Friday, January 9, 2009

Priorities


Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to him belong,
They are weak but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.
~ Anna B. Warner


Miss Warner is another of my "inspirations" in life. For those of you who know me well, this should not be surprising. Why? Because so many of the people, past and present, who fall into that category are people who loved children and and placed a high regard on teaching them spiritual truths. If you'd like to be blessed, read about the lives of Anna and her sister Susan. You will be struck by the riches of lives such as theirs.

Stories abound about this hymn. You'd be surprised at the number of adults for whom it remained a favorite, such as Francis Schaeffer. The most enthusiastic singing comes at our church's nursing home ministry when this song is sung. As Mr. Schaeffer has said, while people need intellectual answers to their questions, they also need a direct message to their heart. "Jesus Loves Me" does that. It speaks directly to the hearts of young people, but also to all of us of all ages.

I firmly believe, as did the Warner sisters no doubt, that what we learn as children is best learned. While salvation is from God, and cannot be passed on by us, the truths that lead to a person's conversion can be firmly implanted in childhood and who knows when and how God will use them. That's why writing for children is still a priority for me. It's a priority, yes, but I've been neglecting it. This is not a resolution or anything like that, but my blogging and Facebook have got to take more of a back seat in coming days. Writing for precious young souls is burning at my heart again. There are several projects which got started and then, you know how it goes, things got off track.

I still want to visit friends and all that, but I am really going to try to limit my writing here to quotes, verses, poetry, notes about sermons, and things of that sort, which was my original intent. Unless some original thoughts do inspire the old brain and I can do it quickly!

Just thought I'd let you know what's going on. I'll be over to see you when I can!

4 comments:

HOPE said...

Amen and I know your writing priorities will yeild fruit!

This song indeed says so much more. My husband and I in visiting with Alzheimer residents of our local nursing home, have found almost ALL of them REMEMBER this song perfectly! What a joy to sing this with them and see the smiles shine on drawn faces.

The photo I know has to be your darling G'Daughter..precious!

God bless your writing journey..
HOPE

Maxine said...

Thanks for your well wishes, Hope!

Thanks also for sharing your experiences at the nursing homes; it sounds the same as ours.

No, this photo is not my granddaughter. It's a picture I found in my graphics collection and I put her there as a reminder of the youngsters I am writing for. Though my granddaughters are inspiration enough!

Susan said...

Hey Maxine,

Oh, I'm so blessed you are using your gift to bless the children!

I love coming over here.

I'm now going to visit you other blog.

This was awesome♥

sparrow's song said...

Pausing to lift your impassioned service desire for children in prayer.