He Hideth My Soul

1. Happy Fanny Friday! It is a fine one.

Watch me play He Hideth My Soul here.

1. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
2. A wonderful Savior to me;
   He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
   Where rivers of pleasure I see.
   • Refrain:
     He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
     That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
     He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
     And covers me there with His hand,
     And covers me there with His hand.
3. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
   He taketh my burden away,
   He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,
   He giveth me strength as my day.
4. With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
   And filled with His fullness divine,
   I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God!
   For such a Redeemer as mine.
5. When clothed with His brightness transported I rise
   To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
   His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
   I’ll shout with the millions on high.

I love the imagery in this song. It is so comforting to me. Definitely one of my favorite Fannys.

Living With Crazy People

How is it that I was dropped into the middle of a situation full of people who won't do what I want them to do, think the way I want them to think? they go right when I was certain they would go left, up when they clearly should have gone down? What's up with that!?

Then, some smart Alec in the Bible has the nerve to tell me that I'm supposed to love my neighbor as myself? Well if said neighbor was the enlightened individual that he or she should be, then that would be a cinch. But things being as they are, this has proven to be an impossible task for me.

But it's all still there! Honor your Father and Mother, they will know we are Christians by our love, turn the other cheek... What!? This all sounds well and good when I'm in my Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes, I've just heard a great choir special, my hair's slicked back, got on my shiney shoes and my heart is right... But what about when reality slaps the livin' Sunday suit outta me!?

Say it's like... Thursday afternoon, the Sunday has all worn off by now and somebody does something that really pisses me off? Now I've read the whole Bible including the footnotes and have yet to find any exceptions to these commandments.

Even if you can find ten people to say that you are right and they are wrong. Even if you can find fifty! No loopholes.

So, that is where we live. In the real world. We are given an impossible task, and eternal damnation awaits us unless we can find a solution. GREAT.

Finally, here's the good news. Jesus. He already knows that we can't do it, so He did it for us. He bore our sin, took on our weakness, and made a way. What we have to do is admit that we can't save ourselves. Sound's easy, but that is the hardest part. We are SO smart, and we think around every corner we will find a new idea. Surely we can be perfectly independent? We sent people to the moon for goodness sakes! And all we really have to do is love our neighbor as our self? Surely we don't need help for that? Right?

Wrong.

Close to Thee

Here is Fanny Crosby's Close to Thee.  Watch me play and sing it here, watch a far more entertaining version here.



1. Thou my everlasting portion,
 more than friend or life to me,
 all along my pilgrim journey,
 Savior, let me walk with thee.
Refrain:
 Close to thee, close to thee,
 close to thee, close to thee,
 all along my pilgrim journey,
 Savior, let me walk with thee.

2. Not for ease or worldly pleasure,
 nor for fame my prayer shall be;
 gladly will I toil and suffer,
 only let me walk with thee.
 (Refrain)

3. Lead me through the vale of shadows,
 bear me o'er life's fitful sea;
 then the gate of life eternal
 may I enter, Lord, with thee.
 (Refrain)

Blessed Assurance

1. Here's Blessed Assurance. It is, maybe, my favorite hymn of all time. Definitely my favorite Fanny Crosby hymn. You will be happy to hear that I finally got my piano tuned! It had gotten to the point where everything was beginning to sound like honky-tonk pi-aner instead of piano. I mean, I love ragtime, dixie-land, 1920's whorehouse music just as much as the next guy, but when you're trying to play an altar call song in that style, it just doesn't jive! You know?

Watch it here.

1. 
   
2. There was a bird poop on the window so I covered it up with the cool Harry Connick Jr. poster we got a few weeks ago at his amazing concert at the Ryman.

Not Fanny Friday

Fanny Friday will be back next week. Here's Dramatic Chipmunk.

Take the World but Give Me Jesus

This is the first Fanny Crosby hymn I have come to in the Celebration Hymnal that I was not familiar with. I like it! How bout that?

Watch it here.

1. Take the world, but give me Jesus,
   All its joys are but a name;
   But His love abideth ever,
   Through eternal years the same.
   • Refrain:
     Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
     Oh, the length and breadth of love!
     Oh, the fullness of redemption,
     Pledge of endless life above!
2. Take the world, but give me Jesus,
   Sweetest comfort of my soul;
   With my Savior watching o’er me,
   I can sing though billows roll.
3. Take the world, but give me Jesus,
   Let me view His constant smile;
   Then throughout my pilgrim journey
   Light will cheer me all the while.
4. Take the world, but give me Jesus;
   In His cross my trust shall be,
   Till, with clearer, brighter vision,
   Face to face my Lord I see.

Texas, Travel, and the Truth

I love to travel! We have been in Texas for the past few days, first for a horse show in San Antonio, then visiting family in Austin.

The Gray Moss Inn in San Antonio was superb. The fresh mushroom appetizer was amazing, then Wahoo (fish) flown in from Hawaii... oh my. Maybe the most perfect piece of fish ever, with grilled asparagus. We we're in the company of our dear friend, Mark Farrar. I feel so lucky to get to work with people I love.

We also got to spend time with our good buddy, Casey McBride, photographer. This guy travels across the country shooting beautiful photos of horses with his wife, daughter and black lab for a living. I am always inspired by people who have found a way to live their lives in an unconventional way.

To say that I've been staying with folks who are living outside of the box seems inadequate when it comes to Holly and Jeremy Shore, Amanda's cousins. These people make the unattainable look easy. When the layers come back, and you see the foundations of basic Christian principles behind the lives of this photo perfect, yet very real family, it makes me feel so encouraged. The super hip city of Austin doesn't hurt either.

Here's my point. If you want to live outside of the box, get out of your house. Get a little uncomfortable. Open your home to others. Share what you know, and learn from people who know more than you!

I read in the Bible just now about a woman named Lydia who listened to Paul's teaching and opened her home to him. It only said a few things about her, but all of them made me like her. She sold expensive purple cloth, she believed the good news, and she kept on urging Paul and Silas to stay at her house until they did. She wore them down with her kindness, and showed them hospitality in her beautiful home. I think it is safe to say that someone who sold pretty cloth would at least have some nice drapes.

I want to be like that. She shared her home with some strangers; and see what it got her? Her name is remembered for all time in the holiest book of all.

She was not afraid to associate with people who were a little outside of the box. These guys were going around teaching something that was stirring everything up. They were put in jail for it! But Lydia heard the truth, and apparently didn't care what anybody thought. She believed! And I do too.

That's the yellow rose of Texas in the photo.