Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love:
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee, Hail Thee as the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of Day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and Heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain, Blossoming meadow, flashing sea,
Changing bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.
These words of Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), written in 1908 and set to the music of Beethoven, have been echoing around in my brain and I decided to introduce this week’s list of blessings (also including last week’s blessings) with these lines.
No. 1 on my list of blessings is a “mixed bag”. Our friend John was “promoted to Glory” last week, and Travis preached his funeral; on Thursday. When I first heard the news I was “joyful” for John, but felt deep compassion for his wife Jane. John and Jane had been married for fifty years and, being natured very much alike, were very close. We had been growing closer and closer to John and Jane, when he was diagnosed with cancer. They had already been dealing with Jane’s cancer, and she had received recent good news after several trips to Nashville for treatment. We, and they, had been meeting for meals at local eateries from time to time, and we enjoyed their company very much. I was pleased to see in the March issue of The Baptist Witness that arrived today, an article by our very own Rebecca Huffman, titled “Abounding Consolation”. Rebecca’s husband was “promoted to glory” over two years ago, and in this article Rebecca tells of “. . . many evidences of the Lord’s tender care, and His guiding hand even in the seemingly small details”. After nearly forty years of married life, she tells of the experience including the momentary sense of shock that ”numbs the senses”, but also the of the “initial calmness” that Rebecca attributes to “God’s merciful presence”. David and Rebecca had been enjoying their morning coffee, and listening to a Bible CD, when “suddenly he was gone. He simply lay down on the floor and quietly breathed his last breath. As someone later said, ‘One minute he was listening to the Word of God, and the next minute he was seeing the Word of God”. I am thankful for this article, and since Jane also receives The Baptist Witness, I plan to mention specifically Rebecca’s article to her.
2. Also in the March issue, in the “Segment for the Young”, my friend Kara Sacran writes of her mother’s death in an article titled “Trust Him for His Grace”. To my knowledge I never met Kara’s mother, Rhonda Jones, but I heard many good things about her faithful witness throughout her life. I believe someone on this list sent a prayer request for Rhonda throughout her health problems, and we all prayed for her. I was glad to read of Kara’s firm faith, and of her mother’s influence on this young woman. Kara ends her article with words from William Cowper, “a man who knew much suffering”: Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, The clouds you so much dread; Are big with mercy, and will break In blessings on your head.
3. I’m also thankful today for the warmer temperatures that we have enjoyed, and for the “promised” coming Spring. I hung my front door Spring wreath yesterday (the one with the bird’s nest that was built in it last Spring). My husband is out in the backyard right now, planting some onions, and some green peas (love those!).
4. Thankful “all over again” (most daily item of Thanksgiving) for our house. There’s a story that goes with our acquisition of this house, which encourages me all over again each time I think about it. I’m a little pinched for time right at the moment, but maybe I’ll share it sometime.
5. Although we aren’t using it much these days, I’m thankful for our fireplace. The fireplace didn’t come with the house; and was, in fact, ordered (and later arrived) about a year ago, and it doesn’t burn wood. Rather, it burns something called gel fuel. It looks the same, though, and actually puts out heat. The mantle matches some previously bought bookshelves on either side of the “hearth” (which DID come with the house – long story.) There are times when the fire in the fireplace seems to chase away sad feelings that often come with a gloomy, cold day. I can’t explain it, but I am thankful for it.
6. I am thankful for a book titled “Gateway to Joy” by Elisabeth Elliot. This book is subtitled “Reflections that Draw Us Nearer to God”, and the book contains poems, hymn lyrics, quotes, and various writings that point to the “Gateway to Joy”. In the preface, E. E. quotes C. S. Lewis who said that “Joy . . . is the serious business of heaven.” E. E. goes on to say that “ . . .every experience, even the most unwelcome, if offered to Jesus. can become a gateway to joy.” In the section titled “Intercede” she includes the following prayer, which was first published in The Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter, and is entitled For Our Husbands. I include it for any of you that may want to include this prayer in your daily devotions: “Lord, grant me the vision of a true lover as I look at _____________. Help me to see him through Your eyes, to read the thoughts he does not put into words, to bear with his human imperfections, remembering that he bears with mine and that You are at work in both of us. Thank You, Lord, for this man, Your carefully chosen gift to me, and for the high privilege of being heirs together of the grace of life. Help me to make it as easy and pleasant as I possibly can for him to do Your will.”
God bless you all,
Elaine
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee, Hail Thee as the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of Day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and Heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain, Blossoming meadow, flashing sea,
Changing bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.
These words of Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), written in 1908 and set to the music of Beethoven, have been echoing around in my brain and I decided to introduce this week’s list of blessings (also including last week’s blessings) with these lines.
No. 1 on my list of blessings is a “mixed bag”. Our friend John was “promoted to Glory” last week, and Travis preached his funeral; on Thursday. When I first heard the news I was “joyful” for John, but felt deep compassion for his wife Jane. John and Jane had been married for fifty years and, being natured very much alike, were very close. We had been growing closer and closer to John and Jane, when he was diagnosed with cancer. They had already been dealing with Jane’s cancer, and she had received recent good news after several trips to Nashville for treatment. We, and they, had been meeting for meals at local eateries from time to time, and we enjoyed their company very much. I was pleased to see in the March issue of The Baptist Witness that arrived today, an article by our very own Rebecca Huffman, titled “Abounding Consolation”. Rebecca’s husband was “promoted to glory” over two years ago, and in this article Rebecca tells of “. . . many evidences of the Lord’s tender care, and His guiding hand even in the seemingly small details”. After nearly forty years of married life, she tells of the experience including the momentary sense of shock that ”numbs the senses”, but also the of the “initial calmness” that Rebecca attributes to “God’s merciful presence”. David and Rebecca had been enjoying their morning coffee, and listening to a Bible CD, when “suddenly he was gone. He simply lay down on the floor and quietly breathed his last breath. As someone later said, ‘One minute he was listening to the Word of God, and the next minute he was seeing the Word of God”. I am thankful for this article, and since Jane also receives The Baptist Witness, I plan to mention specifically Rebecca’s article to her.
2. Also in the March issue, in the “Segment for the Young”, my friend Kara Sacran writes of her mother’s death in an article titled “Trust Him for His Grace”. To my knowledge I never met Kara’s mother, Rhonda Jones, but I heard many good things about her faithful witness throughout her life. I believe someone on this list sent a prayer request for Rhonda throughout her health problems, and we all prayed for her. I was glad to read of Kara’s firm faith, and of her mother’s influence on this young woman. Kara ends her article with words from William Cowper, “a man who knew much suffering”: Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, The clouds you so much dread; Are big with mercy, and will break In blessings on your head.
3. I’m also thankful today for the warmer temperatures that we have enjoyed, and for the “promised” coming Spring. I hung my front door Spring wreath yesterday (the one with the bird’s nest that was built in it last Spring). My husband is out in the backyard right now, planting some onions, and some green peas (love those!).
4. Thankful “all over again” (most daily item of Thanksgiving) for our house. There’s a story that goes with our acquisition of this house, which encourages me all over again each time I think about it. I’m a little pinched for time right at the moment, but maybe I’ll share it sometime.
5. Although we aren’t using it much these days, I’m thankful for our fireplace. The fireplace didn’t come with the house; and was, in fact, ordered (and later arrived) about a year ago, and it doesn’t burn wood. Rather, it burns something called gel fuel. It looks the same, though, and actually puts out heat. The mantle matches some previously bought bookshelves on either side of the “hearth” (which DID come with the house – long story.) There are times when the fire in the fireplace seems to chase away sad feelings that often come with a gloomy, cold day. I can’t explain it, but I am thankful for it.
6. I am thankful for a book titled “Gateway to Joy” by Elisabeth Elliot. This book is subtitled “Reflections that Draw Us Nearer to God”, and the book contains poems, hymn lyrics, quotes, and various writings that point to the “Gateway to Joy”. In the preface, E. E. quotes C. S. Lewis who said that “Joy . . . is the serious business of heaven.” E. E. goes on to say that “ . . .every experience, even the most unwelcome, if offered to Jesus. can become a gateway to joy.” In the section titled “Intercede” she includes the following prayer, which was first published in The Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter, and is entitled For Our Husbands. I include it for any of you that may want to include this prayer in your daily devotions: “Lord, grant me the vision of a true lover as I look at _____________. Help me to see him through Your eyes, to read the thoughts he does not put into words, to bear with his human imperfections, remembering that he bears with mine and that You are at work in both of us. Thank You, Lord, for this man, Your carefully chosen gift to me, and for the high privilege of being heirs together of the grace of life. Help me to make it as easy and pleasant as I possibly can for him to do Your will.”
God bless you all,
Elaine
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