Come, Christians, Join to Sing

I like a lot of modern worship songs, especially ones produced by Sovereign Grace. I also enjoy songs from Hillsong and Passion, among others. Many songs written over the past few decades are rich with meaning, both in their words and in my own experience.

But I have to say that most modern worship songs don’t even compare with so many classic hymns of the faith that I learned growing up. Let me just treat you to a sampling of some of of their eloquent lyrics:

Jesus, Lover of My Soul:

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind
Just and holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness
False and full of sin I am, Thou art full of truth and grace

And Can It Be That I Should Gain?:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should’st die for me?

Come Ye Sinners:

Lo! Th’ incarnate God ascended pleads the merits of His blood
Venture on Him, venture wholly, let no other trust intrude
I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh there are ten thousand charms

Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted:

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see Him dying on the tree
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected, yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He
‘Tis the long-expected prophet, David’s son yet David’s Lord
By His Son God now has spoken, ’tis the true and faithful Word

I could go on for a long time! I don’t know where my hymnal is and it doesn’t include some of my favorite hymns, so I collected a list of those I want to remember, and I’ve been looking up the lyrics online and putting them all in one place. I have a lot of the hymns either partially or completely memorized, but I want to go over them so I remember them all and I can sing them during my devotions, to my child(ren), and whenever I please!

What are some of your favorite hymns?

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Baby Gear

Okay, I have another question for the mamas – if you sling your baby, which one(s) do you have? (Is that grammatically correct? I mean which sling do you have, not which baby do you have.) I like how the ones with the big rings look, but I’m not sure where to find what I want or which one would be the most comfortable.

Also, nursing covers – I know a lot of moms make them, but if you’ve bought one somewhere, where was it from and do you like it?

Blogs I Read: Girls Gone Wise

One of my favorite blogs is written by Mary Kassian, who is a professor of Women’s Studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is about to publish a new book, Girls Gone Wise… In a World Gone Wild, which she says “revolves around the story of the typical Girl-Gone-Wild as recorded for us in the Bible, in Proverbs chapter seven.”

For the past couple of months, Mary has been posting excerpts from the book that contrast the “girl gone wise” with the “girl gone wild.” I’ve really enjoyed them because they speak to issues of the heart, revealing character traits from the Proverbs chapter seven woman that can be present even in a girl who outwardly portrays herself as someone better. I’ve found her posts applicable to me as a young married woman, and I think a teenage girl, a single woman, or an older woman would also be benefited by them.

I look forward to reading the book after it’s released, hopefully. Here is an index of Mary’s posts on this topic. (Read with discretion – some are definitely not for younger readers.)

Girls Gone Wise
Wild Thing
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #1: Heart
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #2: Counsel
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #3: Approach
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #4: Attitude
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #5: Habits
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #6: Focus
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #7: Appearance
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #8: Body Language
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #9: Roles
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #10: Sexual Conduct
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #11: Boundaries
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #12: Authenticity
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #13: Neediness
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #14: Possessions
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #15: Entitlement
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #16: Reliability

Pain Relief

I bet you can’t guess what this post is about!

It’s been too long again. I didn’t mean to stop blogging, but our computer stopped working in the middle of last week (A.J. fixed it the next day), and then we went out of town for a day, and I kind of lost my momentum.

I’ve been meaning to ask this question for awhile though, and it’s a question for mamas – what did you do (if anything) for pain relief during labor, and how do you look back on your experience? Both A.J. and I would really like to do it without medication, but that’s still an option, especially for the first time. I’ve talked to some of you about it in person, but I’d like to hear more.

Speaking of all things mommy-related, as of yesterday I’m 28 weeks along and officially in the third trimester – and feeling it. The second trimester was great after the morning sickness subsided. I’m actually experiencing a little nausea off and on again, back pain, and fatigue – I never knew how draining pregnancy would feel, or how completely lacking in energy I would feel. However, other than those normal symptoms, everything is going well!

I can’t believe we’re going to have a baby (!) in our house in less than three months – I feel somewhat prepared emotionally, but not prepared practically. Lots to do still!

I’ll leave my pain relief question hanging out there now – time to finish up a few more things before work.