Becca’s World

Have a good one!

A friend at work heard “Breath of Heaven” on the radio and had to have her own copy, so I tracked it down for her and along the way realised that I wanted Amy’s Christmas CD “Home for Christmas.” (Sometimes it’s good to have people come to me for musical knowledge ’cause I add things to my collection I might not have discovered – or rediscovered – otherwise.)

Here are the lyrics for “Breath of Heaven”:

I have traveled many moonless nights,
Cold and weary with a babe inside,
And I wonder what I’ve done.
Holy Father, you have come,
And chosen me now to carry your son.

I am waiting in a silent prayer.
I am frightened by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone,
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now.
Be with me now.

Breath of heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of heaven.
Breath of heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness,
For you are holy.
Breath of heaven.

Do you wonder as you watch my face,
If a wiser one should have had my place,
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of your plan.
Help me be strong.
Help me be.
Help me.

Breath of heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of heaven.
Breath of heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness,
For you are holy.

And here’s another song from the same CD that I already loved from radio – “The Night Before Christmas”:

Children carry through the streets
A brightly painted star.
Angels gather round the hearth,
Strumming on guitars.
Men of great renown and faith
Say prayers on boulevards.
It’s the night before Christmas.

But you don’t have to be an angel
To sing harmony.
You don’t have to be a child
To love the mystery.
And you don’t have to be a wise man
On bended knee.
The heart of this Christmas is in you and me.

If your heart’s been longing,
You’ve been afraid to try,
Sorrow’s kept you company,
And the dance has passed by,
I’ll lift you up and blaze with you
Across the moonlit sky
On the night before Christmas.

’Cause you don’t have to be an angel
To sing harmony.
You don’t have to be a child
To love the mystery.
And you don’t have to be a wise man
On bended knee.
The heart of this Christmas is in you and me.

(Michelle, I didn’t know what meme meant either. There is a Wikipedia page on it, but I’m still a tad confused. The examples section clarified things a little for me. In future, I will refer to these things not as memes, but as quizzes or chain letters since that’s what they are – except for the threat that chain letters tend to carry. You know, when one tells me I will have bad luck or be a bad person if I don’t send it on to five/seven/ten other people, I am determined not to send it! LOL)

Seven Things to Do Before I Die

1. Finish writing a novel. (Most of my plot ideas are for longer stories, but they remain outlines and beginnings only. I would love to see one through to the end.)
2. Travel to Ireland.
3. Learn to play the guitar.
4. Try karaoke. Maybe.
5. Take piano lessons again.
6. Get a manicure/pedicure or something equally self-pampering.
7. Buy nail polish. (My collection consists of rejects from my younger sister. I’m so clueless when it comes to cosmetics!)

Seven Things I Cannot Do

1. Say “coupon” as “coo-pon” without wanting to laugh. It’s “cue-pon” to me!
2. Eat sauerkraut.
3. Draw.
4. Lie convincingly.
5. Give up my “Star Trek” obsession.
6. Sing accapella.
7. Do cartwheels.

Seven Things That Attract Me To My Husband

1. His ability to make me laugh (and snort sometimes too).
2. His loyalty to family and friends.
3. His intelligence.
4. His ability to understand people.
5. His imagination.
6. His hazel eyes.
7. A willingness to sit through Jane Austen movies when I crave a good love story.

Seven Things I Say Most Often

1. “Hi”
2. “No problem”
3. “All right”
4. “Okie doodles”
5. “Cool”
6. “I’m hungry”
7. “I can’t wait” (for days off, birthdays, holidays – almost anything!)

Seven Books (or Book Series) I Love

1. Chronicles of Narnia
2. Harry Potter
3. Pride & Prejudice
4. The Corset Diaries
5. Tiger Lillie
6. The Church Ladies
7. Imzadi Forever

Seven Movies I Would Watch Over and Over Again

1. Sliding Doors
2. Princess Bride
3. Casablanca
4. Mulan
5. Beauty and the Beast
6. You’ve Got Mail
7. Persuasion

Seven People I Want to Join in Too

I haven’t been reading many blogs lately, so I don’t know which of my online friends has done this already. I am therefore going to list mostly those I know offline because I would be curious for their answers, too.

1-5 My parents and three sisters
6. Valerie Lunde
7. Anyone who wishes to comment in this blog

I enjoy this one for both music and lyrics, so you may want to take a listen to it here.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

All libraries in the province will be closed from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2, so I knew I had to make a trip to stock up. What I didn’t expect was how good I am at picking out so many titles at once. If I ever win one of those mad-dash shopping sprees, it should be in a bookstore!

Add to the following (neverending) list the one book I hadn’t finished from the last trip, “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austen, and you’ll notice I have nineteen selections for the holidays!!

(I believe this list was printed from the library computer in the order the books were scanned. I expected it to be sorted alphabetically as on previous visits.)

- Avenger, William Shatner

- Dark Victory, William Shatner

- Sarek, A.C. Crispin

Anyone else notice I love Star Trek stories?

- Three novels in one book, Michael Crichton (and they are: Congo, Sphere, Eaters of the Dead AKA The 13th Warrior)

- Reunion, Michael Jan Friedman

- The Valiant, Michael Jan Friedman

More Star Trek…

- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis (I might have considered getting all seven books in the series if they were in my local branch; I’ll settle for the one that arrived in theatres yesterday and read the rest next year.)

- Persuasion, Jane Austen

- The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux (The musical and movie are better in terms of storytelling abilities, since Gaston was actually a journalist and not a fiction writer; but why pass up the opportunity to reread the original work?)

- Traveling Light: Releasing the Burden, Max Lucado (Don’t normally dig non-fiction, but I’ve read one of Max’s before and figured I could try another while I’m borrowing half the library…)

- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

- Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

Another obsession of mine is all things Jane…

- Lady Susan, Phyllis Ann Karr (One of Jane’s unfinished works; will see if Phyllis butchers it as Emma Tennant did with her P&P sequel.)

- The Fairy Godmother, Mercedes Lackey

- Revenge of the Sith, Matthew Woodring (This one was lying on a shelf like it had no friends, but I’m not promising it any loyalty yet. )

- The Summer I Dared, Barbara Delinsky

Now the question is: Will I finish them all before we move to the other side of the country? My backup plan – write down any titles I didn’t read and track them down at the next library I visit…