lo, how a rose e'er blooming

dear emily,

i was working at my computer when i noticed a lovely pink hue to the
room.   looking out the kitchen window,  i gasped at the reddish-rosy
glow in the sky.    while taking pictures, i couldn't believe that it was
december 1st, 80 degrees, and my roses were still blooming.

then i thought of one of my favorite Christmas hymns, "lo, how a rose
e'er blooming."

lo, how a rose e'er blooming from tender stem hath sprung?
of jesse's lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
it came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
when half spent was the night

isaiah 'twas foretold it, the Rose i have in mind;
mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
to show God's love aright, she bore to us a Saviour,
when half spent was the night . . .

love,
lea

700 years before the birth of Christ, "therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign:  the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
Son, and will call him Immanuel."   isaiah 7:14