Amain.

Thirdway community member, Eddie Oroyan, offered our worship music last Sunday with some pretty great Christmas songs. His leading of "I saw three ships" was my favorite for sure. We happily belted it out, strumming the guitar and banjo and clanging on the glockenspiel while Eddie walked around singing and playing his harmonica. Silly or not, it was refreshing to approach God with joy and playfulness.

Eddie told us that the song originates in England somewhere in the 1600's. People would wait at the ports, looking to the horizon, in anticipation for their sailors to arrive. There was so much joy there in the waiting for returning husbands, fathers, friends and news-bearers.

The final lyric is a shouting "Then let us all rejoice amain, on christmas day, on christmas day!" The word "amain" means "with full force, at full speed, suddenly, exceedingly, and greatly".

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I pray that as we celebrate Christ's birth, God will restore our anticipation of His kingdom coming in fullness and that we would look to the horizon with joy, ready to pump our fists into the air and shout "Amain"!

Merry Christmas!!

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Your trees wave branches high, like arms in church to grateful sky. - Aaron Weiss, mewithoutYou