The Jenkins Family (Granny is third from the left on the first row, Lucky is beside her)
Yesterday was the memorial service for Granny’s brother Lucky who passed away in January. Granny is the last person left from her big family.
The Jenkins were always jovial people. They liked to laugh, eat good food, and tell jokes. Many of them also loved to sing and play the guitar and piano.
I can never hear the old hymn “I’ve Got a Mansion Just Over the Hilltop” that I don’t think of my Jenkins family. Granny said she loved to sing the song with her Aunt Pearl, but I remember them all singing it at one time or another often with cousins and aunts and uncles joining in.
Although I was familiar with the song from Granny’s family as well as church I did not know the story behind the song till today.
Here’s the story as told by Lindsay Terry in the St. Augustine Record.
In 1945, a young Christian businessman stood one evening in an evangelistic service in Dallas, Texas, and told how he had learned a valuable lesson from a small child.
The gentleman stated that his business, for a number of months, had been in a steady decline. It looked as if it would completely fail.
Since the situation seemed beyond his ability to understand or control, he found himself slipping into despondency, discouragement and feelings of despair.
He related how one day, for a period of diversion and relaxation, he decided to get into his car and drive out into the countryside. He traveled for miles, out beyond the busy streets and residential areas. He stopped his car on a lonely road and continued on foot. Soon, he found himself on a deserted, out-of-the-way trail, where eventually he came upon a dilapidated cottage. It was in great disrepair with some of the windows replaced with cardboard. Out front was a young girl playing with a doll. Although the stuffing in the doll was protruding in several places, the child seemed to be content and happy.
He approached the front yard – keeping his distance for fear of frightening the child – and asked, “Little girl, would you tell me how you can be happy living in such a house? It is broken down, and the windows are out in several places. The doll you have in your hand is broken with the stuffing coming out. How can you be happy?” The little girl looked up with a smiling face and a gesturing hand and said, “Mister, my daddy just came into a lot of money, and he is building us a brand new mansion just over that hilltop.”
The young businessman testified that those words pierced his heart. He realized, for the first time, that though his earthly business was faltering, the heavenly father had greater things in store for him. It was as though he heard God saying, “Son, don’t you know that I have a mansion prepared for you just beyond those clouds?”
The young businessman concluded his story by telling how he went back home with a new determination to live for God and let the heavenly father take care of the business.
Ira Stanphill, the famed songwriter, was in the audience that evening. He was so moved with the story, he went home still thinking about what he had heard. He rose early the next morning, went to his piano, and wrote the song, “Mansion Over the Hilltop.”
I hope you enjoyed Paul and Granny singing the old song.
Tipper
Original singles released on Spotify.
Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016).
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Beautiful!❤️
So perfect for today! A precious sister in Christ is being laid to rest today after a five year battle with cancer. She was full of smiles, positivity and inspiration. We sang HILLTOPS of GLORY at her funeral as was their wish. The song rang out with a congregation of harmonizing voices. It is still heavy on my mind as I loved her and miss her much. This is sweet to my ears, Granny and Paul and Tipper. May God bless us all. THANK you so much.
I love this song so much! It takes me back to my younger days. The old gospel songs are my absolute favorites and I especially love hearing Paul and Granny sing.
Love it!
One of my favorite hymns. Thanks Mr. Paul and Miss Louzine. It made my day. Y’all sing so good together. Miss Kourtni I’ll be praying for your dad and his family. Hope the prayers will lift y’all up and your dad will get better. Sooner than later. It’s so hard to see our loved ones so sick. Blessings to all today tomorrow and always.
So beautifully sung and played, thank you Mrs. Wilson and Paul : ) In the Jenkins family picture, of Mrs. Wilson, I think I can see Tipper and Katie in her face. I think that is one of the most amazing things to be able to “see” the parent’s features passed down (visibly) in their children and beyond. I am not familiar with this hymn but I liked it and have added it to my spotify list.
I enjoyed Granny and Paul singing I’ve Got a Mansion Over the Hilltop. I sang right along with them. They were just awesome. Thank you, Tipper, for the post above. May the Lord bless the Wilson, Pressley, and Graddick families. AMEN
I so enjoyed hearing Granny and Paul and learning about how the song came to be. Thanks Tipper.
That was very nice y’all! I could hear granny much better than in past videos. Hope y’all all have a blessed Sunday and a great upcoming week
Loved hearing Paul and Granny singing. A lot of faith and love in that video! Even though my Mama had Alzheimer’s, she played piano and sang old gospel songs until a month before she passed away with cancer. Beautiful memories.
Also, there is a Christmas song that Paul sang in your Summer Christmas Celebration that I never heard before, but absolutely loved. Not sure of title, but it might be Christmas time again. Is it original? Has he recorded it ? I’d love to purchase a cd with him singing it.
Jan-thank you!! That song was “It’s Christmas Time” the Louvin Brother’s wrote it. Paul doesn’t have a recording of it, but I’m sure you can find one of the Louvins 🙂
Loved hearing Granny & Paul sing this beautiful & encouraging song. Just what I needed to hear this morning to brighten this old woman’s spirits. Didn’t make it to church this morning due to the storms & heavy rain. Dealing with some depression for the last few days & this song sure lifted my spirits. Thanks for the song? Prayers for Granny & all the Pressley family!
Beautiful start to my day! Now heading off to church for a great Sunday. This post and comments provide a lovely perspective to keep in mind and heart this week.
It’s alway makes a day brighter to hear them sing.
What a wonderful song! Thank you Granny and Paul ❤️
I love this song and Granny and Paul did it justice, a great job.
My Daddy is a preacher and church and loving each other is ingrained in me. My Daddy has been in the hospital for 3 weeks and ICU half of that time. I’d beg of you and your readers to please remember him when you pray.
Kourtni, I’m sorry to hear that. I will pray for him and your family.
Kourtni- I will pray for you and your daddy. They are so precious to us.
May you be consoled by our Heavenly Father, and draw strength from Jesus his Son through the indwelling of the Holy Spitit. Amen
Good morning, Tipper! That has always been one of my favorite hymns and Granny and Paul do a fantastic job singing it. As I listened I was impressed once again with Paul’s picking, and Granny’s sweet frail voice just moved me. I wonder how she feels to be the last member of her immediate family. We know it has to be sad watching each one leave us. I have five sisters in our 70’s…well, one turned 80 last month, and we FaceTime every night for 2 to 3 hours. We all say we want to be the first to leave this world., because none of us wants the pain of losing anyone! Paul and Granny’s hymn singing is always such a lift to my day. I hope God showers them both with blessings galore along with your other family members and all the fans of the Pressley family!
I can’t tell you just how much I enjoyed hearing Granny and Paul sing this song. It’s always been a family favorite of ours and I never knew the story about it until today. Thank you so much for sharing and prayers for all of Lucky’s family especially Granny.
I love this song. We always sang it in our little church I attended while growing up. I haven’t heard it in a long time, but still could sing along with most of it. I really enjoyed Granny and Paul’s beautiful voices blending together and the story you told about the songs’ creation. I hope everyone has a blessed day.
Granny and Paul have such wonderful family harmony.
What a wonderful Gospel song to start Sunday morning with. The story behind it is beautiful and full of truth that we need to take to heart in today’s world.
God bless Granny and be with her.
I love this song, and our church rarely sings it. I grew up playing it on my piano and my mom and I singing it. I had a book of old timey songs which mom loved them, and I grew to love them too. Granny and Paul sang beautifully. I love it when they sing together. I also enjoyed the story behind the song. Have a blessed Sunday everyone.
I think what we think of a mansion isn’t the same thing that Jesus is speaking of in John 14:2 when he said “In my Father’s house are many mansions”. (That is the only mention of mansion in the Bible that I know of.)
Mansions in a house? How can that make sense? Well, it’s easy enough if we can set aside the worldly “a large, luxurious, and opulent home” definition we most often think of today. Set aside a place with gold doorknobs and think of a place where doors are unnecessary, or walls for that matter, for their purpose is to keep evil away.
Perhaps Jesus is referring to a glorified body in a glorified place, Jesus often spoke in parables.
Of one thing I am sure, those mansions of which he spoke will not be those ” a large, luxurious, and opulent homes” we think of when we hear it spoken.
Could the mansion over the hilltop be an exact replica of the one she sat before but without the rot, the rust, the leaking roof, the broken windows and the broken hearts?
Such a beautiful song! I am so glad that Granny & Paul are making these precious recordings together. These songs bless me & are the best way to start my Sunday mornings.
Good morning blessings to you and yours Tipper! I thought the post was from Paul, then when I reread it I noticed this was written & shared by you! Sorry for that.
Good morning Paul – Blessings to you and Granny and again condolences to Granny. Thank you both for sharing this song with us and for the story behind the song.
My Grandmother could shur nough play that song on her old piano. She played the piano for her church and any community function they asked her to do. I love hearing Granny and you sing it Paul!! I’m very close to Granny’s age so I have a lot and I mean a lot of loved ones in heaven and it’s going to be a glorious day some day when I enter and see Jesus and all my loved ones up there. God bless ya all!
So enjoy hearing Granny and Paul singing these wonderful old gospel songs. A beautiful way to start a Sunday morning.
yes I enjoyed that song, God bless Granny
Good morning, I grew up from ages 8-15 in the Philippines on and around an American military base. Off-base and on-base, we lived in “American-style” (sturdy built) housing.
The Filipinos are BEAUTIFUL people; very family and community oriented. But their typical housing was Nipa Huts, thatch houses built up on bamboo stilts for the monsoon season when typhoons would blow 60+ mph SUSTAINED winds with driving rain for DAYS. We’d “hunker down” in our “sturdy” housing while, for example when I was 10, I knew those 10-year old Filipino kids were, as I was told, with their WHOLE family leaning up against the outside wall in their homes on the side facing the prevailing wind. That was to keep their house from tipping over. THAT is perspective. And that was EVERY year living on an island between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea.
We ALL live in mansions. And I’m not minimizing the struggle we all face in our own ways; even in excess for some. It’s perspective and EVERYTHING is a heart issue. P.S. LOVE the song!
Happy Sunday y’all! Love hearing Granny and Paul sing together. My deepest sympathy for the earthly loss of Granny’s brother Lucky. Prayers for comfort and peace for Granny and all the family.
How I love this song, my sister in law (Kathy) would often sing this song. She also would sing “Where The Roses Never Fade” and “Build My Mansion.” Many times when she would be singing with her Daddy, she would be requested to sing these songs. I always told her I wanted her to sing Where The Roses Never Fade at my funeral. She will not be able to do it, she died on Dec 2, 2016 from a very rare brain disease- something like only 350 world wide cases known about. She went down in less than 1 year. “Sheltered In The Arms Of God “ was the last song we know of her singing after her mind was failing. She sang it perfectly without any music. I think she was telling us she was ok. I dearly love listening to Paul and Granny singing these old gospel songs. Sometimes I get the two Mansion songs confused with one another.