December Music Notes

The Holiday Season is upon us!  Have you finished all your shopping yet?  Have you even begun?
We (as in Warren and I) are in the category of.... "have you even begun"... :0-D
It's been such a blessed time already though, with all the events we have been going to like craft and vendor shows, playing a Christmas Concert in Eau Claire Wisconsin at the Gospel Christian Coffeehouse, enjoying my time with the WOW ladies group here in town and us preparing to sing for folks at a Hospice Home. 
Do you all have plans for the Holidays?  Going to see family and friends or having them over?
We hope to spend time with family, but it all depends on the weather, because if it snows we have to stay put as Warren has accounts for snow removal.....  So, our holiday plans are up in the air.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Last events for this season before Christmas....

Date:  12/8/18
Time:  1 - 4 pm
Place:  Gospel Christian Coffehouse
1726 N. Clairemont Ave.
Town:  Eau Claire, WI

Date: 12/11/18
Time: 11 am
Event:  Christmas Caroling
Place:  Quiet Oaks Hospice House
5537 Galaxy Road
Town:  St. Augusta, MN

Date:  Saturday, December 15
Time: 10am - 1 pm
Event:  Sartell Winter Market  (NotesNBling)
Place:  Sartell Community Center
             850  19th Street S.
Town:  Sartell, MN

We will also see you back in Sartell at the Winter Market on January 5, 2019 held at the same place (Sartell Community Center) from 10am-1pm.

PAST EVENTS:
Since I'm getting this newsletter out pretty much almost at the middle of the month, all our early December events have already passed.  But here are some highlights.
First:  Hometown Market in Hudson, WI.  Such a blast to be with the other vendors, meeting new people and creating an atmosphere of worship during the event.

Here are just a few pictures of some of all the craft and vendor shows we've been participating in November and this month. Warren's BBQ sauce has been a great hit!  My jewelry has been flying off the racks!  ....and the most fun was just this past weekend (Dec. 8) at the Gospel Christian Coffeehouse in Eau Claire, WI playing music, enjoying fellowship, laughter, quite a few Christmas songs and just the best time ever!

PERSONALLY:
Warren's ankle has been healing up very nicely.  He's just in a brace now and already has refereed his first basketball game a week or so ago.  Thankfully he was able to referee with another person so he did not have to cover the whole basketball court.  He said he didn't have a lot of trouble with his ankle, but his leg did get tired after a while.  So he's not quite up to par, but he sure is glad to get around SO much better.
I've been busy making jewelry, going to shows (some without Warren) and letting people know about my business.  The most fun is always to see someone find just that piece they love, either for themselves or as a gift for someone, and walk away with a big smile on their face!  Since my jewelry is built upon scripture, it's been a great way to share encouragement and God's love with others through those scriptures. I love my creative art and so grateful that people appreciate it and want to buy it, ask for custom orders or just have me resize or make something special for them.   Aside from the music (my first passion always), the jewelry has been a beautiful addition and my little business is growing as are my designs and different jewelry lines I now offer.  More to come in the next year! 
Check in often on my NotesNBling Facebook page!

IN ENDING:
Recently one of the songs in my Christmas repertoire is a song called "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".  A couple years ago I did some research on that song and found some pretty cool stuff.
To sum it up shortly....this has been one of the most misunderstood carols of Christmas and the reason why is that some of the words we as Americans hear are not anything like what the English peasants meant when they first sang this song over 500 years ago.
This carol was written as a direct reaction to the music of the 15th Century Church.  During this period, the songs of organized religion were usually written in Latin and their melodies were somber and dark, offering singers and listeners alike little inspiration or joy. 
Although they continued to go to worship, the peasants created their own church music outside the walls of the cathedrals and chapels.  They wrote songs that were light, lively and penned in common language.  Their Christmas folk songs became the foundation of what are now known as Christmas carols.

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen's" lyrics reveal that the song's unknown writer knew the story of Jesus' birth well.  He included the high points of the gospel throughout the carol's verses.  The writer also fully understood the power of Christ and what His arrival meant to all who embraced it.

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" was sung for hundreds of years before it was finally published in the nineteenth century.  It eventually crossed the ocean to both Europe and America.
The only problem is that few of today's singers fully understand the beginning of each of the carol's many verses.  This is the result of the evolution of the English language.
When modern people say "Merry" Christmas, the word merry means happy.  When "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" was written, merry had a very different meaning.  Robin Hood's "Merry Men" might have been happy, but the merry that described them meant great and mighty.  Thus, in the Middle Ages, a strong army was a merry army, a great singer was a merry singer and a mighty ruler was a merry ruler.   So when the English carolers of the Victorian era sang, "merry gentlemen", they meant great or mighty men. 
"Ye" means you, but even when translated to "God rest you mighty gentlemen", the song still makes very little sense.  This is due to another word that has a much different meaning in today's world and a lost punctuation mark.
The word rest in "God rest ye..." simply means keep or make.  Yet to completely uncover the final key to solving this mystery of meaning....a comma needs to be placed after the word "merry".
So, in modern English, the first line should read: "God make you mighty, gentlemen".
Using t;his translation, the old carol suddenly makes perfect sense as does the most common saying of the holidays:  "Merry Christmas"......

With this.....  I wish you all a very MIGHTY CHRISTMAS!
....and a Happy New Year. 
Love Sam & Warren.