Sunday's Hymn: Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last!

Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me!
All my trust on thee is stayed,
All my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of thy wing.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in thee I find:
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy Name;
I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am,
Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound;
Make and keep me pure within:
Thou of life the Fountain art,
Freely let me take of thee;
Spring thou up within my heart,
Rise to all eternity.


Charles Wesley, 1740
Tune: Refuge, Joseph P. Holbrook, 1862

Thankfulness

Yesterday, the ladies of our church had lunch together and it was delightful!  I am thankful for each one of these precious sisters in Christ. The reason for our gathering was less delightful, however.  One of our number (and we are a very small church) is leaving us to move to North Carolina with her husband.  She will be sorely missed but I am thankful for the time she and her husband have been with us.

Yesterday, the temperature here in Crystal Lake, IL got up to 101 degrees.  I may sound like a broken record (now isn't that revealing my age category) but I am very grateful for our working air conditioning.

Finally, I am still fighting shingles and am on a pain medication that makes me sleepy and less efficient than normal...not that I am always on top of everything, mind you.  But I am especially thankful for the patience and loving kindness of my family at this time.

Sunday's Hymn: Jesus, My Great High Priest

Jesus, my great High Priest,
Offered his blood and died;
My guilty conscience seeks
No sacrifice beside.
His pow'rful blood did once atone,
And now it pleads before the Throne.

To this dear Surety's hand
Will I commit my cause;
He answers and fulfills
His Father's broken laws.
Behold my soul at freedom set;
My Surety paid the dreadful debt.

My Advocate appears
For my defense on high;
The Father bows his ears
And lays his thunder by.
Not all that hell or sin can say
Shall turn his heart, his love, away.

Should all the hosts of death
And pow'rs of hell unknown
Put their most dreadful forms
Of rage and mischief on,
I shall be safe, for Christ displays
His conqu'ring pow'r and guardian grace.


Isaac Watts, 1709
Tune: Bevan, Sir John Goss, 1853

Thankfulness

We had a major thunderstorm last night and lost power just as we were getting ready for bed.  I am so very thankful that it came on again about 7 this morning.  We have a generator (which I am thankful for too) and Andy started it for me before he left but I don't like being the one who is responsible for the thing so I was glad that he could turn it off and set things up for commercial power, as he calls it, before he left too.  It just happened to be the one day a month that Andy goes in late to back up certain pieces of equipment at work.

I am also thankful that we had a certain tree in our yard taken down on Tuesday because we were concerned about the way it increasingly leaned over the garage.  Actually, the tree is not completely down but only the tall trunk remains.  It was so hot on Tuesday (100 degrees) and the men were being so careful not to let the branches fall on the garage that they ran out of time and are coming back to finish in a couple of weeks but I guess there was nothing to catch the wind last night.

Thirdly, I am thankful that the wasps who were apparently living in that tree and were swarming all around the back door once they discovered their home was gone have apparently left us in peace now.

Finally, I am thankful for the badly needed three inches of rain that fell last night!!  That is in addition to the 2.11 inches (according to Andy's rain gauge) that we got on Saturday.  The grass is still brown but some of the plants are looking a little happier now.

So what are you thanking God for today?  Please do share.

Sunday's Hymn: Call Jehovah Thy Salvation

Call Jehovah thy Salvation,
Rest beneath th'Almighty's shade,
In his secret habitation
Dwell, and never be dismayed:
There no tumult shall alarm thee,
Thou shalt dread no hidden snare:
Guile nor violence can harm thee,
In eternal safeguard there.

From the sword at noonday wasting,
From the noisome pestilence,
In the depth of midnight blasting,
God shall be thy sure Defence:
He shall charge his angel legions
Watch and ward o'er thee to keep;
Though thou walk through hostile regions,
Though in desert wilds thou sleep.

Since, with pure and firm affection
Thou on God hast set thy love,
With the wings of his protection
He will shield thee from above:
Thou shalt call on him in trouble,
He will hearken, he will save;
Here for grief reward thee double,
Crown with life beyond the grave.

From Psalm 91; James Montgomery, 1822

Tune: Autumn, Francois H. Barthelemon, 1741-1808

Thankfulness

Our evening walks with Murphy have been so lovely this week!  Perfect temperatures and gorgeous sunsets over Crystal Lake!  And I just came back from a very pleasant (70 degrees) walk with Murphy this morning.  So I thank God for His provision of lovely mornings and evenings in this hot summer we've been having.

I'm still in the clutches of shingles so I was so thankful when Emily came home Tuesday evening with a loose fitting summer dress that she saw at Walmart and thought might be a perfect shingles dress.  She was right and I appreciate the thoughtful, loving daughter God has given me.

Speaking of family, I am thankful not only for our working A/C but for the fun times together we're enjoying despite the heat.  For me, its not what we're doing so much as the fact that we are together.  Even if we're each engaged in our own activity, we are together.  I am thankful for the gift of family.

How about you?  What good gifts has our gracious God given you this week?  Please share.

Sunday's Hymn: Like a River Glorious

Like a river glorious
Is God's perfect peace,
Over all victorious
In its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth
Fuller ev'ry day,
Perfect, yet it groweth
Deeper all the way.

Stayed upon Jehovah,
Hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as he promised,
Perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow
Of his blessed hand,
Never foe can follow,
Never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry,
Not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry
Touch the spirit there.

Ev'ry joy or trial
Falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial
By the Sun of Love.
We may trust him fully
All for us to do;
They who trust him wholly
Find him wholly true.


Frances R. Havergal, 1878
Tune: Like a River, James Mountain, 1844-1933

A Little Shade for the Flowers

I just came in from getting the mail.  Well, actually, I came in from getting the mail to get my camera and head back out to capture my neighbor's novel method of protecting her impatiens from our scorching 102 degree sun.  Maybe she's onto something but I just don't have that many umbrellas!

Thankfulness

This week I am thankful for improvement in my case of shingles.  Its not gone but its less painful and I am therefore sleeping better at night.  Thank you, God!

I am also very grateful for air conditioning in this week of daytime highs hovering around the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark.  And I am thankful for electricity to run the air conditioning.  Many are without power and suffering in the heat without a way to cool off.  I pray for relief for them very soon.

Finally, I am thankful for our country and the freedoms we enjoy in the U.S.  Its far from a perfect country.  That's my homeland in Heaven.  But as earthly countries go, its a pretty good one and I was pleased to celebrate its birthday yesterday.

What are you thanking God for this week?  Please do share!

Sunday's Hymn: Not What My Hands Have Done

Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God,
Not mine, O Lord to thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest
And set my spirit free.

Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy pow'r alone, O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
No other work, save thine,
No other blood will do;
No strength, save that which is divine,
Can bear me safely through.

I bless the Christ of God;
I rest on love divine;
And with unfalt'ring lip and heart
I call this Saviour mine.
This cross dispels each doubt;
I bury in his tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear,
Each ling'ring shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace;
I trust his truth and might;
He calls me his, I call him mine,
My God, my joy, my light.
'Tis he who saveth me,
And freely pardon gives;
I love because he loveth me,
I live because he lives.


Horatius Bonar, 1861; alt.
Tune: Leominster, George William Martin, 1862
Har. by Sir Arthur S. Sullivan, 1874

Thankfulness

This week I am thankful for the good time we had at the weekend picnic for the rescue group from which we adopted Murphy.  Murphy especially enjoyed running around in the big fenced in area with all the other little dogs.  He's the most outgoing little fellow so for him, that picnic was wonderful!

I came home with a case of shingles so for me the picnic was a little less fun.  But still I am thankful for early diagnosis of the problem (Monday morning) and the availability of the antiviral drugs that minimize long term effects of this unpleasant disease.  I am also thankful that mine is effecting a nerve that wraps around the trunk of my body rather than a nerve that serves the facial area around the ear or eye.  So now I just wait for it to run its course.

And finally, I am thankful for God's provision of a loving family and good friends who pray and are willing to care for me when I am less than 100%.

God is good, all the time.  What are you thanking Him for this week?

Sunday's Hymn: Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee

Jesus, the very thought of thee
With sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far thy face to see,
And in thy presence rest.


Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the mem'ry find,
A sweeter sound than thy blest Name,
O Saviour of mankind.


O Hope of ev'ry contrite heart,
O Joy of all the meek,

To those who fall, how kind though art!

How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah, this

Nor tongue nor pen can show:

The love of Jesus, what it is

None but his loved ones know.

Jesus, our only Joy be thou,

As thou our Prize wilt be;

Jesus, be thou our Glory now,

And through eternity.

Anon., Latin, 11th century

Tr. by Edward Caswall, 1849

Tune: St. Agnes, John B. Dykes, 1866

Thankfulness

I am very thankful for some cooler temperatures in the forecast for the weekend.  Its been in the 90's here in our neck of the woods with heat indices even higher so temps in the lower 80's sound really good about now.  Especially since Andy, Murphy and I are going to a weekend "picnic" for the rescue group from which we adopted Murphy.  We're not sure of what exactly to expect but it will be more fun if we're not all sweltering!

Considering that my maximum preferred daytime high temperature is really right around 72, I am also thankful for some new clothes of a sort that are supposed to prevent sunburn and wick away perspiration to keep one cooler.  They will be most of my weekend wardrobe even with the cooler forecast.  And I got them all on sale; some even clearance!!

Finally, I've been thinking a lot about the blessing of family this week. Immediate family, extended family and church family, even the ones I have a bristling sort of relationship with, each individual is a personal blessing and an opportunity for me to grow in grace and peace.  Such wisdom and love God demonstrates in my life to give them to me!

Sunday's Hymn: Christ for the World We Sing

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With loving zeal;
The poor and them that mourn,
The faint and overborne,
Sin-sick and sorrow-worn,
Whom Christ doth heal.

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With fervent pray'r;
The wayward and the lost,
By restless passions tossed,
Redeemed at countless cost
From dark despair.

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With one accord; 
With us the work to share,
With us reproach to dare,
With us the cross to bear,

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With joyful song;
The newborn souls whose days,
Reclaimed from error's ways,
Inspired with hope and praise
To Christ belong.


Samuel Wolcott, 1869
Tune: Braun, Johann G. Braun, 1675

Thankfulness

Today I am especially thankful for air conditioning as we head into another hot, hot weekend.

I am also thankful to be almost caught up on my weeding.  I don't know how it got ahead of me but its almost back under control.  Yay!

I've been working on a baby blanket for the baby of my nephew and his wife, a little girl due in July.  Its a lace pattern and I am thankful to be finally "getting it" about lace knitting....especially because there are a few more patterns in lace that I would like to try.

One more thing I am thinking about with gratitude today is the new direction in which our pastor has taken our study of the book of Romans.  His new method makes that book of doctrine so much more applicable to our own daily lives....as it should be.

What are you thinking of with gratitude to God today?  Please join in the thanksgiving!

Sunday's Hymn: Christ in His Word Draws Near

Christ in his Word draws near;
Hush, moaning voice of fear,
He bids thee cease;
With songs sincere and sweet
Let us arise, and meet
Him who comes forth to greet
Our souls with peace.



Rising above thy care,
Meet him as in the air,
O weary heart;
Put on joy's sacred dress;
Lo, as he comes to bless,
Quite from thy weariness
Set free thou art.


For works of love and praise
He brings thee summer days,
Warm days and bright;
Winter is past and gone,
Now he, salvation's Sun,
Shineth on ev'ry one
With mercy's light.

From the bright sky above,
Clad in his robes of love,
'Tis he, our Lord!
Dim earth itself grows clear,
As his light draweth near:

O let us hush and hear

His holy Word.

Thomas T. Lynch, 1855

Tune: Kirby Bedon, Edward Bunnett, 1887

Sunday's Hymn: Let Children Hear the Mighty Deeds

Let children hear the mighty deeds
Which God performed of old;
Which in our younger years we saw,
And which our fathers told.

He bids us make his glories know,
His works of pow'r and grace;
And we'll convey his wonders down
Through ev'ry rising race.

Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs;
That generations yet unborn
May teach them to their heirs.

Thus shall they learn in God alone
Their hope securely stands,
That they may ne'er forget his works,
Bur practice his commands.



From Psalm 78:1-7
Isaac Watts, 1719
Tune: Dundee, The Scottish Psalter, 1615

Thankfulness

This week Andy has vacation from work but we opted to stay home and enjoy some local recreation rather than travel anywhere.  We have some great fishing holes very close to home, including Crystal Lake which is about three blocks from the cottage.  We also have the Chain O' Lakes on the Fox River which boasts some great fishing and is only an hour away. But back to our cottage, we love it!  There is a nice screen porch attached to our home and a beautiful yard too.  That is in addition to our home itself which we've got set up for our own tastes and preferences.  So why not enjoy our relaxing time right here!

Well, its been a wonderful week so far.  We have gotten in some fun times on the water but we've also enjoyed plenty of time of just relaxing at home together too.  And the key word for me is together.  I don't really care much what we are doing as long as its together.  We even did a few tasks that had backed up on us but we did them together and that's the best way!

So I am thanking God this week for the blessing of a happy marriage in which we genuinely enjoy each others' company and His provision of a lovely place to live and enjoy life together.  I also thank Him for Emily who, although she is still teaching and working, has managed to enjoy some of the fun times with us too.  And of course there is Murphy who makes the fun times even more fun when seen through his eyes. So I am blessed and soaking it up this week.  Thank you, God!

Sunday's Hymn: Come, Thou Almighty King

Come, thou Almighty King,
Help us thy name to sing,
Help us to praise:
Father, all glorious,
O'er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of days.

Come, thou Incarnate Word,
Gird on thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend:
Come and thy people bless,
And give thy Word success;
Spirit of holiness,
On us descend.

Come, Holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour:
Thou who almighty art,
Now rule in every heart,
And ne'er from us depart,
Spirit of power.

To the great One in Three
Eternal praises be,
Hence evermore.
His sovereign majesty
May we in glory see,
And to eternity
Love and adore.



Anon., c. 1757
Tune: Trinity, Felice de Giardini, 1769

Thankfulness

I am thankful for good health and the ability to work hard.  Spring brings lots of new growth and that means in weeds as well as the plants I want to see grow.  And weeding is hard work so I am glad for the strength and health to do it.

But while I am working out there in the yard, I sure am thankful for the lovely flowers God has given us.  Here are a few of them:

Finally, I am thanking God for the sweet sisters in Christ that I serve alongside of in an interdenominational Bible study in Crystal Lake.  I am especially thankful for the unity I have with them despite those denominational issues that could divide us but don't.

What are you thanking God for today?  Please do share.