A Christmas Song Explained

There is one Christmas Carol that has always been baffling to me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans and especially the partridge that won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

Today I found out...

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning. The surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to the members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality that the children could remember.



The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
The two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments.
The three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
The seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beautitudes.
The nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history lesson for today.
Wishing all of you a very Blessed Christmas.

-author unknown-

Upcoming Events

Check out our library's Facebook page to see some upcoming events at the Hilmar Covenant Church! Invite a friend to go with you!



Celebrate Recovery Support Group - January 5th









GriefShare Support Group - January 10th





Fiction Intensive with James Scott Bell - January 30th










Hope to see you there!
Your friendly HCC Library

Free eBook!

Gary Thomas, bestselling author of Sacred Marriage, is offering his brand new book for free on his website until January 1st, 2010! The book is Pure Pleasure: Why Do Christians Feel So Bad About Feeling Good?



Go to his website here and download your copy of the ebook today! Spread the news, and let us know what you think of the new book!

Books for Sale - 12/01/09

Perfect Christmas gifts for girls and teen girls!



Changing Faces by Wendy Lawton










Flip Flop by Wendy Lawton












Daughters of the Faith: Pack One by Wendy Lawton







Daughters of the Faith: Pack Two by Wendy Lawton






Spiritually Stimulating Nonfiction for Sale





the Real Mary by Scot McKnight









Becoming a Woman of Influence by Carol Kent (older edition)

Donations

If you have a book you don't want any more, the library would be willing to take it off your hands! We are looking for good, Christian books: fiction and nonfiction. We would prefer that the book be published after the year 2000, but we look at each book on a case by case basis. We are in need of new books for the library!

We also have a wishlist on Amazon.com that you can browse if you'd like to donate new books to us (the link is on the left side of this website). Help us make this important ministry popular again! The way to do this is by telling your friends about us, scheduling your activities in the library, and donating new books to us. All of your time and help are extremely appreciated!

Have a joyous holiday season, and may God bless you!

Your friends at the HCC Library

Coming Soon - 11/23/09

Product Description
In his powerful yet compassionate voice, Pastor Rick Warren sounds the clarion call to "remember the reason for the season," taking readers back in time to the most wonderful story of all -- the birth of the baby Jesus. When he was just a small boy, young Rick asked his parents if they could celebrate Christmas with a birthday party for Jesus -- and the tradition began that the Warrens have upheld for over fifty years. Now through stirring imagery and compelling personal insights, The Purpose of Christmas honors the significance and promise of this cherished holiday.

Pastor Warren encourages readers to identify and confront what drains peace from their lives. Warren explains that the way to respond to these peace-robbers is to learn how to surrender to God's will and not feel defeated or discouraged when life does not go as planned. True peace of mind is found by having an unshakable faith in God -- knowing that his empowering Spirit will guide his children through life's challenges.

Beautifully written, The Purpose of Christmas will stir readers to honor the true significance of Christmas and to nurture God's gifts of love and peace in this world.



Product Description
Janette Oke has dreamed for years of retelling a story in a biblical time frame from a female protagonist's perspective, and Davis Bunn is elated to be working with her again on this sweeping saga of the dramatic events surrounding the birth of Christianity...and the very personal story of Leah, a young Jewess of mixed heritage trapped in a vortex of competing political agendas and private trauma. Caught up in the maelstrom following the death of an obscure rabbi in the Roman backwater of first-century Palestine, Leah finds herself also engulfed in her own turmoil--facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a Roman soldier, Alban, who seems to care for nothing but his own ambitions. Head of the garrison near Galilee, he has been assigned by Palestine's governor to ferret out the truth behind rumors of a political execution gone awry. Leah's mistress, the governor's wife, secretly commissions Leah also to discover what really has become of this man whose death--and missing body--is causing such furor. This epic drama is threaded with the tale of an unlikely romance and framed with dangers and betrayals from unexpected sources. At its core, The Centurion's Wife unfolds the testing of loyalties--between two young people whose inner searchings they cannot express, between their irreconcilable heritages, and ultimately between their humanity and the Divine they yearn to encounter.



Product Description
"Be holy, for I am holy," commands God to His people. But holiness is something that is often missed in the Christian's daily life. According to Jerry Bridges, that's because we're not exactly sure what our part in holiness is. In the Pursuit of Holiness, he helps us see clearly just what we should rely on God to do - and what we should accept responsibility for ourselves.

New Books - 11/20/09

Product Description
Whether you write an occasional professional letter or a daily newspaper column, William Zinsser's On Writing Well should be required reading. Simplicity is Zinsser's mantra: he preaches a stripped-down writing style, strong and clear. He has no patience for excess (most use of adjectives and adverbs, he writes, just adds clutter) or tired phraseology (for instance, he'd like to outlaw all leads involving those "future archaeologists" most often found "stumbl[ing] upon the remains of our civilization"). He recommends that all writers of nonfiction read their work aloud (don't commit something to paper that you wouldn't actually say) and write under the assumption that "the reader knows nothing" (not to be confused with assuming the reader's an idiot). In addition to the chapters on the expected--usage, audience, interviews, leads--Zinsser also focuses on such trouble spots as science and technical writing, business writing, sports, and humor.


Product Description
Angie Picard has returned to her home in the hill country with a passion for teaching. But Angie has also come home as a young widow whose sorrow runs deep. Melissa Nealey moves to the hilltown after the death of her mother, and in the lonely girls face Angie recognizes a mirror image of her own haunting mask. Angies attempt to intervene in Melissas life draws her into conflict with the girls father. But the key to their happiness lies with the secret hidden within Melissas most precious gift from her mother, a lovely little music box.

Hours Update - 2009

The library is currently open:

MONDAY
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
with Deanna Barnes

WEDNESDAY
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
with Sandra Freeberg

THURSDAY
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
with Deanna Barnes

SUNDAY
8:30 am - 9:00 am
with Mary Wickstrom

The library will be CLOSED:
for Thanksgiving on November 26, 2009
for Christmas Eve on December 24, 2009

Come visit us! We welcome any questions, suggestions or donations!

New Books - 11/11/09

Product Description
THERE REALLY IS MORE TO THIS LIFE THAN YOU'VE BEEN TOLD

We've been demanding our way since day one...

"I want a spouse that makes me happy and co-workers that always ask my opinion."

"I want weather that suits me and traffic that helps me and a government that serves me."

Self-promotion. Self-preservation. Self-centeredness...

"IT'S ALL ABOUT ME."

They all told us it was, didn't they? And we took them up on it. We though self-celebration would make us happy...

But believing that has created chaos-noisy homes, stress-filled business, cutthroat relationships. We've chases do many skinny rabbits, says Max Lucado, that we've missed the fat one: the God-centered life.

If you want to shift into high gear with purpose, this is it: Life makes sense when we accept our place! Our pleasures, our problems, our gifts and talents...when they're all for the One who created us, we suddenly gain what we've been missing and find out what we've been seeking.

Let Max Lucado show you how to make the shift of a lifetime. How to bump your life off self-center. How to be changed and experience the meaning-charged life you were meant to have. Your discovery starts here.




Product Description
A new cover and fresh updates enrich Elizabeth George’s bestselling A Woman After God’s Own Heart® (over 735,000 copies sold). This very popular selection for personal and group study is filled with rich advice, spiritual wisdom, and practical applications.

With passion and personality, Elizabeth George shares how a woman can follow God and seek His heart in every area of her life—

* her husband
* her children
* her home
* her walk with the Lord
* her ministry

There is peace and purpose for the woman who prepares her heart and mind to embrace God’s plan every day. This new look will complement the other bestselling Elizabeth George titles loved by millions of women.



Product Description
After becoming a Christian, believers discover the joy of God's voice, but often the purity and freshness of that initial experience becomes clouded by the daily routine of life. In How to Listen to God Dr. Charles Stanley helps readers rediscover how to distinguish God's voice from all other voices around them, and how to joyfully and obediently respond. Dr. Stanley uses personal experiences from his life and ministry to discuss: why God wants to communicate with us, how God gets our attention, how God communicates with us, and how to listen to God and enjoy His presence.



Product Description
When I was twelve, I made a naïve, yet desperate pact with God to keep my ailing mother alive. It was the first time I'd ventured something so brazen—making a contract with the Almighty…

So begins the story of Becky Owens, a talented and passionate young pianist on the verge of adolescence when she learns the devastating news of her mother’s critical illness. As the daughter of a country preacher in Lancaster County, Becky knows well the significance of sacrifice, and in her bargain with God, she vows to exchange her most cherished possession for her mother’s life.

Hospital rules only add to Becky’s sorrow—twelve-year-olds aren’t allowed to visit, so Becky and her mother must share tearful smiles through Lancaster General’s sunroom window. But a realization of the power of music and a lesson in unconditional love compel Becky to rethink her "deal" with God, and the sunroom becomes a place where miracles happen…