Sweet Sabbath

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,

Born to set thy people free,

From our fears and sins release us,

Let us find our rest in thee:

Israel's strength and consolation,

Hope of all the earth thour art,

Dear desire of every nation,

Joy of every longing heart.

Counting this weekend's joys:

-adding "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus:  Advent and Christmas with Charles Wesley" by Paul Wesley Chilcote to our Advent

-the bittersweet moment of handing a still sick Naomi over to her dad, even though they will both be in Honiara for a few more weeks during the consultant check of Gela book of Romans and I Thessalonians, she has brought such joy to our family!

-cherry flavored hot chocolate

-Christmas music to fill the cello-sized gap in my soul

-a house that smells like a freshly cut tree, even when the tree is fake

-watching our lovely neighbors who live in leaf houses without electricity or running water, and consume the same two root crops every day, yet maintain a sweet spirit of contentment; may we also have hearts of contentment no matter where we live

-singing Christmas carols together as we begin the Advent season

-enjoying Baryshnikov dancing in "The Nutcracker" and seeing Katherine's fresh wonder and excitement