Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Links
I'm adding some links today that I probably should have added long ago. Both Brian Nicklaus and Brad Palmore were colleagues of mine at Harding School of Biblical Studies. They are both in the ministry and have blogs that help people like you and me try to wrap our minds around the word of God and how to truly live the Christian lifestyle. I think that they will be an asset to you, dear reader, as you journey along.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Destruction of a Lesion
Kind of a strange title for a blog don't you think?
And I never thought that I would be associated with that procedure.
But that is exactly what my doctor did to me this morning at 8:30. For the past 5 months, I have had a weird bump on the end of my nose and have not quite known what it was. Well, while preparing for the Africa trip, my doctor told me that it was a pre-cancer that needed to be removed.
That is what Dr. Burris did this morning. Brought in a blow torch looking canister full of liquid nitrogen and proceeded to play 'freeze out' with the lesion. It felt like my nose was burning.
I am glad that it's over and can't wait for this bump to slough off.
---------
BTW, Mike, you owe me dinner!!
And I never thought that I would be associated with that procedure.
But that is exactly what my doctor did to me this morning at 8:30. For the past 5 months, I have had a weird bump on the end of my nose and have not quite known what it was. Well, while preparing for the Africa trip, my doctor told me that it was a pre-cancer that needed to be removed.
That is what Dr. Burris did this morning. Brought in a blow torch looking canister full of liquid nitrogen and proceeded to play 'freeze out' with the lesion. It felt like my nose was burning.
I am glad that it's over and can't wait for this bump to slough off.
---------
BTW, Mike, you owe me dinner!!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Tired
Today has been a full day.
I got up to the church building at around 7:30 this morning to look over the ppt that Mike had helped me with. Joel and I were making a presentation for a combined class in the auditorium about our work in Africa this morning. The computer in the auditorium would not read the videos that we had inserted into the ppt and we were starting to sweat. We got it all figured out, though, and the class was a success.
But add to that the fact that I had made 2 song sets for the morning. One for the early service and a different one for the late service. This was my first day to do this and I was anxious to see how it would turn out. We sang some newer ones, too. "Because We Believe" and "Ancient Words." It went pretty well.
Then there was the whole opening up of the annex because 2nd service is getting really crowded. The teens and some others of us sat there and tried out the 42 inch flat screen television monitor with the songs and sermon ppts out. We'll probably go up to somewhere between 52-55 inches.
Then this afternoon, before life groups, we had our first meeting about the Juniors and Seniors' Mission Trip to Africa this June. It was great. We talked, among other things, about shots and passports. Fun stuff!
Anyway, after all of that, I am tired.
I got up to the church building at around 7:30 this morning to look over the ppt that Mike had helped me with. Joel and I were making a presentation for a combined class in the auditorium about our work in Africa this morning. The computer in the auditorium would not read the videos that we had inserted into the ppt and we were starting to sweat. We got it all figured out, though, and the class was a success.
But add to that the fact that I had made 2 song sets for the morning. One for the early service and a different one for the late service. This was my first day to do this and I was anxious to see how it would turn out. We sang some newer ones, too. "Because We Believe" and "Ancient Words." It went pretty well.
Then there was the whole opening up of the annex because 2nd service is getting really crowded. The teens and some others of us sat there and tried out the 42 inch flat screen television monitor with the songs and sermon ppts out. We'll probably go up to somewhere between 52-55 inches.
Then this afternoon, before life groups, we had our first meeting about the Juniors and Seniors' Mission Trip to Africa this June. It was great. We talked, among other things, about shots and passports. Fun stuff!
Anyway, after all of that, I am tired.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
S3: Second Saturday Servants
Today was a day of manual labor for the 10 teens and 4 adults that showed up to improve their 'serve.' A crew of 4 headed over to the home of Joel and Emma Lewis to do some furniture moving for about an hour. Then we rejoined the rest of the group to finish up what they had begun. Our poor Outreach and Involvement Minister had to move out of his office due to a collapsing ceiling and nasty mold/mildew that have created an uninhabitable space. Well, we got a lot done between 9:30 and 12:00 and Mike is in his new space. I am kinda jealous of it. It is nice looking. Good work, crew! We did it!
Friday, March 07, 2008
March Wonderland?
The forecast last night called for 6-10 inches of snow for the Central AR area starting at around 3 in the morning. We were pumped!
El's school was closed for the day and we were getting ready for a day of curling up with movies and books as well as cat naps throughout the day.
Upon waking up this morning at 6:50, I saw only a dusting of white and there was nothing coming down. Truly disappointed. The forecast had been wrong.
Then, it started to come down with no intentions of staying around on the ground. Coolness, but not really what we wanted. There is just something so cool about the landscape being covered in a blanket of white.
That all started to change around 11 in the morning. It started to stick! Soon, visibility was low due to all the falling snow and we had somewhere between 1-3 inches fall and stay.
Jenniva and El got to go out in it while I was off at work. Catch the video of their time. We got what we wanted!! Beautiful snow - just another sign of God's awesome majesty!
El's school was closed for the day and we were getting ready for a day of curling up with movies and books as well as cat naps throughout the day.
Upon waking up this morning at 6:50, I saw only a dusting of white and there was nothing coming down. Truly disappointed. The forecast had been wrong.
Then, it started to come down with no intentions of staying around on the ground. Coolness, but not really what we wanted. There is just something so cool about the landscape being covered in a blanket of white.
That all started to change around 11 in the morning. It started to stick! Soon, visibility was low due to all the falling snow and we had somewhere between 1-3 inches fall and stay.
Jenniva and El got to go out in it while I was off at work. Catch the video of their time. We got what we wanted!! Beautiful snow - just another sign of God's awesome majesty!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Faith of the Believer
How is your faith? How strong is it when everything the world has flies at you with full force? My friend, Allan Stanglin, one of our future 5th Sunday guest speakers here at Northside, had this to say about true faith. I believe he says it much better than I ever could.
“When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” ~Matthew 8:10
"You think God’s ever astonished by your faith? You think you’ve ever prayed a prayer to God and, as soon as it’s over, he jumps up and says, “Whoa! We haven’t seen faith like that in years!” And God gets on the intercom system there in heaven and says, “Wow! Y’all won’t believe the faith of this guy down there!”
You think God’s ever been astounded by your great faith?
The kind of faith that astonishes Jesus is a humble and complete dependence on God. And I wonder about our complete dependence. I wonder about mine.
I wonder how much different it was 2000 years ago. When fever was a disease and not a symptom. Before modern medicine, what was it like to pray for healing? When forecasting the weather meant reading the calf liver or Grandpa’s arthritic knees. Before meteorology, what was it like to pray for rain? Before cropdusters and insecticides and fertilizers and refrigerators and Wal-Mart SuperStores, what was it like to pray for food? You know what I mean? Forget 2000 years ago. What about 60 or 70 years ago? What was it like to pray?
As technology changes, does our dependence on God change? Is it that the more we know about our world the less we depend on our God? I’m not sure. But let’s think about it.
Pray for rain? Well, I’ve seen the doppler radar and the skyview atmospheric predictor and the seven-day forecast. It’s going to rain Tuesday. Or, the next chance for precipitation won’t be for another couple of weeks. See. We need God for some things. But we know if it’s supposed to rain or not.
Pray for food? Is there anybody reading this blog who hasn’t eaten today? Anybody who’s not going to eat tomorrow? Is there anyone reading this who doesn’t have every single thing he needs to get through tonight and on in to tomorrow? We depend on God for some things. But there’s milk and meat in the fridge and the pantry’s full and I get paid on Friday.
Pray for healing? But I’ve seen the MRI. We have the X-Rays and the CT-scan. We’ve consulted with the doctors and been to two specialists. We know what’s going to happen. So, I’ll pray for the doctors. God bless the doctors. Help them to do what they can. Help them to find the problem. Help them to cure the disease. Help the surgery to be a success. We’re praying for the middle man! Ever read of anybody in Scripture praying for the middle man? It’s not the middle man! It’s God! God is the one who heals!
Yeah, but again, we’ve seen the test results. We’ve heard the doctors. It doesn’t look good. So we pray for healing and say, “If it’s your will…”
And I know we’re supposed to pray for God’s will. Of course we pray for God’s will. But never when praying for God’s will is our “out” or our excuse when the doctors say there’s not much hope: “If it’s your will…even though I’m not expecting it to be your will because the doctors have already said it’s not.”
I’m just curious. Before the days of X-Rays and MRIs and CT-scans, did we couch our prayers for healing with “if it’s your will”? Were our prayers different when we weren’t sure of the problems and weren’t already certain of the outcome? Was our dependence on God more and our dependence on ourselves and others less back then? Is there a problem?
God says through Isaiah, “I made you. I will carry you. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he who will sustain you.”
The Centurion calls Jesus “Lord.” Just say the word, he exclaims, and I know my servant will be healed.
Complete dependence. Total humility. Astonishing faith."
Monday, March 03, 2008
Quote Of The Day
"Christians are not tyrannized subjects of an omnipotent deity who thunders commandments. That is a pagan view of gods as despots to be appeased because of our fear of them. Jesus came to show us the true face of God as a Loving Father to bewildered and wayward children. As a father gives orders to his children, so God has given commands to us. One of the children who says he loves God while disobeying his commandments is exposed as a liar. But infants who need explicit rules for their behavior are expected to grow up - to discern deeper principles underlying specific rules and, ultimately, to learn to exhibit the heart of their Father." - Rubel Shelly
Sunday, March 02, 2008
So Excited!
I am truly excited about something that is gonna happen on the last day of this month and will most likely blog about it again. My colleague of 2 different congregations in 2 different states is coming home to preach! Jim Gardner, the Preaching Minister at the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, CA, is going to honor us with his presence on March 30th as part of our series of 5th Sunday speakers focusing on the theme of "Growing in Grace in 2008!" I am so ready for this!!
And I am not the only one pumped about it. Not only have many members here at Northside expressed their joy, but many others from sister congregations in the vicinity have let me and Jim's family know that they will be in attendance that day!
It doesn't end there, though. Apparently the community has put in the good word that he will be coming back to speak.
I do believe that it will be Standing Room Only. An event to be remembered.
Jim has expressed his feelings about this reunion 12 years in the making in his blog from last Thursday. Here it is:
"I'm going home.
For the first time in twelve years, I have been invited to speak at the congregation where I was raised. Every Sunday of my formative years, save vacations, was spent in the Northside Church of Christ building in Benton, Arkansas. It was there both of my grandfathers, and later my dad, served as elders. It was there I learned memory work in Bible Hour. It was there my faith was grounded. It was there I preached my first sermon. It was there I was mentored by Youth Ministers like Dale Mannon and Tom Perkins and Doug Yates.
And now, the current elders at Northside have afforded me the wonderful opportunity to go home and speak at Friends Day on Sunday, March 30th. The Northside church has themed 2008 "Growing in Grace" and that is the focus of the first Sunday following Easter in an effort to reach out with the good news of God's grace.
I can't wait to go home; to be back in the building where so many good faith memories were birthed. I can't wait to go home to the place where so much godly teaching was imparted to me.
And I can't wait to go home so that my grandfather, if his strength is sufficient, can hear me preach one more time.
To the Northside elders, thank you. Thank you for the most privileged speaking invitation of my preaching career. The opportunity to speak at Northside, on Friends Day, with the hope of my grandfather hearing me speak one more time is just almost too much to absorb. Thank you for demonstrating in living color the theme you are shepherding the church in Benton to live and understand."
And I am not the only one pumped about it. Not only have many members here at Northside expressed their joy, but many others from sister congregations in the vicinity have let me and Jim's family know that they will be in attendance that day!
It doesn't end there, though. Apparently the community has put in the good word that he will be coming back to speak.
I do believe that it will be Standing Room Only. An event to be remembered.
Jim has expressed his feelings about this reunion 12 years in the making in his blog from last Thursday. Here it is:
"I'm going home.
For the first time in twelve years, I have been invited to speak at the congregation where I was raised. Every Sunday of my formative years, save vacations, was spent in the Northside Church of Christ building in Benton, Arkansas. It was there both of my grandfathers, and later my dad, served as elders. It was there I learned memory work in Bible Hour. It was there my faith was grounded. It was there I preached my first sermon. It was there I was mentored by Youth Ministers like Dale Mannon and Tom Perkins and Doug Yates.
And now, the current elders at Northside have afforded me the wonderful opportunity to go home and speak at Friends Day on Sunday, March 30th. The Northside church has themed 2008 "Growing in Grace" and that is the focus of the first Sunday following Easter in an effort to reach out with the good news of God's grace.
I can't wait to go home; to be back in the building where so many good faith memories were birthed. I can't wait to go home to the place where so much godly teaching was imparted to me.
And I can't wait to go home so that my grandfather, if his strength is sufficient, can hear me preach one more time.
To the Northside elders, thank you. Thank you for the most privileged speaking invitation of my preaching career. The opportunity to speak at Northside, on Friends Day, with the hope of my grandfather hearing me speak one more time is just almost too much to absorb. Thank you for demonstrating in living color the theme you are shepherding the church in Benton to live and understand."
Saturday, March 01, 2008
A Long Time Coming
After a month-long hiatus from blogging, I am now back on the scene!
Being in a foreign country with limited Internet access for a huge chunk of February, then traveling to Tulsa to sing at a friend's funeral followed by prepping the following weekend to take a large group to Russellville, AR for the annual youth rally CHRISTeens, I made a decision to come back to the blog kingdom in March.
From the responses and calls of concern from family and friends, it looks like I stayed out a little too long for comfort. Well, I am back. I have too many stories to tell and pictures to share from the past month to stay away any longer.
I will share some more with you later, but for now, let this pic of Big Ben in "foggy London town" whet your appetite.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
New Journeys
I depart today on an incredible journey!
Before I talk about my trip I would like to share the amazing decision that was made here last night. Amanda C, one of our students in the youth ministry here at Northside, decided to clothe herself in Christ. What a wonderful note to leave on! No better thing could have happened last night. Pray for her and the rest of her family as she embarks on a new path.
Joel and I leave for Windhoek, Namibia, Africa in just a few short hours. Wow!! There is excitement in the air as I anxiously await new people and places. We will be teaching about 4-5 hours a day. I have my lessons ready and several sermons on hand. Gonna be great! Joel is nervous and I have a combination of anxiety and excitement! What a combination. Keep us in your prayers as we travel to Detroit-then to London-then to Windhoek-then back again.
I will try to blog while away. May not be able to. If not, in 2 weeks there will be stories and pictures galore!
Before I talk about my trip I would like to share the amazing decision that was made here last night. Amanda C, one of our students in the youth ministry here at Northside, decided to clothe herself in Christ. What a wonderful note to leave on! No better thing could have happened last night. Pray for her and the rest of her family as she embarks on a new path.
Joel and I leave for Windhoek, Namibia, Africa in just a few short hours. Wow!! There is excitement in the air as I anxiously await new people and places. We will be teaching about 4-5 hours a day. I have my lessons ready and several sermons on hand. Gonna be great! Joel is nervous and I have a combination of anxiety and excitement! What a combination. Keep us in your prayers as we travel to Detroit-then to London-then to Windhoek-then back again.
I will try to blog while away. May not be able to. If not, in 2 weeks there will be stories and pictures galore!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Quote Of The Day
"God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason." - Dag Hammarskjold
Monday, January 28, 2008
Baby Steps
Jenniva started walking yesterday!!!
We sat there in stunned silence as she began to take step after step until she had taken her 10th. She then fell to the floor (no crying) and resolutely pulled herself up with no help at all and began to walk again. El and I just clapped our hands and shouted with joy to see our little baby take the huge leap from infant to toddler!
What a great time in our lives! I am so happy and blessed by the 2 sweethearts in my world.
I pray that God will continue to bless us as we each take steps in His world.
We sat there in stunned silence as she began to take step after step until she had taken her 10th. She then fell to the floor (no crying) and resolutely pulled herself up with no help at all and began to walk again. El and I just clapped our hands and shouted with joy to see our little baby take the huge leap from infant to toddler!
What a great time in our lives! I am so happy and blessed by the 2 sweethearts in my world.
I pray that God will continue to bless us as we each take steps in His world.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
At the End of the Day
Just One Of Those Days! That's all I can say about it for now. It has just been one of those days. I have some processing to do and maybe some 'vegging out' but it has definitely been one of those days.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Mentor
I have to put this here.
Anyone who has ever worked with Mike Knappier would know a passionate, driven (or as he would put it -'called') man of God. A man with the heart of a lion and the energy of someone less than half his age. I look up to him and consider him a true mentor in the faith. It is truly a joy to work alongside this hero.
So I am going to post a quote from his blog that I think is a glimpse inside this great man. A man of conviction and tireless energy. Here it is:
"In the words of a gospel hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” A humorous and somewhat painful episode from my own life illustrates this. I dislocated my shoulder during an activity with the church youth group and needed a doctor to correct the problem. A few weeks later, it became dislocated again, and I had to visit the hospital emergency room in the middle of the night. The doctor medicated me and left the room to give the medicine time to work. I began to talk to the nurse who stayed in the room with me. My wife, Diane, later told me that I looked at the nurse and said, “Has anyone ever told you about my sweet Jesus?” I then proceeded to talk nonstop for several minutes, telling everything I knew about Jesus and the local church of Christ. I must have gotten quite carried away. Diane finally looked right into my face and said, “Mike, please be still and let the medicine work.” After a while, I quieted down. Sometime later, Diane noticed a visitor coming into the auditorium at church and thought she should know this guest. As she introduced herself, she told the visitor that she looked familiar and asked if they had met before. The young lady explained that she had been my nurse in the emergency room. If God can use the ravings of a barely conscious preacher, imagine what He can do with your circumstances. Our God is an awesome God! Not all circumstances are pleasant; but if you will see God in them, your “chains” may result in opportunities to speak a word for Jesus. God is still a supernatural God and He still works today."
Anyone who has ever worked with Mike Knappier would know a passionate, driven (or as he would put it -'called') man of God. A man with the heart of a lion and the energy of someone less than half his age. I look up to him and consider him a true mentor in the faith. It is truly a joy to work alongside this hero.
So I am going to post a quote from his blog that I think is a glimpse inside this great man. A man of conviction and tireless energy. Here it is:
"In the words of a gospel hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” A humorous and somewhat painful episode from my own life illustrates this. I dislocated my shoulder during an activity with the church youth group and needed a doctor to correct the problem. A few weeks later, it became dislocated again, and I had to visit the hospital emergency room in the middle of the night. The doctor medicated me and left the room to give the medicine time to work. I began to talk to the nurse who stayed in the room with me. My wife, Diane, later told me that I looked at the nurse and said, “Has anyone ever told you about my sweet Jesus?” I then proceeded to talk nonstop for several minutes, telling everything I knew about Jesus and the local church of Christ. I must have gotten quite carried away. Diane finally looked right into my face and said, “Mike, please be still and let the medicine work.” After a while, I quieted down. Sometime later, Diane noticed a visitor coming into the auditorium at church and thought she should know this guest. As she introduced herself, she told the visitor that she looked familiar and asked if they had met before. The young lady explained that she had been my nurse in the emergency room. If God can use the ravings of a barely conscious preacher, imagine what He can do with your circumstances. Our God is an awesome God! Not all circumstances are pleasant; but if you will see God in them, your “chains” may result in opportunities to speak a word for Jesus. God is still a supernatural God and He still works today."
Friday, January 25, 2008
Chilly Today...
The sleet came down today here in Benton, Arkansas. The Jeep thermometer read 28 degrees and the skies opened up. I stayed in with little sweet girl this morning while we waited for Elizabeth to come home since school closed. She got home and we spent the day together. It was really nice to stay in the cozy warmth of the house and be with the fam. We spent the day napping, reading, playing and watching flicks! I loved every minute of it.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Expelled the Movie
My friend, Paul Carlon, sent this to me and I was amazed by it. It certainly piqued my interest and I will be there on the front row when the movie comes out later this year! Any Christian interested in apologetics would be excited by this trailer. Take a look here and let me know what you think.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
JBoodle
I will blog all about my time spent with Jim Gardner tomorrow, but for now I will leave you with a picture of our sweetheart with her mommy. Hopefully this will tide you over til later.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Today
Kind of a wild day.
This morning I lead congregational singing at the funeral of Boyd and Norma Dorsey. The auditorium was so crowded with people who wanted to celebrate the lives of these 2 godly people that folding chairs were brought in to hold them all. Two solos were sung and two ministers spoke about their lives.
I then crammed in the car with Joel Lewis, Leon Barnes, Mike Knappier and Sarah Jane Manning to drive over to the Dorsey family cemetery.
Later in the day, when I was sitting down to lunch with the Dorsey family and friends, the Day Care called to inform me that Jenniva was sick yet again. This time it was possibly something called the Rota Virus. And it was-I mean is. Elizabeth is going to spend the day at home tomorrow with our sweet little girl.
Then I waited for El to get home and help me take care of JBoodle and clean up for Meat Eaters Bible Study. We had a great group again and now I am ready to vegetate in order to get ready for...
Spending the day tomorrow with my buddy, Jim Gardner, as we travel to Harding University in search of prospective youth ministers for the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, CA.
This morning I lead congregational singing at the funeral of Boyd and Norma Dorsey. The auditorium was so crowded with people who wanted to celebrate the lives of these 2 godly people that folding chairs were brought in to hold them all. Two solos were sung and two ministers spoke about their lives.
I then crammed in the car with Joel Lewis, Leon Barnes, Mike Knappier and Sarah Jane Manning to drive over to the Dorsey family cemetery.
Later in the day, when I was sitting down to lunch with the Dorsey family and friends, the Day Care called to inform me that Jenniva was sick yet again. This time it was possibly something called the Rota Virus. And it was-I mean is. Elizabeth is going to spend the day at home tomorrow with our sweet little girl.
Then I waited for El to get home and help me take care of JBoodle and clean up for Meat Eaters Bible Study. We had a great group again and now I am ready to vegetate in order to get ready for...
Spending the day tomorrow with my buddy, Jim Gardner, as we travel to Harding University in search of prospective youth ministers for the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, CA.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Songs of Faith and Praise
I was perusing blogs the other day and I thought that this blog about hymns was pretty interesting. Being a worship leader myself, I thought this was a thought provoking article. The author of the posting below (in purple) is Matt Elliott, worship leader for a metro church in Atlanta, GA and worship leader for YIA this past year in Nashville, TN. You may not agree with everything he says, but most of it is just plain interesting.
I’ve been reading a few other blogs lately, and a couple of my associates got me thinking about something. Two different bloggers in the past couple of weeks have quoted the old hymn, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”, in their entries. I confess that as a product of rural south Alabama, I had never even heard the song until I was a student at Freed-Hardeman College in the early 80’s. And even then, it was only sung in chapel if one of the snotty music majors was called upon to lead in chapel. We just assumed that they were showing off by choosing such an uppity hymn! (We may have been right, by the way.) Anyhoo, it likely tainted my view toward this hymn for years to come.
So, I thought I’d share some of MY favorite lines from hymns, then I thought I’d follow that up with what I would consider some of the WORST lines from hymns. Then I’ll close with a very special section on hymns in which lyrics and music clash. I invite you to click on the comment link at the bottom of the post and add your preferences and titles to any of the lists, too.
By the way, I’m only talking hymns here. I’m much more comfortable talking about dead songwriters than live ones.
In no particular order, here are some of my favorite lines from the hymns:
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Crown Him the Lord of peace,
Whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole that wars may cease,
Absorbed in prayer and praise!
This appeals to all that is idealistic in me. Wars absorbed in prayer and praise . . . good Lord, do we ever need some praying and praising these days. Something’s gotta give.
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where heaven’s love and heaven’s justice meet!”
First of all, that’s just a great lyric! How often does one get to sing the word “trysting”? It’s a beautiful image of God’s great love and God’s great sense of righteousness and justice coming together to make one grand and profound statement for all humankind.
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not,
Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
When times are tough, this is pretty much all I’ve got to hang on to. The line from the next hymn is a great companion to this one, too –
Abide With Me
Change and decay in all around I see,
Oh, Thou who changest not, abide with me!
These last two songs meant nothing to me as a boy or young man. It’s amazing how a few intense trials can change your taste in hymns, huh?
Love for All
I don’t know about you, but my most emotional response during The Passion of the Christ was when Peter denied Jesus. I knew it was coming, but I couldn’t have predicted how personal it would feel to me. The reason is simple – that was my role in the movie and in the real story. This old hymn (that I don’t lead very often) tells the story of the prodigal son. This last verse gives hope for me and all the others out there who have denied Jesus:
See! My Father waiting stands;
See! He reaches out His hands;
God is love, I know, I see,
Love for me, yes, even me.
Break Thou the Bread of Life
Like many of those “raised in the church”, I had the experience of hearing this hymn led at rather unfortunate times during worship – like right before the Lord’s Supper. This song has NOTHING to do with communion, but it does have the word “bread” in it. As a result, I avoided it for years, and then I found it again. To my surprise, it connected with a deep longing that I had in my heart and spirit:
Beyond the sacred page, I seek Thee, Lord.
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word.
Farther Along
Yes, “Farther Along”! I love this song for two reasons – (1) it reminds me of home and people I love, and (2) it’s brutally honest. You know what? I don’t always get what God’s up to. Frankly, I haven’t a clue much of the time. And though it’s still not very acceptable to voice such feelings, somehow this rural hymn managed to let us all get away with it. Try these lyrics on for honesty:
When death has come and taken our loved ones,
It leaves our home so lonely and drear.
Then do we wonder why others prosper
Living so wicked year after year.
It ain’t pretty, but it’s honest.
Softly and Tenderly
Raise your hand if you ever saw “The Trip to Bountiful”! (Okay, I’m expecting NO response to that one.) Geraldine Page won a best actress in 1985 (I think) for her portrayal of an elderly woman who lives with her depressed son and his unhappy wife, and all she wants to do is go home again. It’s a beautiful, funny, sad, sweet movie, and the scenes at the beginning in which Cynthia Clauson sings this hymn as a little girl runs through a green field into her mother’s awaiting arms had me a puddle of tears in no time. The chorus of this song connects with that part of me that just gets tired and longs to get my loved ones and just go home forever:
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home.
(I can hardly type that without getting misty!)
Rock of Ages
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
That line pretty much sums up everything!
And now for the flipside!
Here are some of the WORST lines from hymns that I can think of:
I Stand Amazed
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweatdrops of blood for mine.
“He had no tears for his own griefs”?!? What?? Are we sure about that one?
Our God, He Is Alive (#728-B)
Secure, is life from mortal mind,
God holds the germ within His hand.
First of all, I don’t even know what that means. Did a botanist or biologist write this song? I just hope God washed His hands after handling that germ.
By the way, in my mind, I hear that first line as “See – cure”. That’s the way we sang it in Opp, Alabama. It doesn’t sound authentic if you pronounce that word correctly.
Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen
Here’s a song that has pretty much been confined to “ladies’ retreat” worship services. There’s so much I could say about this terrible little song (no offense to lovers of it anywhere!), but my least favorite single line is this one:
Lay your gifts at His feet,
Ever strive to keep sweet,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.
That’s right, folks. Jesus suffered and died so we’d be sweet. Incredible.
Mansion Over the Hilltop
First of all, may I say that the original writer (Ira Stamphill) likely was quite sincere when he wrote this song. It was a rural favorite, and it probably connected with lots of folks and their specific economic situations. But there’s nothing more ridiculous than walking into a large, suburban church and hearing the congregation sing:
I’m satisfied with just a cottage below,
A little silver and a little gold.
Lies! All lies! Leave this place at once and return to your $250,000 cottage!
Let the Lower Lights Be Burning
Again --- where to start on this one?? Actually, I’m not going to post the actual lyric for fear of offending those with tender sensibilities. But let’s just say that as a former infertility patient, it is pretty much impossible for me to sing the refrain of this song with a straight face.
And for our final category, these are three hymns in which the lyrics and the music absolutely CLASH. These songs got under my skin for many years, and I’m happy to report that I haven’t been in a position to sing them in a long, long time.
Honorable mention:
O Happy Day
By the way, I’m not referring to that wonderful Edwin Hawkins version. I’m referring to the one in most of our hymnals. Note: this was not the fault of the lyricist! Phillip Doddridge wrote the words in 1755, but Edward Rinibault added the dreadful melody in 1854. Actually, it may not be that dreadful, but the way most of our churches sang it certainly was. Call me and I’ll sing to you how it sounded in my ears! Anyone else have this experience?
Runner-up:
He Bore It All
This tune is WAY too bouncy for lyrics like
My precious Savior suffered pain and agony
And
They placed a crown of thorns upon my Savior’s head.
I should not be tempted to tap my feet while singing those lines, should I?
Worst of all time:
Jesus Is Coming Soon
Basically, I have the same complaint here as with “He Bore It All”. It’s just way too joyful and peppy a melody to sing lyrics like:
Troublesome times are here,
Filling men’s hearts with fear,
Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake.
Or
Many will meet their doom.
The third verse salvages things a bit (the lyrics are bit happier!) but the damage has been done.
I’ve been reading a few other blogs lately, and a couple of my associates got me thinking about something. Two different bloggers in the past couple of weeks have quoted the old hymn, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”, in their entries. I confess that as a product of rural south Alabama, I had never even heard the song until I was a student at Freed-Hardeman College in the early 80’s. And even then, it was only sung in chapel if one of the snotty music majors was called upon to lead in chapel. We just assumed that they were showing off by choosing such an uppity hymn! (We may have been right, by the way.) Anyhoo, it likely tainted my view toward this hymn for years to come.
So, I thought I’d share some of MY favorite lines from hymns, then I thought I’d follow that up with what I would consider some of the WORST lines from hymns. Then I’ll close with a very special section on hymns in which lyrics and music clash. I invite you to click on the comment link at the bottom of the post and add your preferences and titles to any of the lists, too.
By the way, I’m only talking hymns here. I’m much more comfortable talking about dead songwriters than live ones.
In no particular order, here are some of my favorite lines from the hymns:
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Crown Him the Lord of peace,
Whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole that wars may cease,
Absorbed in prayer and praise!
This appeals to all that is idealistic in me. Wars absorbed in prayer and praise . . . good Lord, do we ever need some praying and praising these days. Something’s gotta give.
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where heaven’s love and heaven’s justice meet!”
First of all, that’s just a great lyric! How often does one get to sing the word “trysting”? It’s a beautiful image of God’s great love and God’s great sense of righteousness and justice coming together to make one grand and profound statement for all humankind.
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not,
Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
When times are tough, this is pretty much all I’ve got to hang on to. The line from the next hymn is a great companion to this one, too –
Abide With Me
Change and decay in all around I see,
Oh, Thou who changest not, abide with me!
These last two songs meant nothing to me as a boy or young man. It’s amazing how a few intense trials can change your taste in hymns, huh?
Love for All
I don’t know about you, but my most emotional response during The Passion of the Christ was when Peter denied Jesus. I knew it was coming, but I couldn’t have predicted how personal it would feel to me. The reason is simple – that was my role in the movie and in the real story. This old hymn (that I don’t lead very often) tells the story of the prodigal son. This last verse gives hope for me and all the others out there who have denied Jesus:
See! My Father waiting stands;
See! He reaches out His hands;
God is love, I know, I see,
Love for me, yes, even me.
Break Thou the Bread of Life
Like many of those “raised in the church”, I had the experience of hearing this hymn led at rather unfortunate times during worship – like right before the Lord’s Supper. This song has NOTHING to do with communion, but it does have the word “bread” in it. As a result, I avoided it for years, and then I found it again. To my surprise, it connected with a deep longing that I had in my heart and spirit:
Beyond the sacred page, I seek Thee, Lord.
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word.
Farther Along
Yes, “Farther Along”! I love this song for two reasons – (1) it reminds me of home and people I love, and (2) it’s brutally honest. You know what? I don’t always get what God’s up to. Frankly, I haven’t a clue much of the time. And though it’s still not very acceptable to voice such feelings, somehow this rural hymn managed to let us all get away with it. Try these lyrics on for honesty:
When death has come and taken our loved ones,
It leaves our home so lonely and drear.
Then do we wonder why others prosper
Living so wicked year after year.
It ain’t pretty, but it’s honest.
Softly and Tenderly
Raise your hand if you ever saw “The Trip to Bountiful”! (Okay, I’m expecting NO response to that one.) Geraldine Page won a best actress in 1985 (I think) for her portrayal of an elderly woman who lives with her depressed son and his unhappy wife, and all she wants to do is go home again. It’s a beautiful, funny, sad, sweet movie, and the scenes at the beginning in which Cynthia Clauson sings this hymn as a little girl runs through a green field into her mother’s awaiting arms had me a puddle of tears in no time. The chorus of this song connects with that part of me that just gets tired and longs to get my loved ones and just go home forever:
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home.
(I can hardly type that without getting misty!)
Rock of Ages
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
That line pretty much sums up everything!
And now for the flipside!
Here are some of the WORST lines from hymns that I can think of:
I Stand Amazed
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweatdrops of blood for mine.
“He had no tears for his own griefs”?!? What?? Are we sure about that one?
Our God, He Is Alive (#728-B)
Secure, is life from mortal mind,
God holds the germ within His hand.
First of all, I don’t even know what that means. Did a botanist or biologist write this song? I just hope God washed His hands after handling that germ.
By the way, in my mind, I hear that first line as “See – cure”. That’s the way we sang it in Opp, Alabama. It doesn’t sound authentic if you pronounce that word correctly.
Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen
Here’s a song that has pretty much been confined to “ladies’ retreat” worship services. There’s so much I could say about this terrible little song (no offense to lovers of it anywhere!), but my least favorite single line is this one:
Lay your gifts at His feet,
Ever strive to keep sweet,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.
That’s right, folks. Jesus suffered and died so we’d be sweet. Incredible.
Mansion Over the Hilltop
First of all, may I say that the original writer (Ira Stamphill) likely was quite sincere when he wrote this song. It was a rural favorite, and it probably connected with lots of folks and their specific economic situations. But there’s nothing more ridiculous than walking into a large, suburban church and hearing the congregation sing:
I’m satisfied with just a cottage below,
A little silver and a little gold.
Lies! All lies! Leave this place at once and return to your $250,000 cottage!
Let the Lower Lights Be Burning
Again --- where to start on this one?? Actually, I’m not going to post the actual lyric for fear of offending those with tender sensibilities. But let’s just say that as a former infertility patient, it is pretty much impossible for me to sing the refrain of this song with a straight face.
And for our final category, these are three hymns in which the lyrics and the music absolutely CLASH. These songs got under my skin for many years, and I’m happy to report that I haven’t been in a position to sing them in a long, long time.
Honorable mention:
O Happy Day
By the way, I’m not referring to that wonderful Edwin Hawkins version. I’m referring to the one in most of our hymnals. Note: this was not the fault of the lyricist! Phillip Doddridge wrote the words in 1755, but Edward Rinibault added the dreadful melody in 1854. Actually, it may not be that dreadful, but the way most of our churches sang it certainly was. Call me and I’ll sing to you how it sounded in my ears! Anyone else have this experience?
Runner-up:
He Bore It All
This tune is WAY too bouncy for lyrics like
My precious Savior suffered pain and agony
And
They placed a crown of thorns upon my Savior’s head.
I should not be tempted to tap my feet while singing those lines, should I?
Worst of all time:
Jesus Is Coming Soon
Basically, I have the same complaint here as with “He Bore It All”. It’s just way too joyful and peppy a melody to sing lyrics like:
Troublesome times are here,
Filling men’s hearts with fear,
Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake.
Or
Many will meet their doom.
The third verse salvages things a bit (the lyrics are bit happier!) but the damage has been done.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Down With The Soreness
Well, actually the soreness is gone. 2 Thursdays ago, I went to the Baptist Family Clinic and received 2 injections in my right deltoid (tetanus and polio) and 2 injections in my left deltoid (hepatitis b and meningitis). Just a few days later in the White County Medical Center in Searcy, I received 2 more injections in my left deltoid and 1 in the back of my arm where the fat is (hepatitis a, typhoid and yellow fever). I can tell you that I was truly sore for a few days. Nothing lasted longer than the tetanus, though.
Why am I going through all of this?
I will be leaving for Windhoek, Namibia, Africa on the 31st of this month with my buddy and preacher, Joel Lewis. I am going there to teach some classes each day and to scope out the lay of the land for our summer mission trip with our high school juniors and seniors.
We will be spending a combination of a few days in London, England on the way to and from Windhoek. It is all going to be new to me. If you have been to London or Namibia and would like to share with me some things that I should be on the lookout for, please email me or leave a comment. What a great experience this is going to be!!
Why am I going through all of this?
I will be leaving for Windhoek, Namibia, Africa on the 31st of this month with my buddy and preacher, Joel Lewis. I am going there to teach some classes each day and to scope out the lay of the land for our summer mission trip with our high school juniors and seniors.
We will be spending a combination of a few days in London, England on the way to and from Windhoek. It is all going to be new to me. If you have been to London or Namibia and would like to share with me some things that I should be on the lookout for, please email me or leave a comment. What a great experience this is going to be!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
