Belznickle Blogspot

Friday, June 13, 2014

"Christians, Awake; Salute the Happy Morn!"

"The author of "Christians, Awake; Salute the Happy Morn! was John Byrom. Manchester's famous man of letters, who was born at Kersal in 1691.

Byrom had several children, but, like many another father, there was a favorite. This child was a little girl named Dolly. A few days previous to Christmas Mr. Byrom, after having a romp with the favorite, Dolly, promised to write here something nice for Christmas morning. On the morning of the great day, when she sat down to breakfast, she found on her plate an envelope, addressed to her in her father's handwriting. It was the first thing she opened, and, to her great delight, it proved to be a Christmas carol addressed to her, and to her alone." from How We Got Our Christmas Hymns, 1913

Christians, awake, salute the happy morn
Whereon the Savior of the world was born
Rise to adore the mystery of love
Which hosts of angels chanted from above
With them the joyful tidings first begun
Of God incarnate and the Virgin's Son

Then to the watchful shepherds it was told
Who heard the angelic herald's voice: "Behold,
I bring good tidings of a Savior's birth
To you and all the nations upon earth
This day hath God fulfilled His promised word;
This day is born a Savior, Christ the Lord."

He spake, and straightaway the celestial choir
In hymns of joy, unknown before, conspire
The praises of redeeming love they sang
And heaven's whole orb with alleluias rang
God's highest glory was their anthem still
Peace upon earth and unto men goodwill

To Bethlehem straight the shepherds ran
To see the wonder God had wrought for man
And found, with Joseph and the blessed Maid
Her Son, the Savior, in a manger laid
Amazed, the wondrous story they proclaim
The earliest heralds of the Savior's name

Let us, like these good shepherds, them employ
Our grateful voices to proclaim the joy
Trace we the Babe, who hath retrieved our loss
From His poor manger to His bitter cross
Treading His steps, assisted by His grace
Till man's first heavenly state again takes place

Then may we hope, the angelic thrones among
To sing, redeemed, a glad triumphal song
He that was born upon this joyful day
Around us all His glory shall display
Saved by His love, incessant we shall sing
Of angels and of angel-men the King

"As With Gladness Men of Old"

"Another very popular Christmas hymn is that entitled "As With Gladness Men of Old." It is remarkable that this cheerful hymn was written at a time of Great Depression. (The same melody is used in the Christian hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth.") The author, William Chatterton Dix, who died in 1900, had been seriously ill for a long time, and he was feeling ill for a long time, and he was feeling disconsolate and miserable.
One evening, after he had been some weeks in bed, he felt a great deal better, and while in this improved state he conceived the idea of writing a Christmas hymn, and as a result of this we get "As With Gladness Men of Old."" from How We Got Our Christmas Hymns, 1913

"As with Gladness Men of Old"
by William C. Dix, 1837-1898
As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright,
So, most gracious Lord, may we
Evermore be led by Thee!

As with joyful steps they sped,
Savior, to Thy lowly bed,
There to bend the knee before
Thee whom heaven and earth adore,
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy-seat!

As they offered gifts most rare
At Thy cradle, rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King!

Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And when earthly things are past.
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.

In the heavenly country bright
Need they no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down.
There forever may we sing
Alleluias to our King!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

"Christmas at Long Pond"

My children loved the simplicity of this story with all of it's detailed hand drawings. Lindsay Barrett George illustrates her own husband and son, William and Will Jr., as they track through the northeast Pennsylvania woods to find their Christmas tree one evening. She depicts the deer, owl and woodpecker that both husband and son describe during their night of discovery. This is not a book that promotes the materialism or hyper fantasy normally associated with Christmas elves in fairyland; it reminds me more of a journal entry from a private family album of an illustrator. If readers are building a small collection of Christmas books, this is an excellent story to add because of the unadorned simple rendition of a winter walk in the woods.

Read Aloud of Christmas a Long Pond - read by Debbie Webster

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Craft Papier Mâché Heart Shaped Ornaments

These papier mâché hearts are very light weight. Each torn piece of paper was applied meticulously by hand. Although it is difficult to see, I glued a tiny wire loop between the two humps of each heart shaped ornament so that I may add beaded hangers to these hearts when I am ready to set up my Valentine tree.

On the left, you can see the paper that I used to layer on top of my masked forms. The paper was imported from India; It's texture is quite soft and dense. This is ideal paper for mâché work.

Here you can see from left to right, the step-by-step process that I used when shaping and masking my hearts for our Valentine's Day tree.

The crushed paper hearts were masked with tape completely and then set
aside until I was ready to cover each heart with layers of
paper and Modge Podge.