A New Way to Live

A few months ago, I found the words of this hymn echoing through my heart day after day:

Fill thou my life, O Lord, my God

In every part with praise,

That my whole being may proclaim

Thy being and Thy ways;

Not for the lip of praise alone,

Nor e'en the praising heart

I ask, but for a life made up

Of praise in every part.

Praise in the common words I speak,

Life's common looks and tones,

In fellowship at hearth or board

With my beloved ones, -

Enduring wrong, reproach or loss

With sweet and steadfast will,

Loving and blessing those who hate,

Returning good for ill.

So shall each fear, each fret, each care,

Be turned into song,

And every winding of the way

The echo shall prolong;

So shall no part of day or night

From sacredness be free,

But all my life, in every step,

Be fellowship with Thee.

~ Horatius Bonar

While I washed dishes, while I drove to prenatals, while I waited for my flat tire to get fixed, while I was grocery shopping, while I was juicing fresh veggies for Mom, when the house was 100 degrees inside, while I was running, while I was cooking breakfast, while scrubbing out dirty produce buckets, as I drove away from births, those lines

I ask, but for a life made up

Of praise in every part.

clanged loudly, jarring me from the irritating, the tiring, the annoying, the mundane, even the wonderful that I reveled in. Praise in this.

Praise for all of the things that happened today that weren't supposed to. Praise in the midst of missing important deadlines because my brother was having problems and I had to occupy him. Praise while Mom feeling sick. {Wouldn't she rather hear me happily singing at the sink, anyway?}

Praise instead of sighing to myself when the floor was sticky and the oven wasn't working and my car was needing another repair.

Praise.

Praise.

Praise.

That could be my life. My life doesn't have to include silent sighs and groans to myself.

Praise. That can be my whole life. EVERY part.

It starts with calling someone to tell them that I will have to reschedule this afternoon's prenatal. {How unprofessional! a murmur rises up in me. I was late to their last appointment after having to borrow a car at the last minute. And now this! Undecided whether I should explain what's happening at my house and with my family, or leave them wondering if I'm unreliable, I hesitate. Then, one little word comes to mind: Praise. Praise in the common words I speak. That's your new way to live.}

A smile crosses my face. Yes, in this, too.

What good is praise if it's only during the times when anyone's heart would sing for joy?

Not just praise on my lips, or even just praise in my heart.

A LIFE made up of praise in every part.

I've met a few people whose whole life appears to be a praise song to their Maker.

They just live different than the rest of us fretting, whining people.

My Jesus deserves that from my life.

My rest-of-2011-resolution? To sing this song pretty much every day, and to live it every day.

That's why I leave the book open to hymn #42 in the kitchen window nearly every day.

Will you join me? :)

I Shall Wonder That Ever My Eyes Turned Away....

"Looking off unto Jesus," my spirit is blest;

In the world I have turmoil - in Him I have rest;

The sea of my life all about me may roar,

When I look unto Jesus I hear it no more.

Soon, soon shall I know the full beauty and grace

Of Jesus my Lord, when I stand face to face;

I shall know how His love went before me each day,

And wonder that ever my eyes turned away.

~ Verses 2 and 5, sung to the tune of "My Jesus, I Love Thee"

Choose for us, God

Choose for us, God,

nor let our weak preferring

Cheat us of good

Thou hast for us designed

Choose for us, God;

Thy wisdom is unerring.

And we are fools and blind.

My Prayer

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;

Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;

Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,

And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,

No sudden rending of the veil of clay,

No angel visitant, no opening skies;

But take the dimness of my soul away.

Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King?

All, all Thine own - soul, heart, and strength and mind.

I see Thy cross - there teach my heart to cling.

Oh, let me seek Thee, and, oh, let me find.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sign;

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love

One holy passion filling all my frame;

The baptism of the heaven descended Dove;

My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

- George Croly

Take My Love

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,
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,
Ever, only all for Thee.

- Francis Ridley Havergal

None Can Ever Ask Too Much!

Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.

- John Newton,
who also penned "Amazing Grace"

Lord, Why Was I A Guest?

How sweet and awful is the place
With Christ within the doors,
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores!

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast,
Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
Lord, why was I a guest?

Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there's room;
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?

'Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly forced us in
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin.

Pity the nations, O our God!
Constrain the earth to come;
Send Thy victorious Word abroad,
And bring the strangers home.

We long to see Thy churches full,
That all the chosen race
May with one voice, and heart, and soul,
Sing Thy redeeming grace.

-- Isaac Watts

Send "How Sweet And Aweful Is The Place" ringtones to your Cell

Fill My Life... In Every Part With Praise

Fill Thou my life, O Lord, my God, In every part with praise,

That my whole being may proclaim Thy being and Thy ways;

.... I ask but for a life made up of praise in every part.

- Horatius Bonar

The Living of These Days

Lo! The hosts of evil round us

Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways!

Fears and doubts too long have bound us,

Free our hearts to work and praise.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

For the living of these days.

Cure Thy children's warring madness,

Bend our pride to Thy control;

Shame our wanton, selfish gladness,

Rich in things and poor in soul.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

Lest we miss Thy Kingdom's goal.

Set our feet on lofty places;

Gird our lives that they may be

Armed with Christ-like graces

In the fight to set man free.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

That we fail not man nor Thee!

Save us from our weak resignation

To the evils we deplore;

Let the search for Thy salvation

Be our glory evermore.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

Serving Thee whom we adore....

John Hughes, 1873-1932

Welsh hymn melody

To Love Thee With All of My Heart

Set my heart, O dear Father, On Thee, and Thee only,
Give me a thirst for Thy presence divine.
Lord, keep my focus on loving Thee wholly,
Purge me from earth; Turn my heart after Thine.

A passion for Thee; O Lord,
Set a fire in my soul and a thirst for my God.
Hear Thou my prayer, Lord Thy power impart.
Not just to serve, but to love Thee with all of my heart.

Father fill with Thy Spirit, and fit me for service,
Let love for Christ ev'ry motive inspire,
Teach me to follow in selfless submission,
Be Thou my joy and my soul's one desire.

—Joe Zichterman

The Eternal, Unchanging God

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men:”
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

-Isaac Watts (1719)

He Giveth More Grace

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercies,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's full giving has only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

Annie Johnson Flint

I Rest My Weary Soul in Thee

Jemima, one of the best energy-givers in the whole world!

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thy ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flick'ring torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's glow its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow thro' the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to hide from thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

George Matheson

This hymn has been on my mind all week.

I often think of my actions in terms of, "Am I being an 'energy giver' or an 'energy taker'?"

Obviously, I want to be someone who is an energy giver, someone who gives more than I take, someone who leaves others feeling refreshed, lifted up, inspired, and re-energized rather than drained, exhausted, or grumpy! I don't know how successful I am all time, but I try.

I'm sure everyone has someone in their life who always calls or comes over to tell them about all of their problems and how bad they feel or they always need something done for them. I've certainly known people like that.... and just dread answering the phone when I see it's them again - those energy takers. I hate to think of anyone feeling that way about me, so I try not to be!
Even just yesterday, I was feeling exhausted and burnt out, trying to continue to give, when I felt like I had nothing left and it was torture to do the next thing cheerfully as all those around me were complaining that others should be pitching in and helping more. I was running on almost no sleep, and the day wasn't working out the way it was supposed to. I had a lot that I wanted to say about how they had nothing to complain about compared to the long hours I had put in on their behalf, but I bit my tongue and reminded myself, "Be an energy giver! Don't join their pity party!"

It was hard, and I drove home frustrated, thinking about the fact that you can't always give and give and give.... Or can you? The world says that you must take time for yourself if you don't want to burn out, experience depression, etc. I FELT like something was going to snap. I can't live like this forever, I told myself....

Once again, this hymn came to mind.

In thinking it over, I decided that it IS possible to be an energy giver to others at all times! I don't need to "take a little for me/look out for myself" on occasion to keep myself going, because I have JESUS to rest my weary soul upon. Instead of telling them how unfair life is to me, I should open my aching heart to my Savior.

I have to worry about depressing other people with my weariness and problems when I decide to take instead of give. But I NEVER have to worry about exhausting the endless resources of a Sovereign God!

He is ever faithful.
When my light flickers, I can yield it to Him.
When weariness of soul and body threatens to overcome me, I can lean upon Him.
When I feel completely devoid of any good thing, any good attitudes, any joy, I can go to my precious Lord, and there I will find every good thing to fill my heart and mind.
When I cannot love, I can let Him love through my hands and mouth and feet.

When I cannot, He CAN!

There's All a Guilty Sinner Needs... In Jesus

I've tried in vain a thousand ways,

My fears to quell, my hopes to raise...

My soul is night, my heart is steel -

I cannot see, I cannot feel....

(Written on the deathbed of an infidel...)

I checked the online news this morning and saw that last night, federal agents had arrived at a lobbyist's house, preparing to arrest him for various charges when they heard a gunshot from inside. They stormed the apartment and found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
That sounds like everyday news... But it was a weird feeling this morning to KNOW the guy in the news...

I immediately thought back to an evening in a resturant with this very lobbyist when he took a couple of my friends and I out to dinner not too long ago... Another conversation with him in a Capitol office where he spent much of his time. I remember distinctly thinking over that dinner, "This guy is miserable.What do I say to turn the conversation to things of eternal importance? He wants what we have, but he doesn't even know what it is that he wants..."

The conversation was goofy as David ordered exotic seafood for everyone. One of the representatives who had come along kept thinking of outlandish things to report as lobbyist gifts - like 5 gallon buckets of fresh asparagus and blueberries. It wasn't a bad conversation, just dumb and pointless.
I wanted so badly to say something of value to David, but it never seemed appropriate with the conversation, and I barely got a word in edgewise. I didn't say anything.

Little did I know that David would be in eternity less then a year later. Little did I know the last time I talked to him that I would never see him again until I see him standing before the Great White Throne. If I had known, would I have acted differently? Would I have said something else? Would I have interrupted the goofiness at dinner to ask everyone what is most important to them in life? Of course, we can play those guilty questions over and over again in our head as we think of a thousand, "If onlys."

I cannot change the past. I cannot have one last conversation with him or drop a book in the mail to him, or... But I can change the way I live my life this minute and in the future. I have new opportunities tomorrow. Not just people who are busy, depressed, happy, famous, poor, lost, popular, smart, annoying... They are all souls that will spend eternity somewhere. I could wake up and find any of them in the newspaper tomorrow. And God may have put them in front of me because I know the truth, and it is my responsibility to share it, rather than hoard it.

If only David could sing this hymn. But he can't, and he never will. But there are other David's in the world who need the truth so that they can sing this song and know in the very depths of their heart that though their "soul is night, [their] heart is steel... There's all a guilty sinner needs forevermore in Jesus."

I've tried in vain, a thousand ways

My fears to quell, my hopes to raise;

But what I need, the Bible says,

Is ever, only Jesus.

My soul is night, my heart is steel -

I cannot see, I cannot feel;

For light, for life I must appeal

In simple faith to Jesus.

He died, He lives, He reigns, He pleads,

There's love in all His words and deeds;

There's all a guilty sinner needs

Forevermore in Jesus.

Tho' some should sneer and some should blame,

I'll go with all my guilt and shame;

I'll go to Him because His name,

Above all names is Jesus.

--James Proctor, an infidel, wrote this

on his death bed as he became a Christian.