Old Rugged Cross

I am in Florida for the week so I picked a hymn that reminds me of my childhood here. This hymn was written in 1913 by George Bennard. He wrote this hymn after experiencing some sort of trial, reflecting on Paul's teachings about suffering. He was convinced (and rightly so) that the cross was not merely a religious symbol, but the heart of the gospel.

The Old Rugged Cross
Text & Music: George Bennard

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

He Hideth My Soul

When I was a little girl (I don't remember how little...5th or 6th grade?) my father had a Fanny Crosby night at church one Sunday evening. I don't remember why he did this, and I don't remember much about it. I just remember thinking that Fanny Crosby was a funny name for a girl and wondering if she was in any way related to Bill (but then I learned his last name was Cosby, not Crosby). Every time I sing a hymn by Fanny Crosby these are the things that first come to mind.

Since then, I have become more and more thankful for Fanny (her real name was Frances) Crosby. She became blind when she was only six weeks old. She lived to be 94, almost 95 years old. She was married when she was 37, and only had one child whom died in infancy. You can read more about Fanny Crosby here.

The hymn of the week is written by Fanny.

He Hideth My Soul
Text: Frances J. Crosby
Music: William J. Kirkpatrick

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away,
He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God!
For such a Redeemer as mine.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

When clothed with His brightness transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
I'll shout with the millions on high.

Gender: Inherent or Man-made?

I was given the opportunity to teach a breakout session once a week for an Intro to Sociology (110) class at NDSU this Spring. Because I don't even have my bachelor's degree yet (3 days!), the subjects I taught were highly controlled. Recently I was supposed to teach a class on gender.

The definition of gender in my textbook, Sociology in Our Times by Diana Kendall, states "Gender is a human invention, like language, kinship, religion, and technology; like them, gender organizes human social life in culturally patterned ways (p 292)." True: gender organizes society in a specific way. False: gender is a human invention.

Because I do not agree that gender roles are man-made, I had a hard time figuring out how to teach this lecture and stick to the material. I ended up teaching the basic terms for the chapter in about five minutes, and then told them that the topic of "gender roles" is highly debated. I wanted them to know that not everyone thinks gender roles are man-made and that's why things such as homosexuality, same-sex marriages, and so on are such highly debated issues.

I presented the material in the form of an argument, explaining the implications it would have on our society if we "uncreate" gender roles or if we keep gender roles and understand them to be inherent and given to us by our Creator. We ended the class with a debate - whether gender roles are inherent or man-made.

The reason I am sharing this is because of a blog I read this morning by Al Mohler. It's titled "Worldview Test: Can We Do Without 'Male' and 'Female'?" I'd encourage you to read it and start thinking about the issue if you haven't already.

It's hard to maintain a Biblical perspective of gender when our entire culture is doing its best to destroy it. I find thoughts creeping through my own mind at times that are in every way rebellious to who God has called me to be as a woman and a wife. Please, spend some time in Scripture and decide which side of the argument you are going to fight for. If we don't make a conscious effort to live according to Scripture and recognize that God has already established our Gender, then we will find ourselves compromising and slowly we will accept and preach what the World has decided gender should be.

Five Things About My Mom

In honor of my mother, I am going to list five reasons why I am thankful for her.

1. As soon as my mother found out she was pregnant with me she started praying for me. She has continued to pray for me every day of my life.

2. She recently told me that the first thing she did when I was born (like right after I was cleaned off and given back to her) was to share the gospel with me. I still can't express how much that means to me - that the most important thing concerning me to my mother has always been my soul. This is so true that her very first words to me were about the amazing love of Christ.

3. She gave me five younger siblings who I love very dearly. I remember when I was little she told me she was pregnant before my dad a couple of times and I had to keep it a secret. I always thought it was extremely privileged knowledge.

4. She doesn't ever complain. Seriously, I don't know if I have ever heard her complain about something trivial. She get's upset when truly sad things happen, and I have seen her unhappy, but I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen her in a bad mood out of selfishness in my whole life time. With six kids and a husband who is a pastor, that's absolutely incredible.

5. She enjoys simple things and trusts God to take care of everything else. My mom doesn't worry or try and control or manipulate things. She just lets them happen and knows God is sovereign over them. She has always had this attitude towards the lives of us, her children - that she trusts God with us. Her trusting God with my life since before I was born has helped me to trust God with my life since I have left my family because it's the only thing I've ever known how to do.

Thank you mom, for being a remarkable woman. I love you very very much. And I can't wait to see you Friday!

Ode to Latin

I composed this poem during Latin class today. I feel it is a good explanation of my feelings towards Latin. I don't really know how to write poems, so forgive my lack of meter. I did my best to rhyme :).

Latin

This year I was made to study Latin
Just to satisfy my classics degree
Despite the pain I tried to grin
But thought, "This isn't for me!"

Whoever called it "dead" had good reason
For even the dead could understand
It's simple conjugations, declensions
Indeed, Latin really should be banned