I remember Grandma Snapp playing this. It seemed to me she was playing chords, but this person does a good job of it.
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.
Refrain: 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.
2 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. [Refrain]
3 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. [Refrain]
4 To that 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. [Refrain]
United Methodist Hymnal
The hymn was written the year before my mother was born. Her dad was an itinerant Methodist minster in both Ohio and Kentucky. Her mother played the piano and my mother was forced to stand on a soapbox and lead the hymns. When I was young Mom said she had enough church growing up. My sister and I were dropped off at church. My parents attended at Christmas and Easter if we were singing in the choir. American evangelist and song-leader George Bennard (1873–1958) wrote the hymn.
I remember Grandma Snapp playing this hymn on our piano. She was always uncertain she could reach the chords with the arthritis in her hands. To me she did great! She died at age 79 after breaking her hip and contracting pneumonia.
All these years later, the hymn rings through my soul from time to time. To me the most memorable part is “where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.” Jesus, our Savior and King. Help us never to forget your cross and all it stood for then and now.
Oh my. A friend just asked me to pray. Her parents are considering buying a larger home where the young family and the older folks can all live together. I agreed that I would pray for them, but my heart was so sad that my young, vibrant neighbor who loves God might leave the neighborhood.
Her prayer is that if this is God’s will the doors to make it possible will fly open. If it is not God’s will and just the plan the humans have dreamed up, nothing will make it go.
As Gamaliel advised: “But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God Acts 5:34, 38-39 NRSUV
It was such a gain to meet this young woman when we first moved in. It would be such a loss to me and others to have her leave the neighborhood. Losses and gains: such is life.
Corrie ten Boom advised Chuck Swindoll (and others too) to hold all things loosely. I first heard that lesson when my kids were becoming older teenagers. I need to remember the same lesson now. Us old folks tend to get crusty and stuck in our ways. Somehow we think things will always be the way they are right now – both the good and the bad things. God sends changes to each season to try to convince us to honor and cherish each stage of our lives. Still, I tend to get stuck.
Corrie said, “Pastor Swindoll, you must learn to told everything loosely – everything. Even your dear family. Why? Because the Father may wish to take one of them back to Himself, and when He does, it will hurt you if He must pry your fingers loose.”
Oh Molly, open your hands! Rejoice at the many blessings God has sent your way! Let it all stay loosely present to you. When a blessing is removed, remember how wonderful it was.
My daughter loaned me a book called “Raising Hare, a Memoir” by Chloe Dalton. I told Bob I might need to purchase the book. I keep wanting to write in it, underline passages, turn down corners, (none of which have I done). This tome especially moves me because in 2020 we found baby rabbits in our front garden, right by the front steps. {This week I have been loving our flower beds with the cheer they bring me in the midst of the panic and chaos of pandemic. I have picked and delivered multiple bouquets to neighbors and even my sister. I did notice that I need to get out there and spruce up the front flower bed from the dead leaves of last winter and general chickweed, etc. A clump of Hyacinths near the front door were especially packed with dead grass.
Today I looked and thought, “That is unnatural to have that much dead grass around the hyacinths.” Taking a break from writing I decided to move it away so the bulbs could flourish. As I reached down I realized I should probably use my handy table knife that I keep there for cleaning off shoes, just in case some mouse or unsavory had decided to move in. So I grabbed the knife and began to lift and move the grass. Noticed fur and WHAM!! there were little tiny eyes and ears. Nope, not mice! Baby bunnies!! I hurried put the grass back in place.} Many years earlier I had heard a rabbit get killed by a cat. It literally screamed. I will never forget how human the cry was. When we discovered these little bunnies we knew they were not safe jumping around the flowerbed. Plus, we owned a dog at the time and it was just a matter of time before she found them, too.https://treasuresinplainsight.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2450&action=edit and https://treasuresinplainsight.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2467&action=edit
Why tell you all of this? I had to capture one tiny bunny to try to put it back in the nest. I can still recall the sensation of that fluffy fur in the palm of my hand. Yes, the mother rabbit came and moved the buns. I never heard one being killed, I did not find any piles of fur. But I gained a sweet memory in that one moment holding that little one.
photo by r m dutina
Sure the book is about hares in the English countryside, not American cotton tail rabbits, but I am eating it up. What memory do you have that is precious to you? When the circumstances around it changed did you feel a loss?
Can you discern the way losses and gains move like the seasons?
Rejoice at the many blessings God has sent your way! Let it all stay loosely present to you. When a blessing is removed, remember how wonderful it was.
I was in the back garden last week and as I looked down I saw nasturtium seeds above the ground! I realized these were grown by my plants over the summer. I picked them up and brought them inside to dry for planting next spring. I was really glad I did because 2 days later I saw a chipmunk foraging in the same area! Had I not gotten the seeds when I did that chipmunk would have stuffed its cheeks and carried them away! I am certain he will find other seeds in the garden that I missed. The nasturtiums are almost finished for 2026. Each time I pick a small bouquet I think, “Oh this is likely the last one!” Until a hard freeze I might be able to enjoy them. Then it will be losses and gains again.
Summer bouquet
The rose pictured above has a few more buds on it. One large maple is all yellow and green now. The mowers set their blades lower this week. Autumn is upon us. Lord, help us remember that each season offers losses and also gains. Ha! I just saw the first slate colored Junco return for the winter 🙂
Lectio 360 “Today is Friday the 25th of September, and this week we are praying through a collection of the great prayers of the Old Testament – exploring motifs of honesty and hope, remembrance and thanksgiving, desperation and celebration, joining our… … voices with priests, poets, prophets and saints who learned to pray to God openly and unafraid.”
Do we pray openly and unafraid? This was something the people of the Bible learned. Have you? Can you speak to the heavenly Father without editing your words and feelings? God can handle whatever it is you are dealing with.
When I was 9 months pregnant and I found my mother dead on our sofa bed I had plenty to say to God. I did not actually formulate those feelings into words until some months after our daughter was born. I had to learn that God was not afraid of my strong feelings.
There were so many platitudes spoken to my pregnant self at Mom’s funeral. It was very difficult to sort out truth from fiction. It was truly not until I came across the verse in Ezekiel 18: 32a NIV that I began to understand. For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord.
The relentless torment of the enemy of my soul asking, “How can you be a mother without a mother?” kept me unsettled and seeking the Lord. I finally cried out about 10 months after her death as I agonized in my grief, shouting from the depths of my soul to the Lord of heaven and earth, “You PROMISED that You would comfort those who mourn. (Matthew 5:4) Where are you?” doubled over I cried until there were no more tears. Then the Lord came to me with the comfort that only the God of all Comfort could offer. (2 Corinthians 1:3) Thus my long journey with the Savior of my soul was reignited.
I learned God could handle my anger and grief. I discovered that the comfort from heaven is real. Thus I began to learn to pray open and unafraid about anything and everything.
How have you learned to pray to God, open and unafraid? Do you feel as if you can go to God with all of your circumstances and reactions and stumbling blocks?
If not, what might be keeping you from going?
We can learn to trust the one who loves us the best and the most. “The Almighty HAS done great things for us and holy is His name.” (Adapted from Luke 1:49) Try expressing yourself with authenticity and transparency to God. You might very well be surprised at the welcome and acceptance you will receive, not to mention comfort and guidance.
Well, I could go on and on but I would rather you have the experience for yourself. Keep on seeking, keep on asking, keep on knocking. (Matthew 7:7 NLT) Discover the joy of coming to know God’s heart towards you.
Lectio 365 wrote this quote from Nouwen on his feast day:
The love that often leaves us doubtful, frustrated, angry, and resentful is the second love, that is to say, the affirmation, affection, sympathy, encouragement, and support we receive from our parents, teachers, spouses, and friends. We all know how limited, broken, and very fragile that love is… The radical good news is that the second love is only a broken reflection of the first love and that the first love is offered to us by a God in whom there are no shadows… The knowledge of Jesus’ heart is a knowledge of the heart. And when we live in the world with that knowledge, we cannot do other than bring healing, reconciliation, new life, and hope wherever we go. https://lectio365.24-7prayer.com/share/devotionals/2026-09-21/morning?locale=en
It has at times been difficult to offer the love God gives us to those around us. We knew for more than six months that both Chuck and Ginny had fatal diseases. We made an effort to take them meals, visit them when hospitalized, send texts, cut flower arrangements, anything we could think of to cheer them. It was not always easy to extend our hands and hearts to them, but we felt the Lord was asking us to do it. So we did, even when our own hearts were reluctant.
Now Chuck is dead. Ginny is dead. Our local restaurant keeps this sticker on the counter for anyone who wishes to take it home. It has been on our kitchen counter for many months urging us into obedience to God. John Wesley is reported as having said,
“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”
Our time for doing good for Chuck and Ginny is over. He sent us a basket of African violets and philodendron vines just before he died. He had no idea that Bob had recently told me he would like to have another African violet! It is such a gift of love. The card on the flowers reads: “Thank you guys for your compassion, prayers, and most of all for your love. We love you, Chuck and Ginny” I see the flowers and miss them both.
The house across the street where they lived is empty now. The sons have all gone home to prepare for another funeral or celebration of life, this time for Chuck. I keep getting startled when I realize there is no one there.
Icon of Henri Nouwen by Kelly Lattimore
I hope our efforts reflected what Henri Nouwen wrote. This is not to brag to you, but to show that we never really know what the outcome of our loving, our extending the hands of Jesus to another … we never quite know what the impact will be upon the other person. All we can do is try to follow the example Jesus gives us and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. May the God and Father of us all be pleased. (Ephesians 4:6)
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:15-17 NIV
We are delighted to announce our marriage continues! Thanks be to God and His mercies! Someone was said to be making bets at the time of our wedding that our marriage would not last. I think we can put that rumor in the grave now.
Bury it here
Celebration? We will have a quiet dinner at a local restaurant called Trios (even though they do not have Crème brûlée). Perhaps we can find that in a couple weeks for Bob’s birthday? Addendum: They had a delicious Creme brûlée!
We will not actually celebrate on the date as our Granddaughter is having an engagement party on that date and it is her birth date!
So as we move forward I hope to be writing about
our life together, fifty-six years after that whirlwind courtship and wedding.
After the vows in 1970
Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His mercy is everlasting. — Psalm 106:1 (NASB)
As I child I remember the song that went something like this:
Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts Little oggy doggie tails mutilated monkey meat
That is what my week has been like, coughing up the entrails of this nasty virus.
Bob even asked if our tissues are one ply. No, they are not. These are just two tissue blows!
They say the song is important as they give kids a way to express the gory truth about life, usually to the parents’ disdain.”It is extremely popular because children often enjoy taboo subjects and references to things that are disgusting!”
Nope, not something I coughed up. Just as Osage Orange you might see along the road!
So do not catch this summer cold. It is disgusting and exhausting. Spray, throat lozenge, blow, neti pot, blow, pills, throat lozenge, blow and pray for a good night’s rest!
All the while thumping around in this boot that is beginning to feel massive. Yes, I do need another ice pack!
Daring to do differently As she has desired for decades damaged but not decayed She develops ... and decides to desire growth and divine interaction as a way of life.
Decrepit death tries to devour her delight but no demon in the depths of hell can derail God as God determines to deliver her.
As she differentiates delight from darkness deceit, deception, duplicity all drop off her diet is determined by the choices and decisions made in light of the Dayspring. She of God's love disdains the deadly darkness digesting His desire for her Donna diagnosed her deviations and depression.
With depth of insight she demonstrates the degree of deep love the Deity has for her.
She decorates her decorum with daily doses of love and light her dimensions decrease. She learns to declare the glory decry the falsehoods and decrease the lies in her life
Her life is a dual effort her push dwarfed by Diety's pull the dynamic of duality with Deity demonstrates dominance in Donna's duel with darkness.
Diety's diamond begins to shine as she disperses holy light. The drumbeat of time discloses a detainer. The decree of God declares "the truth continues to set free {even Donna}.
From dementia and death into delirious joy and deluxe diversity of durable daily dozen steps to wholeness.
Divinity she doth don as she disentangles from the darkness Detested dormouse role does a duet with duty in the dustpan disavowing her of dowdy and destructive ways destined for the dump of determinations unfit for disbursement in the light of life.
I first heard about CeCe Winans many years ago when I worked at “Having The Courage To Change,” a housing center for women who were coming out of prison and/or drug and alcohol treatment. The women there loved her music and soon I did too!
Do you worship every day? If not, try this one.
All my life you have been so so good.
I’ve known you as a father. I’ve known you as a friend.
As the saying goes: “No god, no peace. Know God, know peace.”
I do not care how you worship. Do you know Jesus and have you spoken with him today?
This year to celebrate Mother’s Day my daughter decided we should visit the butterfly show at our local Krohn Conservatory. We had not attended for several years. It was a warm and humid day. Just what the butterfly’s love. The title was Monarchs, but I was disappointed that there were not more Monarch butterflies present. In fact, I saw none, even in the hatching cages. The children however never disappoint me at such a display. They are always in wonder and delighted when a butterfly lands on someone and they can see it up close! I just love when a child declares, “He likes me!”
closedsame subject opened
The above is the Morpho, largest in the display. The butterflies suffer damaged wings mostly from being caught in the covers of the circulating fans. They are still lovely and majestic though.
One subject, moving around for another sip and another. I believe this is a Julia. We grew these “Mexican Sunflowers” once at the edge of our compost pile. They were very tall and draw hundreds of butterflies!
A child pointed out this transparent winged specimen. How lovely!
It was a hard angle to capture this beauty. Called a Glasswing from Central America !
They loved feeding on the dishes of cut fruit.
It was fun to put another butterfly memory in the books. Thanks, Em!
How many butterflies can you spot this week around your home?
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 NRSVUE For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2 NRSVUE
My new project entails gathering the object lessons the Lord has given me over the years to encourage me and keep me walking the road laid out before me. I will likely post of few of these during the coming months. The following is entitled “Called At the Beach To Write More.”
How does an object lesson usually come to you? Mine can jump up any time I call upon the Lord for guidance. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:3 NRSVUE
While walking the beach in Florida we were searching for shells. I came upon this one. It is called Sunray Venus Clam.
It reminds me of lined paper. (College ruled is my favorite).
Then I came upon this one.
Atlantic Pen Shell
That got me thinking about ink wells, and fountain pens. Oh my, this was a call to write more!
Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. Habakkuk 2:2 NRSVUE
Years ago a cousin older than me gave me the above verse to hold to. I was not certain she heard right. Time has shown she evidently heard exactly right for me!
The shells comprised another confirmation that I am to write and keep telling what God is doing in my life and can do in the lives of others. I keep these shells around to remind me, lest I ever doubt the call again. Or for the times I get just plain lazy about it. Lord, prod me with the shells and forgive me for being lazy, I pray.
