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.
Robert Milan Dutina, the love of my life has a birthday today and I am privileged to make him his favorite carrot cake. Bob is truly a gift from God to me!
This man is kind and considerate. He can get along with anyone who makes an effort to be civil. For decades he has made it his practice not only to read the Bible but to try to live the commands of Jesus in everyday life.
His sense of humor is boundless. Sometimes he drives me wild when I am not in the mood and he continues with his humor. There are as many voices in his repertoire as a stand up comedian. He has a schtick for almost any situation.
As to his birthday cake, I got the recipe years ago from a woman who swore I would like it. To me carrot cake always sinks like a rock in my stomach. Turns out most recipes have a full cup of oil in them. Hers has only 1-1/2 tablespoons. It is complete with cream cheese frosting. He likes his cake best after it has been refrigerated. Several of his friends in the laboratory where he worked made such a deal over his cake, he continues to deliver a piece (or 2) to those people even though they are all retired now. So yes, Bob is generous. The opening photo is from last year’s cake!
When he heard that Gary had Parkinson’s disease he began visiting him several times a month. When Gary finally passed Bob continued visiting his widow and son. She is now slipping into dementia, but he continues to make an effort to see her with some regularity. Bob is kind and his faith carries over into day to day life.
He is organized and tiny to the point where I dubbed him “Mr. Tidy” and he knows I call him that. His desk is more than likely clear and mine is more like an inch or two deep in projects. He likes the sticker I bought that says, “Creative minds are rarely tidy.” He has been my editor in chief over my writing projects. He is very intelligent.
As we enter our twilight years Bob continues to try to keep pushing himself into activity. Sometimes I wonder if he has sense enough to go sit down and rest? Occasionally he stops in his recliner for a moment or two. I am glad to see that!
We debate who will die first. Neither of us knows for certain. If I die first his goal is to spend 2 or 3 months in Paris mourning. If he dies first I go to the Aran Islands in Ireland to mourn.
Happy birthday to my loving man of 56 years. What a ride!
The opening photo is from a Bing wallpaper page. I could not resist the beauty!
While reading a novel called Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine, I came across this quote:
“It is a gift to live. There is beauty in the persistence of her heartbeat, the tenacity of her breath, the courage of her bones.“
Then another day I read this from Insight Timer.
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” -Henri Bergson“
Persistence, tenacity, courage, change, mature, creating oneself endlessly. I find inspiration in those terms. It is not easy to live. There is power though in learning to ‘play the cards you are dealt.’ Using the circumstances of your life to inspire you to rise above, to do better, to be different than the last time you found yourself disappointed in your behavior.
I am watching the foliage out my window as it ceases to make chlorophyll. The spice bush is glowing all yellow. The maple nearest to it is also turning buttery. Less sunlight makes as if there is sunlight in the very leaves! “As summer fades into fall, the days start getting shorter and there is less sunlight.”
As Bob and I age we are very aware of ‘less sunlight’ essential energy in our bodies. The quotes above encourage me to keep growing and changing for the better even as my body degrades and slows down.
As long as I draw breath I hope to always be praising the Lord my God. As long as I wake up “on this side of the grass” I want to pursue the glory and power of our Creator.
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6 NRSVUE
It is gloomy and drizzly today as Hurricane Isaias has blown through here as a rain storm. A huge tree in the distance is ‘suddenly’ glowing yellow. Tomorrow will be sunny and I imagine the environment around us will look quite a bit different than before the storm. Such is our life day to day. Storms come, things look different. We try to keep smiling as the seasons turn all around us and within us!
Here is a new find! I think it was released May, 2026. Evidently it was released quietly. Those of us who like the music of Brandon Lake found it. I think it is a great song!
Here are the lyrics: [Verse 1: Brandon Lake] Picked up the Book for the first time in ages Still washed me clean with the dust on the pages My life is a story I struggle to write But is it one worth telling? Is it one You like? Mm
[Chorus: Brandon Lake] So who am I? Who am I? Am I just a poor preacher’s prodigal son? Troubled child, running wild Chasing the glory instead of the One Who says that I, even I, have something still left to offer? So who am I? Who am I to question the pen in the hands of the Author?
[Verse 2: Nick Jonas] Like every good story, you learn from the loss And I lost the plot every time I played God I live in a moment You already wrote It’s proof that I’m someone, yeah, someone You love Oh
[Chorus: Nick Jonas] So who am I? Who am I? Am I just a poor preacher’s prodigal son? A troubled child, running wild Chasing the glory instead of the One Who says that I, oh, even I, have something still left to offer? So who am I? Who am I to question the pen in the hands of the Author?
Two preachers kids singing their testimony!
Are you willing to tell your story of following Christ?
I have been reading a book my 93 year old friend, Myrtle, loaned to me. It has tales about growing up in Corbin, Kentucky. Some of the things the author relates, I too, can remember from my childhood. These stories are contained within a cookbook that is no longer in print. When I read the quote below it made me think of this book.
Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted – a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul. RABBI HAROLD KUSHNER
“See holiness in the things you take for granted.” And oh my, how Americans take things for granted!
A paved road. Automatic washing machine in contrast to that scrub board or the later wringer washer, (Yes, we had a scrub board and a wringer washer. I can still smell those suds!). Rabbi Kushner says we should concentrate on finding what is good in every situation. One recent lecturer said, “Focus on what goes RIGHT instead of what goes wrong.”
“Gratitude can sneak up on me and drive me to my knees with awe, mystery and love.” -Thayer
Can you spend ten minutes in wonder? Are you willing to humble yourself and find things that can “drive you to your knees with awe, mystery and love”?
That brilliant blue sky beyond the curling oak leaves. This computer that helps me get the thoughts of my heart into words and out to all of you. Electric tumble dryer making short work of those wet clothes. The eye drops that help damp down the itching in these autumn eyes. The huge collection of quotes, photos, drawings that I can tap for this blog. The Tylenol I forgot to take earlier – ‘cuse me while I go get some.
That only took me a few moments. The mail truck just zoomed past the window .. delivery to each of us from all over. It has been said that if we look for things to be grateful for we will find more and more things to be grateful for. I hope this will help you to LOOK for the things that go right today and find ‘holiness in the things you take for granted.’
We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.
ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU
During the communion prayers we sometimes pray, “Jesus taught us that the liberation of the whole world will not be in the brutality of violence. Rather, it will be in showing kindness to our neighbor, in standing up against injustice, in returning hate with love, in transforming one heart at a time. It will be in the simple but holy task of dining together, sharing bread and wine, truly seeing one another as beloved by you.”
One of our favorite lines in the Communion service is when the priest declares. “This is God’s table, not ours. All are welcome.”
Oh Father, we have such a long way to go to bring you delight. Purify our hearts we pray that we might not sin against you. Open our eyes to see our fellow humans as made in your likeness. Help us to esteem others as better than ourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
We have also been learning a song by Michael Stillwater that goes, “One by one everyone comes to remember, we’re healing the world one heart at a time.”
This is a German speaking group. We also sing it in rounds at church. I found myself singing it one day last week and had to stop to remember where I had heard it!!
May your eyes be opened and your heart know that there are no outsiders. Just humans walking each other home.
I could have danced all night I could have danced all night And still have begged for more
I could have spread my wings And done a thousand things I've never done before
I'll never know what made it so exciting Why all at once my heart took flight I only know when he began to dance with me I could have danced, danced, danced all night
Yes, after 56 years I am more than willing to dance with Robert Milan. We have FUN together. Sometimes he carries his teasing and jokes too far for my emotion at a given moment, but overall, we have fun.
We create humor and jokes between ourselves. We are friends, yes, even best friends. There are times he gets on my last nerve and I get on his, but we each get over that and move on.
On this date in Edges of His Ways Amy wrote:
It is the little things of life, the minute, unimportant-looking things, that are most likely to shatter our peace, because they are so small that we are very likely to fight them ourselves instead of looking up at once to our Strong God, our Barrier between us and them. “Close the gate, or bar up the way, as the cloudy pillar formed a barricade between the Egyptians and Israel” is Kay’s note.
The deaths of Ginny and Chuck Lynch have taught us how short life is, how unexpectedly death can come and now is the time to love and laugh, to cherish and sing.
When I saw Bob Dutina for the first time, at a distance, it really was love at first sight. I have never understood exactly how our lives came to be together; however, I am grateful and blessed to have been given the gift of this incredible marriage.. Thanks be to God!
Psalm 90:12. So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
I posted this with wrong date. Then it did not seem to post this morning. So here is another attempt!!
I write about this many times because I am still learning the importance of gratitude. I studied the book by Ann Voskamp entitled One Thousand Gifts and did the work of finding a thousand things to be grateful for. Mind you, there were to be no repeats from day to day. Her goal was for us to “Find Everyday Graces.”
There have been many research projects proving the benefits of doing this practice.
Recently while listening on Insight Timer the meditation instructor mentioned write 3 gratitudes, large or small. Yes, I know about those. Then he went further and said, “#2. Explain why you are grateful and how they improve your life.”
Yes, I have likely thought that while recording the gratitude, but never wrote out the reasons why. Research shows that if we will write things out, especially with pen or pencil, they make a greater impact upon us.
Then he went on to, “#3: Notice how focus upon gratitude shifts awareness from unfairness towards appreciation.”
Oh boy! Don’t most of us love to harp on things we perceive as unfair!?!
So while writing this blog I stopped to perform the three steps the teacher proposed for expanding gratitude. Yes, I literally stopped typing and wrote out with a pen the answers to his expanded examination of gratitude. It actually takes less time than one might think it would! And I do find myself more at peace and delighted with the three gratitudes.
If I type my responses out for you, I am not at all certain they will retain your attention. The benefits however are not to be discounted.
Word Press says that so far this blog post only requires a one minute or so reading. So here goes. I have often blogged about crocheting, cooking and gardening. They are my three topics.
1. I am able to crochet again
2. I enjoy cooking
3. Nasturtium blessings
Okay there are three but they are not explained at all.
#2. Why grateful? How it improves you life.
I am grateful I can create with yarn, be it a coaster, hat or blanket. Crochet improves my life with gifts to give, plus the joy of sharing patterns and the craft with Dana, Bonnie, Phyllis, etc.
Cooking is a creative outlet for me, but I am glad we can eat out when we want so I don’t have to cook dinner daily. Cooking improves my life because I use better ingredients and less salt than restaurants. It is also fun to share what I cook with others.
I am grateful for nasturtiums because so long as I pick them they bloom on and on. No matter how many I pick they bloom right into the frost season. They also remind me of our first year of marriage.
Nasturtiums improve my life because through them I can bring sunshine into the house with different shades of yellow and orange. I also get to share a bouquet with others. 🙂
Our nasturtiums with one rose
Gratitude shifts from unfair to appreciative.
After 55 years of the craft to have to stop crochet was sad, but the steroid injection in my thumb joint, then giving it time to heal, learning a new way to hold my hook differently and being content to crochet less all flowed from the change in ability. Perhaps this old dog has actually learned a new trick?!?
I have gratitude that I could in recent years offer meals to Pete (RIP) and Chuck and Ginny (RIP). The gratitude helps relieve the grief of their passing. Soon Kathy will move back to Florida for six or seven months, (that too is grief for me). I suppose I might share her portions with Jennifer, Judi and Micky, or Jerry and Diane?
The summer was blistering and miserable. I got nasturtium seeds in the ground before surgery. Then I had to get family, friends and neighbors to pick the flowers so they would not go to seed. I was often frustrated that I could not just go do it myself. (In fact, it was one of the first things I actually did outdoors once I could bear weight on the boot.) I have a better appreciation now for these sturdy little annuals and the friends who helped me in my garden when I was unable.
There. That is expansion on the three simple gratitudes. It did not take much time to write it out long hand. Studies show that is more impactful on our brains than typing, though I mostly type my journal now because of arthritis in my hands.
I hope this blog will inspire you to try this exercise. At least once a week? Look at your life, find three things to be grateful for, and then answers the questions.
#1. Write 3 gratitudes, large or small. #2. Explain why you are grateful and how they improve your life. #3. Notice how focus upon gratitude shifts awareness from unfairness towards appreciation.
Ann Voskamp wrote, “And I ride the undulating wave of grace, this lifting higher and higher in grace, the surging crest of joy, and this plunging lower and lower in humble thankfulness only to rise yet higher in grace.” Page 108 One Thousand Gifts Devotional
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)
