Praying the Hymns

In the past couple of weeks several people have asked me if they could have a hymnal of their own to take home. Although surprised at the requests, I was pleased.  The individuals wanted a hymnal of their own because the hymns contain such rich lyrics for review and meditation.  On another front,  a friend told me she was reading devotionals about  'praying the hymns.'  After several people mentioned hymns I decided I would do some hymn blogging. 

As many of you, I grew up singing hymns.  Even though I found many of them boring as a child I now see great value in those years of 'planting' the words in my heart.  I have had several favorites in my life.  My father frequently played hymns on the piano and "Near the Cross." was one of the hymns he played quite often:

"Jesus, keep me near the cross, There a precious fountain,

  Free to all, a healing stream, flows from Calvary's mountain.

  In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,

 'Til my raptured soul shall find, rest beyond the river."

This hymn is by Fannie Crosby who was blinded in infancy through the malpractice of a doctor. She enrolled in school for the blind in New York City, staying there 12 years, first as a student and then as a teacher.  She was a poet and her remarkable poetry make her school quite well-known.  Fanny frequently recited her work to visiting dignitaries. 

In 1850, Fanny, who was 30 years old at the time, attended a revival meeting at New York's 13th Street Methodist Church.  During the service, she felt an emptiness in her heart and she prayed with some counselors.  She accepted Christ on November 20, 1850 and soon after this she turned her poetic skills to hymn writing. 

Many of the 8,000 hymns Fanny wrote focus on the cross. The particular hymn I mentioned above was composed after a Cincinnati businessman William Doane gave her a melody he had written.  Fanny, listening to the melody and felt it said, "Jesus, keep me near the cross,"  and she promptly wrote the words.

Do you have a favorite hymn or favorite hymns?  I would love to hear from you...

LEADERSHIP

DBC is having a leadership workshop in the morning and I thought it would be an appropriate time to share these thoughts. This is a summary of a recent article in the Washington Post. 

Leadership is not always about doing HUGE things. We all possess the ability to impact change around us, but unfortunately we come up with a myriad of excuses.  For those in large, bureaucratic organizations you may assume it's too hard to get anything done.  Or if you have a boss that isn't a particularly good leader you think there's nothing you can do, "Look at the boss I have!"  Sometimes we sit around waiting for someone else to tell us what we can do as leaders to work, support and get along with others.  Do we really need to wait?  Why can’t we take that first step to improve the lives of those around us?

Many of us feel that if the people above us in leadership are not 'stellar' we are blocked by what we can do.  There may be some truth to this if we are trying to create or change something in the workplace (or in the church) that requires approval and resources under the control of others.  Yet there are still many things we can do.  We have to remember that we are the ones who directly impact people close to us. 

In their book, A Leader’s Legacy, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner write that “the legacy you leave is the life you lead each and every day.”  Each day we have numerous opportunities to make a difference – by coaching others, listening to them, thanking them, assisting them, being positive with them and the list goes on.  These aren't HUGE things or are they?

What can you do to be a person who effects positive changes?  You first have to recognize that others are observing what you do.  You have to recognize that all of the small actions you take each day add up to create your legacy as a leader.  Look at each day as a new opportunity to positively impact and inspire those around you by asking for their input, supporting their efforts, sharing a hopeful vision for the future, and recognizing their contributions.  And most importantly, remember that it just takes one person to make a difference.

History is filled with stories of how one person made a difference in the lives of others.  Isn’t it time that person was me, was you?  Let’s take the message that “it starts with me” to heart.  Let’s take a first step today to creating our leadership legacies.

What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?

(Reflections on an article in the New York Times: “What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?" by Paul Tough)

As we start a New Year I have been mulling over an article I read about a critical piece that appears to be missing in our culture: ’character.’  The article is not written from a Christian framework, but it is especially interesting to me because it is written by middle and high school educators and I have a 13 year old son!  

Character may be taught in a formal way, in a classroom, or by family.  I think it begins with family.  Character development starts when children are very young and grows incrementally over many years.  It is a parent’s  responsibility to cultivate strengths that represent a reliable path to “the good life,” a life that’s not just happy, but also meaningful and fulfilling. 

Educators David Levin and Dominic Randolph developed a list of 24 character strengths that seemed to most likely to predict a life satisfaction and high achievement.  Then after more research, the list was dropped to a more manageable number.  The final list settled on the seven character strengths below.  I am simply pondering this research....good words for all of us in 2012.  Let me know what you think...

ZEST

An indicator of zest:  “I actively participate!”

GRIT

Work hard and hang-in there when things are rough.

“People who accomplish great things, often combine a passion for a single mission with an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission, whatever the obstacles and however long it might take.”

SELF-CONTROL

Building grit and self-control is largely what you get from failure –you learn it when things don’t go your way. Recover from a bad experience and resolve to do better the next time - bounce back...

Resist the urge to play another game or watch TV and finish the task at hand...learn how to fail.

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Use good sense when you are with people. Treat everyone with respect. Learn to collaborate effectively.

GRATITUDE

Be thankful for yourself and others.

Express your gratitude by showing love.

OPTIMISM

“Tomorrow is a new day.”

CURIOSITY

“I am eager to explore new things!”

My prayer for you in 2012:

I pray you will be full of joyful thanks as you actively engage in new experiences.

On the days you want to ‘crawl in a hole’ I pray you will resist the temptation, ‘hang- in there’ and rise above the circumstances.

May you continually express your concern and respect for all people in appropriate deeds of kindness.

Above, all I pray you will possess a passionate, loving heart for God.”

The Turning of a Phrase

Susan shares thoughts on the power of words, inspired by this YouTube video and the writings of Henri Nouwen.

 

Solitude, silence and prayer are the three disciplines Henri Nouwen expounds on in his book, The Way of the Heart. Nouwen was inspired by the Apophthegmata Patrum, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers... “The Fathers—and there were Mothers, too,  were Christians who lived in  the Egyptian Desert during the fourth and fifth centuries, becoming witnesses against the destructive powers of evil, witnesses for the saving power of Jesus Christ.” The book doesn’t suggest that we all ‘head for the hills!’ It does offer keen, spiritual  perspectives for our  lives in the 20th century.  We all face the challenge of surrendering the constant distractions and noise of our world for the Way of the Heart that leads us to God.

 
The second chapter of this book, Our Wordy World, has gotten my attention because I love words! One of the things Nouwen suggests is that words have lost their creative power to communicate...“One reason words have lost power and we have lost confidence in them is that we live in a giant dictionary of words…”Use me, take me, buy me, drink me, smell me, touch me, kiss me, sleep with me. In such a world, who can maintain respect for words?”  There are too many words around us and frequently, too many coming out of us. If I don’t have anything helpful to say, a person may be better served if I keep my mouth closed. They would be blessed by silence rather than inauthentic, shallow words or degrading, nagging words.  Arsenius, a Roman educator, who exchanged his status and wealth for the solitude of the desert, said, “I have often repented of having spoken, but never of having remained silent.”

 
Does that mean we should all shut up and not talk to each other?  No - we shouldn’t take ’silence’  literally in all situations. In fact, we can be silent on the outside and seething on the inside!  That’s not good! Silence of the heart is more important than silence of the mouth.  Nourishing the empty, neglected places inside of us helps us respond to others with meaningful, positive, loving words.
 
A  dear friend sent me the video, The Power of Words, when I was reading this chapter.  Words make all the difference in the life of the blind man in the video. A caring stranger knew how to use words in a way that was charitable even though the words aren’t audible. Her kind words, ’the turning of a phrase,’   set forth hope and joy to a person in great need.
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU

"The Beginning Blogger"

“BLOG…”  there ~ I said it.  I’ll say it again with expression…”BLOG!”

It’s definitely not a nice-sounding word. In fact if you say it in a certain way it could almost be a slang. Like… “Oh! BLOG!”  or “What the BLOG!”   I won’t linger there, but I can’t be the only person who’s been curious about something called a ‘BLOG.’   Deciding an interview was in order, I asked a few folks to answer this question, “What does  “BLOG” sound like to you?” 

Here are a few of the responses I received…

“A mass of something.”

“A piece of wood?”

“Sounds like someone is about to get sick!”

 “A big blob.”

 “Is it something scary…”BLOG?!” 

“A new dance closely related to clogging – blogging!”

When I first heard about blogging, I questioned why anyone would want to do it.  Writing is therapeutic and an expression of creativity so in that way, blogging can be personally fulfilling.  It makes sense - for the writer.

 But why do people take time to read blogs when they can read books, newspapers, magazines, letters, emails, texts, etc.?  I still haven’t figured that out.  If you are taking your precious time to read my blog I can tell you it’s quite humbling.  Thanks for being here.  Hopefully you have chuckled a little and my future blogs will be worth your time.  This one is questionable at best.

You could respond to this blog or you could go for a walk.  I have an idea...go for a walk and let me know what you think when you get back...“Why do people read blogs?”  It will be good to hear from you!