Month: October 2010

who makes the woeful heart to sing

/ abby hummel / 2 Comments

I have a ginormous hymnal that is in a 3 ring binder, designed perfectly for a piano accompanist. I got it for my 18th birthday. Yes, I was the nerdy kid ASKING for a hymnal for my birthday.  I had no idea how weird I was am. And tonight, after dinner as I was singing while Aaron studied, I realized that the editors of my hymnal gently suggest the 2nd verse of Fairest Lord Jesus is not as necessary as the other three listed because it doesn’t have a star by it. Nearly every hymn has the three “most important” verses “starred” for lazy worship leaders and/or congregations. When I am playing, I purposefully sing those verses louder. And yet in this hymn, that “unnecessary” verse ends by describing Jesus as the one “who makes the woeful heart to sing”,  a miracle similar to but greater than spring blooming out of the frozen death of winter. How is that not important? For me, this fall has been all about a woeful heart trying to figure out how to even want to sing again – and I’m definitely getting there. But only because He shines with all brightness and purity in the midst of our pain and darkness here.

And some of those woeful heart learning-to-sing moments have occurred in situations like this:
drinking wassail with Jaimi in Madison, Wisconsin!
of course I have no picture, but heart-to-hearts with Jenny in Minneapolis!

and celebrating the marriage of Alisa and David in New Mexico with more wonderful Hillsdale friends!

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands
Robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is brighter, Jesus is purer
Who makes the woeful heart to sing!


O God, Our Help

/ abby hummel

O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Isaac Watts – St. Anne

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

Under the shadow of Thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone, and our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God, to endless years the same.

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our God while life shall last, and our eternal home.

autumn

/ abby hummel / 1 Comment

Fall is the best season.

I love the leaves, the crisp air, apples fresh from the orchard, pumpkins on the front step, hot wassail and a fire in the fireplace.

My mom was out in September and we enjoyed a little craft time to put together this wreath for the front door. I’m not usually a huge fan of flowers “with a center” like daisies or sunflowers, but this really hit the spot for me.

I just bought some pumpkins to carve and keep by the door, too. I’m thinking about trying something like this for mine!

guacamole that launched a thousand ships

/ abby hummel / 1 Comment

Several years ago, I made this guacamole for some college friends who joined me at my parent’s home for Labor Day weekend at the beach… and I will not lie, I was totally trying to impress my crush. You know, I had to show him I was the kind of girl he could really eat dinner with every night for the rest of his life. Well, it worked. Aaron proudly tells our friends that he fell in love with me the night he ate my guacamole and decided then and there that he wanted to marry me. Little did we know there would be several years of dating, deployment, dating, breaking up, dating, proposal, engagement, etc., between here and there, but we are now married and enjoy inhaling guacamole as often as I can justify purchasing avacados. Which, you know, isn’t that difficult.

2 Hass avacados
juice from half a lime – or a 3 squirts from a jar. I won’t tell on you.
1 small clove of garlic, minced – or a teaspoon from a jar. No judgment.
1 scallion, sliced thinly
1 T olive oil

Mash all ingredients together and add 1 small tomato, diced. Enjoy plain with tortilla chips or offer it with salsa and sour cream for an appetizer spread.
I usually mix this up a bit – sometimes I leave out the tomato, use lemon instead of lime, or a dice a leek for the scallion, depending on what I have on hand. You can always use a teeny bit of onion in place of the scallion, just be sure to chop it up really small. Unless you like it spicy, in which case you should totally keep that onion chunky and make the recipe your own!