Merry Christmas from the Kannels!

I'm enjoying a brief hiatus with friends and family over the holidays. Many blessings to you and yours as you celebrate the birth of our Savior!

***

We were blind and lost and godless
Wandering a trackless waste
Then hope arose, a glorious beacon
Like the star the wise men chased
Down from heaven came a Savior
Born a child, so small and frail
Taking up our pain and troubles
Conquering where we had failed

You who with a word created
Sun and moon and seas and sand
Lay there sleeping in a manger
Cradled by Your mother’s hand
You who made the mighty forests
Would lie down upon a tree
Fastened there with nails for sinners
Would bleed and die to set us free

Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel
In You alone we hope and trust
Jesus, Savior, God with us
Emmanuel

("Emmanuel, Emmanuel" by Mark Altrogge, from Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man)

***

All the world rejoice
For the baby comes
As a humble prince in the night
The Word made flesh, Emmanuel
The Everlasting Light
Let the warmth of heaven reach the coldest heart
With the gospel of His grace
For His heel will bruise the serpent’s head
Rejoice, all the world, rejoice!

("Rejoice" by Todd Twining, from Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man)