Category Archives: History

The Lily of the Valley ~ Charles W. Fry

 

Charles W. Fry (1838-1882) & family

Courtesy of Salvation Army

 Words: bio Charles W. Fry, 1881; first ap­peared in the Sal­va­tion Ar­my’s The War Cry, De­cem­ber 29, 1881. Fry wrote the lyr­ics in Lin­coln, Eng­land, while work­ing with the Sal­va­tion Ar­my.

The Lily of the Valley

I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.

Refrain

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tower;
I have all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
From my heart and now He keeps me by His power.
Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal.

Refrain

He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
While I live by faith and do His blessèd will;
A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessèd face,
Where the rivers of delight shall ever roll.

Refrain

Ht: Cyberhymnal

Show & Tell Friday ~ Lincoln’s Devotional

 I found this book at Goodwill this week.

The newly-found book of daily Scriptural messages and inspirational verse in which Abraham Lincoln signed his name – a book he used and cherished, revealing a faith you can share. This copy was copyrighted in 1957.

The devotional portion of this volume contains the entire text of “The Believer’s Daily Treasure; or , Texts of Scripture Arranged for Every Day in the Year,” published in 1852 by the Religious Tract Society of London, England. The material is reprinted as it appears in the copy of the book which Abraham Lincoln owned, and therefore contains the several inconsistencies and typographical errors found in the original edition.

This is a bit blurry

This plate of Lincoln and his Log Cabin was given to us by Dear’s grandmother Nettie. It is from Wayne City, Illinois.

I’m including the July 13th entry from the devotional with no corrections…

13

Communion with God 

 a Source of Joy

There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou has put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. Psalm iv. 6, 7.

Lord, what is life? if spent with thee,
In humble praise and prayer,
How long or short my life may be
I feel no anxious care:
though life depart, my joys shall last,
When life and all its joys are past.

For more Show & Tell Friday click on over to Kelli’s at There’s No Place Like Home…

All the photos from this post are being held hostage by Photobucket as of July 2017.

Father’s Day 2007 ~ Tribute to Two Men I Love

 

My Father (Pop) ~ Moisi Timothy Bagdanov

Pop

I am so thankful to God for how He called you and has led you all these years. I admire your hard work ethic. I admire the fact that you are always on time. You never make people wait. We were never late to church. Your contentment is admirable. Your hobbies take the back seat to anyone who needs help. What hobbies? You don’t golf, sail, cycle, surf the net. Well you do like the Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune.  In your retirement years you became a missionary. Since returning from Russia where you served on your own without a mission group to help you, you’ve helped those in need around you. If anyone in your circle of aquaintances and church dies, you’re the first one they call. You have helped so many people make funeral arrangements I can’t keep up. You would give any of us your last dime. Paul’s charge to Timothy has been lived out by you.

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilot made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.”

Here are his children, grands, and great grands.

My husband and the father of my children.

Josh & Dear

I’m so thankful to God that He called you and continues to work in your life. How many times have I said that I’m so glad I married you. Yikes, when I consider some of the people I dated, I wish I could blot out the memory. You are a man that I can admire. Your wisdom and wit have kept me from “stepping in it” so many times. You are humble where I’m haughty. You are patient where I am impulsive. You think before you speak and I speak before I think. You’re a good listener. You are a good teacher. You are the guy I want to grow really old with. Your children have learned so much from you and I think they will remember and appreciate more and more your example to them as they walk their adult lives. I love you. Your children are blessed to have you for their dad.

The photos in this post were updated because Photobucket blacked out the original photos on this post.

God of Our Fathers ~ Hymn ~ Daniel C. Roberts

 

The hymn was written in 1876 for a cel­e­bra­tion of the Cen­ten­n­i­al Fourth of July, and sung at Bran­don, Ver­mont, to the tune called Russ­ian Hymn! When our Gen­er­al Con­ven­tion ap­point­ed a Com­miss­ion to re­vise the Hymn­al, I sent it, with­out my name, prom­is­ing to send the name if the hymn were ac­cept­ed. It was ac­cept­ed and print­ed anon­y­mous­ly in the re­port of the Com­mis­sion. Be­fore the Hymn­al was print­ed, the Rev­er­end Dr. Tuck­er, late of Troy, ed­it­or of our best mu­sic­al Hymn­al, and Mr. George Will­iam War­ren, or­gan­ist of St. Thom­as’ Church, New York, were ap­point­ed to choose a hymn for the cen­ten­ni­al cel­e­bra­tion of the adopt­ion of the Con­sti­tu­tion. They se­lect­ed this hymn, then anon­y­mous, and want­ing a tune, Mr. War­ren com­posed a tune to which it has since been set in the Tuck­er Hymn­al.

  God Of Our Fathers ~ words by Daniel C. Roberts

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.

Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast,
Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.

From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.

Ht: Cyberhymnal

Ruth Bell Graham ~ 1920-2007 ~ In Her Saviors Arms

Pictorial Parade / Getty

Ruth Graham, 87 wife of evangelist Billy Graham, died today, June 14, 2007 in Montreat, North Carolina.

Ruth Graham, Soulmate to Billy, Dies

By Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

Billy Graham’s wife and partner passes away after a lifetime of evangelism and celebrity

http://www.time.com/time/nation

Show and Tell Fridays ~ Pigeons

 Time for show and Tell Friday ~

 

It’s hard to see but that’s me with the pigeon on my head. My sister Kathy is behind me and then my dad and my sister Vera are to the right. Love the dresses, shoes and socks! Also before I get to the point of this post (the pigeon) I’d like you to notice the clothesline behind us with all the clothespins on it. Yep…we used to hang our laundry on those lines and I had to get my first stitches from falling off a chair and hitting a porch while hanging laundry. But about the Pigeon…if you are an animal activist or are very sensitive don’t read the rest of this post. Consider yourself warned!!!

We were on the poor side growing up. Until my dad landed a good Carpenters job and was a member of the Carpenter’s Union he worked piece jobs, etc. He went to work everyday but sometimes the money got real scarce. My mother did not work outside the home. For some crazy reason my dad also decided to raise pigeons. We had a pigeon coupe in our backyard. Lovely, “rats with wings” is what we call them now. Back then we loved those pigeons and we all picked one to be our pet. There were 4 of us kids during this time, the next 4 hadn’t arrived yet. Anyway…my pet pigeon was named Green Neck. Not hard to guess why I came up with that name. One day when my mom didn’t know what she’d be able to cook for dinner my parents decided to kill some pigeons and make pigeon soup. THEY PICKED GREEN NECK to be one of the victims! I can’t begin to tell you how upsetting this was. (It did not traumatize me for life, I can chuckle about it now) The 4 of us kids had a “we will not eat that soup strike.” There was solidarity on this strike. I know there was no way I was gonna eat Green Neck even if it meant going to bed hungry…

Blessed Quietness ~ Ferguson ~ Hymn

 BLESSÈD QUIETNESS

Manie Payne Ferguson   (1850 – 1932)

Born: 1850, Car­low, Ire­land.

In 1886, Ma­nie and her hus­band The­o­dore Poll­ock Fer­gu­son found­ed a miss­ion in Los An­ge­les, Cal­i­for­nia. This event­u­al­ly ex­pand­ed in­to what was known as the “Pen­i­el” miss­ions along the West Coast of Amer­i­ca, and in Af­ri­ca, Asia, South Amer­i­ca, and else­where. The main fo­cus of the miss­ions, es­pe­ci­al­ly in lat­er years, was min­is­try to sin­gle women.

 BLESSÈD QUIETNESS

Joys are flowing like a river,
Since the Comforter has come;
He abides with us forever,
Makes the trusting heart His home.

Refrain

Blessèd quietness, holy quietness,
What assurance in my soul!
On the stormy sea, He speaks peace to me,
How the billows cease to roll!

Bringing life and health and gladness,
All around this heav’nly Guest,
Banished unbelief and sadness,
Changed our weariness to rest.

Refrain

Like the rain that falls from Heaven,
Like the sunlight from the sky,
So the Holy Ghost is given,
Coming on us from on high.

Refrain

See, a fruitful field is growing,
Blessèd fruit of righteousness;
And the streams of life are flowing
In the lonely wilderness.

Refrain

What a wonderful salvation,
Where we always see His face!
What a perfect habitation,
What a quiet resting place!

Refrain

I have never sung this hymn but the words are so powerful I wanted to share them. I loved the story of the hymnwriter starting missions and especially caring for single women…

Ht: Cyberhymnal

The Decade of the 50’s at a Glance

Here are 3 of my siblings, me and my pop in the glorious 50’s. Fred, Pop, Ellen (me), Kathy and Vera. The next four siblings started arriving from 1958 through 1963.

I was born in 1951. The beginning of the 50’s. Here are some amazing events that occurred in this decade.

1950 – Senator Joseph McCarthy embarks on a public crusade to uncover Communist activity in the U.S.

1950 – First kidney transplant  and first successul heart massage are performed.

1950 – U.S. sends troops to Korea.

1951 – Color television is introduced. [Ellen was born, maybe this is the reason I’m visual!]

1952 – A priest, minister, and rabbi sanction the appearance of Lucille Ball’s pregnancy on her TV show.

1952 – Albert Scweitzer is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1952 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected.

1953 – Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine is certified to prevent infantile paralysis.

1954 – Congress adds the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

1954 – Brown v The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas outlaws segegation in schools striking down the doctrine of “separate but equal.”

1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a city bus and, in effect, begins the civil rights movement.

[1955 – Disneyland Opens in Anaheim, California.]

1956 – Elvis Presley releases “Heartbreak Hotel” and starts a music revolution.

1956 – Eisenhower and Nixon win again.

1957 – Federal troops are called in to protect the Little Rock Nine, the first black students to attend all-white Central High.

1957  – The baby boom peaks at 4.3 million births.

1957 – The USSR launches a satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit around the earth.

1959 – The first Barbie doll is introduced.

1959 – Texas Instruments invents the microchip.

1959 – Alaska becomes the 49th state, Hawaii the 50th.

Some memorable quotes to go with this decade…

“We conclude that in the field of education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place.”  Earl Warren, Chief Justice, Brown v. The Board of Education, 1954

“Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Without God , there could be no American form of government, nor American way of life.” Dwight D. Eisenhower – American Chronicle, 1955

“If the television craze continues with the present level of programs, we are destined to have a nation of morons.” Daniel Marsh (President of Boston College, Columbia Chronicles, 1950)

“Roll over Beethoven. And tell Tchaikovsky the news.” Chuck Berry, “Roll Over Beethoven,” 1956

 

This photo was taken in the late 60’s. Top Row: Oldest sister Kathy, pop, mom, Vera, Me, Tim, Leonard, Lana and Steve. Our brother Fred who is older than me is missing from this photo. All of my parents kids were born in the late 40’s, 50’s with the twins arriving in the 60’s.

twins.jpg

I couldn’t finish this post without an additional photo of the last two siblings in our family. Twins born in 1963, Lana and Leonard. Oh the tales we can tell you about the marvelous 60’s and these two, but this is a post about the 50’s so those tales will have to wait….

ht: 100 Voices ~ Words That Shaped Our Souls, Wisdom To Guide Our Future ~ compiled by Anne Christian Buchanan and Debra K. Klingsporn Copyright 1999 by Front Porch Books

Borsch

Many Borsch recipes include beets in them. The familiar Borsch that we grew up with and that we had at Molokan Church Meals did not have beets in it. Here is my mother’s recipe.

Nadia’s Borsch

For the Stock:
1 Chuck Roast (with bone would be good)
1 onion
1-3 celery stalks with leaves
2-3 carrots
2 bay leaves
5-10 peppercorns
Salt to taste

In a big stock pot, cover chuck roast with good water. Add all the stock ingredients and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer. Simmer until roast is fork tender. Strain the stock. Reserve the roast.

1 head of cabbage shredded (green is what we use)
1-3 carrots grated
1-2 onions diced
1 bell pepper diced

2-3 stalks of celery diced

(saute the bell pepper, onion, celery and jalapeno then blend before adding to stock)
2-3 potatoes diced
2 cans stewed tomatoes blended in blender (we have those that don’t like chunky tomatoes)
1 can tomato sauce
1/2-small bunch of dill (to taste)
1 handful of chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
optional – 1 can of Garbonzo beans
option #2 – add a small jalapeno diced to the saute group above.

Put the strained broth back into a stock pot. Add all the above ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer until cabbage and carrots are tender. Taste and see if the soup needs more salt or pepper at this time.

The Borsch is ready now.

My mother doesn’t include this in her recipe but when she made borsch at my house once I saw her add a half a cube of unsalted butter at the end. 🙂 My mother mashes most of the potatoes to thicken up the soup a bit.

You can bake the chuck roast with a little of the stock, salt, pepper, and sauteeed onions to serve alongside the borsch with a good loaf of bread and of course…sour cream. This was my welcome home meal for my kids last night.