My Favorite Thanksgiving Hymn

We Gather Together

~

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens His will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:

Sing praises to His name; He forgets not His own.

~

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom diving;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning:

Thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be Thine!

~

We all do extol Thee, thou leader triumphant,

And pray that Thou still our defender wilt be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation:

Thy name be ever praised, O Lord, make us free!

A New Song

The last month has been a very busy one. Between teaching school, teaching piano, and all my other responsibilities, I have hardly been at home! Yet, through this busyness I have been learning a very important lesson. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) Even on my most difficult, rushed, busy, stressful day, I have always had all I needed to not only get through it all, but to find joy in the midst of it.

Today was one of those days where I was so busy, it seemed there was no rest in sight! Even though I teach half-days, I ended up heading out of my classroom just about the time school got out. I then had three stops to make on the way home, and I had to hurry to be home in time to look up the directions for the home visit I had scheduled tonight.

Driving home in rush-hour/school zone/road work traffic, I got stuck at a particularly slow (as in not moving) spot, and I was just about to give in to the temptation to get into a bad mood about it, when I suddenly remembered having seen a "random" copy of a hymn stashed in my Thomas guide map the other day. I pulled it out and started singing, and before I even realized it, that stray thought had completely changed my attitude! (That's 1 Corinthians 10:13 at work.) : )

All the way home, I marvelled about the difference that is made by a simple song. It made me think of Psalm 40:3 "And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it , and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." Others around me might not have had anything to sing about. It was hot, and we were stuck in heavy traffic at the end of a long and busy day, and there was nothing we could do about it. What a difference to use the time to praise the Lord, rather than grumble!

There's a hymn that comes to mind as I write this:

O Say, But I'm Glad

"There is a song in my heart today,

Something I never had

Jesus has taken my sin away

O say, but I'm glad!

~

Chorus:

O say, but I'm glad, I'm glad

O say, but I'm glad!

Jesus has come and my cup's overrun

O say, but I'm glad!

~

Wonderful, marvelous love He brings,

Into a heart that's sad;

Through darkest tunnels the soul can sing,

O say, but I'm glad!

~

Won't you come to Him with all your care,

Weary, and worn and sad?

You, too, will sing as His love you share,

O say, but I'm glad!"

Gentling Influences Part 3: Attitude

Mommy and I were at a store today when I found this mug.

Attitudes can be quite contagious.Have you ever noticed how when one family member is in a bad mood, everyone else quickly joins them? I seem to be particularly susceptible to bad attitudes.It is so important for us as ladies to keep a good attitude. If we easily "catch" the grumps of others, our homes will soon be full of contention, anger, and selfishness.

I recently realized that a bad mood is actually just selfishness. Think about it. What usually sets off a bad mood? It is usually some mistreatment or neglect (real or percieved) directed towards ourselves by another. Of course, things of a serious nature do need to be dealt with, but are we holding onto the little things that don't even matter? Even if another is grumpy, we do not have to join them. We have a choice whether or not to be selfish!

You know, a good attitude is just as contagious as a bad. Mommy and I have a game we play when driving through road work areas. We have noticed that the "flaggers" almost always look decidedly grumpy, with either a frown or a scowl on their faces, so one day, we decided to try to make the flagger smile. As we drove by, we smiled at her and waved a thank you. She smiled and waved back! And after that we have always tried to make the flaggers smile as we drive by.

That game works in our homes as well. Just as one bad attitude can cause the whole household to be grumpy, one with a determined good attitude can completely reverse it!

~Try it and see!

Book Review: Home-Making by J.R. Miller

This is one of my favorite books. It is now being sold under the title The Family. I think the name change was probably due to the fact that the book is not so much about Home-making as we think of the term, but about making a home. There are nine chapters, each of which adresses a different aspect of home life. For the most part, it focuses on family relationships, and the reponsibilities of each individual towards the others. This book is beautifully written, and even though it was originally published in 1882, it is still just as relevant to today's families.

Here is an exerpt from the section on "Brothers and Sisters":

"Next to mother and father there is no one who can do so much to help a young man to live nobly as his own sister. She cannot always go with him. Her weak arm could not always shield him if she were beside him. But there is a help which she can give him that will prove mightier than her presence. It is not the help of good advice and earnest words --these should have power too-- but the help rather of silent and holy influence, gained in the home by a life of unselfishness nad beauty, and then held as a potent charm outside and beyond the home walls... May I try to tell you, dear girls, how you can indeed be your brothers' guardian angels? Show them in your own lives at home the perfect grace and beauty of true, noble and lofty womanhood. Strive after all that is delicate, all that is pure, all that is tender, all that is holy and sacred in their divine ideal of woman. Show them in yourselves such perfect loveliness that they will turn away ever after from everything that is unlovely. Make virtue so as they see it embodied in you that they will always be repelled by vice..."

Come and See...

My mom's new blog!

www.thefiberbug.blogspot.com

Embellishment for Holes

I found a nice shirt on sale at a thrift store the other day, but as I inspected it more closely, I realized why it was on sale. There was a small, perfectly round hole near the hem. I was disappointed at first, because I really liked the shirt, but then I decided since it didn’t cost much, I could just mend the hole and make it as good as new.

Now, my mends typically aren’t that pretty, and I wasn’t able to find exactly the right color of thread, but the perfect roundness of the hole gave me an idea.
I embroidered a flower over the mend, and now it’s even better than new! –And only you privileged few readers know that there was ever a hole!

It occurred to me as I was working, that this is what God so often does in our lives. He takes the ugly, unraveling holes and not only mends them, but uses them to make our lives more beautiful. He gives us “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” that He might be glorified in our lives. (Is.61:3)

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, who are the called according to his purpose.” –Romans 8:28

Handshakes

Have you ever had to shake hands with someone who had such an atrocious handshake it made you shudder? I recently met someone who had what I call the “dead fish handshake”. Their hand was completely limp. (And slightly slimy…eew!) My Dad always told me that one can learn a lot about a person by the way they shake hands. The following are my observations of what one can learn from a handshake.

The shrinking shake: This is the handshake that lasts less than a second, (often accompanied by distinct fishiness of the deceased variety) which clearly communicates dislike or discomfort.

The speed shake: At the end of this shake, one is often surprised to find that his hand has not vibrated off! Often fueled by the exuberance of youth, this shake clearly denotes enthusiasm or excitement. –Or a rather extreme excess of caffeine or sugar. : )

The trick shake: This shake could take several forms, and is usually completely unpredictable. Such a shake reveals a personality with an all-too-healthy dose of mischief in it.

The rival shake: In order to experience this shake, one must participate. Instead of maintaining an appropriately firm grasp of the other person’s hand, both parties grip as hard as they can for as long as they can, or until one surrenders. This shake reveals a competitive or adversarial spirit.

The warm shake: This is the best kind of shake. Hearty, firm, and often accompanied by a happy smile, this shake communicates warmth of feeling and friendship.

Just like Daddy always says, you can learn a lot from a handshake. What does yours say about you?