Thursday, January 8, 2009

Happy Belated Zakmus

Dear Zak, 
You have grown a lot this year.  You have had to deal with some bitter disappointment and my hope and prayer is that you have learned to cherish Christ above any good thing you have been denied.  
Your birthday hymn is a very special one to me written by a woman who experienced great pain and sorrow in her life and yet grew in grace and godliness - clinging to her Savior for strength, joy and hope.  I learned this song last year and after finding a different tune for it I sung it for weeks on end as we took care of Daddy when he spent all those weeks in bed recovering from his knee injury.

Father, whate’er of earthly bliss 
by Anne Steele
Father, whate’er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne, let this
My humble prayer, arise:

Give me a calm and thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessing of Thy grace impart,
And make me live to Thee.

Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine
My life and death attend,
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey’s end.

Your special verses that we will learn together come from Psalm 16:1,2  and 2 Peter 3:17,18

"Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.  I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”

"You therefore, beloved, ... be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

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