Amazing Grace

The Lord has promised good to me, 

His word my hope secures!

He will my shield and portion be

as long as life endures.

I love the old hymns. I have my Grandma Joachim to thank for that, as she would play hymns on her pump organ every time I was at her house. 

It's not that we didn't sing hymns in church, but I grew up in a parish with more contemporary songs/hymns for the most part. And I love those as well! At the recent Matt Maher concert, he referenced this, playing a bit of "Here I Am, Lord," a song any Catholic about our age would recognize as a more contemporary standard in our masses. (Hearing that song on one of his former albums a few years back is, in fact, how I first discovered that Matt Maher is Catholic, which is quite rare amongst Christian singers.) He explained that although those songs are great and worthy, his new album contains references to the old hymns, that he actually learned after receiving hymnals from his Baptist and Methodist grandmothers. He also told some of the stories behind the hymns, how the writer of "Just as I Am" suffered pain so great that many days she could only move from her bed to her couch. Still, she used the talents she received from God to go beyond that pain and write one of the best known hymns in the world today. A common thread throughout these hymns as they were often the product of great suffering--another reminder that God brings beauty from ashes. My girls and I also recommend Matt's "What A Friend,"--a fun twist on "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

If you asked me what my favorite hymn is, I would answer "How Great Thou Art." That hymn--especially the last verse--gets me every single time. I don't think I will ever be able to finish that hymn without tears running down my face, and really, I hope I never can. David surprised me with this "How Great Thou Art" and it's been in our living room, surrounded by our parents' and grandparents' wedding pictures since we moved into our living room 13 years ago.

However, in the dark days of 2012, I often found these words from "Amazing Grace" as my greatest comfort--"The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures!" As I have been changing my decor in my living room, I had been wanting something with those words on it. First I had to start with the background. It had to be big--about 4' by 2 1/2'--and David's cousin Cyndi (of CB Designs--check out her website!) helped me out with that by making me a barnwood canvas. I cut my own stencils with an X-acto knife and I looked up a few tutorials on Pinterest on how to do the lettering. I thought it was done last week when I completed the words, but it needed something else. I found a flower stencil at Hobby Lobby and, while cleaning out our garage attic, I found an old lock still attached to one of the house's original doors. Now it is ready for our living room and to remind all of us of God's great promises every day, these promises so often expressed through the great hymns that have been passed down through the generations.