Sunday's Hymn: O God of Truth

O God of truth, whose living Word
Upholds what're hath breath,
Look down on thy creation, Lord,
Enslaved by sin and death.

Set up thy standard, Lord, that we
Who claim a heav'nly birth,
May march with thee to smite the lies
That vex thy groaning earth.

Ah! would we join that blest array,
And follow in the might
Of him, the Faithful and the True,
In raiment clean and white!

Then, God of truth for whom we long,
Thou who wilt hear our pray'r,
Do thine own battle in our hearts,
And slay the falsehood there.

Thomas Hughes, 1859
Tune: Mirfield, Arthur Cottman, 1872

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Thankful Thursday

Today my thankful thoughts have turned to....flowers!
















I'm so glad God made them a part of our world...especially the pink ones!


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Sunday's Hymn: We Praise Thee, O God

We praise thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator
In grateful devotion our tribute we bring.
We lay it before thee, we kneel and adore thee,
We bless thy holy Name, glad praises we sing.

We worship thee, God of our fathers, we bless thee;
Through life's storm and tempest our Guide hast though been.
When perils o'er take us, escape thou wilt make us,
And with thy help, O Lord, our battles we win.

With voices united our praises we offer,
To thee, great Jehovah, glad anthems we raise.
Thy strong arm will guide us, our God is beside us,
To thee, our great Redeemer, forever be praise.

Julia Cady Cory
Tune: Kremser, Old Netherlands melody in The Collection, Adrianus Valerius, 1625

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Thankful Thusday

Thanking God for:

Emily's willingness to mow the lawn while Andy is still suffering with his water skiing injury

God's healing of a very young family member of a dear friend of mine

Good times celebrating our birthdays together (Andy, Emily and I all have our birthdays within three weeks during the summer)

"...the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."~Ephesians 1:3


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Sunday's Hymn: My God and Father, Day by Day

My God and Father, day by day,
Far from my home in life's rough way,
O teach me from my heart to say,
"Thy will be done."

Though dark my path and sad my lot,
Let me be still and murmur not,
Or breathe the prayer divinely taught,
"Thy will be done."

What though in lonely grief I sigh
For friends belov'd, no longer nigh,
Submissive still would I reply,
"Thy will be done."

If though shouldst call me to resign
What most I prize, it ne'er was mine;
I only yield thee what was thine,
"Thy will be done."

Let but my fainting heart be blest
With thy sweet spirit for its guest,
My God, to thee I leave the rest:
"Thy will be done."

Charlotte Elliott, 1834
Tune: Almsgiving, John B. Dykes, 1823-1876



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Thankful Thursday

Andy hurt his back last week. It happened water skiing, of all things, but he was limping around and quite uncomfortable for a few days. He's still not 100% but he is much, much better and I'm so grateful to our gracious God for that. But I'm also thankful for the things He's (re)taught me through this injury of Andy's. (I'm a forgetful person, you know.) He's reminded me of just how frail our health is and how quickly the physical abilities we have, the very ones we take for granted, can be lost, and that makes me much more grateful for those abilities! He's also shown me again how dependent we are on each other, Andy and I, as I've done so many tasks that are usually Andy's, and that knitting together in marriage is another reason to praise God.

I'm also thanking God this week for some of the nicest weather we've had all summer! Highs in the 70's and low humidity! It doesn't get much better that that!

What are you thanking our loving God for this week? Please do join in the thanksgiving!


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Sunday's Hymn: None Other Lamb, None Other Name

None other Lamb, none other Name,
None other Hope in heav'n or earth or sea,
None other Hiding place from guilt and shame,
None beside thee!

My faith burns low, my hope burns low;
Only my heart's desire cries out in me
By the deep thunder of its want and woe,
Cries out to thee.

Lord, thou art Life, though I be dead;
Love's fire thou art, however cold I be:
Nor heav'n have I, nor place to lay my head,
Nor home, but thee.

Christina G. Rossetti, before 1893

Tune: Rossetti, William Jeater, 1907

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for the renewed sense of comfort that God has given me in Psalm 73. I was reminded of that Psalm in our Sunday School last Sunday and as we read it, memories washed over me of a time a number of years ago, a very painful time, when I clung to those words of truth and love from our gracious God. He knows how forgetful I am and how much I needed to be reminded of those words again and for that, I am grateful.


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