Author Archives: Ellen

Abide With Me ~ Hymn

Bourton-Gloucester 064

Abide With Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Words: Henry F. Lyte, 1847.

Lyte was in­spired to write this hymn as he was dy­ing of tu­ber­cu­lo­sis; he fin­ished it the Sun­day he gave his fare­well ser­mon in the par­ish he served so ma­ny years. The next day, he left for Ita­ly to re­gain his health. He didn’t make it, though—he died in Nice, France, three weeks af­ter writ­ing these words. Here is an ex­cerpt from his fare­well ser­mon:

O breth­ren, I stand here among you to­day, as alive from the dead, if I may hope to im­press it upon you, and in­duce you to pre­pare for that sol­emn hour which must come to all, by a time­ly ac­quaint­ance with the death of Christ.

For over a cen­tu­ry, the bells of his church at All Saints in Low­er Brix­ham, De­von­shire, have rung out “Abide with Me” daily. The hymn was sung at the wed­ding of King George VI, at the wed­ding of his daugh­ter, the fu­ture Queen Eliz­a­beth II, and at the funeral of Nobel peace prize winner Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 1997.

HT: Cyberhymnal

Joys and Trials…

Our kids are getting together for a siblings weekend. This brings me joy. There are 5 hours or so of distance between Dan and Jamie and our kids that live on this side of the mountains so they are meeting about halfway.

My dear old Pop is doing pretty good. He has pain in his legs and back and is losing strength but in general his outlook has been so much better since he moved in with my sister and brother-in-law. I’m thankful for my Pop’s living arrangements and thankful for Len and Kathy who are housing him and taking care of him. Working on jigsaw puzzles help his days go by faster.

We have dear friends through the friendship of our son Dan with their son. This son of theirs has a new wee baby boy who was born very early at just 1#7ounces. He has had such a struggle as you can only imagine. He is now 3# and is a little fighter, beating many odds thrown at him.  We rejoice for his weight gain. We pray for him without ceasing. He needs our prayers. We pray for his parents who must be exhausted with the ups and downs that come with the intense cares and concerns for their little boy. We pray for the grandparents that are doing all they can to lessen the load. We are making our requests to God.

We pray for Dan and Jamie’s little flower girl who is fighting leukemia and in intense treatments against this illness. We rejoice with every step forward made in her bodies fight against leukemia and pray for healing.

We also pray for a blogging friend’s son who is fighting disease and is in intense treatments, too.

The Lord is near, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” ~ Philippians 4:5b-7

We pray for the firefighters and the homeowner’s in all the wild fire areas of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. We rejoice that Dan’s friend’s home was spared. We grieve for the 3 firefighters who lost their lives in the fires near Twisp, Washington. In California the Bible Camp where I received Christ as my Savior is being threatened by a wildfire, too. We rejoice for the wonderful work that opened the door for salvation to so many who went to camp at Hume Lake.

We rejoice with my brother and his family because he has a new job after being let go from his job of over 20 years due to his company’s downsizing.

We are still in the waiting room on a new job for Dear.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 (ESV)

With everything that is going on it’s hard not to pray without ceasing. There are lots of things that I didn’t list that require prayer, too.

This weekend we are having a barbecue with our small group. We haven’t met since June so it will be good to catch up. On Sunday our church is closing it’s doors and we are headed to schools in our community to spruce them up for the new year. Community Serve Day is a great event every year that 6 local churches take part in.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Different Fences…

Driving to the famous Farmer’s Market area of Los Angeles a few years ago we came across this house with an over the top application of Michelangelo’s David statues. Yes, plural, statues! This is in a million dollar plus neighborhood.

Over 14 David reproduction statues. I wonder what the story behind this landscaping is? Yard art gone crazy! What do you think the neighbors say? “Oh you won’t have a problem finding our street, turn at the David’s x 14+!”

So many sad and serious things happening in the Pacific Northwest right now I had to post something to distract myself in between praying earnestly!

I’m linking up with TexWisGirl at Run*A*Round Ranch Report for Good Fences #74.

F is for…

Fuchsias! But…what’s really on my mind are fires.

Fuchsias with flags!

When I was little we would so enjoy popping the fuchsia pods before they burst on their own. They seemed to grow profusely in Southern California. I’m happy that the plant I bought for this pot has done well here in Washington state, too.

Fires continue to burn here in Washington State and the fires burning in Stevens County are personal to me and Dear since our son and daughter in law live in this area that has been declared “A State of Emergency”. We met so many people who live in this part of our state at our son’s wedding in late June and now we are hearing of the devastation that some of them have endured and will have to endure as they re-build what was lost. Some of the re-building will take years. Our son visited his friend’s property and said it looked like a moon scape. Thirty acres that used to be filled with beautiful trees and vegetation now burned down to stubble and ash. Our prayers continue for our state and our fire fighters and our volunteer fire fighters and the homeowners who have to do the brunt of work to save their properties because our state is running out of resources to send…

Linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and administered now by Roger and a crew of wonderful bloggers!

Barn Collective

I might have shared this one before and I wonder if it’s still standing since fires are burning out of control in this part of Northeastern Washington.

The rest of my selection are paintings that my Mother-in-Law painted. She grew up in Kansas and taught in a one room schoolhouse in Kansas. I think she saw lots of barns in her lifetime!

Linking up with Tom at Backroads Traveller for the Barn Collective.

We have been getting texts, watching the news and searching for news on the fires that are burning in Northeast Washington too close to our son and daughter in law and their friends for comfort. Because of all the fires raging in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana resources are at their limits. When this northern part of Steven’s county where our son lives called to get help they were told there was no help left to send them. Homeowners have been doing what they can to try to save their homes. We thought our son’s friend’s family had lost their home to the fire that swept through his property but we were happy to learn that the house did not burn down but all their out-buildings a truck and tractor were lost. We will get more details when it’s safer to return and assess all that was lost. This area is in a State of Emergency and are awaiting a declaration as a Disaster Area. It’s my understanding if they get a Disaster Declaration they might be able to get some national help with the fires. This is the worst situation that people who have lived in this area for years and years have experienced.

This is a photo I found on line of the Marble Valley Fire in Addy, Washington. Our son’s friend’s home is on that hillside and our son and daughter in law’s home is about 5 miles away.
I love the prayer a dear friend has prayed for this situation…
“will be praying for Dan and Jamie’s situation — that God will hold his hand over them … keep them safe from the fire and may the fire be blown out by an angelic host .. since everyone else is busy ! “
And I’m also praying for all the firefighters that are probably exhausted and the poor homeowners who have lost everything in this fire. For our son’s friend (who was one of his groomsmen) and his family as they walk about their property and make plans to replace what was lost. Even though their home did not burn down there is probably some smoke issues that need addressing. Praying that the winds stay calm and more help will arrive and that the fires get under control. If you pray could you add your prayers to mine for this area? Thank you!

Jesus Loves Me

 

 Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died,
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! loves me still,
When I’m very weak and ill;
From His shining throne on high,
Comes to watch me where I lie.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He will stay,
Close beside me all the way;
He’s prepared a home for me,
And some day His face I’ll see.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Traditional
Words By: Anna B. Warner
Music By: Wm. B. Bradbury
Copyright Unknown

Before and After – Back of the House

Just to forewarn y’all, this is a photo overload post.

This photo was taken in 2000 and it was before we replaced all our windows.

This post is full of photos that are interesting for Dear and me in documenting the progression of our home improvements.

This is the finished product with the trim painted around the upper level of our home which is our master suite. The bottom narrow window is our laundry room.

Now for the process step by step…somewhat.

This rosemary bush was out of control and we ended up taking it out completely. It not only got in the way of the work but it’s fragrance when disturbed was so strong that Dear and I would get nauseated working around it.

This photo shows the planter (rosemary bush) cleared out and ready for new plantings.

Dear has done the siding and improving the “look” of our home I wanted to post the photos of  all the hard work he has put into this old house! Along the way he has had some help from our boys. Dear is taking full advantage of his “temporary retirement”. For the record, before Dear was a Pharmacist he had very different jobs as a Loader Operator in a Quarry, a repairman/welder, and a painting contractor with his father. He inherited some ladders from his father and has purchased some of his own and is comfortable on a low and high ladder. This next out of sequence photos shows his prowess.

Putting the new windows in the garage.

Yikes! That’s high!

We are considering putting up a Barn Quilt between the upper window in the loft and the middle window of our garage/shop. The lower level with the single garage door is the shop. Our garage is the middle level with a double garage door on the opposite side of the building. We might enlist our daughter’s skills in designing and painting a Celtic Cross design for our “barn quilt”.

Back in 1999…

2008

Spring of this year.

And this is the upper entrance to the garage today with our new privacy fence showing on the right. Maybe we should put a barn quilt on this side, too.

Dear is working hard to finish up his projects on this old house because soon he’ll be working on a renovation at our son’s home. Today and tomorrow he is finishing up the trim on the garage/shop in between fast moving storms. No ladder work if there is lightning!

Do you have any projects progressing on your home?

Good Fences – Port Gamble

This is a view of the Hood Canal Bridge in the distance from the good fence at the Port Gamble Historic Cemetery. Port Gamble is a historic village on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State. Our last time through Port Gamble we stopped at Mike’s Barbecue and we highly recommend it to our fellow travelers!

Linking up with TexWisGirl at Run*A*Round Ranch Report for Good Fences #73!