Sunday's Hymn: Away in a Manger

Away in a manger,
No crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down his sweet head;
The stars in the sky
Looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus,
Asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing,
The Baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus
No crying he makes;
I love thee, Lord Jesus!
Look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle,
Till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever,
And love me, I pray;
Bless all the dear children
In thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven,
To live with thee there.

Anonymous, c. 1884, 1892

Well, its another Thursday and time to share my thanksgivings of the week.  But first I feel I must make some sort of explanation for my neglect of keeping up my blog of late.  It kind of goes hand in hand with giving thanks.  More than kind of, actually.  I am free now to share our praise and thanksgiving to God for His answer to our longstanding prayer for a special man to love and cherish our daughter, Emily.  Once God revealed His work in Emily's life, things started happening and so it is with great joy that we anticipate the marriage of Emily to Glenn on January 15th.

That praise and thanksgiving is only overshadowed by our humble thanksgiving as we prepare to celebrate the birth of God's only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, at this time of year.  What joy could possibly compare with that!!  In answer to the question "Are you ready for Christmas?" I say a resounding "Yes and Amen!"

Sunday's Hymn: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear Desire of ev'ry nation,
Joy of ev'ry longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child, and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring,
By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley, 1744

Thankfulness

For the second Thursday in a row, I have gotten to stay home all day!  Thank you, God, for that and for everything I was able to accomplish because of it!

I am thankful that I was able to get Murphy groomed and he looks pretty sharp, if I say so myself.  I am thankful that he is pretty cooperative with the grooming process too.

The rest of the tasks were more mundane...paying bills, laundry, changing sheets...but I am thankful to get them done too.

And I am thankful for leftovers tonight!  Yay!

I am also thankful for the time to think as I worked.  I've been thinking about lessons learned through the study of Genesis and thank God for the conviction to change some attitudes in my life.

Thankfulness

I am so thankful for a whole day at home and all the work I was able to accomplish today!  Its been an incredibly busy fall and so much has fallen behind here at the cottage.  I am also thankful for the health to be able to do all that work!

It was a beautiful sunny day and Murphy and I did squeeze in a noontime walk out there.  I am thankful for that too!

And I am thankful for the nifty bluetooth headset Andy gave me for my cell phone.  I never would have guessed how much I would enjoy that little thing!  What a thoughtful husband to do that guessing and go out and get one for me!

Thanksgiving

Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who, from our mother's arms,
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and Him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God
Whom earth and heav'n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Martin Rinkart, 1636
Trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1858

Sunday's Hymn: Great is Thy Faithfulness

"Great is thy faithfulness," O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with thee;
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fade not;
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
"Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
"Great is thy faithfulness," Lord unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in thy courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain:

Thomas O. Chisholm
Tune: Faithfulness, William M. Runyan