Gather Round Ye Children

November 2010 -driving in Pennsylvania on Thanksgiving day

  This is the first song on this album and it is a great start to a unique Christmas album. I don't usually like listening to new Christmas albums (I like to stick with the classics our family grew up with), but this album is not your typical Christmas album.

Gather Round Ye Children 

Gather ‘round, ye children, come
Listen to the old, old story
Of the pow’r of death undone
By an infant born of glory
Son of God, Son of Man
Gather ‘round, remember now
How creation held its breath
How it let out a sigh
And it filled up the sky with the angels
Son of God, Son of Man

CHORUS

So sing out with joy for the brave little boy
Who was God, but he made himself nothing
Well he gave up his pride and he came here to die
Like a man
Therefore God exalted him
To the place of highest praises
And he gave him a name above every name
That at the very name of Jesus, Son of God

CHORUS

We would sing out with joy for the brave little boy
Who was God, but he made himself nothing
Well he gave up his pride and he came here to die
Like a man
So in heav’n and earth and below
Every knee would bow and worship
And ev’ry tongue would proclaim
That Jesus, He reigns with the angels

CHORUS

So sing out with joy for the brave little boy
Who was God but he made himself nothing
Well he gave up his pride and he came here to die
Like a man
So gather ‘round, ye children come
Listen to the old, old story
Of the power of death undone
By an infant born of glory
- Andrew Peterson

Interestingly this song is based off of Philippians 2:6-11,

  " who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,^[a] being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

I love how this song captures the significance, but also the point of this "old, old, story" that is celebrated this month.
"An infant born of glory...Who was God but he made himself nothing".
This reminds me of this past chapter in my history which talked about the Gnostics who  claimed that Jesus did not really come down and take on human flesh, it just seemed like it. That got me thinking how if you tweek one little part of this story of redemption, the rest of it won't fit. If Jesus only seemed human, then he must have only seemed to suffer God's wrath, right? But then again, the Gnostics also believed that sin was not are real problem, but ignorance of our spiritual self/destiny. Which reminds me of this quote,
" So there are really only two religions in the world: a religion of human striving to ascend to God through pious works, feelings, attitudes, and experiences and the Good News of God's merciful descent to us in his Son." (Micahael Horton). 

Another neat aspect of this song is how the only mention of "me" is singing, rejoicing and praising the name of our beloved Savior! So, " gather ‘round, ye children come listen to the old, old story".
I hope you will appreciate and love this song as much as I do!

 





P.S Check out the new bands on
the Curly Designs page!
:)

Dear E,

Dear E,

How strange it is that you are gone! Yesterday we were doing family worship and remembered that it was your day to pick the songs. :(
Oh, btw, as I was causally scrolling through your blog feed, my eye caught this post from one of YOUR blog list. An irresistible grin/smirk came over my face and I was going to email it to you but decided to add it to my letter. Who would have thought that there is someone else that likes Andrew Peterson, and is excited enough to blog about it!
I felt like saying, " See, Ted walks to work." (Monster's Inc.) 

 Moving on to other great things...

I have been intending almost every night to just sit down and upload the Kindle to Amazon (and eventually sell it).

As you can see I got a little camera happy with the reflections.

I recovered those iPhone boxes. Do you like them?

Yesterday mom and I were busy bees. Well, I was wanna-be-busy-bee, I had a bunch of things I wanted to do, so I half did everything! At the same time. But I did finish my school.

I finished glossing your signs on Saturday, but the Loyd's weren't there. Oh, well.

One of Mica's delectable gluten free loaves.

I have also been listening to my new album. I am having trouble deciding my favorite.

I have been having some major water kefir problems. I'll save my theories for later, but I've cleaned the grains and am crossing up fingers for good water kefir.
  We all are so excited for your return. Come back with plenty of stories (and tea)!

Love,
Caro :)

P.S I found this neat behind the scenes

clip, when I was listening to a version of "I Dreamed a Dream".
 

Mountains, Painting walls, and Counting Stars

                    If that didn't sound random, I don't what does.

Amusingly enough, they're all part of a chain of events that happened within a week.

 A couple Friday's ago in May, we drove to Katy to go see -you guessed it- Andrew Peterson's concert " Counting Stars", and yes, it was excellent! The concert was filled with a host of stories and songs! After the concert, and a tornado watch, we drove to my Grandma's house in Burnet, and got there at 2:30a! I was so sleepy, I don't think I was in full control of my brain. In the morning we drove the last leg of the journey, making it to El Paso by 4:00p (El Paso time).  As we drove in, memories of past trips started coming back. Sadly, I had this streak of getting sick with fevers as a kid, so most of my memories were not too happy, just memorable.

He didn't sing the whole album, instead he sang a few here, and there, and some he sang from his new album that's coming out.

A tornado had touched down in the area, so you could hear the thunder and see the lightning out of the windows. It was a great touch to the concert!

After settling in to our quarter's at a friend's house, we went for a quick, cool, walk around the block. Despite the heat during the day, it is nice a chilly in the evening.

The Anaya Family. Mom and Dad first knew the Anaya's when they had three kids under five -my does time fly!

Back when I was a twinkle in my mother's eye, before we moved to Austin, my family had become good friends with the Anaya's, when both couples had three kids. On Sunday we had the great pleasure to go to church with them and eat lunch at their house. When we told them that we planned to stay in a hotel the rest of the week, they insisted that we stay with them. We spent a much, much more enjoyable week staying up till midnight, talking on the porch, and eating good food with friends. Even though we hadn't seen them in many years, we still talked like there was no tomorrow.

The clear skies, dry but pretty mountains, and the electric line, basically sums up El Paso. :)

After working hard on my Grandpa's house, we took a scenic drive thru the mountains and had to stop at Trans Mountain for a quick photo shoot.

So the youngest person who is afraid of heights and shaky ladders got the job to paint the top of the wall on a shaky ladder. Maybe it's just my lot in life.

Carrying out a bed frame for some willing Mexicans

We cleaned out a lot of my Grandpa's stuff in his shed and dragged it to the curb. within the hour, several (not just one or two people) stopped and picked some things up. We have this joke/saying, "Only Mexicans would do [fill in the blank]". I think this saying applies, cause only Mexicans would stop by the curb to pick something up.

Mica and I planted some flowers. We were very proud gardeners!

On our last day in El Paso we filled up on some fine Mexican food with Grandpa before kicking out of town we made a lunch-stop at "Delicious".

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you real fruit drinks.

We got a wee taste of Mexican market at this fiesta-like grocery with loud music, lots of people, and lots of food.

Mr and Mrs Anaya and, of course, Mom and Dad.

The school that my Grandma and Grandpa went to!

Right behind the tall buildings, where the majority of lights are, is Juarez

Going to Juarez as a kid, I don't remember it being so close, I was shocked at realizing how close it is!

New and sweet friend Chrissy!

The wife of a friend, of a family that we grew up with in Austin. A rather distant connection, but it didn't matter, we chatted away. 

I'm not at all partial to where I see a sunrise or sunset -off the beach, in a plane, on the mountains- I can always count on it being beautiful!

Love,

              Caro :)

For the Love of God

I downloaded a free (and legal) album last year, off of Noisetrade, called Far Country. I'll admit, I had to listen to it a few times to get into it, but not I really have enjoyed a appreciated the songs. My particularly favorite songs are: Far Country, Mystery of Mercy, The Queen of Iowa, and

For the Love of God 

Yesterday we drove all night to Pittsburgh
Jamie laid her head down in the back
My little boys asleep beside their sister
They’re the best I have

I brought an old recording of your father
He was teaching men and women how to love
He carried on about his sons and daughters
Growing up

As we drove across Ohio
At the dawning of the day
I could hear the tune of truth was in his voice
And it felt just like I knew him
Though I never saw his face
Maybe that’s because I know his boys
Who live their lives

[Refrain]For the love of God
In the name of Jesus
The groom who gave his life
To love his bride

I know you thought you’d never find a woman
I never thought I’d have to write this song
But here I am and there you are together
After all

You felt like you were buried
In a city underground
All broken bits and pieces of the past
And somewhere she was searching
On the surface of the mound
She was digging for a treasure that would last
Now she’s giving you her heart

[Refrain]

Now, love is not a feeling in your chest
It is bending down to wash another’s feet
It is faithful when the sun is in the west
And in the east

It can hurt you as it holds you
In its overwhelming flood
Till only the unshakeable is left
“This new command I give you,” He said,
“Love as I have loved”
So brother, love her better than yourself
And give her your heart

[Refrain]

                                                        -Andrew Peterson (2005)

I am rather confident that you are familiar with Andrew Peterson (if not check out the links), because I know I've mentioned him more than twice. So now I can add one more post to my list.

:)

16 Things I Am Thankful For

 1. Purple rooms and comfy beds.

2. The sweet, the new, and the old, family.

3. The "greatest and bestest" of voice teachers.

4.My letter-writing friends.

5. Thrilling concerts and great chaps to join them.

6. Listening to music while washing the dishes.

7. Lonely times, when I triumph over my pity-party self.

 

8. Friends, comrades, and new acquaintances.

9. Long car rides to talk, and/or sing really loud, and/or laugh so hard that no noise comes out and you clap your hands like a seal. :)

10. Great guns and uncles.

11. Pookie and Nate Hood-Marques, and their/our family. :P

12. Good discussions with friends.

13. My loving and patient parents.

14. Chai tea, and rockin' awesome sisters.
(oops, did I say that out loud?)

 
15. Beautiful places.

16. God's grace in this sinner's new life.

Love,
       Caro :)

Behold the Lamb of God 2011

So, quite a few weeks ago, Dad, Mom, Lizzie (again), and myself, paid an overnight trip to Austin, for Andrew Peterson's concert, "Behold the Lamb of God". We left decently early on Sunday morning, and drove to the Webb's house, where we caravaned to church. I confess, that by the end of the sermon, my stomach was speaking louder than my attentive face [embarrassed smile].
After church, we relaxed at my Aunt's house, while the kids napped. For dinner, Nicole brought over some leftovers, and we had a crazy, but fun, time eating, after which we (Mom, Lizzie, Sophia, and I) had to scramble over to the concert. The church where the concert was held is our old stomping ground in Austin. We used to have many people (and still have a few) that we knew who attended that church; Elena and Mica used to do AWANA there--do I see any former AWANA kids?-- when we lived in Austin.
Okay, I thought that because Andrew Peterson wasn't incredibly well known that there wouldn't be a lot of people there....well, there was. Quite a bit of people. We even ran into some old friends, which were great to see again.
While we were waiting for the concert to begin, I had the same feeling of anticipation as I do when I go to certain midnight showings of movies, but this was better. :)
The first half of the concert, all the people that toured with AP--which were Jason Gray, Andrew Osenga, Andy Gullahorn, Jill Phillips, and Ben Shive--took turns singing two songs from their own albums. Without having ever heard any of the singers --except Jason Gray-- I really appreciated and enjoyed them thoroughly!
They were all very witty and relaxed on stage and weren't showy, like other singers.
A few of them played songs from albums that have not been released yet, including Andrew Osenga and Andrew Peterson. We had the privilege to hear one of AP's songs that he had literally finished an hour and a half before the concert!
After everyone finished singing their songs there was an intermission, then they all sang the actual album, "Behold the Lamb of God". But before, while everyone was still coming, AP got everyone already in the sanctuary to sing It Is Well With My Soul, which was neat. All the songs that they played I wouldn't have necessarily liked, if I had not heard them live or heard the back stories to them. Then at the end, they had everyone singing part of O Come, O Come Emmanuel and they left the stage with everyone singing the Doxology! Thus they put the focus away from themselves and on Christ!
It wasn't like a rock concert, neither was it like a praise-and-worship band; it was different. A refreshing different.

But now, I think I've talked too much.

[These are really all the pictures that came out, all the other ones were blurry]

Lizzie and I, after the concert.

:)


Now if I could say anything to make up for my "overly-giddiness", it would be this:

Dear Mr. Andrew Peterson,
Thanks for indulging two very nerdy and ecstatic girls with your time and pen.
If you ever come back to Texas, I'll do my best to--instead of bringing a pile of books--bring friends and family!
Your books are fantastic!
Continue on with your publishing and recording.
Sincerely,
Caro

P.S Is there any way I can entice you

to come back to Texas and come visit the small

group of fans in Houston?

Afterward, Lizzie and I rushed to buy CD for me and a book for her. Then, with quaking stomach and giddy head, we went to get our books signed (I already had some books with me). I blubbered words that were supposed to be sentences, as I handed my books for him to sign. I said "books" because...well, I had more than one book...I had four. :). So I got three books of the series signed and an extra one especially for my friends, the Hood girls, to whom I had read the books.
So, all in all I enjoyed the concert and especially going with a friend.




:)

Dear Traveling Girls

{yes, believe it or not, this was taken at Galveston}

Dear traveling girls,

I would have posted sooner, but I kinda misplaced the camera, and since there was no maid--sister-- to keep track of it for me, I forgot it. But I got it back, don't worry, would I be writing to you if I hadn't?

All this to say, that some of the pictures will be blurry since they were taken with Dad's blackberry.
SO, last Friday, we went to Galveston for the day, and we brought Lizzie with us!
We started off going to a subsea drilling & oil museum...yeah, only people who work for the companies involved in that stuff, go there. But there were actually some interesting parts. After that we had lunch at Starbucks, and then went shopping/sight seeing downtown. We visited a candy shop, surf shops, boutique shops, and ( my favorite) antique shops.
Even though we don't have any pictures, the antique shops were fantastic, however, expensive! One of the antique shops had-- what I call-- a dream land of dress ups!! Beautiful dress ups, scarves, gloves, hats, etc. It was literally like a dream come true! And there were also some Lucky Indian Buffalo Head Nickel coins from the 20s that the lady showed us, plus marvel comic books which I would have bought ( if I knew what to buy), and old, old children toys. For example, mom recognized one of the old aluminum doll houses, the kind she used to play with...yeah, that kind of old. :P
The shopping extended to other parts of the building which as it turns out was an original late 1800's hotel with all the rooms in their original state!
All this to say that I was proven wrong, there is actually some neat places in Galveston.

These are just few of many pelicans that were resting on the rocks.
Lizzie and I could think of only one quote:
Dory:DUCK.
Marlin:[looks up] That's not a duck, it's a... PELICAN.
-Finding Nemo

Exclude the odd eyes, this shop was really nice.

FREE SAMPLES!
Not really, but that's what I thought.

A recycled-paper dress!

I thought of our dear friend the Naquins, when I saw that. :)

[no comment]

It was pretty windy!

First thing I thought when I saw this thing, was, " Look! A huge shadowbox!"

Though I have not obtained the photos yet, I'll be posting soon about a certain concert we went to on December 11th!

Love,
Caro :)