"The Church's One Foundation"

As we sang this in church today, I thought how appropriate the words were, given the current firestorm in the Episcopal church. (The rector and vestry of the church we are currently attending are in agreement with the Anglican Communion, NOT the recent decisions made at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.) I was intrigued to read this evening that the hymn was written at a time similar to this. Here is what the author of a book about hymns has written about this hymn:

"During an especially heated period of theological controversy in England in 1866 when liberalism threatened to destroy the great cardinal doctrines of the Anglican church, this hymn was written by Pastor Samuel Stone. He was a strong supporter of the conservative faith and refused to compromise in any way the critical attacks on doctrinal orthodoxy."

The photo above seems appropriate. Some people within the Episcopal church are trying to "improve/enlighten" the church (in their opinions) by making changes that are not supported by scripture. Their version of the church will not survive off the foundation of scripture. The True Foundation is unchangable.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

If you want to sing along to these words, go to Cyberhymnal for the music.

"The Church's One Foundation"

The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.

She is from every nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.

The Church shall never perish!
Her dear Lord to defend,
To guide, sustain, and cherish,
Is with her to the end:
Though there be those who hate her,
And false sons in her pale,
Against or foe or traitor
She ever shall prevail.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed:
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song!

’Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won,
With all her sons and daughters
Who, by the Master’s hand
Led through the deathly waters,
Repose in Eden land.

O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly,
On high may dwell with Thee:
There, past the border mountains,
Where in sweet vales the Bride
With Thee by living fountains
Forever shall abide!

Rebuilding the Wall

Notes from the home school conference, for my dear friend Carla, whom I have been woefully neglecting of late.

Doug Phillips, founder of Vision Forum, was the first keynote speaker at the conference. His text was from Nehemiah 4:14. To lay some background to the text, Nehemiah has gone to Jerusalem and organizes the rebuilding of the wall around the city. The Jews are mocked by their enemies and threatened with attack. Nehemiah positions the Jews, according to families, along the wall to defend it, and has them take up arms. Then he "rallies the troops" with this speech.

And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

The church and the family of today are fighting enemies who mock us and seek to attack us. We need to band together and symbolically rebuild the wall. Phillips spoke of the "new paganism" that worships the individual, youth, the body, and athletics. It also includes child sacrifice (abortion), bodily mutilation (tattoos & multiple piercing anyone?), and the feminization of men. One only needs to look around you or glance at the covers of magazines and tabloids at the grocery checkout to see the evidence of this. It's pretty hard to be unaware these realities.

To cloud the waters futher, many Christian churches harm families by having a harmful philosophy about many aspects of church life. This appears in areas such as church growth (numbers vs. spiritual growth), shepherding (reactive vs. proactive), ministry (clergy only vs. brethren), socialization (peers vs. family), and scripture (inadequate vs. sufficient). My family and I have seen evidences of all of these at the various churches we've visited in the past 11 months as we've looked for a new church home.

As you might suspect, the entire conference wasn't governed by a "The Sky is Falling!" mentality. This opening talk was, "Here are some of the problems," that preceeded the solutions. I'll try to write more soon.

This public domain clip art comes from The Bible Revival.

"Lord of All Hopefulness"

We sang this hymn in church during communion this morning. It is sung to the same tune that is used for "Be Thou My Vision."

"Lord of All Hopefulness" is not in the public domain, so I am not able to not reprint the words here. But, you can go to this site and find the words to all four verses.

This hymn is popular as a wedding hymn and I decided it was appropriate to post today because my husband and I will celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary this week!

(The photo came from Victoriana.com.)

Clash of Cultures

After the past weekend of an inspiring home school conference I chanced to thumb through an old magazine and was struck by the vast dichotomy between the two. The conference speakers I heard exhorted us to be in the Word and to teach it to our children (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). We were reminded of the immense blessing our children are, and of the fact that it is our solemn duty to train them and educate them in the things of the Lord.

On Sunday, I happened to leaf through the August 2005 issue of Sunset magazine before putting it on the recycle pile. I think it was sent to us for joining the Art Museum. The issue's theme was, "Last Minute Vacations."

Ponder these opening words of the editor's column:

"When it comes to last-minute vacations, I'm something of a veteran. Sudden desire to flee to Hawaii over spring break? Been there, and planned it in about three weeks. Spontaneous trip to Disneyland? Did that one too.

It seems I'm prone to these quick getaways because I have a habit of thinking I can't possibly take days off. Then suddenly, it hits me: Time is passing fast, my daughters are growing up, my mind needs a break. I decide we need family time, and fast."

If you can get quickly past the bragging and name dropping of the first paragraph, take a close look at the second. She "can't possibly take days off." Can't possibly take days off from what? Aren't our children more important than our "careers?" It hits her "suddenly." What, she doesn't think of it often? These are her children! Her mind needs a break? Oh, I thought it was that her daughters were growing up. And, notice how one has to go to Hawaii to give the mind a break? "We need family time..." At Disneyland?? What kind of family time does one get there? Standing in line for 30 minutes in order to hear "It's a Small World" ten million times?

Now, I love Hawaii as much as the next guy. But, what can be more important than our children's eternal souls? Certainly, not our mastery of executing last-minute vacations to places with palm trees!

"Be Thou My Vision"

This is one of my favorite hymns, so it's no surprise that I've already posted this hymn already. I had to include it again because of the events of the past few days. My husband and I attended the Colorado home school conference this weekend, and what a blessing it was! (I'll try to write a little bit on it this week.) On Friday morning, the general session opened with everyone singing two hymns, including "Be Thou My Vision." All those people singing gave me a glimpse of heaven and touched my heart. I was moved to tears and couldn't even complete singing all of it.

Go here to hear the music. And go here to read my first post on "Be Thou My Vision." It includes some interesting information about the history of this great Irish hymn.

Happy Father's Day to my husband, who travels the blessed road of parenthood with me.

"Be Thou My Vision"

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

"Holy, Holy, Holy"

TRINITY SUNDAY

This was my very first "favorite hymn" as a child. I must have been about eight years old, and I greatly admired people who knew hymns well enough to look up from the hymnal while singing. I loved "Holy, Holy, Holy," because, I too, could look up from the hymnal for a few words! I now love it for other reasons, but it's still one of my favorites.

My favorite sources for hymn accompaniment have one note in the alto part that is different from what I've ever sung, and it sounds quite jarring to me. Try this site instead. Although it's too slow for my taste, I'll sacrifice tempo for the correct harmony.

(The above photo comes from the website for Food for the Poor. We had a guest priest from this ministry at church today preaching about our Christian duty to minister to the poorest of the poor.)

"Holy, Holy, Holy"

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

"Come Down, O Love Divine"

Pentecost Sunday

It is truly a miracle beyond belief that God extends His grace to us. Despite our blatant disobedience at the foot of a tree in the garden, He provided us with a perfect Redeemer Who endured the painful death on another "tree." Despite our continual sin, He reversed the disunity caused at the foot of the Tower of Babel, and adopted us as His children.

The music for this hymn was composed by British composer, Ralph Vaughn Williams. Go here to see another hymn composed by Ralph Vaughn Williams.

"Come Down, O Love Divine"

Come down, O love divine, seek Thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing.
O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear,
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.

O let it freely burn, til earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And let Thy glorious light shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

Let holy charity mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the power of human telling;
For none can guess its grace, till he become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.

Plain and Simple

My first glimpse of the Amish was nearly four decades ago, near Wooster, Ohio, while visiting my grandparents. Their clean, uncluttered farms, simple dress, unhurried buggies, and breathtaking antique quilts have captivated me ever since.

After reading a book excerpt on a laniersbooks recent post, I was compelled to reread Plain and Simple by Sue Bender. Mrs. Bender temporarily lived in the homes of two different Amish families (something I very much wanted to do as a teenager), and wrote a book about her impressions of this experience.

I am going to set aside debate on some of the theological beliefs and practices of the Amish. And although I find Mrs. Bender a bit self-absorbed and unappreciative of her gracious hosts, I found some of her observations to be interesting. There are some truths here from which we can benefit.

"Everything was a ritual...No distinction was made between the sacred and the everyday.
Five minutes in the early morning and five minutes in the evening were devoted to prayer. The rest of the day was spent living their beliefs. Their life was all one piece. It was all sacred--and all ordinary."

"Their work time isn't spent 'in order to do something else'--to have free time on weekends...[they find satisfaction] in the daily mastery of whatever they are doing."

"All [Emma's] duties were an expression of her love for her family and for God."

"They lived with a short cord and lived fully, while I had a long cord and was always tripping over it."

"All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"

The English author of this hymn, Edward Perronet (1726-1792), descended from a distinguished family of French Huguenots who fled religious persecution and settled in England. He was ordained in the Anglican church, and worked alongside John and Charles Wesley. He wrote several hymns, but this is the only one that remains in general use today.

Here is an interesting story about Perronet that should make you smile:

John Wes­ley was al­ways try­ing to get him to preach, but Per­ro­net, though cap­a­ble, was some­what in awe of Wes­ley, and al­ways de­ferred to him. Any time John Wes­ley was pre­sent, Per­ro­net felt Wesley should do the preach­ing. But John Wes­ley was not one to take “no” for an an­swer. So, one day, in the mid­dle of a meet­ing, he simp­ly an­nounced, “Bro­ther Per­ro­net will now speak.” Think­ing quick­ly, Per­ro­net stood be­fore the large crowd and de­clared, “I will now de­liv­er the great­est ser­mon ev­er preached on earth” (you can imag­ine he got ev­er­y­one’s at­ten­tion). He then read the Ser­mon on the Mount, and sat down.

To hear the accompaniment, read all of the verses, and read the entire article about Perronet, go here.

All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!

The Bloom

My best friend from high school, Gwyn, drove out here last week to bring some of my dad's furniture that she had been storing at her house for me. She also brought my dad's Christmas cactus.

Now, when I was growing up, Dad never exhibited a green thumb. In fact, because of his asthma and hay fever, he didn't even mow the lawn. I have a picture of me trying valiantly to use our push lawnmower when I was five, but it was actually one of my brothers who mowed the lawn regularly.

When Dad's mother died in 1977, he inherited, among other things, a very bedraggled Christmas cactus. He took it upon himself to nurse it back to health, perhaps as a metaphor for his own life that was, at that time, struggling on many fronts. With fierce determination, Dad resurrected that cactus into a huge, healthy, beautiful plant which he grew to love. I think he even named it.

When my friend brought it into our house last week, after dutifully caring for it these past two years, I was delighted to see a lone pinkish-reddish bud on its slender arms. The bud opened a few days after my friend left to return home, and was still open yesterday, the anniversary of my dad's last few hours on this earth. Then, this morning when I awoke, the flower had fallen from the plant and lay silently in the soil.


Shed no tear--O shed no tear!
The flower will bloom another year.
Weep no more--O weep no more!
Young buds sleep in the root's white core.
John Keats

Memories and Gratitude

It has been two years, almost to the minute, since my Dad's passing. It was May 24th here in the Mountain Time Zone, but May 25th where he lived in the Eastern Time Zone.

In some respects it seems like he's been gone such a long time. Yet, my last phone conversation with him seems like it was just last week. That was the last time he ever talked on the telephone. He was being prepared for emergency surgery, and he had to hang up so he could be wheeled to the operating room.

Catherine Marshall wrote in her book, A Man Called Peter, about the comfort of the last words she spoke to her husband. She had said to him, "Darling, I'll see you in the morning." She wrote about the thoughts she had a few months later, "And as I stood looking out toward that far horizon, I knew that those words would go singing in my heart down all the years..."

My last words to my dad were, "I love you, Dad. I'll talk to you when you're done." The words have gone "singing in my heart" these past two years. I sometimes have despair about my dad's salvation, but I also have hope that I will indeed talk to him again. And for him, it'll seem but a moment until we speak again.

Three things I am grateful I received from my dad:
1. His love of music
2. His love of the prairie
3. His love of history

(Here's another recent post about him.)

"All Creatures of Our God and King"

In our continuing quest for a new church home, we have been attending the same church now since Easter Sunday. While hubby and son were having church with their Boy Scout troop on a camping trip in the mountains, my daughter and I sang this wonderful hymn as the recessional at church this morning. (I absolutely love singing the alto part!) The words were written by St. Francis of Assisi, circa 1225. The melody appeared in a German hymnal published in 1623, and the harmonization was added in 1906 by the British composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams. (The church pictured here is the parish church where Vaughan Williams's father was vicar.)

Go here for the accompaniment (including the cool alto part!).

All Creatures of Our God and King

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Refrain

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

Refrain

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

Refrain

Mother's Day

That night Anne...knelt sweetly by her open window in a great sheen of moonshine and murmured a prayer of gratitude and aspiration that came straight from her heart. There was in it thankfulness for the past and reverent petition for the future...
(from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery)

I recently read these words to my children about Anne taking first place in the college entrance exam. I thought, this is very much how I view motherhood. I am thankful for the past; for God's perfect plan for creating our family in His own time and way. And at the same time, I humbly ask Him for guidance for the future.

After 11 years of waiting, of heartbreak, of longings unanswered; the Lord filled my aching arms and soothed my aching heart. I am thankful beyond measure for my two precious children. Only the Lord of the Universe could have ordained such a treasure for us in the way that He did.

(Thanks also to Holt International Children's Services and United Airlines for playing a part! The photo above is of Harry and Bertha Holt, founders of the adoption agency that bears their name.)

"The King of Love My Shepherd Is"

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1 (NKJV)

On some church calendars, Psalm 23 is read as part of today's liturgy on this
fourth Sunday of Easter. I love this Psalm for its power, its truth, its comfort, and its ability to minister to believers and unbelievers alike.

This hymn, based upon the 23rd Psalm, was written by Henry W. Baker (1821-1877). He was an English musician and the editor of the best-selling Hymns, Ancient and Modern, published from 1860 to 1877.

Go here to hear the music which is based upon an old Irish melody. There is also an alternate tune at this link.

The King of Love My Shepherd Is

The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.

Let Them Have Dominion

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1: 26

The kids and I drove to a friends' ranch this past Saturday for the branding of this spring's new calves. Many family and fellow rancher friends came to help, followed by a big lunch provided by the host family. This will be repeated in the weeks to come, as each rancher makes the rounds helping his fellow "neighbors."

As we returned from the branding pasture, two horses in a different pasture adjacent to the house ran alongside the fence, "welcoming" us back to the ranch house as we drove down the lane. They were almost like little children excitedly waiting for Daddy to come home at the end of a long day. Then later, I was able to coax a motherless calf to allow me to pet her. She was a little wary, but she stayed fairly still and let me walk slowly up to her and pet her.

These animals, who are not pets in the traditional sense, have the interest and desire to relate to humans, even sometimes in spite of their instincts to the contrary. It reminds me a little of Isaiah 11:6,

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.