The dictionary defines rejoice as feel or show great joy or delight.
This week’s blog post title comes from O Come, O Come, Emmanuel — one of the songs the mission choir will be singing in our devotional program tomorrow. It will be the culmination of a lot of effort and practice. However, I can’t help compare the experience with my days of singing with the Saltaires Show Chorus, whose Christmas shows required us to learn twice as many songs, and by heart too. Needless to say, our mission choir will not be “off the paper” for any of our eight songs. But we’re glad we can contribute to the cause, even though the quality is not what we’d like it to be.
As Taunya mentioned last week, the holidays are joyful times. And we have many, many reasons to rejoice. Just to name 4 this week:
Reason 1. The Minarchiks got their visas! They fly out this coming Wednesday for the Czech Republic, and we really are happy for them. But with December here, I have to revise my prediction for when our visas will come — any month now!
Reason 2. We were able to go to the temple yesterday morning and do some ordinances for two more of Taunya’s ancestors.
Reason 3. Last evening we went to the Jenny Oaks Baker concert at Kingsbury Hall. The show was called Joy to the World — A Sacred Christmas Celebration. It was spectacular! There were many guest artists, including the Children’s Dance Theatre that our grand-niece Arya belongs to. She and her fellow dancers did a terrific job in the first number, Angels We Have Heard On High, and it was a ton of fun to see her perform — our first time ever to watch her do this thing she loves.
Reason 4. Tonight we were greatly blessed to be able to attend the First Presidency Christmas Devotional in the Conference Center. It was a wonderful mix of beautiful music and spirit-lifting talks. The Savior is worthy of our worship every day, but it’s always great this time of year to focus on His First Advent, his long-awaited birth, the giving by our God of the superlative Gift of His Son. I thought The First Noel arrangement the Tabernacle Choir sang so spiritedly was especially moving.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel!
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel.
As modern Israel we joyfully anticipate His Second Coming, and rejoice in being called to serve Him in preparing the world for that great day!
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