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Jesus, my only Hope, Friend ever dear,
Bend to my earnest prayer Thy gracious ear;
Come from Thy throne above, come and my dross remove,
Fill me with perfect love, Savior, to Thee.
Jesus, my only Hope, grant me Thy grace,
Teach me in joy and pain Thy hand to trace;
Keep Thou my heart in peace, bid ev’ry murmur cease,
Come and my faith increase, Savior, in Thee.
Jesus, my only Hope, Jesus, my King,
Help me with heart and voice Thy praise to sing;
Now let Thy beams divine bright o’er my pathway shine,
Draw me, O Savior mine, closer to Thee.
Jesus, my only Hope, be Thou my Guest;
Under Thy mighty wings, O let me rest,
Rest till the angel band home to the promised land
Bears me at Thy command, Savior, to Thee.
-Fanny Crosby, 1886
I read these words this morning—just what I needed.
Moses says, “Though we are always changing, Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.” The Christian knows no change with regard to God. He may be rich today and poor tomorrow; he may be sick today and well tomorrow; he may be happy today and sad tomorrow—but there is no change regarding his relationship to God. If He loved me yesterday, He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Even when prospects are few and hopes are squashed and joy is waning, I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is “my refuge” to which I continually return. I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet dwelling place. -Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, February 27
It is good to learn early on that suffering and God
are no contradiction,
but much more a necessary unity:
for me the idea that God himself suffered
was always one of the most convincing teachings
of Christianity.
I think that God is closer to suffering than to happiness,
and to find God in this manner gives peace and rest,
and a strong and courageous heart.
Jesus asks the Father
if the chalice may pass,
and the Father hears the plea of the Son.
The chalice of suffering will pass by Jesus,
but only in this way:
that it will be drunk.
Jesus knows this
when in Gethsemane he kneels down for the second time,
that the suffering will pass by
if he suffers it.
Only through the bearing
will he overcome and conquer suffering.
His cross is his surmounting.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Among all the things for which I give thanks today:
Blue skies and warm sunshine
Gorgeous pink tulips in a pot on my kitchen counter
Antibiotics
That my allergic reaction to an antibiotic wasn’t worse than it was!
For my husband who is grilling hamburgers for supper tonight so I don’t have to cook. Hurrah!
For a quiet and peaceful day.
Thanks be to God for His abundant, abundant blessings to us.
I was standing at the stove at the lodge, stirring vanilla pudding as it cooked. I heard someone at the coffee bar, then:
Rosemary?
I turned to see one of our client guests pouring her coffee. Yes…?
I hope you take this right…I told my husband this morning that I feel like I’m at the Brady Bunch house and Alice is taking good care of me. It’s exactly what I needed.
So I guess you can just call me Alice.
I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed, what God hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
Is One Who is my Savior!
I take Him at His word indeed;
“Christ died for sinners”—this I read;
For in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior!
That He should leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die,
You count it strange? So once did I,
Before I knew my Savior!
And oh, that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me,
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!
Yea, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this Spring;
That He Who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior!
-Dorothy Greenwell, 1873
When a storm rises, immediately run and awaken your sleeping faith. Knock at its door. Do your work, O faith! Consider this medicine for your faith to drink in comfort: not the slightest trouble befalls you without the overruling eye and hand of God. He is not only our wise God, but a tender Father. He knows what you are made of and measures out exactly every cross unto us as a chemist measures grams of medicine. -Samuel Ward
I’m thankful—
That God has given our family the opportunity to work together for His purpose and glory.
That He is present, with us, making the work possible and effective.
For my sister’s successful surgery.
For laughter.
For a pretty decent night of sleep despite raucous tinnitus that has taken up residence in my head.
What are you especially thanking God for today?
Our God is love; and all His saints
His image bear below;
The heart with love to God inspired,
With love to man will glow.
O may we love each other, Lord,
As we are loved by Thee;
For none are truly born of God
Who live in enmity.
Heir of the same immortal bliss,
Our hopes and fears the same,
The cords of love our hearts should bind,
The laws of love inflame.
So shall the vain contentious world
Our peaceful lives approve,
And wondering say, as they of old,
“See how these Christians love.”
Anonymous
We’re celebrating Harry’s birthday today instead of the actual day next week because we’ll have a lodge full of guests. Instead of birthday cake he’d like a fresh strawberry pie and his wish is my command! Making it made me feel like Spring is a little closer despite the fact of the snow on the ground. It’s a beautiful pie and yummy to boot. Would you like the recipe?
Here it is!
Fresh Strawberry-Cream Cheese Glace Pie
Pastry shell for single crust pie, baked and cooled (A baked graham cracker crust is good too)
1 ½ quarts fresh strawberries (3 pints)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
½ cup water
1 pkg cream cheese, softened (use 3 oz. for thinner layer, 8 oz. if you love cream cheese, which we do!)
2-3 Tbsp sugar
1/2-1 tsp grated orange peel
Wash berries and lay on towel to dry. Hull them and cut off any unripened tops. Slice and mash enough strawberries to measure 1 cup, leaving remaining berries whole. Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Gradually stir in water and mashed berries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute; cool to room temperature but still pourable.
Beat cream cheese with sugar and orange peel until smooth. Spread into piecrust bottom. Top with remaining whole strawberries, cut side down. Pour cooked and cooled strawberry mixture over top. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until set. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream on each slice. Store covered in refrigerator.
