Sunday's Hymn: I'm But a Stranger Here, Heav'n is My Home

I'm but a stranger here,
Heav'n is my home;
Earth is a desert drear,
Heav'n is my home;
Danger and sorrow stand
Round me on ev'ry hand;
Heav'n is my fatherland,
Heav'n is my home.

What though the tempest rage,
Heav'n is my home;
Short is my pilgrimage,
Heav'n is my home;
And time's wild wintry blast
Soon shall be over past;
I shall reach home at last,
Heav'n is my home;

There, at my Saviour's side,
Heav'n is my home;
I shall be glorified,
Heav'n is my home;
There are the good and blest,
Those I love most and best;
And there I too shall rest,
Heav'n is my home;

Therefore I murmur not,
Heav'n is my home;
Whate'er my earthly lot,
Heav'n is my home;
And I shall surely stand
There at my Lord's right hand;
Heav'n is my fatherland,
Heav'n is my home

Thomas R. Taylor, 1836
Tune: St. Edmund, Sir Arthur S. Sullivan, 1872

Thankful....

Friday, again. Whew! I'm thankful that God is my strength these days...every day, in fact. Its through His power that I am able to do anything ever but some days that's more obvious than others. Its been a hectic Fall around the cottage!

Yesterday was my annual thyroid check-up and I am so thankful to report that all is well on that front. This year's Thanksgiving Day should be much different from last year's and I'm praising Him for that!

And this morning I'm thankful for a hot cup of tea and a warm little dog in my lap as I study God's Word and thank Him for His promises to me.

Each Thursday (or Friday) of 2010, I'm joining my friend, Kim of The Upward Call and others in thanking God for His blessings. Won't you join us?

Sunday's Hymn: My God, Is Any Hour So Sweet

My God, is any hour so sweet,
From blush of morn to evening star,
As that which calls me to thy feet,
The hour of prayer?

Then is my strength by thee renewed;
Then are my sins by thee forgiv'n;
Then dost thou cheer my solitude
With hope of heav'n.

No words can tell what sweet relief
There for my ev'ry want I find,
What strength for warfare, balm for grief,
What peace of mind!

Hushed is each doubt, gone ev'ry fear;
My spirit seems in heav'n to stay:
And e'en the penitential tear
Is wiped away.

Lord, till I reach yon blissful shore,
No privilege so dear shall be
As thus my inmost soul to pour
In prayer to thee.

Charlotte Elliott, 1836
Tune: Eudora, James R. Murray, 1841-1905

Thankful Thursday

I am thanking God today for His sovereignty. No matter what is going on in my life and my corner of the world, I can rest in this promise:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.~Jeremiah 29:11

What are you thanking our gracious God for today? Please join Kim of The Upward Call, myself and many others in giving Him praise for all the good gifts He gives to us each Thursday of 2010.

Fall Color

There's a park just a block or so from the cottage and we headed that way on our Charlie walk this evening. Shamefully, I forgot my camera but Andy rescued me with his Blackberry. This is the eastern end of the park with the setting sun shining from the west causing that glow in the trees in the background. Talk about fall color! I just had to share it!

Sunday's Hymn: O God, Most Holy are Thy Ways

O God, most holy are thy ways,
And who like thee deserves my praise?
Thou only doest wondrous things,
The whole wide world thy glory sings;
Thine outstretched arm thy people saved,
Though sore distressed and long enslaved.

O God, from thee the waters fled,
The depths were moved with mighty dread,
The swelling clouds their torrents poured,
And o'er the earth the tempest roared;
'Mid lightning's flash and thunder's sound
Great trembling shook the solid ground.

Thy way was in the sea, O God,
Through mighty waters, deep and broad;
None understood but God alone,
To man thy footsteps were unknown;
But safe thy people thou didst keep,
Almighty Shepherd of thy sheep.

Psalm 77:13-20
The Psalter, 1912
Tune: The Lord's Prayer, Schumann's Gesangbuch, 1539

Thankful Thursday

I get to stay home all day today! And for that, homebody that I am, I am thanking God this fine morning! Its a perfect day to stay home too. Truth be told, most days are for me. But today is Charlie's 15th birthday so its an extra special day to be home. I get to have him sleep in my lap while I do my Bible study, take him for a walk or two, and even just watch him sleep in his little bed as I pass back and forth doing laundry and cleaning bathrooms. Did I mention that I'm thankful for Charlie too? Ah, I thank God for the contentment I feel this day.

What are you thanking Him for t0day? Kim of The Upward Call and quite a few others are cultivating an attitude of gratitude as we thank God for His blessings each Thursday of 2010. Please jump right in with us!

Sunday's Hymn: In the Hour of Trial, Jesus, Plead for Me

In the hour of trial,
Jesus, plead for me;
Lest by base denial
I depart from thee;
When thou seest me waver,
With a look recall,
Nor for fear or favor
Suffer me to fall.

With its witching pleasures
Would this vain world charm,
Or its sordid treasures
Spread to work me harm,
Bring to my remembrance
Sad Gethsemane,
Or, in darker semblance,
Cross-crowned Calvary.

If with sore affliction
Thou in love chastise,
Pour thy benediction
On the sacrifice;
Then, upon thine altar
Freely offered up,
Though the flesh may falter,
Faith shall drink the cup.

When in dust and ashes
To the grave I sink,
While heav'n's glory flashes
O'er the shelving brink,
On thy truth relying
Through that mortal strife,
Lord, receive me, dying,
To eternal life.

James Montgomery, 1834
St. 1, line 2, alt.
Tune: Penitence, Spencer Lane, 1879

Thankful Thursday

I'm thanking God for a working dryer today. Tuesday morning, I washed the sheets from our bed and moved them over to the dryer. Clunk, clunk, clunk. But thank God, they did dry. Andy (aka: Handy Andy) pretty much disassembled the whole thing on Tuesday evening and determined the problem to be a worn out shaft on a fan. Yesterday on his lunch hour, he went to some big appliance parts warehouse close to where he works in Chicago and got the part. Last evening was our turn to host prayer meeting at our house so Andy worked on the dryer up until the first knock on the door. He didn't think he'd be able to finish getting it back together afterwards because he wanted to replace some old parts on the gas line while he was at it. But praise God for enabling him to get it all up and running by the time I had the kitchen cleaned!

That old washer and dryer are 14 years old but I love them. They do their jobs well (when they are up and running) and I am so thankful not to have to replace either one.

Each Thursday of 2010, there's a bit of Thanksgiving going on in our part of the blog world. Kim of the Upward Call got us started but we can never thank God enough! Won't you join us?

Quotable

In the day of prosperity we have many refuges to resort to; in the day of adversity only one.--HORATIUS BONAR

Sunday's Hymn: How Beautiful the Sight of Brethren Who Agree

How beautiful the sight
Of brethren who agree
In friendship to unite,
And bonds of charity;
'Tis like the precious ointment, shed
O'er all his robes, from Aaron's head.

'Tis like the dews that fill
The cups of Hermon's flow'rs;
Or Zion's fruitful hill,
Bright with the drops of show'rs.
When mingling odors breathe around,
And glory rests on all the ground.

For there the Lord commands
Blessings, a boundless store,
From his unsparing hands,
Yea, life for evermore;
Thrice happy they who meet above
To spend eternity in love!

From Psalm 133, James Montgomery, 1771-1854
Tune: St. Godric, John B. Dykes, 1823-1876

Thankful....

...Friday. Yes, I'm a day late. And the reason is the thing I'm especially thanking God for this week. Andy and I spent the day fishing with some good friends! We left home before 6:00AM and weren't home again until just after 9:00PM. And every minute was a special day of fellowship and blessing all the way around. To top it off, the fishing was outstanding too!

Earlier in the week, I was feeling overwhelmed and tired and like I really couldn't afford to take yesterday off from my responsibilities. But as always, God knows what I need even when I don't, maybe especially when I don't. Anyway, yesterday was just what I needed and I am so thankful for the blessings He gave me throughout that special day. Even the weather was perfect!

So what are you thanking Him for today? Or maybe I should say yesterday. I'm also thankful that Kim from The Upward Call got us all starting on intentionally thanking Him each week of 2010. Join us?