Christmas Carol Lyrics

Tonight I'm heading out with a few friends to take part in CSI (Caroling Stars Initiative) through STAR 105.7's incentive to get people out caroling and spreading the Christmas cheer.

It's going to be a rainy soggy night but we've decided to go out anyways and stop in a couple nursing homes.

I was looking for music and realized how difficult it was to find the lyrics without a million pop ups so I thought I'd put together a post for you to use also.

If you would like a pdf file to print, email me and I'd be happy to send you one.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Jingle Bells

James Pierpont. publ.1857

Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go, laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring, making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing, A sleighing song tonight, O

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh (repeat)

A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride,
And soon Miss Fanny Bright, was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank; misfortune seemed his lot;
He got into a drifted bank, and we, we got upsot.O

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!
O What fun it is to ride, in a one-horse open sleigh. (repeat)

Deck The Halls

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Tis the season to be jolly
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Don we now our gay apparel
Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la.

Troll the ancient Yule-tide carol
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

See the blazing Yule before us.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Strike the harp and join the chorus.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Follow me in merry measure.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

While I tell of Yule-tide treasure.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Fast away the old year passes.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Hail the new year, lads and lasses
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Sing we joyous, all together.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Heedless of the wind and weather.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Joy To The World

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

O Come, ALL Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels!



O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.



Sing, alleluia,
All ye choirs of angels;
O sing, all ye blissful ones of heav'n above.
Glory to God -In the highest glory!



O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.



Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be the glory giv'n;
Word of the Father,
Now in the flesh appearing,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Silent Night

Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly host sing, Alleluia,
Christ, the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born!


Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love's pure light,
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.

Twelve Days Of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled."
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th' angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem."

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!
Christ, by highest heav'n adored:
Christ, the everlasting Lord;

Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the favored one.
Veil'd in flesh, the Godhead see;
Hail, th'incarnate Deity:
Pleased, as man, with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!
Hail! the heav'n-born Prince of peace!
Hail! the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die:
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!



Merry Christmas

(L to R- Matt, me, Mark, Mom Cramer, Josh, Lauren-on Josh's shoulders, Dad Cramer and Stephanie.)


Hope you all had a Merry Christmas...I'm still a bit loopy from all the busy-ness, but it was a wonderful weekend!

Blessings to you and yours,
Sue

Decking the Halls

It's that time of year again, here's a peek into the Cramer Christmas pad.

It's looking like it will be a white Christmas here in Michigan, yay!

Our First Christmas 1987, can hardly believe I just celebrated 21 years with my best friend.

Lot's of joy in this house!

Lauren doing the Jingle Bell Rock.


One of my favorite decorations, this picture of a snowman ~ "praising the Lord"!
All he needs is a cup of hot coffee...well maybe a vanilla bean frappacino instead...



The family room.




The living room.





And because so many of you have been asking about the Christmas Gala
that I spoke at, here is a picture of when I told the story of my
"Worship Accident"
The evening was wonderful, what an amazing bunch of women! They were precious.
And the best part was that no one

threw any shoes at me!!




And here is the reason that we fuss and bother, though sometimes we forget.
I pray that we would not leave the precious baby in the manger,
but embrace Him in our hearts and lives forever.




Thank you for stopping by Praise and Coffee today.

I wish you and your family a beautiful Christmas
and Happy New Year.

Thanks Boomama for doing all the work once again!

Time to Simplify Your Holidays

Lauren is on this new kick of asking me about the time. She walks up and serious as can be asks, "Mom, what time is it?"
It always makes me laugh because she knows nothing about time yet, but apparently she has figured out that this is something enquiring minds need to know.

That leads me to my post subject. Let me ask you, what time is it? If you guessed, time to prepare for Christmas you are correct.
I know, I know it seems to come earlier every year, but once Halloween is over, it's really time to get moving.
This was impressed on me even more as I read a post over at my friend Susan's place.
I want to share it with you and encourage you to start early, take you time and enjoy the true reason for the season.

While you're over there, hang out a while, Susan is a great hostess!

Simplify Your Holidays

Christmas Day 2007

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
We have been with family and friends for the past 4 days and just loving every minute.

I finally got my camera back so here's some pictures from today.

Lauren waiting patiently for the kids to get up so she can open presents.

This is her first year handing out the gifts- FORE!

(Yes, it IS hurling through the air across the room to her brother.)

Daddy got a mug with the kid's picture on it.

Lauren was thrilled to get her own pink motorcycle helmet and goggles,

she wore them most of the day.

AND a two wheel bike! Good thing she had that helmet.

She had to make sure I saw the smile,

so she lifted the helmet for me.

Making dinner.

My sons with their precious little 3 year old sister!

Now she's shy?!

Grandma gave Lauren her own apron.

Getting ready for dinner.




My hallway is now a race track.



A long day of partying makes a girl (and her Daddy) awfully tired!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Sue

PS: Another giveaway starting January 1st!!

The Power of Christmas ~ Green and Red

This will wrap up (no pun intended!) the series on The Power of Christmas and the signs and symbols of the season that point us to our Savior. If you want a free CD copy of this full message, email your home address to me.

The colors of Christmas, green and red, we see them everywhere! But they mean so much more than deck the halls to me!

GREEN
The color green is so symbolic to us. It represents life, new life and growth.

Think about the green Christmas tree, it may have gone through years of hard winters and scorching summers, but it stays green.

A wonderful reminder to us that we WILL go through tough times, but God can sustain us and we will grow through these times if we put our roots deep into Him and His Word.
We can weather the storms and still remain “green.”

At the end of our drive we have a row of pine trees. The ones on the left get water from our underground sprinkling, the ones on the right do not. They are all green and growing, but the ones that get regular watering are much taller and more lush than the other side.
It is the same for us.
If we are regularly “watered” in God’s Word, we will thrive and not just survive!



RED

The color red brings me to the blood of Jesus. Oh that precious blood! That blood changed it all for mankind.

1 John 1:7
7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
NIV

That blood took away our sins and still does today.

Eph 2:13
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
NIV

Could there be any more beautiful words than that?!

We have been brought near to Him by the blood of Jesus.
By the most unselfish of actions in all of time!
He gave His life for you and I.
So that we could be brought near to our incredible, amazing Creator, God.

I went much deeper into the discussion about blood of Jesus at the church I spoke at and you can get a copy of that CD free by emailing me your home address.

But for today, let’s just think about and rejoice in the fact that the blood He shed brought us near to Him.

I pray that you receive the life that the blood of Jesus offers you.
If you’ve never done so, go to Him right now in prayer.
Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and acknowledge that He is the Lord.
Thank Him that Jesus Christ is the son of God sent for you!

If you are a believer already, rejoice today!

Celebrate the Savior this Christmas and always!

When you see the colors of Christmas,

let them bring your heart to Him!

To His blood shed for you and the new life He offers!!!!!

Blessings and Merry Christmas to all of you.
Sue

Here is one of my favorite songs to enjoy on this most holy night.

The Power of Christmas ~ Lights!

Continuing a series that I spoke at Eagles Nest Church. If you would like a free CD copy, email your home address to me.

I love Christmas lights! As you can see by my Christmas tree (see previous post). As I put my tree up I layer tons of lights on every branch. They are so beautiful to me!
Lights, candles… I love them all.

Apparently the Lord does too!
He refers to Himself as THE light.

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light,
so that no one who believes in me
should stay in darkness.
NIV

Have you ever known darkness? I have. I have walked through times in my life that were so dark it took every ounce of faith I had to reach out to the Lord.
Times of pain, heartache and loneliness.

John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people,
He said,"I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life."
NIV

It was in those times of darkness that I found Him to be Hope to me. He was light to my darkness.

Life can break your heart. God can heal it.

Picture a gymnasium. All the lights are turned out, it’s pitch black. Then in the middle of the room someone lights a tiny match. Even though the darkness is much greater…it can not hold back the light.
Light always dispels the darkness!

When we open our hearts to God, we let His light shine on us and no darkness can overtake His light. Hope will spring forth out of the darkest times if we look to Him.

He is life, He is joy, He is hope, He IS light!

One of my favorite verses:
Rom 15:13
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
NIV

When you see all the Christmas lights this season, think about Him, He is the true Light of Life!!!

If you would like a free CD copy of this message, email your home address to me!

Merry Christmas From My House!

As part of Boomama’s Tour of Homes, here's mine:

First let me apologize, my camera was left at a friends house by the daughter and I had to use another one, sorry about the blurriness and poor quality- makes me crazy! But I had a deadline.

Welcome to my home,

so glad you're finally here for coffee!

Twelve hours after this, I had a half foot of snow on the walk! :)



As we sit and sip our coffee with Nestle's French Vanilla Cream (or hot cocoa if you prefer), you would see this on top of my cupboards, one of my favorite things-my violin (that I did not play but picked up at an estate sale!)

Please help yourself to a cookie- I promise they taste better than the picture looks!!! I had to pull these out of the freezer where they are hidden so the family doesn't eat them all in one day!
(Recipe at the end of post).


This is made from a few of last years Christmas cards:

This is our family room (note the wild 3 year old in the second picture!) :)



This is from the dining room, looking into the living room, catching the dog sleeping on the couch! "Get down from there Macy!" (Who am I fooling- she's there all the time!)

And the tree!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Thank you Boomama for hosting this!

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

Cream together:
1 cup butter & 2 cups sugar

Mix:
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Add to above.

Add:
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
3 1/2 cups flour
Mix all together and refridgerate for 2 hours.

Roll out and cut into shapes.
Bakc at 350* for 8-10 minutes.

Cool, top with icing and sprinkles.



Icing:
1 box powdered sugar
2-3 Tbls. melted butter
1 tsp ALMOND flavoring
Dash of salt
A little milk til you get the right texture.

Merry Christmas from the White House

I found this in my mailbox yesterday:



OK! Maybe it wasn't in MY mailbox! :-P

But it IS a very beautiful card this year.
Instead of the usual holiday and season's greetings, the President and Mrs. Bush chose a powerful verse out of Nehemiah:

Nehemiah 9:6

You alone are the LORD.

You made the heavens,

even the highest heavens,

and all their starry host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

You give life to everything,

and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

NIV

Isn't that cool?!



Then their greeting says:

" May the joy of all creation
fill your heart this blessed season
2007"

Good stuff!


When I do get mine, I'll post it (don't hold your breath)!

The Power of Christmas ~ Snow!

Isaiah 1:18
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
NIV

Snow is a beautiful reminder of the forgiveness of sins that our loving God offers us.
Maybe you haven’t felt pure for a very long time…you can.
When you receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers you
- your sins are forgiven & you are washed white as snow!

What about the Snowflakes…

As a child I had learned that no two snowflakes are alike. But I don’t think that I really grasped how amazing that is until I think about it now.
It’s not hard to believe that no two are alike in my hand or even in my yard, but when I think about all the snow in my neighborhood and all the snow in this country and all the snow in the world!

There are no two alike?!

That is simply amazing.

That is simply our God!

Snowflakes may have similar qualities, but they are all uniquely different.
Just like you and I!
We are created in the image of God.

No 2 snowflakes are alike… no 2 of us are alike.

WHY not???
Because- YOU were created on purpose….you are no accident!

GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE!

Psalms 139:13-14
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
NIV

Eph 2:10
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
NIV

YOU are far more important than snow!
But when we see snow – it points us to our awesome Creator.

Because we all have a unique purpose, it is important that we also remember not to compare ourselves to others.

You were not created to fulfill their purpose…

you were created to fulfill your purpose.

If we start comparing ourselves with others, we are sure to miss all
that God has for us!

You are precious to God!
It was/is important to God that you were unique!
He “had a hand” in creating you – just the way He did!

He is crazy about you and I!

That should never fill us with pride when we truly understand the majesty and glory of our God and WHY He loves us so much.

Let me share a quote with you about God’s love from the book, “Pierced By the Word” by John Piper.

“For many years I have sought to understand how the God-centerdness of God
relates to His love for sinners like us. Most people do not immediately see
God’s passion for the glory of God as an act of love. One reason for this is
that we have absorbed the world’s defnintion of love. It says: You are loved
when you are made much of.

The main problem with this definition of
love is that when you try to apply it to God’s love for us, it distorts
reality. God’s love for us in not mainly His making much of us, but
His giving us the ability to enjoy making much of Him forever. In other
words, God's love for us keeps God at the center.”

I LOVE that!

No matter how you look at it, it all comes back to HIM!
That is so powerful!!!

As wonderfully made as we are- it’s still all about being made in HIS image!

When you see the snow…think about:
*He washes us white as snow
*We are all uniquely created for His purposes
*It’s all about Him!

I will continue this series online, but if you would like to hear the message that I shared in it’s entirety, email me your home address and I will send you a copy of the CD (no charge).

The Power of Christmas ~ The Star

The Power of Christmas
Part 1

This time of the year can be so tiring and overwhelming. I spent several hours yesterday out braving the crowds to get the bulk of my shopping done (I also indulged in my favorite, a caramel/ vanilla latte… so it was a good day!). But now I have a laundry room full of boxes and bags that need to be wrapped.

Instead of letting this season takes it’s toll on me, I want to make an effort to find my Savior in this Christmas season. No matter how hard the forces of evil try to take away the power of Christmas they can’t mute how God, our Amazing Creator will reveal Himself to those who are looking!

So I am going to look at some of the symbols of Christmas that speak such a life-giving and hope filled story to us!

The first one is a star.
We see gold and silver stars all over at this time of year, but there was a star that represented such JOY…

Matt 2:9-11
9 After meeting with King Herod the wise men went their way.

Once again the star appeared to them,

guiding them to Bethlehem.

It went ahead of them and stopped

over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!

Why were they filled with such joy?

These men had studied and knew that there would be a King born.

They had followed the star from the East and put their lives aside to find this new King.

I believe that when they saw that star over Bethlehem, there hearts leaped because they knew…

IT’S TRUE!
HE’S HERE!

Just take in that moment with them…I’ll just bet they gasped as they realized that all that they’d hoped for…was true.

The King had come!
And they were filled with joy!


Christmas can be a very sad and lonely time for some. My heart goes out to the many hurting hearts this season.
It can bring on depression…..but NOT if you have a heart that is filled with joy because you realize, maybe for the very first time….

It’s TRUE.
He DID come.
He came for me.

These men saw the star and all their hopes and dreams were fulfilled, and in the same way, when we come to that place of understanding what THIS (this season) is really all about…..we can be filled with joy!

When we GET that….when we really, really GET THAT… depression CAN’T rule in our hearts…because we have HOPE!

10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy

Next time you see a star- remember their joy and let it fill YOU with joy!

Psalms 105:3
Glory in His Holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
NIV

I will continue this series online, but if you would like to hear the message that I shared in it’s entirety, email me your home address and I will send you a copy of the CD (no charge).

The Power of Christmas!

I spoke to the precious ladies of Eagle's Nest Church yesterday and had a blast!

These ladies know how to have a good time and they blessed my socks off!

I spoke on "The Power of Christmas" and I will be sharing parts of that message with you this week.

If any of you would like a copy of the CD

just email me your address

and I'll send one out to you!

To the Ladies from Eagle's Nest: welcome to the blog, and please email me some of your pictures, my camera was acting up so I don't have very many good ones.

My email can be found in my profile.

Thanks again for being so welcoming to me!

He IS the Light of the World

It’s Christmas time!

Not that we need an excuse, but what a great opportunity to talk about our Savior!
He is, after all…LIFE!

There has never been, nor will there ever be, one like Him.
Let’s take every opportunity we can get to bring Him honor this season.

He’s the Light of the world!

John 1:6-9
6 There came a man who was sent from God;
his name was John.
7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light,
so that through him all men might believe.
8 He himself was not the light;
he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to every man
was coming into the world.
NIV

John 8:12
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said,
"I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life."
NIV

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light,
so that no one
who believes in me
should stay in darkness.
NIV

I don't know about you, but that just makes my heart leap!
I have experienced some darkness in my life and I can't imagine where I would be without the Lord shedding His light into my life.

We have so many reasons to rejoice this season!
Don't let the crazy/busy-ness and all the hoopla, steal the Wonder of what it's really all about!