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'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

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...

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...

I guess one thing about getting older and seeing more of the world (striving to be in and not of ), I have come to see my great need for Christ. This morning I listened to the whole book of Lamentations and I was struck by these verses: Lam 3:47  Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction. Lam 3:64  Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.  Lam 3:65  Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.  Lam 3:66  Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD. From reading this, I realized something: mand has not changed.  We are so stubborn and refuse to hear anything that is good and right.  Listening to this hard book of the Bible, I am reminded of my own sin and how I naturally do not seek the Lord.  James 4:8 comes to mind:  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded....