The steadfast love of God ...

Commit now all your griefs

And ways into His hands,

To His sure Truth and tender care,

Who earth and heaven commands.

Who points the clouds their course,

Whom winds and seas obey,

He shall direct your wandering feet,

He shall prepare your way.

Put all your trust in God,

In duty’s path go on;

Fix on His work your steadfast eye,

So shall your work be done.

No profit can be gained

By self-consuming care;

To Him commend your cause; His ear

Attends the softest prayer.

Through waves and clouds and storms

He gently clears your way:

Wait, then, His time; so shall this night

Soon end in joyous day.

Leave to His sovereign sway

To choose and to command;

So shall you, wondering, own His way,

How wise, how strong His hand!

Let us, in life and death,

His steadfast Truth declare,

And publish with our latest breath

His love and guardian care.

Paul Gerhardt

A wonderful Saviour

A wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Saviour to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see. 

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand. 

A wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.

With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God
For such a Redeemer as mine!

When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love
I’ll shout with the millions on high.


Update on the vegetable patch - look what a bit of sunshine and rain does!

Journey with my Saviour

Palm Sunday today - Jesus travelled to Jerusalem on a donkey with the crouds shouting "hosanna". Jesus knew what the next week would bring. We don't know what the next hour will bring, but if we are living with the Saviour we have nothing to fear, it is when we go on our own journey away from the Saviour that our real trouble starts.

All the way my Savior leads me,

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial,

Feeds me with the living Bread.

Though my weary steps may falter

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Oh, the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father’s house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way.

Empty send us not away.

It is good to receive answers to our prayers isn't it. I have been praying especially this week to be feed from the Word of God through the preaching today. Well it wasn't a great sermon, it wasn't delivered in an outstanding way, but there were certainly points to take away and reflect on regarding the spiritual growth of the church.

Jesus, we come to meet

With thee, our Lord and King,

To bow before thy feet,

And here thy praises sing:

Compassion on us have, we pray,

And empty send us not away.

May every worldly care

Be banished from our mind;

May we with profit hear;

And peace and comfort find:

Refresh us from thy word, we pray,

And empty send us not away.

Our strength will soon decrease,

Unless our souls be fed,
We feel our health and peace
Depend on living bread.

Thy gracious hand now, Lord, display,

And empty send us not away.

May all true mourners feel

Their grief exchanged for joy;

Thy love to them reveal,

And all their fears destroy:

That when they leave thy house this day,
They may not empty go away.

May all thy children prove

The riches of thy grace;

Each taste redeeming love,

And see thy smiling face:

So shall we all with pleasure say,

  We are not empty sent away.

                                                                                          S. Barnard

Fear thou not; for I am with thee

Isaiah 41v10
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

The text of the best sermon I have heard so far this year! A good "motto" for the year.

Standing at the portal
Of the opening year,
Words of comfort meet us,
Hushing every fear;
Spoken through the silence
By our Father’s voice,
Tender, strong and faithful,
Making us rejoice.

Onward then, and fear not,
Children of the day!
For His Word shall never,
Never pass away!

Francis R Havergal

Take time to be holy.

Whilst trying to take a few moments out, with my children squabbling with each other and making the usual terrible noise, I played this hymn and thought how important it is, even as busy mothers, to make sure we take time out for prayer and devotion to our Lord.

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in him always, and feed on his word.
Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let him be thy guide,
And run not before him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in his word.
Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each temper beneath his control.
Thus led by his spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

What did the kingdom of God gain because of you?

Wow!

What a sermon and what a challenging message we heard last night. I love to hear a preahcer preach with passion and conviction and we got that in good measure last night. We were told in no uncertain terms that there is no problem with the harvest - the fields are ripe and ready to be harvested - the problem is with the labourers. I am praying that I will be a much more effective labourer in the harvest, I have learnt so much in the last week from a Godly couple - praise the Lord that there are young men and women all around the world who want to serve God and work in His harvest fields.


Lord of the Reapers hear our lowly pleading
Thine are the fields that stand all harvest-white,
Thine is the love that human souls are needing,
Ere falls the dusk that deepens into night.

Oft have we prayerd with longing and beseeching,
Fruit for our toil and glory for Thy Cross,
Yet slow the reaping, slow the task of reaching,
Far distant souls whose distance is their loss.

Oft have we asked for some rewarding token,
Only to know our toil was not in vain,
And for a patient love to lead the broken,
Lives of the lost to an eternal gain.

Soon o'er our harvest field the twilight stealeth
Low on its margin stands the solumn sun,
Rising to Thee the reaper's prayer appealeth,
Grant us full sheaves before the day is done.

So when Thy Morning floods the land with glory,
God will it be to meet and see Thee then!
Learn all the triumphs of Thy love's sweet glory,
Lord of the reapers! Hope of sinful men!


So what has the kingdom of God gained becasue of you? ... go labour on, spend and be spent ...

What worthless worms are we ..

We sung this hymn on Sunday evening, it reminded me of my Grandad who chose it for his Golden wedding celebration and we also sung it at his funeral.

What a GREAT GOD we have, we are so undeserving of his infinite mercy.

Great God, how infinite art Thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.

Thy throne eternal ages stood,
Ere seas or stars were made:
Thou art the ever living God,
Were all the nations dead.

Nature and time quite naked lie
To Thine immense survey,
From the formation of the sky
To the great burning day.

Eternity, with all its years,
Stands present in Thy view;
To Thee there’s nothing old appears;
Great God! There’s nothing new.

Our lives through various scenes are drawn,
And vexed with trifling cares;
While Thine eternal thought moves on
Thine undisturbed affairs.

Great God, how infinite art Thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.