{HSCRC13} Hymn #20, I Need Thee Every Hour

Hymn Challenge #20: I Need Thee Every Hour
Words by: Annie S. Hawks
b. May 28, 1835; d. Jan­u­a­ry 3, 1918

Music by: Rev. Robert Lowry
b. March 12, 1826; d. November 25, 1899

Annie S. Hawks was born in Hoo­sick, New York. She began writing poems when she was very young, and her poems began appearing in newspapers when she was 14 years old. She mar­ried Charles H. Hawks in 1857. They attended Hanson Baptist Church in Brooklyn, where Rev. Robert Lowry (a great hymn writer) was pastor. He saw her talent and gave her a challenge and told her “If you write the words, I’ll write the music.” We studied Rev. Robert Lowry in last year's Hymn #8, Christ Arose. Click here to read more about Rev. Lowry. Her husband, Charles, died in 1888 so she moved to Ben­ning­ton, Ver­mont, to live with her daugh­ter and son-in-law. She died at the age of 82 in Benn­ing­ton, Ver­mont. She wrote over 400 hymns during her lifetime.

Friday morning my mom called. She said told me to praise the Lord that my father was still alive Friday morning. He was fishing with his best friend on Thursday, and a guy ran into them throwing my dad overboard. Dad went down 50 feet. He had on 2 sweatsuits because it was cold along with his life jacket. He doesn't always wear his life jacket but he put it on because he was so cold. His best friend couldn't pull him back in the boat. My dad was a fighter pilot and is a great swimmer but was being pulled down by all of his heavy clothing. He said he would have drowned had the guy that hit them not helped rescue him. He lost a lot of "things" but that doesn't matter as he is still with us. I still can't believe this happened, and I am SO thankful he is okay!!! God's mighty hand of protection has seen to it that he is still with us for a reason! God must still have big plans for my precious daddy! God was there with my daddy in that moment he needed Him most.

Psalm 31:2 "Turn Your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me."

Psalm 40:17 "But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; You are my God, do not delay."

Psalm 86:1-2 "Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to You; save your servant who trusts in You. You are my God."

Do you feel like God is there when you need Him most? We have to walk near to Him to experience Him. Are you walking near to Him in everything—good times and bad? One of the many blessings of knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is that He is with you always. He is there in good times and in bad but if we don't learn to acknowledge Him in the good times, how will we find Him when things are rough? We truly need Him every hour!

Psalm 73:28 "But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds."

Annie S. Hanks wrote the following about today's hymn (quoted from Kenneth W. Osbeck's Book "Amazing Grace") :

"One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became filled with the sense of nearness to the Master, and I began to wonder how anyone could ever live without Him, either in joy or pain. Then the words were ushered into my mind and these thoughts took full possession of me."

We must stay fixed on Him at all times. I know when I am not fixed on Him, things don't go right, I am usually miserable in some way, or displeased with myself. When I am fixed on Him, I can see a huge difference in how I act and feel and how I get through certain situations. If we see how amazing our lives are when we are fixed on Him, then why do we continue to go it alone? I need Him every hour. How about you?

Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Psalm 73:28 "But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."

Below is the sheet music to this hymn, and click here to listen to an acapella arrangement of this hymn.

For my 6x6 page today, I used the Psalm 73:28 verse noted above because I felt like it said it all—I desire to be near to God, He is my refuge, and I love giving Him the glory. I also used one of my art journaling cards. If you missed that post, click here to see how I made my card. And lastly, I put quite a few things on this page that represent my relationship with Christ:

• I crumpled up the sheet music and then spread it out again. It represents me being broken and sinful yet His blood "smooths me out" and makes me clean.
• The Blue Fern Studios Country Picket Fence shows that I can't come before Christ without accepting Him as my Lord and Savior. He is a Holy God, and I cannot approach Him unless I have been cleansed by the blood of Christ which takes down that fence (barrier) between the Father and myself.
• The Blue Fern Studios Blue Fern Bits (hearts) represent my heart attitude.
• The colors—black represent when I am without Him, things are dark and seem hopeless. With Him, my life is filled with joy and bright colors.
• The clock—that I need Him every hour of every day!

Papers: Basic Grey RSVP, Paper Trey Ink, Art Journaling Card by Patter Cross 

Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Blue Fern Bits (w/Gelatos metallic mint, melon, and blueberry), Country Picket Fence (w/Gelatos chocolate and Tim Holtz embossing powder walnut stain) 
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink black soot 
Embellishments: Petaloo Wild Blossoms fuschia and aqua; Prima leaves and clock face; Tim Holtz mini gears; Dew Drops; sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC13 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Have a blessed week ahead!