Many blessings

The last week has been one of many blessings. As you know from my previous post, friends lost their daughter to cancer last week. In her short life, she impacted many people. (I urge you to read their Caringbridge site, especially the post that has the excerpt from the funeral program. You can find a link to their site on the right side of this blog.) God's kingdom on earth was blessed by her short life, and now she is filling his heavenly kingdom with joy and receiving his blessings in the arms of Jesus.
Last night, Mike and I were able to attend a dessert and concert with some friends. Fernando Ortega sang and played the piano. It was a pretty intimate setting, and although he had a bad cold, his songs and music were wonderful. He asked us all to stand and sing a couple of hymns with him. The first was Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I love this song. This was one of the first recognizable songs I learned to play on the piano. My dad sang it at our wedding. And the words to this hymn have been running through my head the last week. I think that at pretty much any point in our lives, we can find a picture of us in these three verses. Sometimes, there is the joy of never ending mercy that makes us want to sing our loudest praise. Sometimes, we are wandering away. But always, He is there to lead us back to His arms, and eventually, like Cassi, to His courts above.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount - I'm fixed upon it - Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Her I raise to Thee an alter - Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope by Thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He to rescue me from danger Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness like a fetter Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander - Lord, I feel it - Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart - O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.