I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Savior of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.

Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,
Reigning omnipotent in every place;
So come, O King, and our whole being sway;
Shine on us with the light of Thy pure day.

Thou art the life, by which alone we live,
And all our substance and our strength receive;
Oh comfort us in death's approaching hour,
Strong-hearted then to face it by Thy power.

Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,
No harshness hast Thou and no bitterness;
Make us to taste the sweet grace found in Thee
And ever stay in Thy sweet unity.

Our hope is in no other save in Thee;
Our faith is built upon Thy promise free;
Oh grant to us such stronger help and sure,
That we can boldly conquer and endure.

listen

So Much

This week has been another amazing kaleidoscope of grace.

“Rush,” safely arrived and happily settled in

a serendipitous Sunday afternoon with friends

a closed door opened for “Mona”

savings on utility bills and insurance

rain

cooler weather

windows open to fresh air

great book bargains

a new evening reading routine - daddy and son

“Oliver” safely returned home

met a “kindred spirit”

many hours spent in the “school of Grace”

hours spent playing cards, laughing, sharing

sale on a favorite food item 

fresh fruits and vegetables

a friend shopping for me

jelly and cookies from a neighbor

a full rainbow (oh, it was beautiful)

a hummingbird bathing in the rain

a neighbor who cares about me, my yard and sprinklers

 

endless list #72-91

Sunday Hymn

May we all know and rely fully upon the sure foundation, Christ, the head and cornerstone.

Christ is Made the Sure Foundation

Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ the head and cornerstone,
chosen of the Lord, and precious,
binding all the Church in one;
holy Zion's help for ever,
and her confidence alone.

All that dedicated city,
dearly loved of God on high,
in exultant jubilation
pours perpetual melody;
God the One in Three adoring
in glad hymns eternally.

To this temple, where we call thee,
come, O Lord of Hosts, today;
with thy wonted loving-kindness
hear thy servants as they pray,
and thy fullest benediction
shed within its walls alway.

Here vouchsafe to all thy servants
what they ask of thee of gain;
what they gain from thee, for ever
with the blessèd to retain,
and hereafter in thy glory
evermore with thee to reign.

Laud and honor to the Father,
laud and honor to the Son,
laud and honor to the Spirit,
ever Three, and ever One,
consubstantial, co-eternal,
while unending ages run.

Words: Latin, seventh century;
trans. John Mason Neale, 1851

Joy and delight

I waited, waited for the LORD; who bent down and heard my cry, drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp, set my feet upon rock, steadied my steps, and put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God.

Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud, who turn not to idolatry or to those who stray after falsehood.

O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.
 Now that you have made me willing to listen [given me ears open to obedience], I finally understand —
 you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.


And so, I said, “Here I am.
 As is written about me in the Scriptures:
 ‘To do your will, O my God, is my delight. Your teachings are within my heart!’”

I have told the whole community of those who worship you that what you do is right. Lord, you know that I haven’t kept quiet. I have spoken about how faithful you were when you saved me. I haven’t hidden your love and truth. You, LORD, never fail to have pity on me; your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me and keep me secure.

Psalm 40:1-11 - photo taken by p. fogg in israel 2007

How to keep on the “Pilgrimage into Prayer”. . .

His Promise: Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you.•

Even before sunrise, I pray for your help, and I put my hope in what you have said. I lie awake at night, thinking of your promises.• In heaven I have only you, and on this earth you are all I want.• Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.

James 4:8• Psalm 119:147-148 • Psalm 73:25 (CEV)• Psalms 25:4-5• Psalm 130:5• Psalm 62:1

On Wednesdays, I join with Ann & others, as we Walk with Him,
posting a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to His heart.

Indescribable Blessings

Since last Monday, I’ve been “hanging out” at the (in)courage site, reading, weeping, laughing, praying, following links, meetings lots of new people, and being indescribably blessed.


On the front page it says, “Come in and make your heart at home . . .,”
Been doin’ that.
It goes on to say, “. . . help yourself to whatever is in the fridge . . .”
Been doin’ that.
“and hear God’s voice more clearly than perhaps anywhere else.”
Wonderfully, incredibly, amazingly been doin’ a lot of that!

Sunday Hymn

MY HOPE IS BUILT (The Solid Rock)
Words: Edward Mote, circa 1834; first appeared in Mote’s Hymns of Praise, 1836.
Music: Solid Rock, William B. Bradbury

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain

The name of Edward Mote does not often rest on the lips of the Church today in the same fashion as Fanny J. Crosby, B. B. McKinney, Ira Sankey, or other greats in hymnody. However, the testimony of his life is one that should inspire all Christians. Mote was not brought up in a godly home and did not have the advantage of early exposure to Scripture. In fact, his parents managed a pub in London and often neglected young Edward, who spent most of his Sundays playing in the city streets.1 Of his theological upbringing, he said "So ignorant was I that I did not know that there was a God."

Eventually Mote became exposed to the Word of God, and was baptized at the age of 18. This event, however, did not send Mote immediately into the ministry. He was apprenticed to become a cabinetmaker, a career which he successfully conducted for another 37 years. Eventually, at the age of 55, he became pastor of a Baptist church in Horsham, Sussex, where he did not miss a Sunday in the pulpit for the next 21 years.3 He resigned from this pastorate in 1873 due to ill health, and died the following year at the age of 77.

It was with this background that Mote wrote the hymn we have today, "The Solid Rock." It was during his career as a cabinetmaker that the hymn came into being. One morning in 1834 as he was walking to work, it entered his mind to write a hymn. By the time he got to work, he had the chorus. He wrote four more verses over the course of that day and two additional verses before he was finished.
from: THE SOLID ROCK

Bursting with God-news

Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.

Luke 1:46-50 (The Message ~ NLT in italics)

Pilgrimage in Prayer - Lord, Teach Us to Pray

O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise.
O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.

We were new. New to the area, new to this church, new to these people, this style of worship, and this mission field. I enthusiastically embraced it all. (What we didn’t know at the time, but were soon to learn, was that we were also embarking on a new, deep relationship with the Lord.) When it was announced that folks were needed to pray for an upcoming mission trip, I was one of the first in line to sign us up for a time slot. At the designated time, Henry and Peter and I gathered together in the living room, Bible in hand and, well, we just looked at each other. What were we supposed to do? Yes pray, but for what exactly and how? It was an astonishing revelation to us that we didn’t know how to pray, not really. It turns out that we only had an inkling of how true that was.

That morning, that essentially started with, “Lord, teach us to pray,” was the beginning of an incredible spiritual journey and the beginning of our learning the many layered truths in the verse,

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for,
but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.*”

Psalm 51:15 • Psalm 70:1 • *Romans 8:26 (NIrV)

Multitude Monday

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Giving intentional thanks . . .

69. for this day

70. for prayers answered that were never even truly formed,
but were more of a hope, a wish, a yearning

71. that His ways are far beyond anything I could imagine

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A Hearing Ear

“This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” ~Mark 9:7

Father, deepen my faith
and improve my spiritual hearing as I read, pray, and live Your word.
Amen

Sunday Hymn

Theme: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. . . The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw His true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From Him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us. John 1:1-3, 14

Of the Father’s Heart Begotten
The text is by Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius
Translation by Roby Furley Davis, for the English Hymnal (1906).

Of the Father’s heart begotten,
Ere the world from chaos rose,
He is Alpha, from that Fountain
All that is and has been flows;
He is Omega, of all things,
Yet to come the distant Close,
Evermore and evermore.

By His word was all created
He commanded and 'twas done;
Earth and sky and boundless ocean,
Universe of three in one,
All that sees the moon's soft radiance,
All that breathes beneath the sun,
Evermore and evermore.

He assumed this mortal body,
Frail and feeble, doomed to die,
That the race from dust created,
Might not perish utterly,
Which the dreadful Law had sentenced
In the depths of hell to lie,
Evermore and evermore.

O how blest that wondrous birthday,
When the Maid the curse retrieved,
Brought to birth mankind's salvation
By the Holy Ghost conceived,
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer
In her loving arms received,
Evermore and evermore.

Sing, ye heights of heaven, his praises;
Angels and Archangels, sing!
Wheresoe’er ye be, ye faithful,
Let your joyous anthems ring,
Every tongue his name confessing,
Countless voices answering,
Evermore and evermore.

This is he, whom seer and sibyl
Sang in ages long gone by,;
This is he of old revealed
In the page of prophecy;
Lo! he comes the promised Saviour;
Let the world his praises cry!
Evermore and evermore.

Hail! thou Judge of souls departed;
Hail! of all the living King!
On the Father's right hand throned,
Through his courts thy praises ring,
Till at lest for all offences
Righteous judgement thou shalt bring,
Evermore and evermore.

Now let old and young uniting
Chant to thee harmonious lays
Maid and matron hymn thy glory,
Infant lips their anthem raise,
Boys and girls together singing
With pure heart their song of praise,
Evermore and evermore.

Let the storm and summer sunshine,
Gliding stream and sounding shore,
Sea and forest, frost and zephyr,
Day and night their Lord alone;
Let creation join to laud thee
Through the ages evermore,
Evermore and evermore.

Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore! Amen.

alternate version: Of the Father’s Love Begotten

More gifts

67. where I live

68. and some of my neighbors

What he said

“My ideas flow so rapidly that I have not time to express them -- by which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas at all to my correspondents.”*

This is so me. When I read it the other day, I thought, yes!, that’s me, and I just knew that I had to put it on the blog. Sometimes I worry that I’m the only one that understands some of the things I’ve written. I know what I meant, but does anyone else? Or I wonder whether what I’ve written is polished enough, or I worry about the grammar. A lot of times, I just don’t even post what I’ve written. And that’s something I’ve really been thinking about.

I have to confess that blogging stresses me. Not the quick “just a thought” type posts, but the ones with lots of writing and/or about “deep” things. I tend to type or write quickly as I hurry to get my thoughts down, more focused on getting the thoughts/ideas recorded while they’re still fresh in my mind or heart than about grammar or the way something sounds to someone else. Then I feel like I need to edit and edit some more to make sure that what I’m saying is just what I meant to say and that it will be understood the way I meant it. (know what I mean?) (smile)

So, what to do? Relax and just write, stop blogging (again), keep stressing and editing? Stick to the short, pithy posts? Not sure, but an idea that I have been mulling over is to think of this blog as more of a chat with friends over a cup of coffee (or tea), sometimes mundane, sometimes deep, sometimes a mixture. Relaxed, no airs, just sharing what’s on my mind with my very tolerant, understanding, forgiving friends. ;-)

*Mr. Bingley - Pride and Prejudice

More gifts

61. a very good doctor’s report for very good friends
62. wind, clouds, and a bit of cooling
63. first one and then another and then another new book resource
64. godly playmates
65. games for little guys to play with Dad
66. time spent together - Dad and son

The Living Word

All Scripture is God-breathed . . .*
The word of God is living and active.**
In the beginning was the One who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created received its life from Him, and His life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out. . . The Word was in the world, but no one knew Him, though God had made the world with His Word. . . . some people accepted Him and put their faith in Him. So He gave them the right to be the children of God. They were not God’s children by nature or because of any human desires. God himself was the one who made them His children. The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw His true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From Him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.***
“My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine” [says the Lord].
 . . “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
 and stay on the ground to water the earth.
 They cause the grain to grow,
 producing seed for the farmer
 and bread for the hungry.
 It is the same with my word.
 I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
 It will accomplish all I want it to,
 and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”****
The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the One our message is about.*****

* 2 Timothy 3:16
** Hebrews 4:12
*** John 1:1-5, 9-10,13-14 (CEV)
**** Isaiah 55:8, 10-11 (NLT)
***** 1 John 1:1 (CEV)

Small Beginnings

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin . . .” Zechariah 4:10

Small beginnings, little things, small successes, whatever we want to call them, last week I had a gentle reminder of how easy they are to overlook and not recognize as being as important. So in the spirit of taking note of these small beginnings and their importance, here goes:

1. Over the weekend I decided it was time to get back to a more purposeful (but very relaxed and personalized) learning environment. So yesterday morning we got started and it went really well, not too much, relaxed, high interest, lots of praise. I’m an unschooler at heart, I also know my child and know that he’s happiest with routine and some structure so . . . well that’s a blog for another time (smile).

2. I started journaling again, don't know why I ever stop, I’m always so blessed by it.

3. I’ve been making some big changes in our my diet and we’ve been sticking with it (despite some very big temptations).

Each of these “small beginnings” is another blessing from the Lord, more gifts from the One Who loves me for which I am so very grateful.

Multitude Monday

41. quiet time with my family
42. movies I feel safe letting my children watch
43. books on cd
44. sales on desired books
45. free wonderful old books and audio books online
46. movies I feel safe letting my children watch
47. wonderful thought provoking conversations with my 12 year old
48. new “family favorite” recipes from friends
49. scented candles
50. water
51. cool clothing for hot weather
52. delicious, nutritious, salads
53. wonderful, trustworthy book reviews
54. ointments and salves that sooth
55. plants and herbs that relieve and heal
56. watching enjoyment and laughter
57. watching little ones’ “firsts”
58. remembering some of my own “firsts”
59. healthy days
60. folks to share with and be loved by on the healthy and not so healthy days

Sunday Hymn

He Leadeth Me

Words: Jo­seph H. Gil­more, 1862.
Music: Wil­liam B. Brad­bu­ry

He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Refrain

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.

Refrain

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

Refrain

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

Refrain