Believing Against Hope

Away, my unbelieving fear!

Fear shall in me no more have place;
My Saviour doth not yet appear --
He hides the brightness of his face;
But shall I therefore let him go,
And basely to the tempter yield?
No, in the strength of Jesus, no,
I never will give up my shield.

Although the vine its fruit deny,
Although the olive yield no oil,
The with'ring fig trees droop and die,
The field's elude the tiller's toil:
The empty stall no herd afford,
And perish all the bleating race;
Yet will I triumph in the Lord,
The God of my salvation praise.

In hope, believing against hope,
Jesus, my Lord, my God I claim;
Jesus, my strength, shall lift me up;
Salvation is in Jesus' name:
To me he soon shall bring it nigh;
My soul shall then outstrip the wind;
On wings of love mount up on high,
And leave the world and sin behind.

Author Unknown

Entire Consecration

Cherry Blossoms, Duke Gardens. LDF

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be, swift and beautiful for Thee;
Take my voice, and let me sing always, only for my King.

Take my lips, and let them be fill'd with messages from Thee;
Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my will, and make it Thine; It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord I pour at Thy feet its treasure store!
Take myself, and I will be ever, only all for Thee!

Wash me in the Saviour's precious blood, Cleanse me in its purifying flood...

Lord, I give to Thee my life and all, to be Thine, henceforth, eternally.

Words by Frances Ridley Havergal

the beauty of the aged.

I am starting to realize more and more that I find more beauty in something old than in something new... OF COURSE, that may not always be the case, but an ancient ruin, an old photograph of my grandparents in the 1920s (seen to the left), a worn down hillside, or a hymnal from 1885 tucked amidst other books in an antique shop more often catch my eye than the latest fashions in magazines, the newest edition of To Kill A Mocking Bird at Barnes and Nobel, or the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta on the last commercial I just saw. This past weekend I was able to visit some dear friends in Durham, NC. While there, I took some time to shop at some antique shops... that hymnal I mentioned before is no longer tucked amidst those other books... it lies open before me. I plan these next couple of weeks to post some of the words from the 271 hymns within. I hope they touch your soul as they are touching mine. I continue to be richly blessed by what other saints before me have penned about my Savior. Enjoy!

I Need Thee.

Blessed Saviour, my Redeemer, In thy mercy, hear my call;
How I need thy grace to keep me, Every moment, lest I fall.
Lord, I need thy hand to guide me Wheresoe'er my path may be;
O! I need thy love so tender, None can ever love like thee.
Bend thou thine ear, Thy promise all my plea; I need thy love, thy tender love
O! grant it, Lord, to me, O! grant it, Lord, to me.

Words by Frank Gould.

get it while it's free...

Free on Itunes.

it's beautiful.

This new album from The Wailin' Jennys couldn't be better!

does she look familiar to you?

Anybody remember Joy Williams? Didn't think so, let me remind you... blonde, CCM, By Surprise...? Ok, my friend Elizabeth Davis brought to my attention, she's the girl in The Civil Wars!!! I KNOW. Here is something I love about them...

good gifts.

This is love: not that we love God, but that He loves us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 john 4:10

Lately I have been reading through a book of Kierkegaard's writings. I wanted to give you a glimpse into what the Lord used to encourage me today.

In repentance, you receive everything from God, even the thanks you give Him, in the same way that parents enjoy the fun of receiving a present from their child when they are really only receiving what they themselves have given. Isn't that how it is, my listener? You were always willing to thank God, but this was some how so inadequate. Then you understood that God is the one who does everything in you and then allows you the childlike pleasure of thinking that your thanks are a gift you give Him. He gives you this joy because you were unafraid of the pains of repentance and of the deep care in which a person becomes happy as a child in God. And you showed this when you were no longer afraid of realizing that this is love: not that we love God, but that God loves us.

Lace up those sneaks and join me!!

I seemed to be very dedicated for quite sometime to updating my blog and staying on task. It's been awhile. It doesn't mean that I have strayed from discipline entirely, just mainly in this area of life. For good reason people! Good reason! I have taken up running. I have never been a runner, and never thought that I could be, but I am beginning to absolutely love it; so much so that I have been contemplating signing up for the Chicago Marathon. I think it is good to push yourself every once in awhile in an area of doubt. I honestly don't believe I can run a marathon, or that I ever will, but there is a small part of me that wants to hunt down the challenge of it all. It sounds crazy... who would ever want to run 138, 435 feet? Can you imagine? But that is what draws me to the idea. It seems so far out of my reach that I want to go after it. I used to be afraid of pushing myself... afraid of taking the extra step... afraid of newness, but lately, newness has been what has energized and refreshed me.

I have found the time that I spend running very refreshing. In high school, whenever the day came to run the mile in phys ed, I wanted to fake I was sick and go to the nurse... I don't know what it was, but something inside of me dreaded the thought of going around a track four times. But, something has changed. I find myself anticipating the time I spend in the little room in my basement, listening to Ratatat, and collecting my thoughts from the passing day.