Now the year is over

As we come to the end of this year, it is wonderful to look back on how the Lord has led me and grown me spiritually.  And also to look forward to the ways in which I wish to trust and obey Him more this coming year. This year has been more of a testing year than I have ever really experienced in my short life of sixteen years, and I have felt the Lord's presence more this year, than ever, as a result.  I could list hundreds of ways, yes even thousands, in which the Lord has tested me and disciplined me this year, but I can also list just as many ways in which He has richly opened up the storehouses of heaven and poured down His blessings upon me. Indeed I look not on this past year with much sadness though I have shed more tears this year than usual, I look back on it with joy, knowing that " The Lord chasteneth those who fear Him and scourgeth every son whom He loves".  Yes I know that I am truly His, and because of this alone I am blessed beyond measure.
   Many songs come to my mind at this time. I have many I could post, but there is one song which is reminiscent of some of my struggles and states the joy of belonging to Christ. This is Fanny Crosby's beloved hymn, "Blessed Assurance".

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.
 
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
May all of you who read this have a God honoring new year. Soli Deo Gloria.

Jedidiah turns eleven

 Today my younger brother Jedidiah turns eleven years of age. As  I think back over the past years of his life, I have noticed that of all of my brothers, his personality and temperament are very similar to mine. Although he does not share my burning passion for music, he still loves it and I have recently begun to tutor him in violin; for practice to start cello eventually. As he is the third son, and I the third daughter, I find there is a special similarity between us and I can often understand him better than I can my other brothers. Jedidiah is the bookworm, the studious one, the serious one and sometimes the very logical one. I love him dearly. Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures of him from about four years and on, If I had had enough time I could have found them. However I think you will get the idea of how he grew from the pictures I have here.

                                                      five days old.

                                                       About four or five months.

                                                             I love that smile.

                                                     This is his classic sneep face! He did it all the time as a baby.

                                                    Here he is with his two older brothers, in matching night clothes.

                                                         Fireman small at your service.

                                                    What a darling!

                                                         Crying at his first birthday.(I did that too)

                                                     He loved to be bundled up.

                                                            Giddy-up!

                                                    He always sucked his two fingers. It was so cute...for a time.

                                                       As a happy toddler all ready for church.

                                                      Getting his first haircut from Daddy. This has always been a  tradition                                                                       in our family, Daddy gives the boys their first haircut and                                           Mommy does likewise for the girls.

                                  Playing in the sand box with big brother Elliot.

                                                   Still the two fingers!

                                                           At three years of age. Holding his beloved lamb Gideon.

                                                          Helping older brother Timothy to chop mushrooms.

                                                       Trying on Daddy's shoes with older brother Elliot.

                                                  Painting in his cute paint shirt.
                                        ( It was more of a robe for him, it was so big).

                                             I love this picture! He was using a cardboard book and a stick for a fiddle.

                                     There he is between his older and younger brothers.

                                                 Examining the Paul Revere bell when we walked the Boston freedom trail.

                                                  Grinning in front of a cow skull at the Brown barn on our first trip to                                                                                     North Carolina.

                                                Hugging Gideon before bed.

                                                This picture is so cute. Jeddidiah and younger brother Tobias holding hands.

                                                       Helping Arianne with leaf raking.

                                                         At the seashore shortly before we moved to NC.

                                                       Playing in our new house in NC with Elliot.

                                                       Newest little brother Benaiah.

                                                       Two brothers ready for church.

                                                      November of last year.

                                     We love you dearly Jedidiah.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me......

.......The twelve days of a large family Christmas.
 As most of you have heard the original song, I thought I would post this one. Its quite amusing and actually quite true if you have a  large family. Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me........

......Silent night.
 This song  has an interesting story behind its writing which I would like to share with you. In 1818, at the Obendorf bei Salzberg, a church in Austria, it was Christmas. There had been a violent snow storm and there was no way for people to get far. Then the organ broke. Because of the snow storm no one could come out and fix it and if there was no organ the parish children feared there would be no Christmas carols for their annual Christmas eve service. And so, on the twenty third of December, a day before the Christmas eve service, Joseph Mohr, who was pastor of the church, gave these beautiful lyrics to the organist Franz Gruber and told him to compose a melody to it that could be sung to a guitar. Gruber stayed up late that night and composed for the poem the soft and dreamy melody that we now know as Silent night.

  The video I post below is not as good as I wanted, but I wished to spend as little time as possible searching for videos today.  However, it was still well done. Merry Christmas!

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....

......Ding Dong merrrily on high.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....

......On Christmas night. The Sussex carol.
 This is a lovely Christmas carol, which, as with the previous one, I learned the tune long before I knew there were any words! I have heard much better arrangements for this song than the one below, but it will at least give you an idea of what it is like if you don't already know it.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....

.....In the bleak midwinter.
 This old and beautiful tune is one that I have known for a long time, but just recently learned the title. The words are lovely too. I didn't know this song had words either until recently.
                                                                                    

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

 

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.