Morning Moments

In this week of Thanksgiving, I have been thinking of all for which I am so thankful.  Having recently returned from three weeks in India, of course, I am thankful for those who helped me go, those who prayed before, during, and after my trip.  I cannot adequately express my thankfulness to those with whom I stayed while there, those I taught for whom we continually pray, and for all, not only whose lives were touch while we were there, but those who so powerfully touch my life while there.  Praise the Lord!

Today I was reminded of how thankful I am for so many of the old hymns that seem to be neglected in many of our contemporary services.  I think my friend said it well when he said, "The old hymns were sung about God, His mercy, grace, salvation, attributes, etc, but today's spiritual songs are written to God mostly focusing on what He has done for me and praising Him for it.  Now I don't think there is anything wrong with either, but I certainly hope we don't exclude one for the other.  Both are needed, and when I say that, my reference is not to the loud stuff that loses the lyric in the volume, but the praise and worship that is truly that!

Anyway, I was thinking and thanking about a very special hymn writer as God spoke to her heart through another hymn written by Isaac Watts, "Alas and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die...but the last verse reads, "Here Lord I give myself away..." and THAT was the moment the blind Fanny Crosby shouted, "Hallelujah" and gave herself to the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Before her departure to be with the Lord she so loved in 1915, she had written nearly nine thousand hymns.  What a tremendous contribution to the Body of Christ!  PLEASE, PLEASE, don't allow your "church" to ever fail to sing and be thankful for the gift of grace given to this blind saint who could see God in a way most of us never do.

Thank you, Father, for Fanny Crosby, who authored such hymns as Blessed Assurance, Rescue the Perishing, Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, Pass Me Not, To God Be the Glory, and on and on and on.