by Kimberly | Oct 9, 2014 | 31days, hymns
I’ve been reading the Bible lately and all the personal pronouns are jumping out. So, when thinking through what hymn to do today – this is the one I started singing in my head.
If Jesus is your Savior – He HAS to be personal to you. You can’t keep Jesus at a distance. He longs to be there, right with you – all the time. And the Spirit lives in you to make that happen.
This song, as a hymn, builds in power when being sung. You can’t help but meditating on the first few stanzas than singing at the top of your lungs the last one. I love it. And I have a deep desire for the Church to sing this with hands lifted high, smile on their faces, head flung backwards, gaze lifted upward.
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
by Kimberly | Oct 8, 2014 | 31days, hymns
I’m reminded even as I write this that I’m not the only person learning this truth today. God is in the business of bringing himself much glory through our lives – and we rejoice that His name will be made great.
I got to tell of the provision that God made today to the officer who came to the house to fill our the police report.
This is an old hymn that I don’t even know but the words are great (what do I expect from John Newton). I pray that the words are a blessing to you today, dear friend, as well.
When Satan appears to stop up our path,
He fills us with fears, but won’t lose our faith;
He cannot take from us though hard he has tried,
This heart-cheering promise, the Lord will provide.
In the midst of this morning’s wallet fiasco, I yelled at Elijah, I cried to my husband, I was short with some ladies at Bible study, I was impatient. Blah.
God is good and his grace abounds.
by Kimberly | Oct 7, 2014 | 31days, hymns
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.
by Kimberly | Oct 6, 2014 | 31days, hymns
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.
by Kimberly | Oct 5, 2014 | 31days, history
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.
by Kimberly | Oct 4, 2014 | 31days, hymns, Worship
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.
