TEACH ME THY WILL, O LORD
by Katherine A. Grimes b 1877
Teach me Thy will, O Lord, teach me Thy way;
Teach me to know Thy word, teach me to pray.
What-e'er seems best to Thee, that be my earnest plea,
So that Thou drawest me closer each day.
Teach me Thy wondrous grace, boundless and free;
Lord, let Thy blessed face shine upon me.
Heal Thou sin's ev-ery smart,dwell Thou within my hear;
Grant that I never part, Saviour, from Thee.
Teach me by pain Thy power, teach me by love;
Teach me to know, each hour, Thou art above.
Teach me as seemeth best in Thee to find sweet rest;
Leaning upon Thy breast, All doubt remove.
Teach Thou my lips to sing, my heart to praise;
Be thou my Lord and King through all my days.
Teach Thou my soul to cry, "Be Thou, dear Saviour, nigh,
Teach me to live, to die, saved by Thy grace."
Since returning home from San Antonio April 2, I have been busily occupied. While I was at the conference, I got to thinking about how I use my time. I really needed to evaluate my own priorities ~ the real ones ~ the ones that are lived out. It is so easy to pour time into things that take me away from my purpose ~ that as wife, mother, and homemaker. That is why my blog has been neglected.
As a homemaker, I really need to be sure my home is inviting to my husband. It is his castle: it is his labor that provides it, and my industry that makes it his home. To this end I have purposed to invest my time. If the Lord wills me to do anything in addition to this, He will enable me to do so through His blessing.
On Monday morning, my diligent, hard working son Tristan, began painting the kitchen. In the picture above, you will see the windows that look out into the east garden. (I hope to show you pictures of that garden's progress in the next few days.) The whole house was painted white, but I really love color on the walls. So I chose a bright, clear blue based lemon yellow for the walls, and put a blue on the 10 foot ceiling.
I love the way the dark wood stands out with this yellow. I would have chosen to have pretty white glass-fronted cabinets, but I am very happy with these! They are solid wood, and custom made for this house. You can see into the pantry that is nearly finished.
We have a way to go, as you can see. Collin is my "trim" man, so he will come in now and paint windows and woodwork. Tristan is going to start painting the dining room today! I sure hope I can keep up with these boys!
It has been some time since I left you a post. Our family returned a week ago today from a trip to San Antonio, Texas where we attended a family conference sponsored by Vision Forum. I wish all of you could have attended with us because the vision was laid forth to think far into the future, Lord willing, and to prepare the way for our own children's children's children's children.
I'm afraid it is all too easy to rely on the Lord's soon return, and fail to consider the fact that we are to "occupy" until He does return. If we were occupiers, we would be more likely to think about the generations to follow our own and this is just what we must do.
Mr. Jeff Botkin, who, along with Doug Phillips, was the main speaker, revealed to us that when he was saved at age 21, he was a Marxist. His salvation changed that, of course, but his experience as a Marxist gave him a unique perspective.
He informed us that Marxists are patient. They are planners. They have very definite goals, well thought out plans, and will stop at nothing to carry out their goals. Of course, their goal is to wipe out Christianity, which is being effectively carried out. Did you understand what I just said? They are doing battle, and are in battle mode!
Because we serve the King of Kings, we should be taking the fight a lot more seriously than we are. But judging from the way the culture is sucking us in, our young people are falling away, and we have no influence in the world, it appears as if only one side is actually doing battle.
We can no longer be content to watch our precious children go by the wayside. There are things we MUST do as parents ~ for their sakes, the sake of future generations, and for the sake of being responsible before God for His heritage that is contained in these children.
One of the interesting things we heard at the conference from other parents was our own testimony of how they had become concerned about the effect the peer based grouping was having on their children. They, like us, were impressed by scripture that God's way is for Father's to be responsible for bringing up their own children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That is God's way. It doesn't work very well any other way.
It is a full time job, and one that I must confess, I have failed to take seriously. It is easy to do lip service to these idea, but how difficult it is to REALLY do it. And we can't do it without the Lord.
I would urge you to educate yourself. Read scripture to find practical application. Take all of it seriously. It was givin to us so we would know how to live life.
Go to Vision Forum for resources to help understand these difficult cultural issues we live with. If you don't know where to start, get the message
"How to Think Like a Christian". I think you will be amazed at how many "landmarks" we have lost in the Church.
Well, ladies, I hope this has been helpful. I certainly welcome your e-mails and comments.
TEACH ME THY WILL, O LORD
