Precious Blessings

Precious blessings we receive,
When on Jesus we believe...

Artwork by Eloise Wilkin

.

And are walking in the Spirit day by day

When His Word is our delight,

And our path is growing bright,

While by faith we learn to trust Him and obey.

O praise the Lord, for He is good,

O praise the Lord, our God above,

He keeps us every hour

And upholds us by His power,

While we dwell within

the sunshine of His love.

Artwork by Ruth Morehead

Precious blessings that descend,

When before His throne we bend,

And the glory cloud is resting o'er us there,

Every heart with joy is filled,

Every wave of sorrow stilled,

When we feel the hallowed bliss

of answered prayer.

When the world is overcome

And its battles fought and won,

When we see our Lord and Savior in the sky;

How our hearts will overflow,

While the rapture we shall know,

When we meet Him and His kingdom

by and by.

Artwork by Eloise Wilkin

"Precious Blessings"

Words By Fanny Crosby

(1901)

Sowing and Reaping

   

"They who sow in tears 
shall reap with joyful singing."

Psalm 126:5 

Sow with a generous hand

Pause not for toil and pain;

Weary not through the heat of summer,

Weary not through the cold spring rain;

But wait till autumn comes

For the sheaves of golden grain.

Scatter the seed , and fear not,

A table will be spread;

What matter if you are too weary

To eat your hard-earned bread;

Sow, while the earth is broken,

For the hungry must be fed. 

Sow while the seeds are lying
In the warm earth's bosom deep,
And your warm tears fall upon it-
They will stir in their quiet sleep,
And the green blades rise the quicker,
Perchance, for the tears you weep.

Then sow;-for the hours are fleeting,
And the seed must fall today;
And care not what hand shall reap it;
Or if you shall have passed away
Before the waving cornfields
Shall gladden the sunny day.

Sow-and look onward, upward,
Where the starry light appears,
Where, in spite of the coward's doubting,
Or your own heart's trembling fears,
You shall reap in joy the harvest
You have sown today in tears
"Sowing and Reaping"
Adelaide Anne Procter







The troubles of the saints will not last always,
 but, when they have done their work, 
shall have a happy period.
 The captives in Babylon were long sowing in tears,
 but at length they were brought forth with joy,
 and then they reaped the benefit of their patient suffering,
 and brought their sheaves with them to their own land,
 in their experiences of the goodness of God to them.
 Job, and Joseph, and David, and many others,
 had harvests of joy after a sorrowful seedness. 
Those that sow in the tears of godly sorrow
 shall reap in the joy of a sealed pardon 
and a settled peace.
 Those that sow to the spirit, in this vale of tears,
 shall of the spirit reap life everlasting, 
and that will be a joyful harvest indeed. 
Blessed are those that mourn,
 for they shall be for ever comforted.
-Matthew Henry's Commentary 

The Thinker

“Nothing is a waste of time

 if you use the experience wisely.”

Auguste Rodin

1840-1917

Back of the beating hammer

By which the steel is wrought,

Back of the workshop's clamor

The seeker may find the Thought-

The Thought that is ever master

Of iron and steam and steel,

That rises above disaster

And tramples it under heel!

The drudge may fret and tinker

Or labor with lusty blows,

But back of him stands the Thinker,

The clear-eyed man who knows;

For into each plow or saber,

Each piece and part and whole,

Must go the Brains of Labor,

Which gives the work a soul!

Back of the motors humming,

Back of the bells that sing,

Back of the hammers drumming,

Back of the cranes that swing,

There is the eye which scans them

Watching through stress and strain,

There is the Mind which plans them-

Back of the brawn, the Brain!

Might of the roaring boiler,

Force of the engine's thrust,

Strength of the sweating toiler-

Greatly in these we trust.

Back of them stands the Schemer,

The Thinker who drives things through;

Back of the Job-the Dreamer

Who's making the dream come true!

"The Thinker"

Berton Braley

 Auguste Rodin's famous bronze sculpture, 

 "The Thinker" welcomes visitors

at the Rodin Museum, located on the Benjamin Franklin

 Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

First opened in 1929, the museum is home to

 one of the most extensive collections

 of Rodin’s work available for public viewing

 outside of Paris, France.

Flowers On My Window Sill

Life did not bring me silken gowns,

Nor jewels for my hair,

 Bright red geraniums grown on a window sill

can chase the change-of-season blues away.

Nor signs of gabled foreign towns

In distant countries fair,

But I can glimpse, beyond my pane,

a green and friendly hill,

And red geraniums aflame 

upon my window sill.

The brambled cares of everyday

The tiny humdrum things,

May bind my feet when they would stray,

But still my heart has wings

While red geraniums are bloomed

against my window glass,

And low above my green-sweet hill

the gypsy wind-clouds pass.

And if my dreamings ne'er come true,

The brightest and the best,

But leave me lone my journey through,

I'll set my heart at rest,

And thank God for home-sweet things,

a green and friendly hill,

And red geraniums aflame

upon my window sill.

"Red Geraniums"

Martha Haskell Clark

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,

And from thy slender store

two loaves alone to thee are left,

Sell one, and with the dole

Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.

"Hyacinths To Feed Thy Soul"

Moslih Eddin Saadi

 Persian poet

(1184-1291)

Fragrant hyacinth always remind me of springtime,

the season of rebirth and new beginnings,

 the coming of Pesach (Passover),

and Easter.

Another flower which can be started indoors

on a window sill are lovely "Paperwhite" daffodils,

a member of the Narcissus family of flowers,

which are native to southern Europe and

parts of Asia.

"Art is the unceasing effort

 to compete with the beauty of flowers

 and never succeeding." 

-  Marc Chagall 

Life's Mirror

There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave,

There are souls that are pure and true;

Then give to the world the best you have,

And the best will come back to you.

Give love, and love to your life will flow,

A strength in your utmost need;

Have faith, and a score of hearts will show

Their faith in your word and deed.

Give truth, and your gift will be paid, in kind,

And honor will honor meet;

And a smile that is sweet will surely find

A smile that is just as sweet.

Give sorrow and pity to those who mourn;

You will gather in flowers again

The scattered seeds of your thought outborne,

Though the sowing seemed but vain.

For life is the mirror of king and slave-

'Tis just what we are and do;

Then give to the world the best you have,

And the best will come back to you.

"Life's Mirror"

A poem by Madeline Bridges

(Mary Ainge De Vere)

1844-1920

The Will Of God Abides Forever

You cannot serve God and mammon

deceitful riches, money, possessions,

or whatever is trusted in."

Matthew 6:24

   

"Do not love or cherish the world

or the things that are in the world.

If anyone loves the world,

love for the Father

is not in him.

For all that is in the world-

the lust of the flesh,

craving for sensual gratification,

and the lust of the eyes,

greedy longings of the mind,

and the pride of life,

assurance in one's own resources

or in the stability of earthly things,

these do not come from the Father

but are from the world itself.

And the world passes away

and disappears,

and with it the forbidden

cravings, the passionate desires,

the lust of it;

but he who does the will of God

and carries out His purposes

in his life abides,

 remains forever."

1 John 2:15-17 

   

"Money has never made man happy, nor will it, 
there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness.
 The more of it one has the more one wants.”
Benjamin Franklin 

  

       We are living in a very impermanent and changeable world. Nothing that we see is going to last permanently. The ambitions, the desires, the passions of people of this world who are immersed in time and the things of the flesh are all going to pass away. There are forces at work in the world – spiritual and material forces much more powerful than we are, forces that we cannot control. We are just like a little speck on the surface of a river being carried along.


     Is there any way to find permanence? Is there any way to find security? Yes, it’s simple. Those words contain the answer: “But the one who does the will of God abides forever.” In the last resort, God’s will is going to stand. When everything else collapses and falls away and becomes impermanent and insecure, disappoints us, and maybe even deceives us, there’s one thing that’s going to stand secure, that’s God’s will.


     God is in control; He’s supreme. And if you unite yourself with the will of God, if you make it your purpose in life to do the will of God, then you are just as strong and just as permanent and just as secure as God’s will. Circumstances will change, the world will change, but the will of God stands firm, enduring and unconquerable and you can be just like the will of God if you set your mind to do it.

-Derek Prince

Bible Teacher and Writer

Derek Prince

1915-2003

"Live simply that others might simply live."

  Elizabeth Seaton

 

"As you read my stories of long ago
I hope you will remember
that things truly worthwhile
and that will give you happiness
are the same now as they were then.
It is not the things you have
that make you happy.
It is love and kindness
and helping each other
and just plain being good."
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Joyfully Sing, It's Almost Spring

"He who sings, prays twice."

-St. Augustine

"Let the word spoken by

Christ the Messiah

have its home in your hearts

and minds, and dwell in you

in all its richness, as you teach

and admonish and train one another

in all insight and intelligence and wisdom

in spiritual things, and as you sing

psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

making melody to God with

His grace in your hearts."

Colossians 3:16

Mother and Daughter Singing in Church

Norman Rockwell

Joyfully Sing

Sing with a tuneful song, sing and adore
Jesus the Holy One, King evermore;
He is the desert Rock, there we may hide,
Under His mighty shade safe we abide.

Joyfully sing, joyfully sing,
Joyfully sing, joyfully sing,
Joyfully sing, joyfully sing,
Light of eternity,
Honor and praise to Thee,
Now and forever be,
Jesus our King.

Sing with a grateful heart, hallow His Name,
All He has done for us, gladly proclaim;
Tell how each promise sweet cheers us along,
Praise we the Lord of lords, Fountain of song.

Sing with a trusting heart, looking away
Up to the brighter land, brighter than day;
Sing with a glowing heart filled with His love,
Sing till our happy souls anchor above.

 Written by Fanny Crosby

Illustration by Eloise Wilkin

"Adonai, I praise Your great and wonderful Name!

Tear down the temporary dwellings in my life

and come and abide with me forever!

I bless you, Father,

for the splendor of Your creation

will one day pass away to reveal

a glory that no one can possibly imagine.

Thank You, my God,

for choosing to dwell with Your people-

come and reign, My King,

the everlasting Light of the World".

Messianic Mo'adiym Devotional

By Kevin Geoffrey

Lesson From An Irish Fable

"Throw your heart over the wall,

then follow it!"

Boy Rides Fairy Horse

Illustration By Gertrude Kay

*Some time ago I read an Irish fairy story which told 

how a mortal, on a fairy steed, went hunting with the fairies.

He had his choice of whether the fairy horse

should become large enough to carry a 

man-sized man or be small enough to ride

the horse as it was.

He chose to become of fairy size, and, after 

the magic was worked, rode gaily with

the fairy king until he came to a wall

so high he feared his tiny horse could 

not carry him over;

 but the fairy king said to him,

 "Throw your heart over the wall,

then follow it!" 

So he rode fearlessly at the wall,

with his heart already bravely past it,

and went safely over.

I have forgotten most of the story

and do not remember the name of the author,

though I wish I did;

but often I think of the fairy's advice.

Anyone who has ridden horses much

understands how the heart of the rider going over

fairly lifts the horse up and across an obstacle.

And I have been told, by good drivers,

that it holds true in taking

 a motor car up a difficult hill.

But the uplift of a fearless heart 
will help us over other sorts of barriers.

In any undertaking,

to falter at a crisis means defeat.

No one ever overcomes difficulties

by going at them in a hesitant, doubtful way.

If we would win success in anything,

when we come to a wall that bars our way,

we must throw our hearts over

and then follow confidently.

It is fairy advice, you know,

and savors of magic,

so following it we will ride with the fairies

of good fortune and go safely over.

 Traditional stone wall in the Mourne Mountains

Northern Ireland

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

* "Lesson From A Irish Fable"

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

From the book,

"Little House In The Ozarks"

A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler

The Rediscovered Writings

Edited By Stephen W. Hines

(1991)