Weaving some Christmas threads

I'm going to start this post without knowing where it will end. Perhaps it will iron itself out on the way. This week, I had the surreal experience of having made a debut in a music video. Seriously! It's not like I'm a rock star. I really truly like singing in choirs and singing back-up, so I'm never comfortable 100% with being at the CENTER of the stage. I just like being ON the stage. There's a difference.
Here's the video:


The guy who helped us with this (Adam Hobbs) did such an amazing job on the video! And God did such an amazing job on the lighting! It had threatened rain that day to the point that we thought we might be making a mud-slinging video. Then, about an hour or so before we started shooting, the clouds opened and the farm was bathed in beautiful sunlight. But wait, there's more.
Fast forward to last night.
I was driving home VERY late from a full day in Columbia. We had spent quite a bit of energy and had eaten a fantastic but heavy meal (horseshoes! YUM!). And, to make matters worse, my night owl had taken over my body the night before, and I was going on very little sleep. I was at the wheel, and trying hard to focus on something besides the center line, dash-dash-dash-dash-zzzz and the hum of the tires.
I began thinking through the words of this song (from the Christmas production I'm in in December). When I'm slated to sing something I really like to meditate on the meaning. A lot of the sentiments expressed are directly related to the Shepherd's perspective on the night of Christ's birth. He is exuberance and excitement. When he arrives at the stable, this rambling and rough-hewn guy is all reverence and humility. He packages all of the mysticism of the evening when he and his friends RUN to the place the star is pointing and says, "Open your eyes. Listen." There's so much wrapped up here, but I think what he's so enthralled by is the sheer overpowering nature of being in the presence of God himself. Overpowering and yet, approachable. What's sweeter in the world than a newborn? But still, the son of God.

COME ON RUN, RUN, RUN! To the eye of the storm.

Where all creation calls His name Emmanuel!

Emmanuel. God with us. We are able to escape the storm by seeking His presence. In the eye of the storm ("Nothing moves. Nothing breathes. Even silence keeps silent."). He came to the storm called earth and changed the course of history by creating a place of quiet rest. The stable became a true sanctuary. One of my favorite passages in all of the Bible is Psalm 63.

¹ O God, you are my God;
      I earnestly search for you.
   My soul thirsts for you;
      my whole body longs for you
   in this parched and weary land
      where there is no water.
 ² I have seen you in your sanctuary
      and gazed upon your power and glory.
 ³ Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
      how I praise you!
 ⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
      lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
 ⁵ You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
      I will praise you with songs of joy.

 ⁶ I lie awake thinking of you,
      meditating on you through the night.
 ⁷ Because you are my helper,
      I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
 ⁸ I cling to you;
      your strong right hand holds me securely.

All of THAT to say, I am singing this invitation, RUN TO THE EYE OF THE STORM, to invite everyone who can hear to "the shadow of His wings." A place where we can find rest, restoration, joy, peace, praise, help, security...this song is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. I am honored to sing it this Christmas as I invite folks along to engage the baby whose birth changes everything. Not changed. Changes. Can I get an AMEN!?