{"id":413,"date":"2009-02-05T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2009-02-05T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devonline.us\/dailyevotional\/archives\/413"},"modified":"2009-02-05T06:01:05","modified_gmt":"2009-02-05T13:01:05","slug":"buddy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/buddy\/","title":{"rendered":"“BUDDY!”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew 10:29-31<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We have a new member of our family. Let me re-phrase that\u2014we have two new members. Our granddaughter, Jenna gave birth to our first great grandchild, Rhett James Simek, on January 16th. We also have a new canary that we have named, Buddy the Bird.<\/p>\n

Buddy is a yellow bundle of joy that cannot be contained. He loves to sing, especially when we run water in the kitchen sink. But at other times, especially when both Joyce and I are in the room, he breaks into the most beautiful song.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of the words of a song written by Civilla Martin in 1905. Here is what she wrote about what led her to write the words to that hymn:<\/p>\n

Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle\u2014true saints of God.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them.<\/p>\n

One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle\u2019s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”<\/p>\n

The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn His Eye Is on the Sparrow<\/em> was the outcome of that experience.<\/p>\n

His Eye is on the Sparrow<\/em><\/strong> – popular hymn by Civilla Martin\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why should I feel discouraged,
\nwhy should the shadows come,
\nWhy should my heart be lonely,
\nand long for heaven and home.<\/p>\n

When Jesus is my portion?
\nMy constant friend is He:
\nHis eye is on the sparrow,
\nand I know He watches me;
\nHis eye is on the sparrow,
\nand I know He watches me.<\/p>\n

Refrain:
\nI sing because I\u2019m happy,
\nI sing because I\u2019m free,
\nFor His eye is on the sparrow,
\nAnd I know He watches me.<\/p>\n

“Let not your heart be troubled,”
\nHis tender word I hear;
\nAnd resting on His goodness,
\nI lose my doubts and fears;<\/p>\n

Though by the path He leadeth,
\nbut one step I may see;
\nHis eye is on the sparrow,
\nand I know He watches me;
\nHis eye is on the sparrow,
\nand I know He watches me.<\/p>\n

Refrain<\/p>\n

Whenever I am tempted,
\nwhenever clouds arise,
\nWhen songs give place to sighing,
\nwhen hope within me dies,<\/p>\n

I draw the closer to Him,
\nfrom care He sets me free;
\nHis eye is on the sparrow,
\nand I know He watches me;
\nHis eye is on the sparrow,
\nand I know He watches me.<\/p>\n

Refrain<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Over and over I am reminded that our eyes should be on the Lord. I want to learn a lesson from our little \u201cBuddy the Bird.\u201d Rather than moaning and complaining about the bad things that are happening, I want to sing the praises of the Lord.<\/p>\n

Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!<\/p>\n

– – – Pastor Cecil<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” We have a new member of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matthew"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyevotional.com\/prior2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}