Be Thou My Vision

It's no secret that I love hymns. The words are always filled with such heart and soul.

They move me.
They inspire me.
They convict me.
They encourage me.

"A hymn is a traditional song of praise or worship written to God." "...traditional hymns continue to move (me) with profound words and beautiful music that engage (my) mind and lift (my) heart to heaven." (quoted from "Who is God?" by John Hay and David Webb, pg. 95. Words in parenthesis are mine)

There has been a hymn going through my head now for a few weeks since we sang it in church.

You see, a lot of exciting things have been happening in my life lately and I have such fun looking ahead. I want to remain grounded in the Lord and be sure at all times that God is my vision, that He is the Lord of my heart. I want to be sure that I don't heed riches, or empty praise. Remembering God is my inheritance is key. I want to treasure thou art - not the great things happening. He is ruler of all!

Be Thou My Vision was written in the eighth century from an unknown poet who lived in Ireland. This poet and her belief in Christ came about thanks to the enduring work of St. Patrick in Ireland (first as a slave then as an evangelizer.) St. Patrick planted about 200 churches and had 100,000 converts during his time!

The poem, written by the unknown poet, was translated in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne from Dublin, Ireland. Eleanor Hull put the words to rhyme and meter and it was set to the tune of the Irish folk song "Slane." The reason why it was set to this tune was because it was thought that Slane was an area where St. Patrick challenged the Druids with the gospel.

Here are the lyrics:
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.

If you would like to hear the song you can click the link below. This is the most traditional version and my personal favorite.

Be Thou My Vision

May Christ be your vision this year as well!

~Blessings~

(Hymn facts and information taken from the book "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan)

Happy 92nd Birthday Grandma!

Today is my Grandma's 92nd birthday. She has lived such a full life and has had a profound positive influence on my life. We are blessed to live so close to her now.  I have always lived two hours away from her my whole life.  Now I live within 10 minutes of her. 

Today we went to visit her at her assisted living home and we walked in to hear a beautiful violin playing.  It was really neat.  It brought tears to my eyes.  This 15 year old girl was blessing all these elderly people with the sound of melodious music.  My favorite song that she played was "Come though Fount."  I think this song and moment will be in my mind forever.  My Grandma has had hospice come in to help take care of her and I know my days are short with her.  I love her so much and am SO blessed to be able to see her sweet face. I am so thankful I felt well enough to go visit her today too.  Another praise. Tomorrow (Lord Willing) our whole family is going to have lunch with her at her Grand Lodge to celebrate.

This picture was taken about 5 months ago.  I still look sick but not as sick as I do now so I will spare you a more recent picture.  This picture is about my Grandma anyway, not me. :-) Love her!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA from me and HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMI - from the boys.  We love and cherish you! (How awesome that my boys have gotten to forge a sweet relationship with their Great Grandma. Thank you Lord.)

~Blessings~

The Solid Rock

During the election result period last night I was praying to the Lord.  During my prayers he reminded me of one of my favorite hymns.  It is called Solid Rock. God put the refrain in my head.... "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.  All other ground is sinking sand." It was a good reminder to me that God IS the solid rock above all the elections and politics, above all of the natural disasters, above all the health problems and sadness.  HE is what we should be leaning on and putting our hope in because a solid rock (God and Jesus) doesn't sway or break down. HE does not sink, He is immovable.  I really needed that because in the times we live in I can have a lot of fears.  Fears for me personally, my kiddos and my grandkids to come (Lord willing.)  God doesn't give us a spirit of fear but of sound mind.  We lean on Him and we can have that.  We trust in him and we can have that.  Praise Him our Solid Rock!  This was just the peace I needed.

This hymn was written in 1824 by Edward Mote who was a carpenter and then went on to be a pastor at a Baptist Church until his early death in 1873 due to health problems.  He lived out his faith - in his last days he said, " I think I am going to heaven; yes, I am nearing port.  The truths I have been preaching, I am now living upon and they'll do very well to die upon, Ah! The precious blood." (part of the story rephrased from Then Sings my Soul: 150 of the worlds greatest hymn stories)

Here are the lyrics to the hymn and you can click on the link to hear it...

The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

Here is a verse that he wrote that is often left out of most hymnals today:
I trust his righteous character
His council, promise and His power;
His honor and His Name's at stake
To save me from the burning lake;
On Christ ,the solick Rock, I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

1 Corinthians 3:11
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Let's continue to put our hope in our redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ.

~Blessings~

2 years ago...

It was two years ago yesterday that Steve had back surgery.  He had a micro lumbar discectomy. I have written several times on my blog about the process and his recovery.  You can look under my blog labels and looks under "Herniated Disc Surgery" to see them if you are interested. 

I thought that I would write about it now to give an update of how he is doing since his surgery.

Steve starting having back pain a good five years before he had his surgery.  He hoped that his back would heal itself and just get better.  He didn't realize that he had multiple herniated discs as well as some arthritis in his lower back and neck.  Needless to say, his pain got worse through the years.  His sciatic nerve would get pinched by the herniated disc and immobilize him. He tried epidural shots, pain medication, and cortisone and eventually nothing was helping the pain. It would mask it temporarily. He spent many years in pain and he looks back now and wishes (although he agrees God's timing is perfect) that he would have had surgery earlier.

We began our search for a surgeon about 4 months before the actual surgery. Of course we had to have the necessary MRI's done in order to properly diagnose him and know exactly where the worst bulge was coming from as well as multiple professional opinions on what should be done. It turned out that he had an 8MM bulge in his L4/L5 spine area. In order for his pain to go away that disc needed to be fixed because that was what was causing the major pain.

We settled on a very well known Neurosurgeon (who has actually been written about and on TV for his miraculous surgeries he has done. We didn't know this when we chose him though.)  Before we settled on him we had seen an Orthopedic surgeon and we were warned that the solution that kind of surgeon would give would be to have a spinal fusion done. That surgeon did recommend a fusion. We did a bunch of research on that and prayed and decided that was NOT the way to go.  The problems down the road with a fusion could be awful.  If you are in a similar situation now please consult an Orthopedic Surgeon AND a Neurosurgeon.  They go about the "fix" very differently.

We felt peace about choosing the Neurosurgeon.  We prayed a lot about the actual surgery since there are risks. On the day of the surgery everything went as planned and the bulge in his disc was "cut off" and the nerve was placed back in it's proper place. You can read about the week after surgery at the links on my blog.

It took Steve about 3 months to get fully back to life.  He was back to (light duty) work within a month of the surgery which was a praise.  He made baby steps all along the way in healing.  The muscles all had to heal and the inflammation had to go down. Once that did his sciatic pain went away.

Now, two years later, he has a full life.  We find ourselves reminded of all the things he can do that he couldn't do before.  Wrestle with his boys, mountain bike, lift weights, lift heavier things (not too heavy though) and more - all without pain.  He will always have to be careful of picking something TOO heavy up, and twisting his torso too much. In the mornings he is usually a little stiff in his back and when he has long days on his feet his back aches a little.  Other than that he has no pain and the sciatica is gone.  He has a quality of life that we certainly don't take for granted.  We thank God for leading us to a top neurosurgeon who was very skilled and meticulous with a great bedside manner. We thank God for healing Steve! We do pray that the other bulges he has in his spine and arthritis stay pain free as they are now - Lord willing! 

While I was typing this an old hymn came on Pandora.  I thought it fit perfectly what I was typing about and it is one of my favorites.  Click on the link below to hear it. (I have been SO blessed today listening to sweet old hymns while doing my work. I absolutely love them.)

To God Be the Glory

To God be the glory, great things he hath done!
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the lifegate that all may go in.

Refrain:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory, great things he hath done!

2. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God;
the vilest offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

(Refrain)

3. Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done,
and great our rejoicing thru Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher, and greater will be
our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

(Refrain)

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

This song has been in my mind all day.  I love it.  Every time it pops into my mind it reminds me to not get caught up with things here in my everyday life.  The world does grow dim when we focus on God - our intense immeasurable light.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (click on the link to hear it)
(Sung by Michael W. Smith - I love the violin in this rendition)

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look Full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth with grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Up From the Grave He Arose!

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

I wanted to share a hymn that I love. You can click on the link below to hear it.  This song reminds me of when I was a little girl attending church.  I don't hear it much anymore but just listening to it brings back memories. I remember my Mom walking around singing it during this time of year every year.  She still does! So Sweet. I hope you enjoy it to. 

Up From the Grave He Arose.
Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed,
Jesus my Savior;
Vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus my Lord!

Death cannot keep its Prey,
Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away,
Jesus my Lord!


Hallelujah!

I surrender all

I have been overwhelmed lately with a lot of things. Big things and little things have been keeping my attention. I have not been surrendering it all to my sovereign Lord. I have tried on occasion to give Him a small tidbit but not all. Then sometimes even that small tidbit I take back.  There is no joy in that.  Actually, at times it can be a very unhappy place. It is not where God intended us to be.  Trying to do it all ourselves and thinking we are in control is the opposite of surrendering. 

I look up the word surrender and here is what the definition is:
to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress...

In this case I need to yield to the power of the Lord and his plan for my eating (food), my marriage, my homeschool, my place of shelter, etc.

A favorite hymn of mine popped into my head tonight and when I hear it it always brings up such emotion in me. Hymns to me are very powerful. This hymn reminds me to surrender and that surrendering can be a wonderful place of freedom.  I Surrender All is the hymn. Click if you want to listen to it and hopefully be totally encouraged.

Here are the words if you would like to read them:

All to Jesus I surrender;

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

Refrain:

I surrender all,

I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;

Humbly at His feet I bow,

Worldly pleasures all forsaken;

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender;

Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender;

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power;

Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender;

Now I feel the sacred flame.

Oh, the joy of full salvation!

Glory, glory, to His Name!

A verse that I wanted to leave you with is
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.


I plan to go out and find my freedom in complete surrender to Him.  Lord help me!

Day Three and an encouraging hymn

Day three and he is still not home.  Given that we were told to expect him to come home the day after surgery this is a bit frustrating but there are extenuating circumstances requiring him to stay in the hospital. There are also some things happening at the hospital that Steve and I are not thrilled about. This is hard on both of us, VERY hard.  He is improving in small ways and that is encouraging.  I saw him walk a bit today and sit in a chair for a short period of time.  That is a step in the right direction (literally.)  I am not sure if he will be home tomorrow or not.  He wants to be home and I want him to be home but only if I can give him the care he needs.  Right now I can't do that.  We will see what tomorrow brings.  This along with some other complicated things going on in our lives make for a weary Mommy and both physical and mental exhaustion have set in.

Lord - I don't know how much more I can handle.

A hymn that encouraged me today while driving to and from the hospital was
 What a friend we have in Jesus (click on the link to hear the hymn)

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.

Psalm 61: 1-4
Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I LONG to dwell is your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah