Fanny Crosby
Fanny Crosby
1820 - 1915
The following are excerpts from her biography.
When the doctor was called to help six-week-old Fanny Crosby with a minor eye inflammation, his visit had a reverse effect. He placed hot poultices over the infant’s eyes, insisting it would draw the infection out. Instead, Fanny became blind. And while it might have been the end of her sight, it was only the beginning of God’s great work!
Presidents, ambassadors, war generals, and the nationwide church knew her poetry and music and devoured it. But Fanny’s accomplishments did not lead to pride. Her poems were what the public expected, but didn’t contain half of what her soul was proclaiming about God and Heaven. She wanted her poetry to lift people’s souls toward Jesus and salvation, not to coddle them with false warmth.
Several such as ‘Safe in the Arms of Jesus’, ‘I Am Thine O Lord’, and ‘To God Be the Glory’ were favorites sung all over the world. Fanny had this way of attaching the message of Jesus into daily life, which gave worshippers something to relate to.
She contributed her ministry and preaching to several local missions. She saw both of these ways to offer hope and lead people to the decision to follow Christ. In fact, many of her hymns were inspired by her missions work in New York City. Blindness didn’t stop Fanny from writing or helping in Christian rescue missions. From 1880 to 1915, Fanny moved about the slums of New York, living among the poor that she worked to improve the living conditions of. She worked at these missions and wrote until her death in 1915, at the age of ninety-four.
Here is a very short list of the hymns she wrote. I chose them to share because they are my favorites and I still sing them and enjoy them. Fanny loved the Lord so much, you can see it in the words of the hymns she wrote.
All the Way My Savior Leads Me
Blessed Assurance
He Hideth My Soul
I Am Thine, O Lord
Jesus Is Calling
My Savior First of All
Near the Cross
Pass Me Not
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Redeemed
Rescue the Perishing
Tell Me the Story of Jesus
To God be the Glory
Cootie
Who remembers playing Cootie?!
I had forgotten all about this fun little game.
I was curious to know if Cootie was still around, and it sure is. Amazon has an updated version, I would order one if I thought Mr D would play with me. 😏
Until Next Time
Hey, that's me!!
I love the story of Fanny Crosby, and I love every one of her hymns. I love that our church still sings the hymns along with some choruses and modern songs, but mostly the hymns. Although now we still are not permitted to sing congregationally because of COVID. I pray that will end soon. My heart and soul needs to sing. Loved playing Cootie as a child! If you get one, bring it here and I will play with you! LOL. And you were a sweet and beautiful baby! And a sweet and beautiful woman of God.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the story of Fanny Crosby. I knew she wrote hymns and that she was blind, but I did not know the rest of the story. We sing her songs quite often at church.
ReplyDeleteI remember Cootie and loved it as a kid.
You were a cute little baby.
What a great story about an amazing woman! Thank you for schooling us on her life! Blessed Assurance is probably my favorite hymn... at least it is in the top five. I played with the cootie game way, way back in the day. What fun that it is still around! I bet if you got one, Mr. D would play with you! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! Ah, cooties, lolol. Have a beautiful day friend.
ReplyDeleteLinda, when the kids were little they had this crazy saying....Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot, Dot. Now you have your Cootie shot. lol
DeleteI never got to play with Cootie! I really wanted one too.
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable baby you were ... with that sweet lil' curl, right in the middle of your forehead. :) I'd totally forgotten about the Cooties game, but seeing them all the fun came rushing back. Please let us know if you order it!
ReplyDeleteMyra/Mevely317... Blogger's giving me conniption fits trying to comment as 'me.'
Aw...you were a cutie pie!
ReplyDeleteLoved learning about Fanny. A couple of those hymns are among my favorites.
I loved Cootie when I was a kid and my kids had it. I may have to get it for my grands.
Blessings!
Fanny Crosby wrote many of my favourite hymns!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember playing Cootie with my kids. It was a fun game.
Wow. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete