"O What A Savior" (Marvin P. Dalton)

Once I was straying in sin’s dark valley
No hope within could I see
They searched through Heaven
And found a Savior
To save a poor lost soul like me.

Chorus
O what a Savior, O hallelujah
His heart was broken on Calvary
His hands were nail scarred
His side was riven
He gave His life-blood for even me.

Death’s chilly water I’ll soon be crossing
His hand will lead me safe o're
I’ll join the chorus in that great city
And sing up there for evermore.

YouTube - "O What A Savior" By Squire Parsons/Larry Ford

Beneath the cross...

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty Rock within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way
From the burning of the noon-day heat, and the burden of the day.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place,
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).

Jesus Christ is the most important person who ever walked this earth. His cross is glory to all who believe.

Day by Day

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear. - Lina Sandell Berg, Swedish

Not sure my Father's wise bestowment is the cancer I am now taking chemo for...just getting me more ready to leave this body or hope for the redemption of my body 'cause we all live in a ruined world where sickness happens.

You think?

In memory of Andy Visser

It's Real

O how well do I remember
How I doubted day by day,
For I did not know for certain
That my sins were washed away.
When the Spirit tried to tell me,
I would not the truth receive;
I endeavored to be happy
And to make myself believe.

Refrain

But it’s real, it’s real!
O I know it’s real
Praise God, the doubts are settled,
For I know, I know it’s real!

When the truth came close and searching,
All my joys would disappear,
For I did not have the witness
Of the Spirit bright and clear.
If at times the coming judgment
Would appear before my mind,
O it made me so uneasy,
For God’s smile I could not find.

Refrain

When the Lord sent faithful servants
Who would dare to preach the truth,
How my heart did so condemn me
As the Spirit gave reproof!
Satan said at once, “Twill ruin
You now to confess your state;
Keep on working and professing,
And you’ll enter Heaven’s gate.”

Refrain

But at last I tired of living
Such a life of fear and doubt,
For I wanted God to give me
Something I would know about,
So the truth would make me happy
And the light would clearly shine,
And the Spirit gave assurance
That I’m His and He is mine.

Refrain

So I prayed to God in earnest,
And not caring what folks said.
I was hungry for the blessing;
My pour soul—it must be fed.
Then at last by faith I touched Him
And, like sparks from smitten steel,
Just so quick salvation reached me.
O bless God, I know it’s real!

Words & Music: Homer L. Cox, 1907 (MI?DI, score).

More love to Thee, O Christ . . .

Let sorrow do its work,
Send grief and pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers,
Sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me,
More love, O Christ, to Thee,
More love to Thee,
More love to Thee!

(Elizabeth Prentiss)

They say pain draws you closer to the Lord. I do know that after the pain it has sharpened the awareness of Christ. Not sure it is the same.

Must I not wonder?

"What good am I, if I'm like all the rest?"

What good am I, if I'm like all the rest
If I just turn away when I see how you're dressed
If I shut myself off so I can't hear you cry
What good am I ?

What good am I if I know and don't do
If I see and don't say, if I look right through you
If I turn a deaf ear to the thunderin' sky
What good am I ?

What good am I while you softly weep
And I hear in my head what you say in your sleep
And I freeze in the moment like the rest who don't try
What good am I ?

What good am I then to others and me
If I had every chance and yet still fail to see
If my hands are tied must I not wonder within
Who tied them and why and where must I have been.

What good am I if I say foolish things
And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings
And I just turn my back while you silently die
What good am I ? - Bob Dylan

"I looked on my right hand, and behold, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." (Psalm 142:4)

The Great Souls of Our Era

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Leonard Cohen Sings "Anthem"

http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/grace_notes/the_great_souls_of_our_er.php

Daystar

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” - Luke 18:8

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near,
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn,
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till Thy inward life impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiance Divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day. --Charles Wesley

Thank You Very Much

Thank You Very Much (Part 2) Scrooge (1970)

The Kookaburra song. . .

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
Merry, merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra,
Laugh, Kookaburra,
Gay your life must be.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Eating all the gumdrops he can see.
Stop, Kookaburra,
Stop, Kookaburra,
Leave some there for me.

(I loved singing this song when a young girl. Don't remember where it was taught but probably in grade school where we would listen to a teaching program on the radio each week and learn new songs. Also our teacher, Mrs. Gustafson, played the piano and introduced many unusual songs. I'm sure I didn't know what the strange words meant. c. 1954ish)

The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a carnivorous kookaburra in the Kingfisher family well known for its laughing call. It is about 18 in. in length and is found throughout eastern Australia and neighboring islands.Its trademark "laugh" is to establish territory amongst family groups. When one bird starts, often others will join in, including nearby birds from rival tribes, which can fill the bush with their calls.

Marion Sinclair wrote the song in 1932 for a contest being held by the Victorian Guides. The competition was for an 'Australian round' song. A gum tree is a name for the eucalyptus tree. There are more gum trees than any other kind of tree in Australia. Gum tree leaves are the favourite thing for koalas to eat.

Thanks To God!

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20)

Thanks, O God, for boundless mercy
From Thy gracious throne above;
Thanks for ev’ry need provided
From the fullness of Thy love.
Thanks for daily toil and labor
And for rest when shadows fall;
Thanks for love of friend and neighbor
And Thy goodness unto all.

Thanks for thorns as well as roses,
Thanks for weakness and for health;
Thanks for clouds as well as sunshine,
Thanks for poverty and wealth.
Thanks for pain as well as pleasure--
All Thou sendest day by day;
And Thy Word, our dearest treasure,
Shedding light upon our way.

Thanks, O God, for home and fireside,
Where we share our daily bread;
Thanks for hours of sweet communion,
When by Thee our souls are fed.
Thanks for grace in time of sorrow
And for joy and peace in Thee;
Thanks for hope today, tomorrow,
And for all eternity!

(August Ludvig Storm, Swedish Traditional Hymn "Tack O Gud" - 1891)

Thanks to God! is one of the most popular Swedish hymns that found its way into many of our evangelical hymnals.

August Storm was born 1862, in Motala, Sweden. He converted to Christ in a Salvation Army meeting and although he suffered a back ailment at the age of 37 that left him crippled for life, he continued his Salvation Army work until his death. The gratitude expressed to God ranges from the "dark and dreary fall" to the "pleasant, balmy springtime," and "pain" as well as "pleasure." There is gratitude, warmth of text and a folk-like quality in the music. Go to http://www.hymntime.com/ (Johannes Hultman score) to hear the melody.

1812

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.

"The only winner in the War of 1812 was Tchaikovsky."
- Solomon Short

YouTube - Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture Part 1

Napoleon - French invasion of Russia, 1812

Just wonderin...

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

When Mary birthed Jesus ’twas in a cow’s stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
But high from God’s heaven, a star’s light did fall
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God’s Angels in heaven to sing
He surely could have it, ’cause he was the King

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

Jesus, God's Son, took my place

I was guilty with nothing to say
And they were coming to take me away
But then a voice from Heaven was heard
It said "Let Him go and take me instead"

I should have been crucified
I should have suffered and died
I should have hung on the cross in disgrace
But Jesus, God's Son, took my place.

Crowns of thorns,
the spear deep in His side
And the pain it should have been mine
The rusty nails were meant for me
Oh yet Christ took them and let me go free.

I should have been crucified
I should have suffered and died
I should have hung on the cross in disgrace
But Jesus, God's Son, took my place

YouTube - I Should Have Been Crucified

Jesus is altogether lovely...

YouTube - Here I Am To Worship

He's alive!

He's Alive (through Peter's eyes)
Don Francisco

The gates and doors were barred and all the windows fastened down,
I spent the night in sleeplessness and rose at every sound,
Half in hopeless sorrow, and half in fear the day
Would find the soldiers breakin' through to drag us all away.

And just before the sunrise I heard something at the wall,
The gate began to rattle and a voice began to call.
I hurried to the window, looked down into the street,
Expecting swords and torches and the sound of soldiers' feet.

But there was no one there but Mary so I went down to let her in,
John stood there beside me as she told me where she'd been.
She said they might have moved Him in the night and none of us knows where,
The stone's been rolled away and now His body isn't there.

We both ran toward the garden then John ran on ahead,
We found the stone and empty tomb just the way that Mary said.
But the winding sheet they wrapped Him in was just an empty shell,
And how or where they'd taken Him was more than I could tell.

Oh, something strange had happened there, just what I did not know,
John believed a miracle but I just turned to go,
Circumstance and speculation couldn't lift me very high,
'Cause I'd seen them crucify Him, then I saw Him die.

Back inside the house again the guilt and anguish came,
Everything I'd promised Him just added to my shame,
When at last it came to choices, I denied I knew His name,
And even if He was alive it wouldn't be the same.

But suddenly the air was filled with a strange and sweet perfume,
Light that came from everywhere drove the shadows from the room,
And Jesus stood before me with His arms held open wide,
And I fell down on my knees and I just clung to Him and cried.

Then He raised me to my feet and as I looked into His eyes,
The love was shining out from Him like sunlight from the skies,
Guilt in my confusion dissappeared in sweet release,
And every fear I'd ever had just melted into peace.

He's alive! He's alive!
He's alive and I'm forgiven, Heaven's gates are open wide,
He's alive! He's alive!

He's alive and I'm forgiven, Heaven's gates are open wide,
He's alive! He's alive!

Hallelujah, He's alive!
He's alive and I'm forgiven, Heaven's gates are open wide,
He's alive! He's alive!

He's alive!