I think winter has finally come to Indiana. Too bad it's not really winter yet. That isn't until what, December 21st or something like that? But it is C-O-L-D outside today. REALLY cold. my feet are still frozen and I've been inside for quite awhile now. Oh well, it's fine. It's winter. I've lived here my whole life, you think I would just be resigned to it, right? Right, but I'm not. Every year I actually get a little more bitter and a little more dedicated to leaving it all behind. Somehow I doubt I ever will, though. My family is here, my friends are here, and the other three seasons are things I simply couldn't live without, so this one is just part of the deal, I guess.

I haven't mentioned anything about the adult Christmas musical that we had here at SOCC last weekend...and there's a reason for that. I really don't know how to describe it. I've seen a lot of 'church' presentations in my day, and I've seen a lot of musicals...but this one, wow. It was so simple, so profound, and so moving. It was called "Who Is This King of Glory?" There is a song by the group Third Day of almost the same title. The first verse and Chorus are below:

Who is this King of Glory that persues me with his love
And haunts me with each hearing of His softly spoken words
My conscience, a reminder of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of Glory who offers it to me

His name is Jesus, precious Jesus
The Lord Almighty, the King of my heart
The King of glory

It was the story of a little girl and her grandfather and the true meaning of Christmas. The musical was beautiful, hopeful, and holy. There were goosebumps all over my body the whole way through it...and the real message--that two huge moments, the birth of Jesus in a manger and the death of Jesus on the cross were the bookends of the single greatest act of love in the history of history. The finale of the show was a song called "Midnight Cry." I cannot begin to explain in words how well it was done and how amazing the man who sang it was. His name is Tim Birt and he's a vocal music major at IU. I think he's getting his master's at this point. That's not what is so amazing, though. What is amazing is that he is simply amazingly talented...and completely humble. When the sanctuary erupted in applause at the end, he simply walked off stage. Later we were talking and he said "my only hope and prayer was that they were cheering about the message, about the story, and about how amazing God is. That is the only thing that matters." It was amazing. I only wish I could somehow put the WAV file of the song on my blog so you could understand just how amazing it was. Here are the lyrics to the song:

I hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind
And it’s closer now than it’s ever been
I can almost hear the trumpet
As Gabriel sounds the call
At the midnight cry we’ll be going home

When Jesus steps out of the clouds to call His children
The dead in Christ shall rise and meet Him in the air
Then those that remain, will be quickly changed
At the midnight cry, when Jesus comes again

I look around me I see prophecies fulfilled everyday
And signs of the times they're appearing everywhere
I can almost hear the Father as He says, "Son, go get my children"
At the midnight cry the dead in Christ shall rise

When Jesus steps out of the clouds to call His children
The dead in Christ shall rise and meet Him in the air
Then those that remain, will be quickly changed
At the midnight cry, when Jesus comes again

Then those that remain, will be quickly changed
At the midnight cry, when Jesus comes again
At the midnight cry, when Jesus comes again
When Jesus comes again

Amen!