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My song shall bless the Lord of all,
My praise shall climb to His abode;
Thee, Savior, by that name I call,
The great Supreme, the mighty God.
Without beginning, or decline,
Object of faith, and not of sense;
Eternal ages saw Him shine,
He shines eternal ages hence.
As much, when in the manger laid,
Almighty Ruler of the sky;
As when the six days’ works He made,
Filled all the morning-stars with joy.
Of all the crowns Jehovah bears,
Salvation is His dearest claim;
That gracious sound well-pleased He hears,
And owns Emmanuel for His name.
A cheerful confidence I feel,
My well-placed hopes with joy I see;
My bosom glows with heav’nly zeal
To worship Him Who died for me.
As man, He pities my complaint,
His pow’r and truth are all divine;
He will not fail, He cannot faint,
Salvation’s sure, and must be mine.
William Cowper, 1779
As much as I long for life that has an even keel, it never happens. From one day to the next, you never know what’s going to happen, what the next unsettling thing will be. God knows that given the opportunity I’d nestle down in a comfortable rut and never move. Eventually I’d take little notice of him. I’m so thankful that he doesn’t allow that to happen. Over and over again, he makes the earth tremble beneath our feet, shaking loose our grip from anything but him. In our uncertainty we cling to him, knowing that he knows. He cares. He is supremely trustworthy, and he will lead us in the path that we should go.
I’m uncertain of the next step, but not uncertain of God. -Oswald Chambers
O Thou, before the world began,
Ordained a sacrifice for man,
And by th’eternal Spirit made
An Offering for the sinner’s stead;
Our everlasting Priest art Thou,
Pleading Thy death for sinners now.
Thy offering still continues new
Before the righteous Father’s view;
Thyself the Lamb for ever slain,
Thy priesthood doth unchanged remain;
Thy years, O God, can never fail,
Nor Thy blest work within the veil.
O that our faith may never move,
But stand unshaken as Thy love!
Sure evidence of things unseen,
Now let it pass the years between,
And view Thee bleeding on the tree,
My Lord, my God, who dies for me.
Charles Wesley, 1745
Our counseling guests left yesterday, and I’m so thankful for the very evident help of the Lord that enabled me to do the work of hospitality so necessary during their stay. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I absolutely could not have gotten through the session without His giving me the strength needed for each day. Or hour. Some mornings I could barely move and was keenly aware that without the Lord’s help I would not make it through the day. I’m living the lesson of dependency on God, and while it is a hard lesson, it is also a supremely sweet thing to know His help so intimately.
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.
Henry W. Baker, 1868
Baking brownies at 7400 ft. above sea level has always had a disappointing outcome due to the egg/flour ratio. They tend to rise, then do a crater thing in the center of the pan. I wanted to serve brownie sundaes for dessert today so decided to try a new recipe. The one on the back of the Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate box was appealing because it was quick and would give me time to come up with another dessert if they flopped. I also thought I’d try using my square muffin pan to make individual brownies and hopefully avoid the usual crater. (They baked in only 20 minutes.) Gotta say, these brownies worked. They didn’t fall, they baked up beautifully and they are delicious!
Baker’s One-Bowl Brownies
4 squares Baker’s unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and pecans; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.
I’m thankful for songs in the night when I can’t sleep.
He took my sins and my sorrows
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary
And suffered and died alone.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be,
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me.
Sometimes the songs are more restorative than sleep would be.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
Of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.
All laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
Walter C. Smith, 1876
To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17 ESV
Okay, I’m jumping in alongside Kim and Dorothy and any others who are continuing Rebecca’s month of thanksgivings last November. Giving thanks to the Lord in a public way is always good, so please join us every Thursday!
Remember when I mentioned that we need a new roof on the lodge because of hail damage, and our insurance company engineer refused to admit that although there was hail damage on the siding and the metal flashing on the roof there was no damage to the roofing tiles? The claim was denied due to her stubborn unchangeable stance even though all other inspectors determined that there is hail damage.
Well. Our agent went to battle for us because he knew it was a ridiculous decision and was able to get a separate department (something like a PR department) in the company to cover 50% of the cost of replacing the roof. Less than what we wanted, but at least very helpful. He told us we could sue and win the lawsuit, but we don’t want to go that route.
We’re thankful that God has provided these funds that have made it possible to replace the roof. No, it’s not the way we wanted, but His provision is His provision, no matter the method. All things are from Him, and we thank Him for this definite answer to our prayers!
In a sermon I listened to today, Alistair Begg quoted Samuel Rutherford:
Because I am His own, God be thanked, He may use me as He pleases.
I think I may have posted that quote on my old blog, and it was good to be reminded of it again. I pray that it is a truthful statement for me, deep down; not only for myself but also in regard to my husband, my sons, and other people I hold dear.
