A Net in Time

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Faith

Precious Jewels

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Precious Jewels, also known as When He Cometh started running through my head this morning.  I was listening to a preacher talk about Jesus coming again some day (maybe tomorrow) and how he will gather up his precious Jewels.   I started humming this song to myself and figured it would be a good one to share with you this Sunday. 

Precious Jewels

Lyrics to Precious Jewels

When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

Refrain

Like the stars of the morning,
His brightness adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.

He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom;
All the pure ones, all the bright ones,
His loved and His own.

Refrain

Little children, little children,
Who love their Redeemer,
Are the jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

Refrain

Author and History

William O Cushing wrote this song back in 1856 whilst travelling on a steamer.  He wanted to host a sing song and wanted to play something everyone might learn to know.  He chose an American tune called “His Jewels” written by George Root and by voyage end everyone had learned the Jewel Song.   At least that is one version of the origin.  The other is that he wrote it for the children in his Sunday School class.   Which is true?  I dunno.  Both are, from what I can tell, equally valid.  🙂 

William Orcutt Cushing was the son of an American Unitarian pastor, who when he grew married, also became a pastor. Over the course of his lifetime, he wrote more than 300 hymns such as Follow On.  He was only in ministry for 27 years due to a creeping paralysis that overtook him. 

Ponderings

Hymns are made so we can see God more clearly you know that?  They help us focus in on an aspect of God worthy of being praised. 

This song helps to see God’s love for us, and just how very precious we are to him. His very own children that he is gathering in. 

Kinda makes me think of Smaug, you know the dragon from Lord of the Rings, who gathers in all his wealth and how precious it was to him.  God’s love for us is pure and bright though, his love for us deep and unfathomable. Not a selfish, hoarding love, but a love of freedom and responsibility, and deep deep concern. 

Such a restful thought it is I find.  Knowing the depth of God’s love for me, and how he is gathering not only me but all his other loved ones in. 

Things are New Again

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Okay, so I think my brain glitched today.  I could have sworn the word for today was new, but I guess it’s normal!  AH WELL, not changing my post now anymore!   But it is a normal thing for me to be out working hard in a garden in the springtime.  And this year I got to celebrate a new bunny into my herd.   Gregory was gifted to me by a bunny friend and he’s young and somewhat lacking in confidence.  He showed his fortitude by going down a rather, to him, scary ramp.  Gaining confidence until he was zipping up and down like an old pro. 🙂 

Things are New Again

Every Year
It Starts again
The green billowing up
Things are new again.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  2 Corinthians 5:17

Blue spring flowers

Blue and white
Abounding Colours
Muddy background, getting covered
Things are new again.

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Luke 12:27

New raised Garden Beds

Raised Beds
Building Again
Homes for vegetables, providing
Growing new food again.

He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.  Isaiah 30:23

Gregory the english lop Braved the Ramp

Lifting, Hauling
Building, crawling creativity
Freedom, and bravery shown in new bunny
Gregory freely roaming.

The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1

Bags of garden dirt near completed gardens

Bit by bit
Completion at hand
The filling in of beds is done
Things are new Again

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Col.3:17

Things are New Again

This has been a Five Minute Friday post, I urge you to join us focusing in on the word normal with Miss Kate.   Write for five minutes, comment on those that have gone on before, and well… you know…  be creative!  🙂 

Hymns for Mother’s Day

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I’m going to do something a wee bit different today.  Instead of focusing on one hymn I thought I would like to a number of youtube hymns for Mother’s Day.  Afterall.. it is Mother’s Day today, might as well rejoice in all that is mother!  🙂 

Hymns for Mother's Day

I could not find the lyrics to this Honour Christian Mothers. It’s sung to the tune Onward Christian Soldiers. 

The author of Where Can I Turn for Peace wrote this song out of concern for her anorexic daughter. 

As I was searching for hymns for mother’s day I was surprised that Count your Blessings came up a few times.  Kinda makes sense if you consider the words you know? 

A Mother’s Love is a Very Special Thing, sung by a group of children.

There actually aren’t very many well-known hymns for Mother’s day.  You can find a good list at Hymnary, but honestly, I didn’t know any of them. 

When Mother’s Day Isn’t

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So what happens for Mother’s Day at your house?   Is it a day filled with everything about Mom?  Perhaps she gets a day off cooking?  Presents?  A chance to do her own thing without interruption? Isn’t it nice to have a day when you are recognized for all the unsung things that you do?   But what… what if Mother’s day isn’t like that for you, what if your house is anything like mine.   In my house, you’ll be lucky to get a “Happy Mother’s Day” greeting.  Today I want to encourage mothers on a day when Mother’s Day isn’t. 

When Mother's Day Isn't

The Hurt

Sometimes when the world is making a fuss, it’s easy to get hurt feelings if those around you don’t create a fuss too.  I get it!  Everyone else posts Happy Mother’s Day posts on Facebook, special mention is made at church, and inevitable questions of so how did your family surprise you for mother’s day?  Hurt feelings are so easy to come by. Guarding our hearts, as well as the hearts of our loved ones, is sometimes a challenge. 

How Do we Guard our Hearts?

Just how do we do that?  Guard our hearts? 

I’ve been listening to studies on Malachi lately, and one of things the prophet Malachi spoke against was how the Israelites had become lack lustre in their faith.  Purely the result of forgetting who God was.  They forgot to put God first in their lives, and so they were easily distracted from honouring him as they should. 

God made us mothers, whether by birth, adoption, or the kindness of our hearts. We need to remember that, honouring him and how he brought us to this position.

We are in that unique position of being able to train up children in the way they should go.  Proverbs 22:6 tells us that by doing so, as they mature they will not depart from it. 

Sometimes we need to change our perspective.  We need to take our eyes off the world and set them back on God. 

But Deut 4:9 warns us to take care, even if we feel safe we need to guard our hearts diligently.   Remember the Lord, remember all he has taught you, everything you have seen. And then teach them to your children.  Tell the stories of God’s goodness to your family. 

Be encouraged

Even if the world around you wants to exhalt Mother’s Day, even if your family doesn’t give much attention to the day, you are noticed and minded by the God who made you a momma.  

A momma who minds her household, who keeps her finger on the pulse of the people entrusted to her care.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:26-27

A momma who shows Christ to those around her. 

Isaiah 66:13 As one whom his mother comforts,
    so I will comfort you;
    you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

Be that momma, despite the externals.  Choose to rise above the lack of attention.

Choose to ignore a money-making day cause ultimately that is what Mother’s Day is, a day to sell cards, flowers and chocolate. A day co-opted by the card companies from what it was meant to be. A day simply to remember the importance of one’s mother. We learned this with an Amanda Bennett Mother’s Day unit Study 

Know that you are still cared for and paid attention to, even if the day just passes by in your household. 

Know that you matter to your family, and more importantly to God. 

May 2020

The Crew does a weekly challenge, which for this week is Mother’s Day. 

Join in on the Linky won’t you?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Will your anchor hold

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Our tenant had this song up on her facebook page the other day, I was having a rather rough day and it lifted my spirits a bit.  I thought perhaps Will Your Anchor Hold might lift yours as well during this time of 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

Will Your Anchor Hold

Lyrics to Will your anchor hold

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
when the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

Refrain:
We have an anchor that keeps the soul
steadfast and sure while the billows roll;
fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love!

Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear,
when the breakers roar and the reef is near?
While the surges rage, and the wild winds blow,
shall the angry waves then your bark o’erflow?

Will your anchor hold in the floods of death,
when the waters cold chill your latest breath?
On the rising tide you can never fail,
while your anchor holds within the veil.

Will your eyes behold through the morning light
the city of gold and the harbour bright?
Will you anchor safe by the heavenly shore,
when life’s storms are past for evermore?

Author and History

Priscilla Owens of Baltimore, Maryland is the author of this song. Most of the 230 songs Ms. Owens wrote were for children and youth.  It makes sense since she not only taught as a schoolteacher, but also served as a Sunday School teacher.   Her church was the Union Square Methodist Episcopal Church.   There is a touching story about the effect of this song at Wordwise Hymns. 

Pondering Deeper

Did you know this song was based on Heb.6:19?  That verse reads “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain”.

I enjoyed listening to those little boys sing this song, when they finished I wondered if those boys knew well that anchor that we have.  Do they feel grounded and secure?

You know what an anchor does right?  It holds a boat securely.  You drop it down to the bottom of the water bed, and the boat stays right with the anchor.  The only time it doesn’t is when the anchor rope breaks. 

So Christ is that anchor.  He is the one the holds us securely.  But unlike the ships’ anchor, there is no rope or chain to break.  His hold on us is secure through and through. 

Distractions Surround Us

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I admittedly was talking with my hubby as I was writing this, so I don’t know if I exceeded the five minute mark or not. I suppose my poem fits well eh?  Distractions surround us (and for me tonight one of those distractions was my hubby).  🙂  I welcome you though to join us, write on the word distraction.  You can find the word prompt over at Miss Kate’s. 

distractions surround us

Distractions Surround Us

At the end of a busy day,
Not so busy really.
More of a day when distractions
Ran my day.

I wanted to walk this morning
but exhaustion and pain distracted me.
Directing me to a chair
To sit quietly, not moving.

I had plans to deep clean the kitchen,
The fridge is looking bedraggled lately.
Hubby complains nothing can be found,
and pleasing him I want to do.

But reviews call,
because moving seems too much to do.
I revise and think I can plow
through at least 3 or 4.

By days end I discover
Bunnies to sell, kills an hour or two.
Supper to make, a lad to talk to,
a Friend to answer.

And only one review, barely done
by evening come.
Then it’s garbage day.
Will distraction never end?

I talk with my tenant,
She speaks to the same.
Plans made but body disagreeing
Sleep and quietness remain.

But distraction or not,
God is still the same.
Holding us fast,
an anchor he remains.

I note my son
At every meal a pause
Taking the time to remember
His God.

Never distracted, always that thought
Saying his thanks,
Mentioning concerns
Oh… that I might be as focused as he.

I need to be more mindful
and not let
The distractions which surround me
To stop me from remembering what is most important.

God and his plans
They override all of ours
God and his hold on
our lives is secure.

God never gets distracted
Nothing calls him away
Faithful to the end,
No distractions surround him.

James Living through Crisis

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Our pastor started to preach from James just as I finished going through Deuteronomy. I thought it would be a nice short book of the bible to go through before starting another book. It also would be great to learn from James alongside my pastor.  🙂  James is a practical guide to living through crisis and walking in faith. 

James Living in Crisis

Unexpected Appreciation

One of the things that surprised me was how much I enjoyed listening to different pastors preach on the same verses.  The overlap was so interesting as each pastor would emphasize different parts of the text, or sometimes have different interpretations. 

I also discovered a new pastor that I enjoyed listening too.  David Guzik often pulled up quotes from people of faith that spoke adroitly to the text at hand.  Good quotes that often made me think. 

My Methodology

Most of the time I do my devotional time while walking on the treadmill.  I have my youtube playlist and just work my way through it.  As I listen along I read along on my phone, I use the ESV bible app.  Then I copy and paste passages to facebook.  I don’t listen well unless I can take notes to help me remember so I share those thoughts or questions to facebook as well.  Then I can go back over the course of the day as I ponder what I learned. 

I normally open up my overall study time with a video that gives an overview of the book I am studying, and then more specific videos by chapter or verse groupings. 

Some of what I learned

So have you considered what it means to have joy in trials?  How does one DO that?  After all, trials tend not to be fun events.  Through James, I learned that the joy in trials comes from knowing the result of going through trials.  The result of going through trials, particularly if you do so with a God-focus, is that you grow in wisdom and the ability to remain steadfast in the face of difficulty.  

Being tempted is not sin.  Sin is when we act upon our temptation or linger on it.  For instance… I was at the grocery store once and had forgotten that I plunked an onion in my pocket as I was swiftly walking through the store picking up whatever.  Got to the car and it’s like OH>> there’s an onion here I didn’t pay for.  I briefly considered just going home, but then returned to the store and apologized for walking out with it and then paid for it.  It wasn’t sinning to walk out with it, or to briefly think about going home. It WOULD HAVE been sinful to go home with it.   This doesn’t mean I can’t regret or repent of the sinful desire to skip out with it once I remembered.  

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  James 1:22  We need to have our lives impacted by the word of God.  Listening to what God has to say and then living it out.  If all we do is listen by don’t act, we are just fooling ourselves.  God’s word needs to matter.   God’s word, as it tells us in James, helps us living through crisis. 

Does keeping yourself from being polluted by the word mean you need to remove yourself from it, much like the Hutterites, Mennonites and Amish do?   Or does it mean something else?  I’m tending to think it’s a bit of both. 

For instance, going to see a show that glories in death, or a singer who promotes sexual immorality is not something we should be doing.  But refusing to visit a neighbour just because he’s not a believer, or turning my back on a wayward family member, how does that draw them to the Lord?   One of the pastors I listened to mentioned that it’s what our focus in on.  Is it on God, or is it on what’s around us?  Is our focus God-centric or people-centric (often self-centric)? If we focus on God, the pollution of the world will be much less able to influence us. 

James, a practical guide

Can you see how, if you take the lessons from James to heart, that you will have a practical guide to living through crisis?   

Trials put us in a place where we need to ask God for wisdom.  This draws us deeper into his word.  As we do so we learn to put his word into action.  All of this deepens our faith. 

This makes trials a matter of joy.  

Just because, trials are a matter of joy, doesn’t mean I still LIKE trials. If I change my perspective on them from the now to the later, it helps in the immediacy of whatever situation I am in. 

Don’t you also find this to be true?