
And every field rejoice. Let praise
Rise up out of the ground like grass.
Alleluiah! Alleluiah!

What stood, whole, in ev’ry piecemeal
Thing that stood, will stand though all fall.
Field and woods and all in them
Rejoin the primal Sabbath’s hymn. – Wendell Berry, from “Sabbaths”

Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum.
(And I look for the resurrection of the dead)
Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. Alleluia.
(And the life of the world to come. Amen. Alleluia.) – Nicene Creed