{HSCRC13} Hymn #5, Cleanse Me

Hymn Challenge #5: Cleanse Me (also known as Search Me O God)
Words Written by: James Edwin Orr
b. January 15, 1912; d. April 22, 1987

James Edwin Orr was born in Belfast, Ireland. His father had both U.S. and British citizenship so Dr. Orr did also. He was an evangelist that has a very lengthy list of countries and places where he traveled to share Christ. During his life he was a U.S. Air Force chaplain, an evangelist, author, and received his doctorate in 1949. He was also an adviser of Billy Graham. He married is wife, Ivy Muriel Carol Carlson, on January 15, 1937 (his 25th birthday). They eventually had 4 children—2 girls and 2 boys. To see the lengthy story of J. Edwin Orr, please click here.

The latter part of this week has not been a good week for me. I have had things said to me that hurt me, and I have just ended up being very sad which is very unlike me. As I was sitting here at my laptop considering what song we might focus on, I thought that though I may not think there is truth to anything said to me, I also felt God might want me to examine myself too. He then whispered to me "Search Me O God." What a perfect hymn! Then Friday morning, I got up and headed to my BSF leader's meeting. The first hymn we began to sing at 5:15 a.m. was none other than "Cleanse Me." I actually started laughing, and the leader next to me asked me what I was chuckling at. I love when God speaks to me so clearly.

So, let's look at this hymn with the intention of looking at ourselves. This can be hard, and sometimes our toes get stepped on but if we are going to grow into the image of Christ and into what He wants us to be, then this is certainly a necessary task though not always pleasant.

Verse 1
Search me, O God, and know my heart today; 
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray. 
See if there be some wicked way in me; 
Cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free.

Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Now this can be painful—ask God to show you where you might be sinning. When He points it out, repent and ask for His forgiveness. Then change your ways and move forward in that everlasting relationship with Him. This would make a very beautiful daily prayer.

Psalm 19:12 "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults."

God completely forgives even the sins we commit unknowingly. Don't be eaten up by guilt. Jesus went to the cross to take away your sin and guilt.

Psalm 139:1 "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me."

God knows you more intimately than anyone on this earth—maybe even yourself. He knows all of your faults, and He still loves you completely!

Acts 1:24a "Lord, you know everyone’s heart."

As the disciples were choosing a replacement for Judas, they knew that God knows each person's heart. God knew who was right for the job. God knows your heart too. I don't know about you but that is a very powerful statement to me. He knows all of the good and bad hidden within me, and He loves me!

Verse 2
I praise You, Lord, for cleansing me from sin; 
Fulfill Your Word and make me pure within. 
Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame; 
Grant my desire to magnify Your name.

Romans 8:2 "because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."

Are you relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to help you through each day? It is an amazing power that God has given to you. Will you rely on Him instead of self? And are you tolerating your own sinful behavior? Ask for His forgiveness. His death on the cross set you free!

Psalm 34:3 "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together."

Verse 3
Lord, take my life, for I would live for You;
Fill my poor heart with Your great love so true.
Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;
I now surrender; Lord, in me abide.

John 15:7-9 "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.'"

Filling our minds with His Word and truths is key to abiding in Christ. The more time we spend with Him, His presence begins to take over our lives. His Word takes root and changes our lives, reveals sin, and gives us a passion to live to please Him and serve others.

John 2:25 "He did not need any testimony about mankind, for He knew what was in each person."

Jesus knows each of us intimately. We have seen that from the verses already studied. Stand firm and follow your faith in Him even when you may be the only one that seems to believe. God knows your heart. We are to be all about Jesus Christ no matter what situation we are in!

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

As we confess our sin, it enables us to enjoy a right relationship with God. Will you do that today?

Verse 4
O Holy Spirit, revival comes from You; 
Send a revival, my own heart renew. 
Your Word declares You will supply our need; 
For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

Psalm 51:12 "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Our joy can only be fully restored when we confess our sins. It makes it impossible to come before our Holy God when we have unconfessed sin. Confess and feel His joy!

John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Jesus can break the power of any sin over your life. Remove the old sin, replace it with a Godly habit, or else that old sin will continue to creep back in. Will you give it to Him and ask Him to remove it completely?

Below you will find the sheet music to "Cleanse Me." Please note that in the indexes of three of my hymnals, I found this hymn both under the title "Cleanse Me" and "Search Me O God." You may see it both ways if you are searching. Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

To listen here to the first verse of this song, please click here.

For my 6x6 page today, I used this bright butterfly paper from Magenta called Dancing Butterfly. I thought the colors and the butterflies were such great reminders of being set free in Christ. I also used a Blue Fern Studios Blooming Flourish that I covered in Golden Glass Bead Gel with a little turquoise paint to give it some fun texture. I think I may need to try that technique again. :) The scripture I chose was the Psalm 139:23-24 verse used above.

Papers: Magenta Dancing Butterfly, Memory Box lagoon cs, Prima Lifetime Collection Familia
Stamp: Memory Box Index Card G1781
Stamp Ink: SU tempting torquoise
Embellishments: Blue Fern Studios blooming flourish (painted with Golden teal acrylic and Golden glass bead gel); Cheery Lynn French Pastry Tiny doily die; Zva Creative white flower; Prima Overature C flower, Zephyr Papillon, Corine flower, and resin frame; Divine Twine; leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts; 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. Blessings to each of you!
 

{HSCRC13} Hymn #4, Worthy of Worship

Hymn Challenge #4: Worthy of Worship
Words Written by: Dr. Terry W. York
b. 1949; d. —

Dr. Terry W. York has published more than 40 hymns and more than 60 choral anthem texts. Wow, truly a modern-day hymn writer. He is currently a professor at Baylor in Waco, TX. You can read more about him on his Baylor faculty page by clicking here.

Yes, we are doing something a little different this week. We are studying a hymn that has been more recently written (in 1988), and the author is still living. I chose this hymn because God has brought it to my mind many times since last Sunday—we sung it in BSF Monday night, we will sing it in worship today (my friend is giving the sermon so she told me it's one of our hymns today). It truly has been on my mind, and I hope you enjoy today's choice.

Let's read through the lyrics:

Worthy of worship, worthy of praise, 

Worthy of honor and glory; 

Worthy of all the glad songs we sing, 

Worthy of all the offerings we bring. 

Refrain

You are worthy, Father, Creator. 

You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer. 

You are worthy, worthy and wonderful; 

Worthy of worship and praise. 

Worthy of rev'rence, worthy of fear, 

Worthy of love and devotion; 

Worthy of bowing and bending of knees, 

Worthy of all this and added to these. 

Almighty Father, Master and Lord, 

King of all kings and Redeemer, 

Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friend, 

Savior and Source of our life without end. 

God is worthy of our worship—worthy meaning "deserving," and worship meaning "reverent honor." He is deserving of our reverent honor! Let's look at who God is and why He is deserving of our reverent honor.

—Creator—

He created us to have a relationship with Him and to bring Him glory. Even in the smallest of details, He created us. We are created for eternal fellowship with Him. We are created to worship Him. In Him, we are a new creation in Christ.

Psalm 100:3 "Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture."

Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

—Savior—

Jesus, our Savior, rescued us from the penalty of sin (see Redeemer below).

Luke 2:11 "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord."

2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever!"

—Sustainer—

He sustains and upholds everything in existence. We are here today because He has something for us. Will you be watching for what He has for you today?

Psalm 3:5 "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me."

—Almighty Father—

He is without end, and He is God our Father. Even if you did not have a loving earthly father, you do have an amazing heavenly Father, and you are His child!

2 Corinthians 6:18 "'I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty."

1 John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

—Master and Lord—
He has power over life and death, and as our Master, we are called to obey Him in all things. How will you obey Him today even in the small, seemingly insignificant things?

Psalm 145:3 "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom."

Romans 10:9 "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Philippians 2:9-11 "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

—King of all kings—

He has supreme power and is sovereign over all rulers, kings, presidents, etc.

1 Chronicles 16:25 "For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods."

1 Timothy 6:15-16 "which God will bring about in His own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and might forever. Amen."

Revelation 19:16 "On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords."

—Redeemer—

Jesus paid the penalty for our sins so that we might be "made right" and come before the Father. Jesus paid that price with His precious blood so that we could be set free from sin and to grow more like Him. He was not guilty yet He suffered for my sin and for your sin! Will you thank Him for His gift of salvation today?

Romans 3:23-24 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

1 John 4:10 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

—Wonderful Counselor—

He is exceptional, and He is the one who gives the right advice. Are you going to friends, family, co-workers for advice? How about choosing to seek His wise counsel today? He is waiting to give you just the right advice!

Isaiah 9:6b "And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

—Comforter—

He will give us comfort and strength through the difficult times of our lives. He is waiting to hold you, sustain you, and give you His peace. Will you go to Him?

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble. . .”

—Friend—

He made the universe yet He still speaks to us as a friend. How amazing and loving is that? It's incomprehensible!

Exodus 33:11 "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend."

Below you will find the sheet music to this hymn, and click here to hear this hymn.

Whatever good or bad may happen, whatever skills you have, no matter how much laundry is waiting in the laundry room or how many guests are coming over to dinner, He is always worthy of our worship! The glory is all His. And how about praying these attributes back to God as you begin your prayer time each day.

For my 6x6 page today, I used the Psalm 145:3 verse noted above. I thought it was perfect for this hymn and a great reminder that He is worthy of my praise in all things everyday. I also used the November 2012 sketch from C'est Magnifique. I then used the king of club playing card to denote God as King, and that He is worthy of my worship all of the time (thus the clock face on the layout too). The butterfly comes from the Icon Set One from Blue Fern Studios, and the hymn was printed on a brown paper bag and then put on a Teresa Collins memories file folder.

Papers: Basic Grey Lucille 
Embellishments: Blue Fern Studios icon set one butterfly (painted white gesso and glass micro beads); Cheery Lynn Polynesian Sails mini doily die; Teresa Collins memories file folder; Tim Holtz mini paper clip; Jolee's card deck; Zva Creative pearl flourishes; Prima Miss Godivas Celadon flowers, Coventry Tranquil flowers, and Junk Yard Findings clock; white flowers and leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts; 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. Thanks for joining me today, and have a blessed Sunday!

Organizational {Friday} Die Cut Do-over

Okay, it's time for a "do-over." When something isn't working anymore it needs to be changed. Many of you may remember my two methods for storing die cuts. If not, you can see them here:

*Binder Die Storage
*Spellbinder Storage in Quickutz Binders

I love the binder method. It is cheap and easy to find what I am looking for; however, the binder is getting SO heavy as it has filled up. I am only going to use it now for my grand dies and my long border dies. My current die storage system needed a re-do a long time ago but I did not have time because of our move across the country. So, I collected dies, and they were just sitting in piles which made it VERY hard to find things when I wanted to use them. So, this week I took the time to get them put away and organized in a new way that I hope will last for many, many years.

I found this organizational idea on Pinterest. I loved it, and I happened to have an extra CM Mini Power Sort Box that I could use. This box measures 7 3/4" w x 6 3/4" d x 5 1/8" h.

There were a few things I didn't like about the system on Pinterest so I changed it a bit to work for me. Here is what I have come up with. First, the original idea uses magnetic sheets. Those can get expensive, and I would have needed a lot of them. Second, the magnetic sheets were glued to the Power Sort Dividers. Only 9 dividers come with a Power Sort Box so I would have needed to purchase a lot of extra dividers. I didn't want to do that. So, I used the dividers as they were intended--as dividers. Then I cut cardstock into 7 1/8" x 4 1/2" pieces, doubled up the cardstock, and placed several dies on each sheet. I cut a small piece of magnet from a roll to put behind each die. It is much cheaper to uses small pieces of magnet than sheets. This works perfectly for me. Here you can see several Memory Box dies on one sheet and then the small pieces of magnet that are behind each die.

This particular box holds my Memory Box, Poppystamps, Our Daily Bread Designs, Cheery Lynn Designs, and PTI dies thus far. There are:

*14 dividers
*38 cardstock pages
*107 dies

And this box is not full! I still have room to grow! Actually I am still putting more away but wanted to get this post up. LOL!  The dividers I have right now include:

*Alphas and Nos.
*Banners
*Birds
*Borders
*Butterflies
*Christian
*Circles
*Frames
*Garden and Floral
*Hobbies
*Holidays
*Home
*Labels and Pockets
*Wreaths

I am eventually going to do this with all of my other dies too so that I have one system not 3. This does take some time to do but in the end it is totally worth it, and this little box holds SO much! I hope you have enjoyed this. Let me know if you have any questions. I will answer them in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by! Blessings to you.

{HSCRC12} Hymn #10, When we all Get to Heaven

Hymn Challenge #10: When we all Get to Heaven
Words Written by: Eliza E. Hewitt
b. June 28, 1851; d. April 24, 1920

Music Written by: Emily D. Wilson
b. May 24, 1865; d. June 23, 1942

Eliza E. Hewitt was born, lived, and died in Philadelphia, Penn­syl­van­ia. She was a teacher; however, very early on she had to leave teaching due to a spinal problem.  She lived most of her life as an invalid, and so she turned to hymn writing. Her cousin, Edgar Stites, was also a hymn writer.

While Ms. Hewitt wrote the words to this hymn, it was Emily D. Wilson that set the words to music. Mrs. Wilson was the wife of a Methodist pastor and Dis­trict Su­per­in­ten­dent of the Meth­od­ist Phil­a­dephia Con­fer­ence, John G. Wil­son. I could not find much information on either of these talented ladies but I hope you enjoy these bit of notes anyway.

This is a hymn I had never sung nor heard until we visited a church in our new town. My mother told me she used to sing it as a teen. Who would have known? Anyway, I loved this hymn and felt it would be the perfect hymn to get us started again with this challenge. This hymn reminds me a lot of "Christ Arose" which we studied back in hymn lesson 8.  The chorus of this hymn says:

"When we all get to heaven, 
What a day of rejoicing that will be! 
When we all see Jesus, 
We'll sing and shout the victory."

It has been a rough, rough few days around here with issues involving property lines. My husband and I are trying to do the right thing as God would want us to but the heartache it is causing me is beyond words. We want to show the love of Christ but others are upset. I am saddened and just want to love those I come in contact with. When I read and sing the chorus of this hymn, I just think of that amazing day when there won't be any heartache or disputes but utter and amazing rejoicing!! Can you imagine "when we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory"! Oh I can't wait for that day!

What issues are going on in your life right now? What are you and/or your family struggling with? Do you feel like you are at the end of your rope? Well, not only can we be excited about that time when we finally meet Jesus in heaven where there is no more heartache, we can also rejoice right now! Jesus died so that we might have access to the Father not just by going to heaven someday but that we have access to Him here and now. He is there waiting to hear from you. He is waiting to carry your burdens. He desires that daily relationship with you and wants to hold and guide you. Are you letting Him or are you trying to take it all unto yourself? If you are a control freak like me, that can be hard to put "self" aside and ride behind Jesus. But our days should begin and end with God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 21:6 "He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life."

Revelation 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

We need to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him daily. We can rejoice with Him everyday as we watch what He can do if we would just allow Him.

Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

Philippians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Look how God used Ms. Hewitt's health problem for His great purpose. As an invalid, she was able to write beautiful hymns including "When we all Get to Heaven." How might He be using your situation for His glory?

Below you will find the sheet music to "When we all Get to Heaven," and click here to get the pdf file to print this hymn. Also, be sure to check out the link I have below for you today.

Here you can listen to a country version of this hymn by Brad Paisley.

For my 6x6 page today, I used the Philippians verse mentioned above. While this hymn is about when we get to heaven and can rejoice with Jesus, I also want to remember that I can rejoice with Him daily. The clock is a reminder of how I use my time each day with or without Him and the time when I will get to meet Him face-to-face.

Papers: October Afternoon Farmhouse, Bazzill cs 
Stamp Ink: ColorBox Fluid Chalk chestnut roan 
Embellishments: Cheery Lynn Designs Fanciful Flourish die, Prima flower and wooden buttons, Jenni Bowlin flag banner, misc. twine, leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts, burlap from Save on Crafts, sewing machine

Also, you may have noticed that my pages used to be 5x7 and today I have chosen to do a 6x6 page. Well, as I have been unpacking I find that my favorite pages from the past have been those in my 6x6 albums or those on my ATC holder. So, for the rest of the challenge, I will be doing 6x6 pages.

Now my question to you, will you make it a point to follow Jesus and rejoice in Him this week? Remember to use Keyword HSCRC12 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. Blessings to each of you!