7 Oct 2014

31 Hymns: I Don’t Know Who Holds Tomorrow

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I Don't Know Who Holds Tomorrow

Hymn number 205.

Growing up in a small country church we had times where we could just yell out numbers and that’s the song we would sing.  My Mom loved this song – and therefore I loved it. (The link is to an Alison Krauss version of it).

It was great in the teenage years – because you never know what your life is going to hold.

It was great in college years – because the rest of your life seems so hopefully and scary at the same time

It was great in the seminary years – because who in the world am I going to marry and will I ever get my dream job?

It was great in the rough years – because it made me remember the faithfulness of God.

It was great in the dream job years – because only He knew if the writing I did would be accepted and successful (which it was).

It was great when I was courting my now Mister – because He knew His great plan for us as a couple and as a family.

It was great in pregnancy years – because He knew that He formed the boys growing in my belly.

It is great in the unknown future phase we are in right now – and in the parenting phase – and in the daily life with toddlers phase – because He is faithful and knows all things.

I’m thankful for old hymns.

31 Days of Hymns

6 Oct 2014

31 Hymns: Come Thou Fount

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Come Thou Fount

My Mister and I are coming up on three years of marriage on Wednesday.  YAY us!

I loved our wedding ceremony.  From a personally arranged rendition of Fairest Lord Jesus for my bridal march to the songs sung during a special prayer time to the sermon that was preached – it was an amazing one hour of my life.

One of the hymns we sang as a congregation that day was Come Thou Fount.  I love it. I think I fell in love with it when my friends Jill and Bobby added it to the Anastasia cd many years ago.  It was full of Iriah licks.  So good.  But, I move on.

My mister loves pianos.  Has played since high school and now works for Steinway.  He loves everything about it and as a first task to marriage I watched the making of a Steinway.  So much craftsmanship.

Every person who loves pianos knows that pianos need to be regularly tuned to sound their best.  They are made with a quality that has to be adjusted every now and then because of the wear and tear that playing puts on them!

Tuning is stressful and it can be hard.

Same goes for us.  The wear and tear of life (sin) has left us far from the state Adam and Eve were created in.  They were created perfectly.  High precision.  Then sin destroyed that.

The Spirit works as our tuner.  The Word serves as an instrument.  Other believers help tune us.  The longer we go in between tunings the harder it is to tune.  Tune my heart – soul – mind – strength – to sing thy praise.

 

5 Oct 2014

31 Hymns: There is No Sin that I Have Done

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31 Hymns: There is no Sin

This hymn that I feature today was such a pivotal one in my ability to worship back earlier this year – and I poured it into my husband as well.  Thankful for our friend, David Ward, who brings this text to life!

All of the words of this hymn are pure gospel – so I didn’t know which ones to choose – but these waft over me with such purity and surety knowing that I don’t have to be perfect to gain an audience with my King and Savior.

 

 

4 Oct 2014

31 Days of Hymns : Jesus is Lord

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Jesus is Lord

One of the best current or ever hymn writers in my opinion is Stuart Townend.  Do all good things come from across the pond?

Most of the songs that the Getty’s sing are co-wrote or written completely by Stuart.  And this hymn has been one dear to my husband as of late.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

The stanza I chose from this hymn speaks of Christ’s work on the cross.  And we boast in that.  Even if it didn’t do anything for us in this life – Jesus would still be boast-worthy (1 Corinthians 15) but, it does so much for us in this life.  We are welcomed into the presence of the Creator of the Universe by His Son and His work on the cross.  We no longer have to be enslaved to a habit, a person, or a way of life because our Savior has risen from the grave. Glory!  (One of the pastor’s I served with in Raleigh would always says this – I smile when I think of him saying this).

Live free today.  Another newer praise hymn is We Speak to Nations by Israel Houghton – I love it.

31 Days of Hymns

3 Oct 2014

31 Days of Hymns: A Shocking Thing

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31 Days of Hymns: Don Carson

One of the buzz words for the last decade has been community.  And honestly, I still don’t think we get it right half the time- but that’s another story.

Community can be with anything.  You can have community in your neighborhood, at your work place, with your facebook friends, over your enjoyment of coffee or wine or handcrafted beer. But true community can only be had by digging deep, suffering with, having one reality and that is in the Gospel.

Don Carson, one of my favorite authors and preachers, is also a hymn writer.  My husband fills me in on all these things.  I first sung one of his hymns while we were dating.  Last night, my husband told me about this hymn, A Shocking Thing.

I hope you love it.  And think about it when you next practice the Lord’s Supper – as it is a communion hymn for the church.

The first lines of they hymn remind me of the first verses in Philippians 2.  I’m studying this letter of Paul with ladies from my church.  Got to this portion this morning.  How often we love and be in the church out of rivalry or conceit.  Not out of love and unity.  May the work of Christ on the cross guard our hearts and minds.

 

 

2 Oct 2014

31 Days of Hymns: Thou Who Wast Rich

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Thou Who Wast Rich

Whenever October rolls around – you will always see pumpkins, and ghosts, and fall leaves.

But, you will also see Christmas lights, fake trees, snow globes, and wrapping paper.  Even before Halloween and Thanksgiving, the stores are stockpiling for Christmas.

I have made it a habit not to play Christmas music until December first.  There are two exceptions: Advent Songs by Sojourn and Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb.  My two favorite cds get played often and throughout the year.

The first hymn that makes the list is one of my husband’s favorites – and I think its partly because it was one of his mentor’s favorites.  And its a Christmas carol.  Go figure.  This link takes you to a devotional written by my husband’s mentor, on his last Christmas on earth.  He now knows the beauty of the splendor of this King

Talks all about the incarnation.  And you might think why is the incarnation so important?  Well, Elyse talks about it in her book here and I highly recommend it.  And Philippians chapter 2 talks about it – and how it is important for our every day life in the local church and in our homes.

Stanza three is my favorite because it talks of his ever-abiding presence in our lives and how that aids our sanctification.  May you know the power of the Incarnation every day – not just during the Christmas season!

Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.

31 Days of Hymns

1 Oct 2014

31 Days of Hymns

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31 Days of Hymns

I grew up in a small town in between two of the largest cities in Florida.  I went to an even smaller town to go to a tiny church until high school.  We sang hymns.  You know the 4 verses with amen at the end.  I could play most of them on the piano by the time I got to high school.  And just if you ask…we either sang all four stanzas or 1, 2, and last.  That’s just how it went.

Some of those hymns were solid and deeply rooted in Scripture.  Others were rooted in feel good theology which is seldom really good theology anyway.

One of the perks of being married to someone who loves music is the depth of knowledge of hymns that he brings to my life.  He has made me think more about the music we sing than I might have ever done otherwise.

So, for the month of October, I’m joining with The Nester again and (hopefully) writing on some of my favorite and requested hymns – both old and new – to hopefully deepen our love for God, His Word, His Church, and deep solid rich lyrics of hymns.

What are some of your favorite hymns?

Tomorrow: Thou Who Wast Rich

25 Oct 2013

#31days: Quotes 25 (a million little ways)

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Eno Hiking Durham

“All earthly things are the shadows of heavenly realities – the expression, in created, visible forms, of the invisible glory of God.” – Andrew Murray

I’m beginning the study of a million little ways by Emily Freeman. How to live all of life in a creative fashion after the order and ways of the Creator God.
This is going to be a fun ride! Come along over at (in)courage and the bloom study of this book. Just started this week!

(Photo taken Durham NC, October 2011)

15 Oct 2013

#31Days: Quote Day 15 – Psalm 127

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Sebastian Robshaw - 10.13.13
Sebastian Robshaw – 10.13.13
We’ve had a busy 50+ hours in our home as we brought home our second son, Sebastian Robshaw, yesterday. What a whirlwind!
Our pastor came to visit us on Sunday afternoon. This verse is what this blog post is all about:
Psalm 127:3: Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.

5 Oct 2013

31Days (5): Study Christ

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One of the pieces of advice I give new brides (or brides-to-be) is more than anything in marriage (from a human standpoint) – study your husband.  With all the marriage, sex, and relationship books out there, knowing what pleases your husband (and isn’t a sin) is a great thing that you can bring to the every day life!

Here are some things I know about my husband after 2 years of marriage:

1.  He doesn’t like clutter.

2.  He is a sharp dresser.

3.  He likes good shoes (think Johnston & Murphy).

4.  He is more of an introvert than I am.

5.  He loves Jesus and pursues the Word and the God who wrote it.

6.  He likes his sleep.

7.  He likes it when I put in my contacts instead of wearing my glasses.

Little things – right?  Right!  But, those 7 things may not apply to your husband.  That is why you have to know your husband. I was told so many different things about what men like when I was engaged.  I didn’t care and still don’t care what other men like.  There is only one man on this earth that I regard his opinion to the utmost: my husband.

Gloria Furman writes this in Glimpses of Grace:

“We ought to take pains to study Christ.  We study Christ because we’ve been saved for the purpose of being transformed into his image,

and in our beholding, the work of transformation occurs.”  (pg 68)

How do you study Christ?  The main way is to look at the Word of God – which all of it actually points to Christ.  We are reading The Jesus Storybook Bible to Little Buddy at night.  I love how she makes all the stories point to the Great Hero.  All of them, even OT ones.

How can you know what you are supposed to be looking like if you don’t know Christ?

How can we know Christ if we don’t study Christ?