{"id":28961,"date":"2015-12-06T00:15:21","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T05:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=28961"},"modified":"2015-12-05T15:09:08","modified_gmt":"2015-12-05T20:09:08","slug":"2000-decembers-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2015\/12\/06\/2000-decembers-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"2000 Decembers Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23090\" src=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg\" alt=\"phssChristmasgraphic2014\" width=\"560\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg 560w, https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Did it feel like a night any different<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Then at least a million before<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Was there any rare expectation<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Like there was some kind of something in store<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Did the sky have to hold back the thunder<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Did the moon find new reasons to glow<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Could the children somehow sense the wonder<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> 2000 Decembers ago<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Were the sheep as amazed as the shepherds<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> At the new star that lit up the sky<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Did the willow trees whisper excitement<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> To the rivers and streams passing by<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Did the joy ricochet off the mountains<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">&#8216;Til it filled up the valleys below<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Did all the world sense love abounding<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> 2000 Decembers ago<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"><em>Was anyone able to look at the stable<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> <em> And not see a child but a King<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> <em> I wish I could hear back over the years<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> <em> As heaven and nature sing, heaven and nature sing<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Did the walls of the barn start to tremble<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> With a glory they could not contain<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Did anyone wake with the feeling<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Of peace that they could not explain<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Oh the love must have been overwhelming<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> As it warmed everyone in its flow<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> For all of the earth is still telling<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> Of 2000 Decembers ago<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">Oh, the love must have been overwhelming<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #a11e24;\"> 2000 Decembers ago<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4W8K3OhxVSw?rel=0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWritten and sung by<em> Joy Williams<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #a11e24;\">* \u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0~ \u00a0\u271d \u00a0~ \u00a0\u2605\u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.<br \/>\nAnd this shall be a sign unto you;<br \/>\nYe shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.<br \/>\nAnd suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,<br \/>\nand saying,\u00a0Glory to God in the highest,<br \/>\nand on earth peace, good will toward men.<br \/>\nLuke 2:11-14 KJV<\/p>\n<p>I remember the first time I laid eyes on my firstborn. \u00a0I felt a love that I couldn&#8217;t even put into words. \u00a0I looked at every detail and found her absolutely perfect. \u00a0I imagine that God felt the same way that night.<\/p>\n<p>There, in a dirty stable, a King was born. \u00a0That tiny baby would become the Savior of the world. \u00a0And yes, He is a King, but He would be more at home with the dirtiest, the poorest, and the most humble. He would be a Friend of sinners and ultimately die for each and every one.<\/p>\n<p>I imagine that the stars did shine brighter that night. \u00a0The moon was probably beautiful and full and love was everywhere&#8230;His glory would light up our lives for thousands of years to come. \u00a0 No darkness is too dark, and no sin too big, and no life too lost for Him to redeem. \u00a0He is the only Gift we will ever need!<\/p>\n<p>So as you light your home and put out your nativity scene, I hope that your thoughts go back to that perfect night when the only perfect Child was born. \u00a0The night when the angels sang and the shepherds sought Him and Love came down to save us all. \u00a0This is the reason we celebrate today, 2000 Decembers later.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Let us pray<\/em><\/span>: Dear Lord, You are Awesome, Sovereign, Holy, and Mighty. \u00a0You are just, full of grace and mercy! \u00a0We bow down to You today and thank You for the perfect Gift that You sent to us, all those years ago. \u00a0You gave us Your only Son, a Savior to take all of our sins away. \u00a0How can we ever thank You enough? \u00a0Help us, oh God, to remember what this season is really about. And to not get so wrapped up in the commercial side of it but to place our thoughts on You. \u00a0To be with those who are hurting and lonely and surround them with Your love. \u00a0May we be Your hands and feet, and spread hope to those who need it. \u00a0We love You and we praise You. \u00a0In Jesus&#8217; name, amen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did it feel like a night any different Then at least a million before Was there any rare expectation Like there was some kind of something in store Did the sky have to hold back the thunder Did the moon find new reasons to glow Could the children somehow sense the wonder 2000 Decembers ago [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":23090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4937],"tags":[9751,425,8693,9752,589,9753,938],"class_list":["post-28961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psalms-hymns-and-spiritual-songs","tag-2000-decembers-ago","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-hymns-and-spiritual-songs-blog","tag-joy-williams","tag-kim-spring","tag-luke-211-14","tag-scripture","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/phssChristmasgraphic2014.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-7x7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28961"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28973,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28961\/revisions\/28973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}