Sweet By and By

In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2

In 1868, a pharmacist named Sanford Fillmore Bennett, 31, was filling prescriptions and handling sales at his apothecary in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. His friend Joseph Webster entered the store. Joseph was a local musician, vocalist, violinist, and amateur composer who suffered from periods of depression. The two men had occasionally collaborated on hymns and songs, Sanford writing the words and Joseph the music.

On this particular day, Joseph was unusually blue and his face was long. Looking up, Sanford asked, "What is the matter now?"

"It's no matter," Joseph replied, "it will be all right by and by."

An idea for a hymn hit Sanford like a flash of sunlight. Sitting at his desk, he began writing as fast as he could. The words came almost instantly. Two customers entered the drugstore, but no attempt was made to assist them- Sanford was too absorbed in his poem- so they sallied over to the stove and visited with Joseph. Finally, Sanford rose and joined them, handling a sheet of paper to his friend.

"Here is your prescription, Joe," he said. "I hope it works." Webster read the words aloud:

There's a land that is fairer than day,

And by faith we can see it afar;

For the Father waits over the way,

To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

Instantly a tune suggested itself, and Joseph jotted down some notes. Picking up his fiddle, he played his melody over a time or two, then said to the others, "We four make a good male quartet. Let's try the new song and see how it sounds."

As "Sweet By and By" was being sung for the first time, another customer, R. R. Crosby, entered the store.
Gentlemen," he said, "I never heard that song before but it is immortal."

He was right. For over a hundred years we've been singing an immortal hymn that was written in less than thirty minutes in a drugstore.

Taken from the book: Then Sings My Soul

Jamaica: Part Two

Part Two...

On Saturday, the day after we got there, we took the day to relax and adjust our bodies to the temperature there on the island. We went to the local Hi-Lo (kind of like a Wal-Mart) to buy snacks and drinks. My family and some friends went up on top of a mountain to take some pictures. Some people also use this day to take naps, go to the straw market, play card games, or go across the road to snorkel in the Caribbean.

Let's go shoppin'!

Yes, it is chicken feet. This is one delicacy I have yet to try in Jamaica. Maybe next year...

$299.00 for a burger?! Yep! In J money...;P

In Jamaica, you have to be prepared to "go with the flow" of things. No problem, mon!

No Diet Coke...just Coke Light....

You can't read the label very well on this bottle, but it is an Aloe Vera drink. They said that it was quite good! ;D

On top of the mountain, enjoying the view.

The view that were are blessed to enjoy from our motel.

Another one from our motel.....

This year, the police were on the move! All four of our vans got stopped sometime during the week. Some got stopped a couple of times! All for speeding (long story and alot of miscommunication). Here Daddy and one of our elders from church are talking to a policeman after being asked to get out of the vans that they were driving.

Some of our group went snorkeling and were able to enjoy this lovely sight that day. The Jamaican man even stuck a knife in the puffer fish and drained the water out of it! Yuck!


To be continued.....

Someone Worth Dying For

Amazing song....

P.S. You might want to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the background music to the blog...

Jamaica: Part One

I know, I know. About time, huh?! Well, here are some of the pictures from our fabulous mission trip to the beautiful island, Jamaica. There are so many pictures I will probably do it in parts....;P

Arriving at the Atlanta airport

We're so excited!

Me....the chaperone....:D

In Jamaica. YAY! Starting the 2 1/2 wait for the four vans to arrive and pick us up. No problem, mon!

We had to get a flip flop picture! ;P

A semi-group shot

In Daddy's van, on our way to the motel....WORN OUT!! But ready for the adventures that awaited us...

Our home away from home...the Casa...


More to come...

Your Front Yard

Chad Eastham explains it something like this in the book guys like girls who..........

Have you ever had to mow the grass in your front yard? Isn't it strange to think that people stop moving the grass at an imaginary line that separates their yard from the next? It's called boundary. You can't see it, but it's there. have you ever given thought to what a boundary actually is? What does that term mean to you when you think of it? And besides that, what purpose does it actually serve?

Well, in the case of your front yard or your bedroom door, it serves as a line. It's almost like a property line, isn't it? There is a different kind of line too, and this one is yours. It distinguishes what is your property and what is not. It's pretty noticeable when someone has crossed over into our own personal space. Someone puts their hand somewhere that you don't feel comfortable with, maybe they put their face too close to yours, or maybe they start asking questions that are too private and you don't want to answer them. Usually we don't like it when people invade our personal space, and we need to show people the line that they have to stop at. Like a front door, people need to knock on the door and get permission before they are allowed to see what's inside. These are our boundaries, and they usually serve two functions.

The first function is to define who you are. They are a notice to yourself and others about what you like and don't like, what you will accept and what you won't, what we like and what we hate. Boundaries tell people how far or close we want them to be. These boundaries exist ALL the time and are usually easier to notice after people cross them.

The second purpose that they serve is to protect you. Basically they tend to help keep the negative stuff away, and to attract the good stuff more naturally. Have you ever heard the saying "If you don't know what you stand for, you might fall for anything"? Well, it works like that here too. Boundaries are there to protect your reputation, your body, your and other people's feelings, and your most valuable asset: your heart. How many girls have you known who have exposed their bodies and their hearts in the wrong way or to the wrong person? When you don't have these boundaries, you are much more likely to expose yourself to harsh elements. Just as a coat is a boundary between your skin and cold weather, your personal boundaries protect the innermost (and sometimes outermost) parts of who you are.