Sunday's Hymn: Blessed Lord, In Thee is Refuge

Blessed Lord, in thee is refuge,
Safety for my trembling soul:
Pow'r to lift my head when drooping
'Midst the angry billow's roll.
I will trust thee,
I will trust thee,
I will trust thee,
All my life thou shalt control.

In the past, too, unbelieving,
'Midst the tempest I have been,
And my heart has slowly trusted
What my eyes have never seen.
Blessed Jesus,
Blessed Jesus,
Blessed Jesus,
Teach me on thine arm to lean.

O, for trust that brings the triumph
When defeat seems strangely near;
O, for faith that changes fighting
Into vict'ry's ringing cheer!
Faith triumphant,
Faith triumphant,
Faith triumphant,
Knowing not defeat or fear.

Herbert Booth
Tune: Bryn Calfaria, William Owen, 1814-1893

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for a husband who encourages me when I'm discouraged and overwhelmed. In fact, he is encouraging in the most important way. He points me away from myself and my circumstances and back to our sovereign God. Who could possible be discouraged when standing in awe of our Almighty God?

There's a thanksgiving going on each Thursday of 2010 initiated by Kim of The Upward Call. Won't you join in the festivities?

Quotes From the Cottage

If we live to eat, instead of eating to live, our spiritual vision is bound to be defective....
It is this which should speak loudly to our hearts: he who yields to the lusts of the flesh injures his spiritual instincts, and opens wide the door for the Devil to impose upon him and deceive him with his lies! He who allows natural sentiments and affections to override the requirements of God's revealed will, is reduced to a humiliated state in the end. How often it proves that a man's spiritual foes are they of his own household! Isaac loved Esau unwisely.~A.W. Pink in An Exposition of Hebrews on Heb. 11:20

Sunday's Hymn: O Word of God Incarnate

O Word of God Incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O light of our dark sky;
We praise thee for the radiance
That from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps
Shines on from age to age.

The church from her dear Master
Received the gift divine,
And still that light she lifteth
O'er all the earth to shine.
It is the golden casket,
Where gems of truth are stored;
It is the heav'n-drawn picture
Of Christ, the living Word.

It floateth like a banner
Before God's host unfurled;
It shineth like a beacon
Above the darkling world.
It is the chart and compass
That o'er life's surging sea,
'Mid mists and rocks and quicksands,
Still guides, O Christ, to thee.

O make thy church, dear Saviour,
A lamp of purest gold,
To bear before the nations
Thy true light, as of old.
O teach thy wand'ring pilgrims
By this their path to trace,
Till, clouds and darkness ended,
They see thee face to face.

William Walsham How, 1867
Tune: Munich, Meiningen Gesangbuch, 1693

Thankful Thursday

Yesterday was the first day of the study of Isaiah that I will be doing this year. I think I'm going to learn a lot and I'm very excited about it! I am also very thankful and humbled to have the privilege of leading a group of women through this study. That the Holy One of Israel calls me to do this, enables me to shepherd these women through this study is awe-inspiring and that He grows me in my faith while serving Him is such an overwhelming blessing. I am truly grateful to our sovereign God.

Each Thursday of 2010, I am joining my friend, Kim of The Upward Call and others in thanking Him for His blessings. Won't you join us?

Sunday's Hymn: God, In the Gospel of His Son

God, in the gospel of his Son,
Makes his eternal counsels known;
Where love in all its glory shines,
And truth is drawn in fairest lines.

Here sinners of a humble frame
May taste his grace, and learn his Name;
May read, in characters of blood,
The wisdom, pow'r, and grace of God.

The pris'ner here may break his chains;
The weary rest from all his pains;
The captive feel his bondage cease;
The mourner find the way of peace.

Here faith reveals to mortal eyes
A brighter world beyond the skies;
Here shines the light which guides our way
From earth to realms of endless day.

O grant us grace, Almighty Lord,
To read and mark thy holy Word;
Its truths with meekness to receive,
And by its holy precepts live.

St. 1-2, Benjamin Beddome, 1787
St. 3-5, alt. by Thomas Cotterill, 1819
Tune: Germany, William Gardiner's Sacred Melodies, 1815

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for opportunities to....

• study God's Word
• worship Him
• serve Him
• cling to Him
• even be disciplined by Him.

I am thankful to know and belong to our God. I am thankful for Christ's atoning sacrifice for me which gives me life in Him.

Share your thankfulness with us, won't you? Kim at The Upward Call initiated our Thankful Thursdays but the blessings are multiplied by sharing the thanksgiving.

Sunday's Hymn: I Waited for the Lord Most High

I waited for the Lord most high,
And he inclined to hear my cry;
He took me from destruction's pit
And from the miry clay;
Upon a rock he set my feet,
And steadfast made my way.

A new and joyful song of praise
He taught my thankful heart to raise;
And many, seeing me restored,
Shall fear the Lord and trust;
And blest are they that trust the Lord,
The humble and the just.

O Lord my God, how manifold
Thy wondrous works which I behold,
And all thy loving, gracious thought
Thou hast bestowed on man;
To count thy mercies I have sought,
But boundless is their span.

Psalm 40:1-5, The Psalter, 1912
Tune: Dunstan, Sir Joseph Barnby, 1838-1896

New Words

There are certain words or phrases that, upon initially being introduced to them, just go around and around in my brain looking for ways to be used in everyday speech or writing. But sometimes, hard as I try, I just can't come up with a conversation in which they fit. Today's Merriam-Webster Dictionary Word of the Day is a perfect example. The word is clitic. Do you know its definition? Or have you even heard the word clitic before? I hadn't. But here's a clue to its meaning. It'll surprise me if your speech isn't just chock full of clitics. Mine is. Go see what we've been using all along without knowing it!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful today for cooler temperatures and rain. I'm not a hot weather lover at all so our abundance of 90 and above days this summer has not been to my liking one little bit! And, although overall its been a rather wet summer, the last couple of weeks have been dry. Considering that I've recently planted some hydrangeas and a few other perennials as well as the fact that I'm now responsible for the garden our former tenants left, I'm very thankful for this help with the watering!

Please join with Kim of The Upward Call, myself and several other friends who are committed to praising our God for the good gifts in our lives each Thursday of 2010. What are you thanking God for today?