"God Moves in a Mysterious Way"

A friend sent this hymn to me this evening. It was written by William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) who wrote many hymns with John Newton, famous for writing "Amazing Grace". This friend knows that I long to hear hymns sung in church, and she thought these words would speak to me.

They did, so here they are.

"God Moves in a Mysterious Way"

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

When someone tells you to take something, the thing that you're supposed to take is usually there. If we are told to take courage, the courage is there for the taking. And not only is it just courage, but it is fresh courage. If you are weary and discouraged, not only is there courage for the taking, but it is fresh and new. Not the flimsy and fake "new and improved" we see on items regularly purchased at the grocery store. This fresh is a supernatural freshness, wrought only by the one true and living God.

The link above will connect you to the story behind the hymn, the melody to the hymn, and the words to all the verses. (Just a reminder: Silence the current music by first scrolling down to the Sonific box on the right and click on the play/pause button. Then, you can click on the hymn link without competing music.)

Thanksgiving 2007

The following excerpt is from a letter that colonist Edward Winslow wrote in December of 1621, after having spent a little more than a year in the New World.

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labors...And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

When I reflect on how much the people we now call the Pilgrims suffered during that first winter of 1620-1621, I am humbled beyond measure by their perseverance and their thankfulness.

(The above photo comes from the Plimoth Plantation website.)

Veteran's Day 2007

Yesterday, I took our son to a WWII veterans presentation at our library. There were five men from our town who were interviewed about their memories of and lessons learned from the war.

The common themes from all five were:
*learn to obey
*take personal responsibility
*utilize teamwork
*be thankful to be an American
*life is precious

Only one man mentioned prayer. Paul Murphy was on the U.S.S. Indianapolis which was hit by a Japanese torpedo just days before the war ended. Approximately 300 men died when the boat sank in 12 minutes. Around 900 men survived the sinking and were adrift at sea in shark-infested waters for four days/five nights before being discovered and picked up. Of those, only 317 survived. Murphy cries easily since suffering a stroke. But, I think he'd cry, stroke or not, whenever he remembers those who died. He said he learned to pray like it really meant something during that time in the water. I'll bet.

On the way home my son said, "I didn't want to be in a war before. Now I REALLY don't want to be in a war unless it's absolutely necessary."

Thank you to all of our troops: past, present, and future.

(photo of Paul Murphy, taken at a 2004 speech)

Faith

This excerpt comes from my Wednesday reading from My Utmost For His Highest. It struck a chord with me and has been following me around these last few days.

"Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character has to be cleared in our own minds. Faith in its actual working out has to go through spells of unsyllabled isolation. Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith in the Bible is faith in God against everything that contradicts Him--I will remain true to God's character whatever He may do. 'Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him'--this is the most sublime utterance of faith in the whole of the Bible."

(photo above is of mustard seeds)