It Is Well with My Soul The Inspiring Story of Horatio Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, and the Famous Hymn

Maegraith Productions
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The extraordinary true story behind one of the world’s best-loved hymns. This podcast is a reading of the novella It Is Well with My Soul: The Inspiring Story of Horatio Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, and the Famous Hymn by the author D.P.K.Maegraith. Buy the book and learn about the film at https://itiswellwithmysoul.com In 1873, Horatio Spafford was a successful Chicago businessman whose life was transformed by a series of devastating tragedies. He lost much of his wealth in the Great Chicago Fire. Then, while travelling across the Atlantic to join his family in Europe, disaster struck again: his four daughters died when the ship carrying them collided with another vessel. As Horatio sailed across the Atlantic over the place where his daughters had perished, he began to write the words that would become “It Is Well with My Soul” a hymn of extraordinary faith, comfort and hope. But the story does not end there. This podcast explores the remarkable lives of Horatio and Anna Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, the tragedy at sea, their deep Christian faith, and the extraordinary circumstances that inspired a hymn that has comforted millions of people around the world. Based on the book It Is Well with My Soul, this is a story of loss and grief, but ultimately of courage, faith, redemption and hope. Discover the history behind the hymn and the story of the people whose lives gave it meaning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    It Is Well with My Soul: The Scripture Inspirations for the song

    When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll— Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul. Discover the whole story https://itiswellwithmysoul.com It Is Well with My Soul: The Scripture Inspirations for the song. It is one of the most treasured hymns in the church: It Is Well with My Soul. These words were not written in a quiet study. They were written after fire, after ruin, and after a father’s four daughters were lost at sea. And yet every line is anchored in Scripture. Not as decoration. As foundation. Let’s walk the hymn slowly — story first, then verse by verse — and listen for the Bible underneath it. Horatio Gates Spafford was a Chicago lawyer and a Presbyterian elder. He was a friend of D. L. Moody. In 1871 the Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of his real-estate fortune. Two years later, the family planned a trip to Europe. Business held Horatio back. His wife Anna sailed ahead with their four daughters: Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and little Tanetta. On the night of November 22, 1873, their ship, the Ville du Havre, was struck by another vessel and sank in minutes. Two hundred twenty-six people died. All four girls were among them. Anna was pulled from the water, barely alive. From Cardiff she sent a cable that still stops the heart: “Saved alone. What shall I do.” Horatio boarded a ship to meet her. The captain later called him to the cabin and told him they were passing over the place where the Ville du Havre had gone down. Waters three miles deep. There, over that grave of water, Spafford began to write. Philip Bliss later set the poem to music and named the tune Ville du Havre — after the ship itself. Grief wrote the hymn. Scripture held it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    It Is Well with My Soul: The Scripture Inspirations for the song

  2. Sep 13

    Chapter 4 Water

    November, 1873. Anna and her four daughters sail from New York aboard the Ville de Havre in the middle of the North Atlantic. The ship collides with the iron clipper Loch Urn and sinks in little more than 10 minutes. Anna watches the sea take Taneda from her arms, then Annie, Maggie, and Bessie. She is pulled onto wreckage and later rescued. Nine days later, from Cardiff, she sends Horatio the telegram that will break him. Saved alone, what shall I do? The chapter ends with Horatio on his knees, pouring out his grief to God. This episode read by the author D.P.K.Maegraith from the novella It Is Well with My Soul: The Inspiring Story of Horatio Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, and the Famous Hymn. Buy the book, learn about the film at https://itiswellwithmysoul.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Chapter 4 Water

  3. Sep 13

    Chapter 3 Fire

    The hot, dry summer of 1871 ends in catastrophe. On October 8th, a lantern in the O' Leary barn starts the Great Chicago Fire. In two days a third of the city is destroyed and Horatio's property investments are gone. Walking through the ruins, he meets the same stranger from his wedding day who now quotes Job the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Moody later invites the family to Europe. Horatio cannot leave, but he books passage for Anna and the girls on the Ville du Ave, hoping rest and reunion at Christmas will restore them all. This episode read by the author D.P.K.Maegraith from the novella It Is Well with My Soul: The Inspiring Story of Horatio Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, and the Famous Hymn. Buy the book, learn about the film at https://itiswellwithmysoul.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Chapter 3 Fire

  4. Sep 13

    Chapter 2 Earth

    Chicago, September 5, 1861 Horatio and Anna are married in a church filled with friends, including Dwight Moody. The chapter looks back on how they met, how Horatio paid for her schooling and waited for her, and how their life together quickly filled with prosperity, a grand home and four daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and It is a season of wealth, reputation, and apparent blessing. A mysterious stranger appears at the wedding and recites Isaiah 43, leaving the couple with the sense that they have heard the voice of God on the happiest day of their lives. This episode read by the author D.P.K.Maegraith from the novella It Is Well with My Soul: The Inspiring Story of Horatio Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, and the Famous Hymn. Buy the book, learn about the film at https://itiswellwithmysoul.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Chapter 2 Earth

  5. Sep 7

    It Is Well with My Soul the book Chapter 1 Norway

    This chapter opens in Stavanger, Norway, in 1846. Four-year-old Anna Larsson learns her family is leaving their small fishing town for America. The voyage, the first sight of New York, and the long journey to Chicago follow. In the New World she loses her brother to cholera, then her mother, then her father, and becomes an orphan taken in by the church. She changes her name to Lawson, grows into a young woman of faith and resilience, and meets the older lawyer Horatio Spafford, who waits until she is eighteen before asking her to marry him. This episode read by the author D.P.K.Maegraith from the novella It Is Well with My Soul: The Inspiring Story of Horatio Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, and the Famous Hymn. Buy the book, learn about the film at https://itiswellwithmysoul.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    It Is Well with My Soul the book Chapter 1 Norway
  • 5 Episodes

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The extraordinary true story behind one of the world’s best-loved hymns. This podcast is a reading of the novella It Is Well with My Soul: The Inspiring Story of Horatio Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, and the Famous Hymn by the author D.P.K.Maegraith. Buy the book and learn about the film at https://itiswellwithmysoul.com In 1873, Horatio Spafford was a successful Chicago businessman whose life was transformed by a series of devastating tragedies. He lost much of his wealth in the Great Chicago Fire. Then, while travelling across the Atlantic to join his family in Europe, disaster struck again: his four daughters died when the ship carrying them collided with another vessel. As Horatio sailed across the Atlantic over the place where his daughters had perished, he began to write the words that would become “It Is Well with My Soul” a hymn of extraordinary faith, comfort and hope. But the story does not end there. This podcast explores the remarkable lives of Horatio and Anna Spafford, the Great Chicago Fire, the tragedy at sea, their deep Christian faith, and the extraordinary circumstances that inspired a hymn that has comforted millions of people around the world. Based on the book It Is Well with My Soul, this is a story of loss and grief, but ultimately of courage, faith, redemption and hope. Discover the history behind the hymn and the story of the people whose lives gave it meaning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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