Sunday's Hymn

Number 95 on Sherry of Semicolon’s list of 100 Favorite Hymns is one I had on my list of 10 Favorite Hymns, so I’m going to use that for my hymn today. Click on the link to Sherry’s post for more information on this hymn.

Sherry says that this is “the best poem of all the lyrics on the list so far.” I think I might put it on my list of ten most poetic hymns of all time. I’m not exactly fond of the Mennonite hymnal we use at my church and one of the strikes against it is that it doesn’t include this hymn.

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• Lord’s Day 23, 2009 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Fairest Lord Jesus at The Happy Wonderer
• Trinity Sunday at Nova Scotia Scott
• O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing at Hiraeth
• When Peace Like a River at Fieldstone Cottage
• Sinners, Dismiss Your Fear at joythruChrist
• Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon at Pyromaniacs: Hold Your Cup Steady
• Holy, Holy, Holy at Conjubilant With Song
• It Is Not Death to Die at Jam and Books
• A Trinitarian Prayer from The Valley of Vision at The Upward Call.

Have you posted a hymn today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by emailing me at the address in the sidebar and I’ll add your post to the list.

Saturday's Old Photo

The third woman from the left in the back is my grandmother, my father’s mother. This is a photo of her family—her parents and siblings—taken about 1934. Seated in front are her parents—Frank J. Bollinger and his wife Martha—and in back, left to right, are Viola, Roy, Mary (my grandma) and Bertha.

Frank Bollinger was a western Kansas settler. I’d say this photo was taken on his farm in Greeley County because my mother’s notes on the back tell me that he built the windmill tower in the background.

This Kansas history webpage, which has been transcribed from a book written in 1918, informs me that Great Grandpa Bollinger was sherriff of Greeley County from 1910-1914, where his primary duty was

serving the papers and carrying out a court order in foreclosure cases. There was little crime in the county beyond a little bootlegging in the labor centers, now and then a cattle theft or the stealing of a horse.

The term labor centers makes it sound as if there were a few cities in Greeley County, but in 1910 the population was just a little over 1300, almost exactly the same number of people that live there today. It has always had just two small towns. And as far as I know, even now it is a dry county. Do you think there are still bootleggers there?

We knew my grandma’s sister Viola as Aunt Vi. When Aunt Vi was in her late eighties, she still worked taking care of “old people” (her term for them) who were ten or more years younger than she was. Sister Bertha was a chiropractor, called Dr. Auntie, I think, by the children. Dr. Auntie Bertha died while I was young, so I know very little about her. I don’t know much about Roy, either.

The young girl standing in the background is my Aunt Roberta, my Grandma Mary’s stepdaughter. Do you see the mystery man in overalls back there, too? Everyone else seems dressed up and he’s there in his overalls, going about his farm duties.

I wonder what Bertha is looking at? The others, including Roberta in the background, are looking toward the camera, but she’s looking to the right, watching something.

When I look at old photos, I study the details of the clothing, too. I can’t help it; I’m a fashion history freak. See how Roy’s tie is tucked into his shirt half-way down the front? Notice, too, that the strap of Vi’s slip has fallen onto her arm. My grandma appears to be wearing my favorite dress style—a wrap dress. And yes, even in 1934, women wore see-through dresses that showed the slip underneath.

Sleeveless tops, a sheer dress, and every woman with her hair bobbed. John R. Rice would not be impressed.

My Desktop Photo 60: Lupines

Photo by Andrew Stark
(click on photo for larger view)