A Hymn Story - Moment by Moment - free graphic

 Be strong and of a good courage;
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: 
for the Lord thy God is with thee 
whithersoever thou goest. 
Johsua 1:9

A hymn of encouragement for those (as the song says) with trials, burdens, sorrows, heartaches, tears, danger, weakness, and sickness that points us to our God who moment by moment, keeps us in His love. 

free for personal or ministry use

This hymn Moment by Moment was written by Daniel Whittle (1840-1901). While attending the World's Fair in Chicago, he heard a pastor remark he needed God every moment of the day. This prompted Whittle to pen the lyrics to the hymn. His daughter May Whittle Moody (wife of D.L.Moody's son), composed the music.

Whittle offered Ira Sankey (American gospel singer and composer, associated with evangelist D.L. Moody) copyright of both words and music if he'd have 500 copies printed on fine paper. Whittle distributed these to his friends. Sankey had the hymn published and it became very popular in England as well as a favorite of Andrew Murray, a South African writer, teacher and Pastor.

Did you see how God works in this little hymn story? A man went to the fair; heard a remark; wrote words based on that remark, gave to his daughter who wrote music for it, daughter happened to be married to an evangelist's son. Evangelist happened to have a singer and composer who could get the song copied and published, which ended up in the hands of a well known writer, pastor and teacher.

I wonder how many people this hymn has encouraged?? Probably millions. There are no coincidences with God. When we're faithful to what He prompts us to do, we are part of a bigger plan . . the full extent known only to Him. 

MOMENT BY MOMENT

Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine;
Living with Jesus, a new life divine;
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine,
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Refrain:
Moment by moment I’m kept in His love;
Moment by moment I’ve life from above;
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Never a trial that He is not there,
Never a burden that He doth not bear,
Never a sorrow that He doth not share,
Moment by moment, I’m under His care.

Never a heartache, and never a groan,
Never a teardrop, and never a moan;
Never a danger but there on the throne,
Moment by moment He thinks of His own.

Never a weakness that He doth not feel,
Never a sickness that He cannot heal;
Moment by moment, in woe or in weal,
Jesus my Savior abides with me still.

I hope you've enjoyed this hymn story and in some way it has encouraged you. Have a blessed week.

Good Tidings of Joy

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

Luke 2:10

A fresh scripture graphic for this Advent season to remind us that Jesus is the reason for the season. You can find this Christmas miracle in Luke 2 in the Bible. The reason God sent His son Jesus to earth to take on human form, was so He could die and redeem us from our sins. 

John 3:16 says - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Our sin debt has been paid on the cross. That's the greatest gift we could receive. That's the news of great joy to everyone. 

Who's a whosoever? Anyone! I am, you are. The word Whosoever is a pronoun defined as anyone; any person whatever. Jesus died for all and simply asks that we believe. 

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a wise man, I would do my part;

Yet what can I give Him?

I'll give Him my heart.

~ Christina Georgina Rossetti ~ 

Have a blessed week friends as we head into the fourth week of the Advent season. 

Christmas Attire

 A good verse to remember through this Christmas season.

.....clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

Happy July

 

Now the Lord is the Spirit; 

and where the Spirit of the Lord is, 

there is liberty. 

2 Corinthians 3:17

O God Our Help in Ages Past - Hymn Story

free for personal use or sharing

The hymn O God, Our Help in Ages Past was written by Isaac Watts in 1719. Just prior to that,  England's people were anxious as their Queen Anne lay dying and had no heirs. Change was inevitable and uncertain. Isacc's father had been imprisoned and a new monarch could mean a longer prison stay. 

Isaac turned to Psalm 90-----

Psalm 90:1-2
Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

.....and was led by the Lord to pen this timeless hymn. Here are a couple verses from it:


O God, our help in ages past, 
our hope for years to come, 
our shelter from the stormy blast, 
and our eternal home: 

O God, our help in ages past, 
our hope for years to come:
O be our guard while troubles last, 
and our eternal home.
I tend to think Mr. Watts would have had no idea people would still be comforted today, some 300 years later by the words he wrote. God helped people then, God helps people now. Of that we can be sure.

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.....

This hymn was played for President Franklin Roosevelt at the request of British leader Winston Churchill, when the two met in 1941 on board the HMS Prince of Wales to create the Atlantic Charter. It was also sung at Churchill's 1965 funeral in St. Paul's Cathedral, London.





Here's a link to more about Mr. Watt's life and a list of some 800+ hymns he wrote. You'll find this hymn at number 568 in this alphabetical list.
Hymn Page Isaac Watts

You can find all the lyrics to this hymn here: hymn lyrics

Sources for this information:
hymntime.com
hymnary.org
The One Year Book of Hymns, published by Tyndale



Please continue to pray for our country.
Use this pray photo on your blogs and social media if you'd like.

Faith Over Fear Scripture

A faith over fear verse above to meditate on.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7  

Please pray for America. Never before have we seen this level of turmoil, hardship, and disrespect for those in authority. Pray for our President, leaders, pastors and emergency workers, particularly police officers who risk their lives everyday to keep our communities safe. Pray for families with children. Pray for order to be restored to this country and the freedoms our military fought for to remain as freedoms.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

And His ears are open to their prayers;

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

1 Peter 3:12

God’s Provision Through the Generations

Dear Friends of Little Birdie Blessings - I hope you are faring well through these troubled times of Covid-19. I have asked my dear friend Moriah Chastney to be a guest on my blog today. She reflects below on her own personal account and stories told to her regarding God's provision through the generations. The two graphics below are free for personal use or sharing. 

And my God shall supply ALL your need according to His riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

I remember visiting my Mamaw’s farm every year when I was young, and some of my happiest childhood memories consist of feeding her small herd of beef (err, pet) cattle, sleeping in too-big church camp t-shirts stored in a hall closet specially for us kids, and eating her homemade crumbly oatmeal bread sopped in freshly mashed strawberries. We spent hours roaming around the farm and loved exploring the old toys, tools, cars and random oddities scattered around the farm. To us, they weren’t clutter, they were our next adventure.

I grew up hearing stories, passed down from my mom, about my grandparents’ childhoods during The Great Depression. Mamaw was 7 years old when it began. She lived with her younger sister and parents on a farm in rural Arkansas. I remember hearing about the creative ways my great grandmother would find to make the occasional sweet treat when sugar was impossible to find and the neighbor boy who would “just happen” to show up when said treat was coming out of the oven. I remember hearing of the dresses made from flour sack material when there was no money left for clothes.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!

A few miles down the road, my 17 year old grandfather lived with his mother on a homestead claim that his father had started to work before he died a few years earlier. They lived in a small house built originally for hired workers to live in, and kept food on the table by hiring sharecroppers to help with the farming. That very house sat at the end of Mamaw’s driveway, and I remember going down there with my mom as a kid, weaving our way through overgrown brambles and her holding us up so we could see through the broken windows to the past. In both of my grandparents’ childhoods, scarcity as a result of something far outside of their control was a common occurrence.

As an adult now, knowing the history of the Depression and gaining some life experience about what it’s like to be human and living in an uncertain world, the clutter of things kept “just in case” that we played with as kids makes sense to me. The last few weeks have held events that are out of our control and we’ve seen people (or we’ve BEEN the people) panic buying, hoarding, and hoping we’ll have enough. “Just a little more,” we think. “Then we’ll be ____ (insert applicable security adjective). But if our hope is in our own ability to provide, when will we ever have enough? I think the answer is never. If we rely on our own ability to meet our needs, it will never feel like enough because deep down we recognize the frailty of our own capabilities and understand that in an instant, everything we’ve built for ourselves could be wiped out.

But we know the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who calms wind and waves, who causes rulers to rise and fall, who feeds the birds and gives life to flowers just because. Over and over, we see in scripture how God provides for His people. A ram in the bushes for Isaac. Manna, quail, and water from a rock for the Israelites. An earthquake for Peter. Someone to explain scripture for the Eunuch. God knows what we need, when we need it, and He will provide it. It might not look like what we think it will or what we think it should, but He does not fail to provide.

Moriah lives with her husband Jon in New Hampshire
They are pictured here on her Grandparent's creek land in Arkansas

You can find Moriah on Instagram here:
instagram.com/moriah_chastney/

A Hymn of TRUST

Hello friends. I have a wonderful old hymn to share with you today. As we move into a new year on our calendar, let's choose to TRUST more, and worry less. The title of this hymn "Trusting Jesus, That is All". No matter our circumstances, or the causes of our stress, we can TRUST in the Lord Jesus. There is no problem He can't handle. Ask Him to help you. Has He helped you before? He will do it again.

We read in Proverbs 3:5-6 to:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Here's the lyrics to this comforting hymn which was first published as a poem and later set to music.

Simply trusting every day,
Trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

chorus:
Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Brightly doth His Spirit shine
Into this poor heart of mine;
While He leads I cannot fall;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Singing if my way is clear,
Praying if the path be drear;
If in danger for Him call;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Edgar Stites, 1876

The graphics in this post are free to you for personal use. Just click on image for largest size and save to your computer or device. 

Advent Series 25 Days of God Given Gifts

Hello dear friends. I have been absent from blogging for some time now as you may or may not know. There were a lot of requests for me to bring back the 25 Days of God Given Gifts Advent series. I have been posting it daily on facebook and Instagram but not on the blog.

This post will give you a link to each of the days if you want to go in individually and read the devotions. Additionally, you'll find two links below which will take you to free printables that go along with this series.

PREVIOUS ADVENT DEVOTION LINKS HERE

Day 1 ~ ABUNDANT LIFE

Day 2 ~ COMFORT

Day 3 ~ DELIVERANCE

Day 4 ~ STRENGTH

Day 5 ~ GRACE

Day 6 ~ WISDOM

Day 7 ~ PRAYER

Day 8 ~ SALVATION

Day 9 ~ PEACE

Day 10 ~ LOVE

Day 11 ~ REST

Day 12 ~ HOPE

Day 13 ~ BIBLE
Day 14 ~ FAITH
Day 15 ~ JOY
Day 16 ~ REFUGE
Day 17 ~ PROVIDER
Day 18 ~ MERCY
Day 19 ~ BLESSINGS

Day 20 ~ HEAVEN
Day 21 ~ GUIDANCE
Day 22 ~ HELP

Day 23 ~ Forgiveness
Day 24 ~ ETERNAL LIFE 
Day 25 - JESUS

Two FREE printables that go with this series. You can find download links here:

http://bit.ly/FREEadventgraphics

These images are free for personal use, ministry use, or for gifting. Not to be sold. If you share the images on your blog, a link back would be appreciated. Please do not copy my entire posts to your blog. Thank you. 

I will be posting this until Christmas on facebook and Instagram. You can find those links below. 

Little Birdie Blessings - FACEBOOK

Little Birdie Blessings INSTAGRAM

I wrote my very first blog post here in September of 2010. So much has changed with me personally in that time. I'm older (true story), have enough grandchildren now to start my own sports team, I help my aging mother, and try to spend as much time as I can with family and friends.

Thank you for following this series, for all your comments, notes, messages, likes, shares, etc. You are appreciated and prayed for. If you're happy to see this post here at Little Birdie Blessings, you can thank my dear friend Vee, who blogs at A HAVEN FOR VEE (click on link to go visit her blog). We've been friends for many years and met through our blogs. Since we live in the same state, we've had opportunity to meet on numerous occasions. One of them being yesterday. Vee is standing in the need of prayer as she has cancer. I'd so appreciate it if you'd say a prayer for her. Thank you.

I hope and pray you have a blessed Christmas and remember Jesus is the reason for the season. 

Free Psalm Scripture Graphic - Butterfly

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,

Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Psalm 86:15

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
~ Annie Johnson Flint ~

You can click here: ANNIE JOHNSON FLINT
for a previous blog post I wrote on Annie Johnson Flint, a poet, a great woman of faith, whose trials were not wasted, but use by the Lord. 


This scripture graphic is free to you for personal use, sharing, or ministry use. Not for resale.
You can find more free graphics on the blog or on my freebies page:
FREEBIES LITTLE BIRDIE BLESSINGS