Last Sunday, we sang a beautiful hymn called “It is well with my soul” at church service. I have known this hymn for a long time, but I have never been told the story behind it. The worship leader shared the story with us. In summary, this hymn was written by Haratio G. Spafford (a successful presbyterian lawyer 1828 – 1888) and the music was written by Philip P. Bliss (1838 – 1876). Spafford wrote this hymn after two major traumas in his life. The first was the great Chicago fire in October 1871 which ruined him financially and before the fire, he lost his son. The second was the death of his four daughters in a deadly collision with another ship while crossing to Atlantic on their way to Europe. Spafford’s wife survived the collision and cabled 2 simple words “Saved alone” to her husband who was not on the ship with the family then. Sev­er­al weeks lat­er, Spaf­ford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daugh­ters died, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he penned down this hymn. The words speak of the eter­nal hope that all be­liev­ers have, no mat­ter what pain and grief be­fall them on earth. A great lesson to learn. Here’s the hymn:

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!

Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

For some reason, I left the music running in the background while having dinner with the boys this evening. I don’t usually do that. Anyway, we were listening to hymns and half way through dinner, I heard Calvin singing “praise the Lord, praise the Lord …..”. And, he said he liked it. I was pleasantly surprised and sang along with the music. The boy was surprised I knew the words and I took the chance to teach him the words for the “refrain” part. He was happy to learn it. He even said “mum, this is the church song right?” Well, he meant to say we sing this hymn at church. He remembered. I think I should play hymns at home more often as I do think that children can learn to appreciate hymns at a young age.

Here’s the hymn that Calvin was learning this evening:

To God Be The Glory

To God be the glory, great things he hath done!

So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,

who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

and opened the lifegate that all may go in.

Refrain:

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son,

and give him the glory, great things he hath done!

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,

to every believer the promise of God;

the vilest offender who truly believes,

that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

(Refrain)

Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done,

and great our rejoicing thru Jesus the Son;

but purer, and higher, and greater will be

our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

(Refrain)

Text: Fanny J. Crosby

Music: William H. Doane

This is a little snapshot of what I get to see from my kitchen window. Lavender.

The husband has a special liking for lavender and has put in a whole row of lavender plants at the garden bed. Lavenders are quite hardy and require little attention. However, they tend to get woody and require a good pruning from time to time. And, this is the time. Well, truth is, I am enjoying all the beautiful plants in our garden, but there’s a whole heap of nasty weeds that need to be removed, lots of pruning to be done and lots of tidying up to be done too. It’s going to take a bit of time before we can begin to enjoy our yard. Btw, I am the *weeding lady* in this household. 🙂 I just need to find the time to do it. I’d probably get the boys to help me. Actually, Calvin is pretty good at removing weeds while Mr A still needs to be trained. 🙂