Echoes in the Darkness

"The Alpine shepherds have a beautiful custom of ending the day by singing to one another an evening farewell. The air is so crystalline that the song will carry long distances. As the dusk begins to fall, they gather their flocks and begin to lead them down the mountain paths, singing, 'Hitherto hath the lord helped us. Let us praise His name!'

"And at last with a sweet courtesy, they sing to one another the friendly farewell: 'Goodnight! Goodnight!' The words are taken up by the echoes, and from side to side the song goes reverberating sweetly and softly until the music dies away in the distance.

"... So let us call out to one another through the darkness, till the gloom becomes vocal with many voices, encouraging the pilgrim host. Let the echoes gather till a very storm of Hallelujahs break in thundering waves around the sapphire throne, and then as the morning breaks we shall find ourselves at the margin of the sea of glass, crying, with the redeemed host, 'Blessing and honor and glory be unto Him that sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever!'"

"This my song through endless ages, 
Jesus led me all the way."

"AND AGAIN THEY SAID, HALLELUJAH!" - Revelation 19:3, R.V.

Exerpt from December 31st entry of Streams in the Desert, edited by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman, 1925

First photo may be found here and second here:
Agnes Monkelbaan, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Besides our reading from Genesis and a hymn last night, we were also blessed to join the Getty family for a hymn sing from their current home in Northern Ireland. How neat to see another family gather their little girls around the piano and sing songs of truth and faith - something we desperately need to pass on to keep each generation strong in the Lord.

One of the hymns that was good to sing again was Great is Thy Faithfulness.

It's amazing how many powerful lines are contained in these few, short verses!

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow...

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth...



As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!



Click here to sing along with the Getty Family Hymn Sing - from Northern Ireland

Mom's Birthday Sweater

For Mom's birthday, she got Norwegian yarn. The next day I began swatching and trying to catch all the details of the Norwegian pattern, with the help on Google Translate. 

After much trial and error, ripping back and re-knitting (due to muscle pain causing changes in knitting tension), I saw a sweater emerging from my needles!

Meanwhile, several of my other sweaters were getting good use.

Once I finished the last special ordered mittens before Christmas, I could focus all my knitting on Mom's sweater.

January 6th saw the sweater finished!

A Mighty Fortress is our God

Joseph has put in 'almost' as much time on my piano as have I over the past year! At least his visits keep getting me back to a few favorite pieces to let him hear live baroque and classical harmonies.

Over Christmas, besides keeping Elsa's harp in tune as the new strings kept stretching... 

...I actually put in the (for me, physically demanding) hour of tuning all the sets of strings on my hammered dulcimer. I'm not sure if I've done that even once in the past 7 years, but back in college days I was using it a lot - even toting it around for various Christmas and madrigal concerts.



It was special to play a few old favorites again last month. But now as time and strength are once again demanded elsewhere, most of the music we make is with our voices.

When the 25 days of advent readings were over for 2020, we missed our nightly time together that always ended with a carol. So last week we began a new after-supper study: Exploring the Bible Together by David Murray. 

Yes, it is meant for children, but the bite sized portions of scripture will still give us a thorough overview of the whole Bible in a year. 

At the same time, we backed up to the beginning of our hymnal to sing through old favorites and all that are even slightly familiar, which should take us through the year as well.

Last night's hymn was particularly encouraging:

A mighty fortress is our God,

A bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood 

Of mortal ills prevailing:

For still our ancient foe

Doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great,

And, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, 

Our striving would be losing,

Were not the right Man on our side,

The man of God's own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth His name

From age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, 

We tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure,

For lo, his doom is sure;

One little work shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, 

No thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours

Through him who with us sideth:

Let goods and kindred go,

This mortal life also;

The body they may kill:

God's truth abideth still;

His kingdom is forever.

- Martin Luther, 1529

(translated by F. H. Hedge, 1852)

Winters Past

One year ago today, Dad had a snow-blowing job!

Twenty-four years ago this month, we girls tried winter-camping in our yard with Dad. The insulation of snow couldn't compete with the 20° below zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures that night. Our breath froze and snowed on us from the tent walls! 

Somewhere around 4 in the morning I came in to finish the night sleeping by the Christmas tree, but it was a fun memory!

Harpers

A couple weeks ago, Joseph's inquisitive, little, music-loving ears had a new experience - a folk harp and tenor recorder duet! Something we haven't tried for years...

How fun to hear little bits of Elsa's harp again since it was repaired and re-strung last month! While we were doctoring in the Mississippi River valley, the Marion Folk Harp was getting it's own doctoring back at its birthplace. 

Every time Joseph visits he first looks for the harp. Those little fingers can hardly keep away, so we are trying to teach him to pluck gently!

Will we have another harper in the family someday?!

Hitherto

Does anyone else need some perspective?!

"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." (1 Samuel 7:12)

"The word 'hitherto' seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet 'hitherto hath the Lord helped us!' Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health; at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea; in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation -- 'hitherto hath the Lord helped!'

"But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark, and writes 'hitherto,' he is not yet at the end; there are still distances to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death.

"Is it over now? No! there is more yet -- awakening in Jesus' likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. 

"Oh, be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy 'Ebenezer,' for,

"He who hath helped thee hitherto
Will help thee all thy journey through."

"When we read in Heaven's light, how glorious and marvelous a prospect will thy 'hitherto' unfold to thy grateful eye."

- C. H. Spurgeon

Winter Beauties

 Morning often starts out pink, which fades before I get to a camera.

 

Sunny noontime brings out the cats to sun (if there is no wind).

Bare trees show off evening colors (actually still in the afternoon - before 5:00)!

Some days are so cold that we have 2 sundogs to enjoy!

Rosebushes...

Rosehips...

Hydrangeas...

All make unique and beautiful winter art, even when they seem most dead.

This Little Light of Mine

As Dad shared some verses and thoughts from the book of Revelation in the first few minutes of this new year, we realized how, more than ever, God's light needs to shine through His children in an increasingly dark world. So, our first song of 2021 was "This Little Light of Mine!"

Take care that the lamp is trimmed;
take care that it is full of oil; see that
the flame mounts clear and steady
towards heaven; and the Lord will set
it where its light will fall on what pleases
Him, and where it will reach, mayhap,
to what you never dream of."

- Susan Warner