Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name,
O Savior of mankind!
O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
To those who fall, how kind [...]

I glean so much from the Desiring God blog that I have to hold back from linking to it almost on a daily basis. Today John Piper’s topic was “Christ is the Staff of Old Age.” I particularly loved this part of his quote from Samuel Rutherford:
Therefore I commend Christ to you as the staff [...]

Did you know it’s easy to keep tabs on the calories, carbs, protein, and fat content in any recipe you have? I found a great online tool that analyzes any recipe; you just type in the amount of each ingredient and number of servings, and voila! You’ll find the free analyzer here. I used it [...]

Dorothy from Field Stone Cottage tagged me for this meme. If you haven’t visited her blog yet, head on over and have a read. Before I begin the meme, I have to give you the rules first…
So here are the rules of the game:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each [...]

We want to avoid suffering, death, sin, ashes. But we live in a world crushed and broken and torn, a world God Himself visited to redeem. We receive His poured-out life, and being allowed the high privilege of suffering with Him, may then pour ourselves out for others. ~Elisabeth Elliot in Gateway to Joy

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!
 
Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!
 
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, [...]

I haven’t made sugar cookies—and decorated them!—in a long time, but thinking about celebrating Easter put me in the mood for making some. And, can you believe it? I took pictures during the process! The lighting’s not great, but I took ‘em and I’m gonna post ‘em!

The rolling of the dough, of course. See [...]

Extended on a cursèd tree,
Besmeared with dust, and sweat, and blood,
See there, the King of Glory see!
Sinks and expires the Son of God.
Who, who, my Savior, this hath done?
Who could Thy sacred body wound?
No guilt Thy spotless heart hath known,
No guile hath in Thy lips been found.
I, I alone, have done the deed!
’Tis I Thy [...]

On my heart imprint Thine image,
Blessèd Jesus, King of Grace,
That life’s riches, cares and pleasures
Have no power Thee to efface.
This the superscription be:
Jesus, crucified for me,
Is my Life, my hope’s Foundation,
And my Glory and Salvation.
 
~Thomas H. Kingo, 1689

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.
Who was the guilty- Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee.
‘Twas I, Lord, Jesus, I it was denied Thee!
I crucified Thee.
For me, kind Jesus, was Thine incarnation,
Thy [...]