I wrote to her sug­gest­ing that she should fill a gap in our Irish Church Hymn­al by giv­ing us a me­tric­al ver­sion of St. Patrick’s “Lor­i­ca” and I sent her a care­ful­ly col­lat­ed co­py of the best prose trans­la­tions of it. With­in a week she sent me that ex­qui­site­ly beau­ti­ful as well as faith­ful ver­sion which ap­pears in the ap­pend­ix to our Church Hymn­al.

This hymn can be a chall­enge to sing with­out see­ing the words matched to the notes, but it is a mas­ter­piece ne­ver­the­less. 

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

This past weekend, we took a few country drives.  As usual, we passed fields of cattle.

For some strange reason, we came across some very friendly cattle.

This herd seemed to be composed of primarily yearlings.

They were exceptionally curious.  Most cows seem to bolt away from the fence when you walk up.

In this pasture, there was this adorable newborn.

He prefered to stay with his mommy, who watched us warily from a distance.

Then yesterday on the way home from church, we passed this cattle farm in Celina.  I noticed something odd about the cows.

They were moving.

No, actually, they were running.

I wondered if these cows rarely saw a car.  They were coming straight for us.

Most of these were longhorns.  Obviously.

This one had the biggest rack.

With force of arms we nothing can,
Full soon were we down-ridden;
But for us fights the proper Man,
Whom God Himself hath bidden.
Ask ye, who is this same?
Christ Jesus is His Name,
The Lord Sabaoth’s Son;
He, and no other one,
Shall conquer in the battle.

And were this world all devils o’er,
And watching to devour us,
We lay it not to heart so sore;
Not they can overpower us.
And let the prince of ill
Look grim as e’er he will,
He harms us not a whit;
For why? - his doom is writ;
A word shall quickly slay him.

God’s Word, for all their craft and force,
One moment will not linger,
But, spite of hell, shall have its course;
‘Tis written by His finger.
And though they take our life,
Goods, honor, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small;
These things shall vanish all:
The City of God remaineth!

Translation of Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” by Thom­as Car­lyle

http://familybuildingworkshop.com/Matthew/2010/03/10/a-shocking-history/

Take last Monday, for instance.  After hours of drizzling rain, the skies cleared, leaving behind a rain-washed world of beauty.

There were even rainbows.

This is a little horse farm about a mile from my house.  It’s one of the last farms in Fairview that hasn’t been sold to developers yet. 

Looking into Wilson Creek Valley.  My home is on a ridge just above the old creek.

I can hardly wait for spring to come in full force!

These are Cedar Waxwings.

I was surprised last Sunday to actually see Red-winged Blackbirds coming close to the house.  They’ve been hard for me to photograph in the past.

Must be all that delicious suet that’s tempting them to come so close.

I think this is some kind of sparrow, but I’m not sure…  anyone have a clue?

There’s also a woodpecker that’s been coming around, but I haven’t been able to photograph him.  Who’d have thought that woodpeckers would move so fast!