Melodies & Musings

When Jesus Calls

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Melodies & Musings

A while back, I wrote a poem about how Jesus is our Good Shepherd and we are His beloved sheep. You can find the link to that poem at the bottom of this post. As I reread that poem and thought about the message, I wondered if I am in tune enough with Jesus to hear His voice when He calls me?

Sometimes we get so distracted by other things in this life that we might lose track of the important things. Even though the things that we do for our home and family are important, listening for and hearing Jesus’ voice should be among the most important thing in our lives.

We should prioritize spiritual things above anything else. As we learn more about Jesus and learn from His example, I think we will become more in tune to His voice. Then when He calls us to do something, we can be ready.

What helps you stay spiritually in tune with Jesus when life becomes busy and distracting? Have you ever felt Jesus guiding you toward something you might not have recognized if you hadn’t been listening?

Here’s the link to the poem about this topic:https://faithcenteredinspiration.com/2026/01/17/the-good-shepherd/

Here’s a link to the YouTube video of me reading part of the poem:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5Kr4_vOyTvA

Other Refuge Have I None

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Melodies & Musings

Another one of my favorite hymns is Jesus, Lover of My Soul. I have always loved the music to this hymn, but the words are especially powerful. I love the words to the second verse:

Other refuge have I none;

Hangs my helpless soul on thee.

Leave, oh, leave me not alone;

Still support and comfort me.

All my trust on thee is stayed;

All my help from thee I bring.

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of thy wing.

What makes these words so powerful is that it sounds like a prayer to Jesus, telling Him first that we don’t have anyone else who is our refuge. Our souls would be helpless without Jesus and His Atonement. But we do have Jesus, so our souls are never helpless. Because of Him, we can repent and become better. That’s such a sweet and amazing testimony to all of us. For me, Jesus has been my refuge many times in my life, but especially these last few years living with chronic illness symptoms. I can always turn to Him and He will be there for me.

Then, we plead for Him to never leave us, and we put all of our trust in Him, that He will “abide” with us and never leave us alone. There’s my word of the year again, “Abide”. As soon as we reach out to Him, He will be there for us. He is ready to be there at a moment’s notice because He loves us so much.

I got really excited when I found that one of the scriptures that inspired this hymn was Psalm 62:6-7, which reads:

6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

The book of Psalms has been one of my favorite books of scripture for a long time, probably because it sounds like music and I love music! From these verses, Jesus is our rock, our salvation, our defence, and our refuge.

What does it mean to you to know that Jesus can be your refuge? When have you felt Jesus supporting and comforting you during a difficult time?

Watch the short video of me singing the second verse of this hymn here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TVdJK2A-s4Q

The Love That Led Him to Suffer

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Melodies & Musings

I mentioned in a post last week that my Mom and I are memorizing the words of the hymn, I Stand All Amazed. That hymn has been one of my favorites for many years. The tune is so beautiful, so as a singer I appreciate that very much. Then as a writer, I really love the words of this hymn. They are so emotional and raw. Then as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, my whole life, the words bring to my mind my personal faith and testimony in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice.

This week I’m sharing why I love the words of the third verse. 

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!

Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,

Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Chorus:

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me

Enough to die for me!

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

This verse clearly tells of my love for my Savior and I’m sure many of you can relate to these words as well. I can’t imagine the amount of love that my Savior had for me to suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane. He literally took upon Himself all of our pain, sickness, trials, sins and everything else we feel in this life. I can’t imagine the agony and pain He must have felt in those hard moments in the Garden. But He went through it for you and for me. As the words of this verse say, that I can never forget the love and devotion that He must have felt for us. Then we should give Him our love and devotion in return.

I can’t wait for the day when I will see my Savior again and be able to fall down at His feet, bathe His feet with my tears for all He did for me, and embrace Him. I would thank Him for all He suffered for me, for always being there when I needed Him, and for being my personal Savior.

What words from a favorite hymn have touched your heart or strengthened your faith in Jesus Christ? When you think about the sacrifice Jesus made for you, what does His love mean to you personally?

Click here to watch the short video of me singing this verse:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZY95RcyzQek

The Long Haul of Our Trials

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Melodies & Musings

I just read one of my older poems that I will link at the end of this post so you can read it. It’s about the long haul of having many chronic illness symptoms every day and how lonely that life can sometimes feel. But at the end of the day, there is always hope because of Jesus Christ.

I was just thinking about the aspect of a long haul. When I think of that, I think of a long haul truck driver. I have motion sickness and being in a big truck all day long just doesn’t sound fun to me. But I appreciate that there are people who have that occupation. It is very needed in this world. Our trials we face every day can seem like a long haul, especially when there seems no end to our suffering.

I know we all have trials and that no one is spared in this life. We are all going through the long haul with whatever baggage that entails. Some days we may feel that the weight on our shoulders is too much to bear. We may have days when it is hard to get out of bed because we don’t know if we can go through the same thing again.

However, because of our Savior, Jesus Christ, there is always hope. I write about this a lot on here because I hold onto this hope on my hardest days. No matter how hard my day has been, how painful the long haul of my trials seems, the sun always rises the next morning and hope always comes back.

What trial in your life has felt like a long haul, and what has helped you keep going? How has Jesus Christ helped you endure a trial that seemed to have no end?

Check out the poem about this topic here: https://faithcenteredinspiration.com/2026/01/14/a-grief-that-cant-be-spoken/

The Power of Grace in One Simple Verse

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Melodies & Musings

My Mom and I are memorizing the words of a beloved hymn, I Stand All Amazed. I have loved this hymn for a long time, but especially the lyrics. The verse that stands out to me the most is the first verse. It reads:

“I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

Chorus:
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

I learned that the word “proffers” in the second line means to “offer up” something to someone. And I learned that the word “confused” in that line means “overwhelmed or full of wonder.” So the second line means that I am so overwhelmed by His grace because He so freely offers it to me. I love this message!

A scripture that is connected to this hymn is John 15:13, which reads, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” That scripture connects beautifully with the message of this hymn and especially with the first verse.

Jesus has so much love for us that it is hard to even fully comprehend. He laid down His life so freely for each one of us. And it is truly wonderful, that He loves us and cares for us so much that He did that. I don’t think we can even begin to comprehend that amount of love for someone.

When have you felt especially overwhelmed by the Savior’s love and grace in your own life? Is there a favorite hymn that helps you better understand Jesus Christ’s love for you?

Watch this video of me singing the first verse of this hymn:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/z9dQRc6ymac