"Remember when the judge that married us, and he

 asked what our plans were, and we told him we were going to California to find gold?"

"Yes, I remember that, Mary Ann. Why are we remembering it just now?"

"Because it is raining, it has been raining for days, it rained while we had our roof raising, and I'm thinking if we went to California, we'd probably be having sunshine right now."

Mary Ann was sitting in their warm little cabin, under a dry roof, looking out the open door at puddles so big they could be called lakes. Her woebegone face said it all -- this was not the honeymoon she was expecting.

Photo Credit: Bernadette Graham-Hudson, ODFW 

 

"You know what your father would say if he were here?"

"Yes, because he has said it to me before, and he is right! We must Praise God at all times, and not just because times are good. But the weather is sulking and I feel like sulking with it."

"Sweet wife, I was thinking more on the lines of Psalm 104:33 --

"I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being."

Maybe what we need is a good old fashioned sing along."

"I know that is true, James -- you start. Hearing you sing will put me in a better mood and I'll join in."

"Little Mary, you come help me get started. You've rocked the baby asleep, come sing with us."

Let's listen in to our pioneer family, to music they make in their hearts. How Great Thou Art by Southern Raised.