“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.”

Psalm 33:1 ( NIV )

Lord, thank you for the special people who make a positive impact on young lives, for the opportunity to praise you in song, and for your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

“O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made ¼ . Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee; How great thou art, how great thou art!”

This hymn, How Great Thou Art , along with many others, brings back fond childhood memories of growing up in a small, rural Methodist Church, where everyone knew one another and we celebrated every joy and shared each other's sorrows. We had congregational dinners at the drop of a hat and hymn sings once a month. It was truly one big family, with Irma and Art Hock Sr. as the grandparents. For a long time, I really did believe Art Hock was the topic of this hymn, because he told me so himself, how great thou “ art .”

As I grew older and came to understand the hymn as it was meant to be, it became my favorite song to request at hymn sings: page number 17 in the red hymnal.

I love to make a “joyful noise unto the Lord,” which I attribute to my mom, who was always singing and my early church family, who sang their love of the Lord with gusto.

The years have passed and so has Art. How Great Thou Art has remained one of my favorite hymns and to this day it fills me with emotions. “That God his Son not sparing, Sent him to die ¼ to take away my sin. When Christ shall come ¼ . what joy shall fill my heart ¼ my God, how great thou art!”

Every time I sing it, I am filled with love for our selfless, loving Father in heaven and thankful for wonderful, happy times shared with people like Art. He may have never had a song actually written about him, but in my eyes he was great just the same.

JAMIE ZEISLOFT