On Jordan's Stormy Banks

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.

Chorus:
I am bound (I am bound)
I am bound (I am bound)
I am bound for promised land,
I am bound (I am bound)
I am bound (I am bound)
I am bound for promised land.

All o’er those wide extended plains,
Shines one eternal day;
There God the Son forever reigns,
And scatters night away.

No chilling winds nor poisonous breath
Can reach that healthful shore;
Sickness, sorrow, pain and death,
Are felt and feared no more.

When shall I reach that happy place,
And be forever blessed?
When shall I see my Father’s face,
And in His bosom rest?

Lyrics by Samuel Stennett (ca. 1727-1795)

Dr. Samuel Sten­nett was born in Ex­e­ter, in 1727. He was con­vert­ed and was bap­tized when young. Like his fa­ther he was a man of super­i­or tal­ents and great er­u­di­tion. Iv­i­mey says, “His pro­fi­cien­cy in Greek, La­tin and Or­i­ent­al tongues and ex­ten­sive ac­quaint­ance with sac­red lit­er­a­ture, are so abundantly dis­played in his val­u­able works that they can­not fail to es­tab­lish his re­pu­ta­tion for learning and genius.”

He had been ac­cus­tomed to move in the so­ci­e­ty of per­sons of re­fine­ment; and on en­ter­ing up­on his pas­tor­al du­ties in Lon­don he was remarkable for the ease and suavity of his man­ners, for the good breed­ing, the pol­ished lang­uage, and the graceful ways of the true gen­tle­man. He was fre­quent­ly in com­pa­ny with per­sons enjoying the high­est so­cial dis­tinc­tion and in such si­tu­a­tions as gave him an op­por­tun­i­ty to com­mend Bap­tists and aid Dis­sent­ers of all de­nom­in­a­tions.

In 1763 he was made a Doc­tor of Di­vin­i­ty by King’s Coll­ege, Aberdeen. Among the no­ble men who wait­ed upon his min­is­try and loved him with the af­fection of a friend was John Howard, the philanthropist. In a let­ter from Smyr­na, writ­ten to Dr. Sten­nett Au­gust 11, 1786, Mr. Howard says, “I bless God for your min­is­try; I pray God to re­ward you a thou­sand fold. My friend, you have an hon­or­a­ble work; ma­ny seals you have to your min­is­try.”

He min­is­tered to the Lit­tle Wild street church as his fa­ther’s assistant for ten years; and as its pas­tor, af­ter his fa­ther’s death, for thir­ty-sev­en years. The meeting house was rebuilt dur­ing his min­is­try. His fa­ther, Jo­seph Sten­nett, D. D.; his grandfa­ther, Jo­seph Sten­nett; his great-grand­fa­ther, Ed­ward Sten­nett; his bro­ther, Joseph, and his son, Jo­seph, were all Bap­tist min­is­ters—and Sab­bath-keep­ers.

Hat Tip: Cyber Hymnal

Ta Da!

It is finished.

The deck is completed.

The inspector has been here and approved it.

Tonight we celebrate with a BBQ.

Our new 650 sq ft deck wraps around two sides of the house. It is made from composite for little maintenance and no slivers for those of us who hate wearing shoes. (Yep, that would be me!) There are two sliders leading from two bedrooms and a set of french doors to the breakfast room. There are no stairs, instead it has a ramp at the side of the house for better access. We hired the frame done due to the bureaucracy surrounding an 8’ high deck, but DH did the rest. (He is truly an amazing guy!)

Hydrangea

TV Meme

This meme is from Anna at A Rose By Any Other Name. I thought it looked like a bit of fun. So, here goes mine. Anyone can fly with it if you choose.

Instructions: Bold all of the following TV shows which you’ve ever seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime. Bold and italicize a show if you’re positive you’ve seen every episode of it. If you want, add up to 3 additional shows (keep the list in alphabetical order).

24
3rd Rock from the Sun
7th Heaven
Adam-12
ALF
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
Allo Allo
Amazing Race
American Idol /Pop Idol/Canadian Idol/Australian Idol
America’s Next Top Model/Germany’s Next Top Model
Angel
Arrested Development
Babylon 5
Babylon 5: Crusade
Battlestar Galactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
The Ben Stiller Show
Beverly Hills 90210
Bewitched
The Bob Newhart Show
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Chappelle’s Show
Charlie’s Angels
Charmed
Cheers
China Beach
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Coupling
Crossing Jordan
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dancing with the Stars
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
Davinci’s Inquest
Dawson’s Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadliest Catch
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dharma & Greg
Different Strokes
Doctor Who (new Who)
Doctor Who (series 1-26)
Dragnet
Due South
Earth 2
Eight is Enough
Emergency!
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Facts of Life
Family Ties
Fantasy Island
Farscape
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly
Frasier
Friends
Get Smart
Gilligan’s Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Green Acres
Green Wing
Grey’s Anatomy
Grounded for Life
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Head of the Class
Highlander
Hill Street Blues
Hogan’s Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Invasion
Iron Chef (Japan)
Iron Chef (USA)
Hell’s Kitchen
JAG
Jackass
Jeopardy
Joey
John Doe
Kath and Kim
LA Law
Laugh-In
Laverne and Shirley
Law and Order
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Leave it to Beaver
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Magnum P.I.
Malcolm in the Middle
Married… With Children
Mary Tyler Moore
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission Impossible
Monk
Moonlighting
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
My Family
My Favorite Martian
My Life as a Dog
My Mother the Car
My So-Called Life
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
Mysterious Cities of Gold
NCIS
Newhart
Night Court
Nip/Tuck
Northern Exposure
Numb3rs
One Tree Hill
Oz
Perry Mason
Picket Fences
Prison Break
Profiler
Project Runway
Psyche
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (British)
Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
ReGenesis
Remington Steele
Rescue Me
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Samurai Jack
Saved by the Bell
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Six Feet Under
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
So Weird
Spaced
Sports Night
Square Pegs
St. Elsewhere
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis — New season
Stargate SG-1 — New season
Superman
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Taxi
Teletubbies
That GirlThat 70’s Show
That’s So Raven
The 4400
The Addams
Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bionic Woman
The Brady Bunch
The Colbert Report
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Flying Nun
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mighty Boosh
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Mythbusters
The O.C.
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
The Pretender
The Prisoner
The Real World
ROAR
The Shield
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Files
Third Watch
thirtysomething
Three’s Company
Top Gear
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Upstairs, Downstairs
Veronica Mars
Wings
What Not To Wear (US)
What Not To Wear (UK)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Witchblade
Will and Grace
Wonderfalls
Xena: Warrior Princess
Young Hercules

When We All Get To Heaven

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace.
In the mansions bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place.

Refrain
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.

Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.

Words by Eli­za E. Hew­itt

Eliza, also known as Lidie H Edmunds, was born on June 28, 1851, and died on Ap­ril 24, 1920, in Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia, where she lived all her life.

After grad­u­a­tion from school, Eli­za be­gan teach­ing. How­ev­er, her ca­reer was cut short by a ser­i­ous spin­al prob­lem. She par­tial­ly re­cov­ered, but was an in­val­id most of her life. She then turned to hymn writ­ing, which ran in the fam­i­ly—her cou­sin was hymn­ist Ed­gar Stites.

She was Sun­day School sup­er­in­tend­ent at the North­ern Home for Friend­less Child­ren, and lat­er at the Cal­vin Pres­by­ter­i­an Church. She was al­so a reg­u­lar con­trib­u­tor to Sun­day-school Helps.

Hat Tip: The Cyber Hymnal

Korean War Memorial

Today's volkswalk took us to Wilsonville for a festival and a walk through a couple of parks. In one of the parks is the Oregon Korean War Memorial. It is spoken of as the Forgotten War. We remember WWI because of it was the war to end all wars. We remember WWII because of its magnitude. We remember Viet Nam because of the conflicts as home. There are not many of my generation that can tell you much about the Forgotten War. Honestly, all I know about the Korean War, I know from M*A*S*H. I have an uncle who was in the military then, but I don’t even know what branch much less if he was stationed in a war zone. It is a sad tribute to the gift that these men gave us.

A portion of the memorial is dedicated to Medal of Honor recipient

Sgt First Class Loren R. Kaufman

Dogs & Light Bulbs

How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?

Border Collie: Just one. Then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.

Rottweiler: Make me!

Lab: Oh, me, me! Pleeease let me change the light bulb! Can I? Huh? Huh?

Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!

Malamute: Let the Border Collie do it. You can feed me while he's busy.

Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls.

Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?

Mastiff: Screw it yourself! I'm not afraid of the dark...

Doberman: While it's out, I'll just take a nap on the couch.

Boxer: Who needs light? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.

Pointer: I see it, there it is, there it is, right there!

Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb?

Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...

Old English Sheep dog: Light bulb? That thing I just ate was a light bulb?

Basset Hound: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Westie: Dogs do not change light bulbs -- people change light bulbs. I am not one of THEM so the question is, how long before I can expect my light again?

Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.

Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned-out bulb?

Two Good Things

Sunshine & Baseball

Does Jesus Care?

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth and song;
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Refrain
O yes, He cares- I know He cares!
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary,
The long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares. (He cares.)

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said goodbye
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks ­
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Words by Frank E. Graeff

There was a man who lived around the turn of the last century named Frank Graeff, who was known as the “Sunshine minister,” because wherever he went he always had such a sweet disposition and such a sunny outlook that he brought cheer to all those who came in contact with him. Children loved him. People loved to be around him. Everywhere he went it seemed that joy followed him. However, Frank Graeff went through -- just like all Christians do -- some enormous times of trial and temptation. You may not have known it if you were just meeting him on the street or even if you were among those whom he pastored; but he, nonetheless, went through many times of intense, personal grief. One evening, as he looked to the Word of God, he came to this verse in 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

It leapt out to him and discovered to him a new joy. He was so touched that he wrote a hymn, entitled “Does Jesus Care?” This hymn speaks to the heart of any child of God who goes through times of difficulty and trial and questioning and pain. Each one of the verses of Graeff’s hymn asks some intensely personal and important questions, and we want to answer these questions from the Word of God.

Hat Tip: Baptist Bible Hour

From the Garden

I love macrophotography. I have not done much of it since I went to a digital camera since I did not have a great one for it. Today I am playing with my sis's camera. (Mine is somewhere around here, but with the move...) Here are a few shots from the garden this morning. It does a pretty good job for an inexpensive digital.

Red Basil

The Birth of a Fir Cone

Impatiens

Petunia in a Hanging Basket