Spiritually Healthy

Lord, how has December already come upon us? How is it that I blinked and 2023 is practically over? I actually went and switched the song that was recommended to sing for this month. The song that was suggested wasn't bad or anything, I just prefer older hymns. So, what I am choosing to learn the whole of December is a timeless song, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. O come, O come Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.  Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel, shall come to you, O Israel. O come, O come Wisdom from on high, who ordered all things mightily; to show us the path of knowledge show and teach us in its ways to go. O come, O come, great Lord of might, who to your tribes on Sinai's height in ancient times did give the law in cloud and majesty and awe. O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem, unto your own and rescue them! From depths of hell your people save, and them them victory o'er the grace. O come, O Key of David, come and o...

It never ceases to amaze me how God works in our lives.  As I begin a new month, a new hymn is in the works to learn and saturate my soul.  I will be honest though, when I saw the title of this hymn, I wasn't very excited about it. My prideful heart said, "I don't need to count my blessings."  Lord, forgive me for this prideful remark. Forgive me where I assume that I do not need to be reminded of what Thou hast done for me.  At the end of October, I had a prayer that I was trying to figure out how to formulate and pray to God. As I read through the blog post that contained the hymn I was to learn for this month, I was humbled reading through the lyrics because they were just what my soul needed. When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hast done. Refrain : Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, ...

Hello all!  How are you? What have you been up to these past few weeks? I feel like a lot has changed since I last posted. There seems to be a lot going on in our world right now. A lot of unrest and violence.  For the past few weeks my heart has been extremely heavy and hurting for those who are suffering at the hands of wicked people. May we all be lifting up the wounded and weary, praying for revival and for the lost to come to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.  As I was driving home this morning, a song, All Creatures of Our God and King was playing and while I normally try and sing along, I just listened this time. As I was listening the thought came to my mind that, one day, every single knee shall bow to God.  Romans 14:11 says, For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  With so much going on in the world, I take comfort in this truth. Every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess...

 It's fall, ya'll! I pray all is well with each of you today.  The hymn that I aim to learn for this month is one that I am not very familiar with but nonetheless, a beautiful song. [Refrain] There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin-sick soul.  Sometimes I feel discouraged And think my work's in vain, But then the Holy Spirit Revives my soul again. [Refrain] Don't ever be discouraged, For Jesus is your friend; And if you lack for knowledge, He'll ne'er refuse to lend. [Refrain] If you cannot preach like Peter, If you cannot pray like Paul, You can tell the love of Jesus and say, "He died for all!" [Refrain] If you are interested in learning more about this beautiful song, click  here  to read up on it.  Blessings to you this fine day, Sarah

I am continually reminded of my desperate need for God. Each time I try to fix or figure something out, I am reminded that I don't have the ability to fix nor do I possess all the knowledge.  As the year comes to an end and another one prepares to begin, my anxiety takes form and thoughts tend to wander. Last night I was lying in bed and talking with the Lord. I was talking with Him about some fears I have, when Psalm 73:26 came to my mind. It says, My flesh and heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.  Again, I repeated the verse. O the power of God's Word! O how magnificent it is to recite Scripture and be immediately comforted. It will always amaze me what the Living Word can do to a soul.  For me, this verse in the 73rd chapter of the book of David's Psalms, it is the cry of my heart and God's response to my cry. God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. He is enough. How many times will I have to remind myself ...

While I was driving to the store yesterday, this song, All I Have Is Christ , came on the radio.  The title was new and one I wasn't familiar with so I let the music play and listened to the words.  I once was lost in darkest night, Yet thought I knew the way, The sin that promised joy and life, Had led me to the grave. I had no hope that You would own, A rebel to Your will,  And if You had not loved me first, I would refuse You still. But as I ran my hell-bound race, Indifferent to the most, You looked upon my helpless state, And led me to the cross, And I beheld God's love displayed, You suffered in my place, You bore the wrath reserved for me, Now all I know is grace. Hallelujah! All I have is Christ, Hallelujah! Jesus is my life Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone, And live so all might see, The strength to follow Your commands, Could never come from me, O Father, use my ransomed life, In any way You choose, And let my song forever be, My only boast ...

We are officially in FALL season! How has time gone by SO quickly?  I say it every summer, but I love the warm weather! Tank-tops, shorts and long days are a few of my favorite things. Though I am looking forward to a change in the weather, part of me does become sad to see the vibrant green of summer fade away. While most people are already putting out their pumpkins, burning their spiced candles, and ordering their chai lattes, I am still putting on sunscreen and basking in my fading flower garden for just a little while longer. Anywoo... The hymn for this month is a beautiful one. Have you heard it? It's called Come, Ye Sinners. 1. Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and power. Refrain: I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms; In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms. 2. Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome, God's free bounty glorify; True belief and tru...

"Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day." Ruth 3:18 I came across this passage while reading through the book of Ruth this past week and thought it appropriate to not only share, but to encourage others who may be in a similar season. Being the introvert that I am, I don't mind to be alone or being quiet. But the topic of sitting still is a whole other requirement that I am not very good at...especially in this particular moment of my life. I really  want to know certain things: the ending to be more specific. Not to sound dramatic with that word choice "ending", but don't you think it'd be great to know if something is going to work out or not?  To my shame, that exact thought has been running through my head as I have been reading my Bible lately. So, as I sat down and began to read/listen through the book of Ruth, my eyes stopped on verse 18 of chapte...

July is one and done...can you believe it?  I have been enjoying taking the time to (try and) memorize a hymn for each month of this year. While some songs have stuck more than others, I am enjoying the process.  This month's hymn is a very well-known one, The Doxology.   Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav'enly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Awake, my soul, and with the sun, Thy daily stage of duty run; Shake off dull sloth, and early rise, To pay thy morning sacrifice. Lord, I my vows to Thee renew. Disperse my sins as morning dew; Guard my first springs of thought and will; And with Thyself my spirt fill. Direct, control, suggest, this day, All I design or do or say, That all my pow'rs, with all their might, In Thy sole glory may unite.  What a beautiful song! I had no idea of the other verses but they are deeply moving. I pray that this song encourages your walk, and strengthens your f...

This morning was bittersweet. A dear, dear friend has gone home to be with the Lord. O what joy and pain flow together in our hearts! Joy because we know  where this person is now. Pain because we will never seem them again on earth. Pain also because a family is grieving and trying to figure out a new normal.  I praise God that as Christians, we do not grieve without hope.  As I went about the morning, preparing myself to for church, I silently prayed. Of course I prayed for comfort for a hurting family, but I also uttered prayers of thanks to God for giving us hope in the midst of death. Death is not the end. While our hearts hurt and mourn, there is a peace that saturates us all in knowing that there is no longer pain or discomfort. As born-again Christians, we do not have to fear dying for we have a Home prepared for us (John 14:3).  It's hard to imagine that this beautiful, God-fearing soul is no longer earth-bound, but rejoicing, in the presence of God. My mind...

Like in all areas of life, one must remember that not everything will turn out the way you thought. For me,  I thought certain events in my life would begin differently than how they actually have. It took a lot of surrendering, praying and then more surrendering to finally come to a place in my life where I had peace. Peace to move on, peace to say "yes" (not to anything in particular), and peace in my soul to being open to truly whatever God has in store for me - which was scary! We all have our valleys that we steadily trudge through, you know? One thing that will without fail cause discontentment, is comparison. Comparing where God has one person to where He does or doesn't have you is not helpful, to you or to your relationship with Him.  I can't say that I have retained a whole lot, but I am, day by day, learning to lean more on God. In moments where fear threatens to paralyze me into believing that nothing will come of this way of trusting God, I MUST remember...

While the words of this hymn were etched onto my years ago, the richness and truth of this song ring true even more so today. When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss,  and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast Save in the death of Christ, my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them through His blood. See, from his head, his hands, his feet, Sorry and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,  Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine,  That were a present for too small. Love so amazing, so divine,  Demands my soul, my life, my all.  What a beautiful song! I encourage you all to take a moment and read about it (click  here ). Then once you've done that, I would recommend giving it a listen (you can do that by clicking  here ).  And as you near the end of this short post, I would hope that yo...

As I waited to pick my sister up this morning, I sat and read a morning devotional written by Charles Spurgeon. It was such an encouragement to me that I wanted to pass it along. "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth." Amos 9:9 Every sifting comes by  divine command and permission . Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are  directly the work of  heaven , for the text says, "I will sift the house of Israel." Satan, like a drudge, may hold the sieve, hoping to destroy the corn; but the overruling hand of the Master is accomplishing the purity of the grain by the very process which the enemy intended to be destructive. Precious, but much sifted corn of the Lord's floor, be comforted by the blessed fact that the Lord directeth both flail and sieve to his own glory, and to thine eter...

It's that time again, my friends! Time to share another hymn for another month.  To be honest, I wasn't too familiar with this song. The title was a bit recognizable but the tune, composer, or lyrics were foreign in my soul.   I have heard of a land On the faraway strand, 'Tis a beautiful home of the soul; Built by Jesus on high, There we never shall die, 'Tis a land where we never grow old. [Refrain] Never grow old, Where we'll never grow old, In a land where we'll never grow old; Never grow old, Where we'll never grow old, In a land where we'll never grow old. In that beautiful home, Where we'll nevermore roam, We shall be in the sweet by and by; Happy praise to the King, Through eternity sing, 'Tis a land where we never shall die. [Refrain] When our work here is done, And the life crown is won, And our troubles and trials are o'er, All our sorrows will end, And our voices will bend With the loved ones who've gone on before. [Refrain] I...

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to be, in a group, the "mom." I don't pack for just myself, but for the entire  group and their potential needs. In other words, I come prepared. Luke 9:3: "And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece."  It is hard for me to imagine my Lord Jesus saying this to me and my immediate response not sounding something like, "Uh, Jesus, are You crazy? How on earth am I supposed to go on a journey with absolutely nothing? I need  my snacks and my pillow, my own water and a second jacket, just incase in rains." And yet He says in  Luke 10:4: "Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way." This was the topic of the sermon on Sunday and I've been chewing on it since then. The title of that sermon was "Is God My Supplier?" And I must be completely honest and say that I have not tak...

Not long ago, I read this quote (below) that caused me to say, "Yes, Lord. This!" I've shared on here about my longer-than-I-thought period of singleness. I've shared about the ups and downs of navigating this time of my life.  Lately though, I have been wrestling with something that I just couldn't put my finger on.  "Part of what makes waiting so hard is that there's no guarantee - not knowing whether of not you'll ever get whatever it is that you're waiting for. It'd be so much easier to wait if you knew with full certainty that you'd eventually get what it is you're waiting on. The season of waiting isn't simply waiting...it's also wrestling with the reality that you may not just be waiting for something but that the outcome you hope for may never come to be.  But there's a gift in the in-between and uncertainty. In my season of waiting and uncertainty, I had to learn this one thing: not just to trust God for an outcome...

Good day, my friends! 'Tis a new day and a new month!  My mind cannot comprehend that we are already into the month of May! I feel as though I blinked and April was gone. How have ya'll been? What have ya'll be up to?  So with the new month it is time to learn a "new" hymn, and as you can already tell by the title of this post, that hymn is What a Friend We Have in Jesus .  To my shame I didn't know much about the origins of this particular song. I kind of had a guess that it began as a poem, but the man behind the pen was unknown to me.  Below is a bio of him, his life, and what may have been the driving inspiration for the beloved hymn. "Joseph Scriven had composed the poem to comfort Jane Scriven, his mom, back in Ireland. Joseph had left his home there in 1845 to escape the memory of his departed fiancée. She died accidentally in a river after being thrown from her horse. It was the night before their wedding. Now, ten years later, while living in Po...

As I lay here and try to quiet my mind and heart before I drift off into sleep, my body decides it wants to fight the coming rest. Like clockwork, my mind comes alive when I lay my head back on my flatter-than-normal-pillow and I end up remaining wide-awake for hours. Like now. So I played some worship music that speaks God's truth into my tired soul. The words of this beautiful song "hit the spot": The night is dark but I am not forsaken For by my side, the Savior He will stay I labour on in weakness and rejoicing For in my need, His power is displayed To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me Though the deepest valley He will lead Oh the night has been won and I shall overcome, yet not I, but through Christ in me Sleep well, my friends and know that the Great Shepherd is watching over thee. Rest now. 

It was a goal of mine this month to get this post out no later than the first week of April.  For those of you who have been faithful in keeping up with my little corner on the web, I appreciate you! So. It's April! Can you believe it? We are already into the FOURTH month of 2023! Lord, where has this time gone?  As I was preparing for this months hymn, I didn't even think that there would be a correlation to Easter. *cue duh Sarah moment*  This particular hymn was written by Elvina M. Hall on the fly-leaf of the New Lute of Zion, in the choir loft of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Baltimore, in the spring of 1865.  I hear the Savior say,  "Thy strength indeed is small,  Child of weakness, watch and pray,  Find in Me thine all in all." Refrain: Jesus paid it all, All t Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.  Lord, now indeed I find, Thy pow'r and Thine alone, can change the leper's spots, And melt the heart of sto...

I don't know why it has taken me almost the entire month of Mach to actually sit down and write this out, but it has and I am finally getting around to doing it! I apologize to those of you who have been waiting. Okay, so. The song for this month, Be Thou My Vision, is not only a well-known hymn, but it just so happens to be a favorite of mine.  I have noticed though, that the lyrics differ. The church I attend uses the Trinity Hymnal, and within that hymnal, are these lyrics: Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart Not 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 mine dignity, thou my delight, thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tow'r; Raise thou me  heav'n-ward , O pow'r of my ...

Happy February, everyone! I hope each of you are well and striving to honor the Lord with your thoughts, words, and deeds.  If you read my post last month, I shared that I was trying to commit a hymn to memory. If you didn't happen to read that, click  here!   Since it's a new month, that means a new song to learn! *shrieks with excitement* The beautiful hymn I am attempting to learn is called, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go, and it is written by George Matheson. If you want to learn more about him, click  here. O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee. I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be. O Light that follows all my way, I yield my flick'ring torch to thee. My heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine's blaze its day may brighter, fairer be. O Joy that seeks me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee. I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain, th...

One of my goals for 2023 is to learn more hymns. Committing them to memory and savoring their rich, comforting words has been something I have been wanting to do for a while now.  While hymns don't replace Scripture, they do remind us of them.  This hymn was written by John Fawcett (1740-1817) in about 1772, "to commemorate the determination of its author to remain with his attached people at Wainsgate. The farewell sermon was preached, the wagons were loaded, when love and tears prevailed, and Dr. Fawcett sacrificed the attraction of a London pulpit tot the affection of his poor but devoted flock." And with that, this is what he wrote, Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Before our Father ’ s throne we pour our ardent prayers; Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, Our comforts and our cares. We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear; And often for each other flows t he sympathizing tea...

 Happy 2023!  The other day, I came across this list of helpful tips for journaling written by none other than Elisabeth Elliot. After reading through it once, I thought it would be helpful to implement some of them into my own Bible reading routine.  When reading the Word, write down... 1. Lessons learned from your reading of Scripture. (If you put these in your journals instead of marking up your Bible, you will find new things each time you read your Bible instead of reading it through the grid of old notes...worth a try, no?) 2. Ways in which you intend to apply those lessons in your own life. (Reading your journal later will reveal answers to prayer you would otherwise have overlooked.) 3. Dialogues with the Lord. What you say to Him, what He seems to be saying to you about some problem or issue or need. 4. Questions from your spiritual reading other than the Bible. 5. Prayers from words of hymns which you want to make your own.  6. Reasons for thanksgiving. (Ca...