Nancy Lynch says, "Joy is being a wife, Mom of fourteen, eight with varying disabilities and living at home, Grandma of thirteen, and Great Grandma of three. Serenity is listening and watching the ocean, alone, at our home on Maui. Passion is friends, photography, reading, swimming and children." Nancy can be reached at nalynch@aol.com.
One can easily sing their way through the Advent season. Music stirs the heart and soul. You need only to sing, or listen, while sitting back, relaxing, meditating, and enjoy. The season will proceed in a leisurely manner while avoiding stress. Music, to me, is the one of the most beautiful forms of prayer.

Advent began with the message Wake Up! Yes, Advent is a time to wake up, to transform, and be creative. Ann Reed inspired me to start on this path as she sang:

I am walking my path
Finding my way,
And every step’s
A leap of faith.

The second week we were told to Listen! Listening means many things, listening to the music and rhythm of the world. Listening in this sense implies acting on, responding to the needs. The SJA Choir and Carin Vagle made listening a blessing with the song, The Deer’s Cry, a Gallic tale of solders running from the enemy and God shielding them by disguising them as deer. This song fills your heart with Christ. I especially love the chant like verse,
Christ with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my left
Christ on my right
Christ when lie down
Christ when I sit down
Christ when I arise
Christ to shield me
Christ in my heart.

That same Sunday evening found me at the SJA Concert listening to the Gay Men’s Choir and Debbie Duncan. Again, a song they sang Not In My Town moved my heart. The story unfolds with a group of Ku Klux Klan moving to Billings, Montana. As Hanukah arrived, one of the few Jewish families in the town put a Menorah in their window. That evening a brick flew through the window, terrifying the family. The mayor explained that this was not going to occur in his town. In a show of support, the Christian families bought a Menorah and put in their own windows. This is truly listening and acting on the needs of others.

The next evening, Monday, found us at the Neal and Leandra Concert at the Guthrie. The beauty of their voices and wonderful lyrics of songs they have written mesmerized us. My favorite is Listen to the Angels.

If they told you he was a poor boy, would you come?
If they told you he was a poor boy, would you come?
If they looked you in the eye, said “do not fear,
he is the one.”
And they told you he was a poor boy, would you come?

Oh, listen to the angels
Oh, listen to the angels
Oh, listen to the angels
High over Bethlehem.

Changing the tempo of music brought me to the Wednesday Evensong Prayer service with its old Anglican ways. This music reached deep into my soul and brought forth a rebirth of my Christian heart. Songs of reflection were; Wait for the Lord, Send Out Your Light, Within Our Hearts Be Born. Do these songs not tell it all?

Fa-La-La came on Friday with the 55+ Luncheon where we all were able to sing in an old fashion sing along covering all the favorites and lifting our hearts with the fun and joy of the season.

Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go, laughing all the way.
Bells on bobtails ring, making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh

Week three of Advent brings us to Question? Are we content to live in the mystery of the questions or will we be impatient and only look for the quick answer? I think music slows the rhythm of the world and us down to a slower pace. The questions are many and the answers may seem few. We need to enjoy what we know and sing.

Father Jim ended his beautiful homily with us all holding hands while he quietly said a prayer. As a community, we have each other, so we are never alone. That is where we each begin our own journey and our collective journey as a faith community. We travel together with faith and compassion, but we must all find our own answers. Advent is a time to live in the question. Savor the moment.

From the gym, our family then went to Family Mass, where the last song was a tribute to my child, who died two years ago. Questions? Have learned to live with the question? Yes.

Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.

Now I am leaving to spend the rest of the Advent season in our home in Maui, where my music path will change to island sounds with hula dancers telling the story of Christ birth. Music will continue to reflect the light of Christ in my world. We need to be true to ourselves and not betray the prophetic mission that God has given to us.
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer
We won't go until we get some
We won't go until we get some
We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.



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