Today’s quote as pulled from my box is this:
Beauty is whatever gives joy.
Hugh Nibley
One of the best things we did over the Christmas season was to attend our church’s Festival of Lessons and Carols. It was held the Friday before New Year’s Eve and consisted of 9 scripture readings and 9 carols. The service lasted one hour and took place in a beautifully decorated church filled with Christmas spirit and love.
It was incredibly moving. The choir lifted the church with its voices, and the use of the handheld bells added to the Christmas spirit. There were a few songs that the choir performed and many others in which they asked us to join along. Because the evening consisted of a Bible reading and then a song with no other interruptions, it flowed, and it was easy to be taken in by the beauty of it all. A couple of times, I was moved to tears.
I will remember this Christmas season fondly. We participated in a lot of holiday cheer, including visiting Lancaster, PA, to see a Christmas show, touring the town of Lititz, which was all dressed up for the Christmas season, attending events in Annapolis with friends, such as Midnight Madness and the Boat Parade of Lights, and of course, spending the holidays with our families.
But for me, that moment in the church that night was a highlight. It was a pleasure to listen to the carols, hear the selected readings, and be moved by words that have touches so many people over the last 2000+ years.
Beauty is whatever gives joy, and I felt so much pure joy that night.
xx,
