Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying this beautiful day. This morning I made egg dishes, cookies and a casserole and then went to a hot sale in the courtyard next door. Fun! Next we have Bible Study, a walk and then I have Women’s Bible Study…not much time to get in trouble today!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I love to know what inspires people when they write songs and poetry and what the circumstances in their life was like at the time. Often there was a loss of some kind and yet songs of praise erupt from their hearts. On Crosswalk.com recently, Dolores Smyth writes about the inspiring stories behind a few worship songs and I wonder if you know the background to the very familiar one, “Jesus Loves Me.” Maybe like me, you learned the song by the time you were 3 years old and could sing:
Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Children all over the world sing this song that was written in 1859 by Ann Bartlett Warner. Her sister was writing a novel, Say and Seal, and needed a poem for her book to be read to a dying child. She asked Ann to write one and it turned out to be the most beloved children’s hymn of all time for it gives assurance to children of God’s unconditional love. Later in 1861 Willian Bradbury, a musician added the refrain, “Yes, Jesus loves me” and composed music for the song.
I wonder if Ann realized when she wrote this simple poem that it would touch the hearts of children and adults all over the world. She and her sister went on to teach Bible study classes for 40 years to cadets at West Point, one of the students being Dwight D. Eisenhower. When Ann and her sister died, they were buried at West Point’s military cemetery with military honors, the only, civilians to be buried there; their family home is also a museum on the US. Military Academy grounds.
We never know what a small act of obedience will reap and the fallout to others in the years to come. Let us act when the Holy Spirit prompts us and leave the results up to the Lord.
Challenge for today: Sing or hum the song, Jesus Loves Me, and let the words fall deep into your soul.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy
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