Then Sings My Soul!

Eight of the high school students have shared stories about their developing relationships with Jesus this week for our student-led week of prayer. Other students have shared their musical talents in song services each day. I have been blessed by the stories, by the willingness of the students to share, and by the leadership of Pastors Rob and Abe. However, my soul has been truly blessed by the music.
Today we ended our songs by singing "How Great Thou Art". This particular hymn has been particularly meaningful to me for years - decades even.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim, "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!


Lyrics taken from this page


I'm not positive that my memory is accurate, but I believe that I remember singing this with a group of children in a Vacation Bible School when I was four and living in Seoul, Korea in 1962. I think my mom was playing the piano, and that most of the children were much older than me. I remember the room being cold, but my heart almost lifting out of my chest as I sang "Then sings my soul, my Saviour, God to Thee, How Great Thou Art, how great Thou art."

I don't think I've ever heard that song without singing along, without remembering the first time I praised God in a personally meaningful way, and without feeling once again that I know God is great, powerful, loving and good. Life might be hard, I might not be able to articulate my beliefs about God in a coherent way, but my soul can sing.


Last Sabbath afternoon I headed out to the mountains - to breathe, to recharge after a very stressful week, to celebrate the order I had made from the chaos of my little world - and my soul sang. The mountains, the trees, the quiet, and the time to reflect all combined so that I could remember that God is great, that He made lofty mountains, carried my burdens on the cross, and is coming back for me. I did indeed bow, in humble adoration.

This week I have been blessed, but more importantly, this week I have been reminded that I have been blessed many times in the past, and will continue to be blessed in the future.

Tree Buds

Spring is everywhere I look. The grass is green, the daffodils and dandelions are yellow, and most deciduous trees are beginning to sport soft fuzzy green foliage. The tree my students and I planted by the softball backstop last June has been a holdout so far. The experts told me that the best tree for my purposes - drought resistant, heat and cold tolerant, shade producing, and unlikely to form lumpy roots close to the surface of our sports field, was a honey locust. However, it appeared that we killed our tree - no spring growth was apparent. I've been checking every week (sometimes several times a week) since early March but haven't seen any signs of life.
Today, however, this is what I see on our little tree:

So I went online and purchased another honey locust tree to plant. Perhaps one day soon I'll be able to look out my classroom window and see students relaxing against the trunks of trees while eating their lunches or reading their books (or tablets or phones). 

That will more than make up for the bars on my window.

Valentine's from the Big Kids' Class

Last Saturday morning I had four students in my Sabbath School class. This isn't the biggest class I've taught in recent years, but after several weeks with no students it was a nice change. Our lesson was on Jesus healing a man born blind, and I wasn't convinced that I had an interesting craft to go with the lesson.
Luckily, Valentine's Day provides plenty of craft ideas. I chose something I would enjoy whether there were students or not. I made cookies - two batches of them. Then Caitlin made cookies - 2 batches of them. Next I gathered icing, sprinkles, and coloured sugar. I emailed all the church families who ever bring children so that everyone knew what we would be doing. Two girls from the church came, and each brought a friend.
We made a glorious mess! The girls (all the students were girls) enjoyed themselves, and the Kids' Corner recipients appreciated getting them. (I had lots of leftover cookies, which is never a problem!)
I think I've found a way to help our little Sabbath School class grow. I just need to plan ahead and share my plans with others. Next week we'll be planting flower seeds to go along with the lesson. I hope Jesus' parable about the sower will come to life. (I'll also remember to ask permission to take and share pictures of the class instead of just taking pictures of our activity!)