Good Night Mrs. James

I've loved Etta James' work for many years.

Etta James passed away today of complications from leukemia.

Here are a few that were my favorites; that make me revel in sentimental fondness.

Good Night Mrs. James.  Your music will live on.

On The 12th Day of Christmas...

my true love sent to me,

12 Drummers Drumming

Traditionally, the 12 drummers drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed.  This is a devotional in itself.

1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord
3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary
4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell
5. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father
6. He will come again to judge the living and the dead
7. I believe in the Holy Spirit
8. the holy catholic Church
9. the communion of saints
10. the forgiveness of sins
11. the resurrection of the body
12. and life everlasting

In case you want more, here is the devotional for the 12th Day of Christmas.

I have enjoyed walking through these 12 Days of Christmas.  Tomorrow you may take down your tree and all of your decorations.  Amen.

On The 11th Day of Christmas....

my true love sent to me,

11 Pipers Piping

Sure hope her true love didn't send these too early in the morning!  Whew! Can you imagine the complaints from the neighbors?  Well, you're probably right, these aren't so bad next to all of the noise the birds make, and the cows' mooing.


Traditionally though, the 11 pipers stood for the Eleven Faithful Apostles who stuck with Jesus when seemingly all others had turned against Him.  You could say there were like pipers in that they "tooted their horns" by spreading the gospel as Jesus commanded.  And, they were like the "Pied Piper of Hamlin" because people would follow them.

Only one more devotion after this devotional for the 11th Day of Christmas!

On The 10th Day of Christmas...

my true love sent to me,

10 Lords A-Leaping

These dancers were most likely Morris dancers who performed leaping dances between courses at feasts.  It is a form of ancient folk dancing & the dancers wore all sorts of bells on their tights and were very lively jumping all over the place then tried to get those 9 ladies to dance with them.  Not really.

The biblical association for this verse is easy; the 10 Commandments.

Your devotion for the 10th day of Christmas is right here!

On The 9th Day of Christmas...

my true love sent to me,

9 Ladies Dancing

Attributed to the 9 Fruits of the Spirit.  Do you know what they are?  In Galatians 5:22 & 23 we are taught that they are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Here is your devotional today for the 9th Day of Christmas!

On The 8th Day of Christmas...

my true love sent to me,

8 maids a-milking

milk maid braids

The phrase "As smooth as a milk maid's skin" means exceptionally smooth.  According to Wikipedia, "This phrase came about as a result of exposure to cowpox, which causes no serious symptoms, but does convey a partial immunity to the disfiguring (and often fatal) disease smallpox. Thus, milkmaids lacked the "pockmarked" complexion common to smallpox survivors. This observation led to the development of the first vaccine."

California Milk Maids

And for our purpose today, the lyric is linked to the 8 beatitudes as taught in the sermon on the mount.

Now that you have some milk maid trivia embedded in the folds of your brain, meditate on this devotional for the 8th day of Christmas!