It is my desire to offer praise + thanksgiving.
Even in the midst of the mundane, the muck and the mire.
I began this blog as a way to document our days as a family. I do not scrapbook. Nor do I keep photo albums in any way. So this is my way of storing photos and memories. And sharing our days as a family with our loved ones.
Surely day in and day out, this proves to be difficult. But this is the hope. To continue writing. Sharing the moments of glory and grace along with the moments of grief. All with a heart of gratitude. Because we can, indeed, offer thanksgiving in everything. Even in the midst of the mundane, the muck and the mire.
I also love to take opportunities to sit down and reflect upon something. To ponder. To arrive at a conclusion. Or not. But to think. And write it down. It feels good.
As I was deciding what to name the blog, I also thought about what I wanted the blog to focus on. God's goodness. His faithfulness. And our ability to offer praise and thanksgiving in everything.
When my love and I exchanged wedding vows almost 14 years ago, two beautiful young ladies sang one of my favorite hymns, "For the Beauty of the Earth." I will always remember their voices in sweet harmony, singing praise to our Father...
"For the beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies; For the love which from our birth, Over and around us lies; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour, Of the day and of the night; Hill and vale and tree and flow'r, Sun and moon, and stars of light; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, For the heart and mind's delight; For the mystic harmony, Linking sense to sound and sight; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human love, Brother, sister, parent, child; Friends on Earth and friends above, For all gentle thoughts and mild; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise."
For the Beauty of the Earth was written by Folliott S. Pierpoint in 1864. "Folliot Sandford Pierpoint was taking a walk one late Spring day, in the lovely area surrounding his home in Bath, England. Overwhelmed with the beauty he saw, he sat down and wrote "For the Beauty of the Earth." Not only does Pierpoint thank God for His beautiful creation, but also for family, friends and other gifts God has bestowed upon us."
A perfect fit for what I had envisioned the blog to be. Now if you go back in the archives, you will notice that I tried to end every post with "for this I am grateful." or "for this I give praise." But after some time blogging, I heard a lot about how the blogging community offers a fake glimpse into someone's life. That all the good moments are recorded, and none of the challenging ones. That it is not real. And I began to doubt what I was documenting. And I stopped offering thanksgiving. I certainly did not want to convey a perfect life of beautiful moments. Because I stumble. And our family, well... it is far from perfect. But I also do not want this to be a place to complain. Or to focus and dwell upon the struggles of life. I want my heart and head to consider what is pure. What is noble.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.' {Philippians 4:8}
When my love and I exchanged wedding vows almost 14 years ago, two beautiful young ladies sang one of my favorite hymns, "For the Beauty of the Earth." I will always remember their voices in sweet harmony, singing praise to our Father...
"For the beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies; For the love which from our birth, Over and around us lies; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour, Of the day and of the night; Hill and vale and tree and flow'r, Sun and moon, and stars of light; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, For the heart and mind's delight; For the mystic harmony, Linking sense to sound and sight; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human love, Brother, sister, parent, child; Friends on Earth and friends above, For all gentle thoughts and mild; Lord of all, to Thee we raise This, our hymn of grateful praise."
For the Beauty of the Earth was written by Folliott S. Pierpoint in 1864. "Folliot Sandford Pierpoint was taking a walk one late Spring day, in the lovely area surrounding his home in Bath, England. Overwhelmed with the beauty he saw, he sat down and wrote "For the Beauty of the Earth." Not only does Pierpoint thank God for His beautiful creation, but also for family, friends and other gifts God has bestowed upon us."
A perfect fit for what I had envisioned the blog to be. Now if you go back in the archives, you will notice that I tried to end every post with "for this I am grateful." or "for this I give praise." But after some time blogging, I heard a lot about how the blogging community offers a fake glimpse into someone's life. That all the good moments are recorded, and none of the challenging ones. That it is not real. And I began to doubt what I was documenting. And I stopped offering thanksgiving. I certainly did not want to convey a perfect life of beautiful moments. Because I stumble. And our family, well... it is far from perfect. But I also do not want this to be a place to complain. Or to focus and dwell upon the struggles of life. I want my heart and head to consider what is pure. What is noble.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.' {Philippians 4:8}
and then, offer them up in our hymn
of grateful praise.
Surely day in and day out, this proves to be difficult. But this is the hope. To continue writing. Sharing the moments of glory and grace along with the moments of grief. All with a heart of gratitude. Because we can, indeed, offer thanksgiving in everything. Even in the midst of the mundane, the muck and the mire.
Thanks for joining the journey.
1 comment:
yes, keep praising.
because through it all, in it all, God is good.
and that is the real, honest truth.
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