Author Archives: Ellen

Truth for Today #124

Thursday December 5th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Hebrews 1:1-3a

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. 

From Vera:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭5‬

From Willow:

Joel 2:32,

And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved;

From Karen:

I John 4:11

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Tis the Season Hodgepodge

The tree is up and some of the ornaments are on it. I’m debating about how many to fill it with. Maybe it will be simplified this year. The rest of the Christmas bins are coming down today (Tuesday) and hopefully all the decorating will be accomplished before I visit Hodgepodgers this week!

Thank you to Joyce for the Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions! Click over to join in.

1. What’s the best $5 gift to give someone? 

Oh boy, this is a tough one. How about meet someone for a cuppa that you pay for and give them an hour of your time. I would have said buy them a cup of whatever and a little sweet to go with it but it would have to be a cookie because pastries are up in the $6 range these days!!

2. What’s your favorite way to relax/unwind during the busy holiday season? 

Sitting with my feet up and enjoying some quiet. Going for a drive and enjoying the winter views.

3. How do you feel about gingerbread? Love it or no thanks? Are gingerbread houses a part of your holiday tradition? If you said yes, how does that look? Do you like ginger flavor in other kinds of dishes? 

A little gingerbread is enjoyable but it wouldn’t be missed. Houses have not been a big part of our tradition until lately with the Grands and it’s a nice craft for them to enjoy. Ginger is a nice addition to other kinds of dishes and in tea.

4. December 5th is National Blue Jeans Day…will you be celebrating? Do you have a favorite brand? A favorite pair? Do you have a hard time parting with a favorite pair of jeans? Blue jeans-joggers-leggings-yoga pants…which one do you wear most often? 

Any jeans that fit well and stay put at the waist are fabulous in my book. When I find a brand that will do that I’ll cling to them forever! Around the house and working in the yard joggers are the comfort go to for bending, kneeling, pulling weeds, etc.

At night when the day and work is done it is always time for comfy pants! (Jammy bottoms)

5. As we head into this holiday season what’s your biggest priority or goal for the end of the year? 

Remembering that God is my portion. With Him I have all I need. He is the strength of my heart.

“Christ’s divinity has no starting point in time. He always was. He was God before time began. He is God at this very moment. And He will continue to be God forever.” Alistair Begg ~Let Earth Receive Her King. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Scotland Travel Journal ~ The Old Course

In our time in Scotland, Friday the 20th of September was filled with golf. After Josh completed the course at St. Michaels Golf Club, he and Laura came back to the Lodge to get ready for our afternoon in St. Andrews. We found a parking spot at the St. Andrews Links ~ The Old Course and made our way to the Tom Morris Bar and Grill.

Another bowl of Cullen and Skink for me!

We all shared some Sticky Toffee Pudding and were ready for our tour of the Old Course which would begin at 2pm.

The World Famous Old Course. You can find some history of the Old Course here.

If we would have known about the Himalayas we would have tried to get on this course for fun. Here is a link for the history of the St. Andrews Ladies Putting Club (The Himalayas).

This day was a full day with clouds. The clouds did not produce rain this day and for that we were thankful.

St Andrews Links is one of the hosts to the first major professional golf tournament, the Open Championship. The first playing of the Open at the Old Course was in 1873, the winner was Tom Kidd. St Andrews Links has hosted the Open Championship more than any other course. It typically hosts the Open every five years. St Andrews Links provides unique challenges with its infamous bunkers, including the Old Course’s “Hell Bunker” on 14 and the Road Hole on 17. Many of the greatest Open Champions have crossed the famous 700-year-old Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole of the Old Course.

And we crossed the bridge, too.

After our tour we decided to walk into St. Andrews to visit the Castle ruins, the cathedral, and other historical sites connecting our trip again to the John Knox and many other Reformers. On the way into town we stopped at the Martyrs’ Monument.

Martyrs’ Monument in St Andrews, Scotland, enjoys a high-profile location adjacent to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, overlooking the world-famous Old Course and the spectacular West Sands. It was built to commemorate a number of Protestant figures who were martyred in St Andrews between 1520 and 1560, and highlights the important role that the town played in the Reformation.

Martyrs’ Monument was built to commemorate four men executed in St Andrews during the 16th Century for their Protestant beliefs. St Andrews, which at that time had the largest cathedral in Scotland and one of the most celebrated in Europe, was, somewhat inevitably, drawn into the events leading up to the Protestant Reformation.

Patrick Hamilton was first to be burnt at the stake, in 1527, after he promoted the doctrines of Martin Luther. Henry Forest was executed in 1533 for owning a copy of the New Testament in English. George Wishart was burnt at the stake for defying the Catholic Church and Walter Myln followed in 1558, having advocated married clergy.

I’ll wrap this post up here and continue our St. Andrews adventures on another day.

Happy Birthday, dear Laura, enjoy your day!

Thanksgiving Leftovers…

…are the best!

On Friday of our long Thanksgiving weekend we enjoyed Swedish Pancakes and little smokies while we waited for Josh and Laura to arrive from the west side of the Cascades. We enjoyed some Bible Challenge questions read by Dan and Addy before and after Josh and Laura arrived, too. They arrived before dinner and it was good for the 10 of us to be together. The guys hauled the Christmas tree in and set it up which was a special treat for me.

After dinner and a game of Uno the grands were given instructions on playing solitaire.

Saturday morning the girls went shopping along Main Street in Colville before we all gathered on Bayles Mountain for Charcuterie for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was filled with crafts, a walk, making dinner and decorating for the special birthday we would celebrate.

Our Grands love their Auntie Lolo and they made a special sign to let her know. Hers was the special early December birthday we were celebrating on this Saturday evening. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Ribs, Smashed Potatoes and a Broccoli salad before it was time for a special lemon birthday cake that Dan made for LoLo!

Presents were opened with our special thoughts for Auntie LoLo included in the cards. I forgot to get photos of all her special gifts.

We watched the Sounders v LA Galaxy game and unfortunately it ended in LA’s favor. Boohoo. We all retired to our own and our guest beds for the night.

On Sunday Katie and Andrew left early for home spotting a herd of elk crossing the road.

The rest of us gathered at the early service at church before Josh and Laura hit the road to travel home. We enjoyed the first of many worshipful Christmas Carols for the Advent season and a sermon to set our minds on God. Everyone made it home safely and we thank the LORD for that mercy.

Josh and Laura left us a gift of Daily Advent readings for December by Alistair Begg, Let Earth Receive Her King. I’ll share this small portion for December 1st:

“Christ’s divinity has no starting point in time. He always was. He was God before time began. He is God at this very moment. And He will continue to be God forever.”

Happy December everyone! This will be a very busy week here at our country bungalow with decorating and gatherings and travel. Time will tell how blogging will go. How are things in your corner?

Now Hail We Our Redeemer ~ Hymn

 

Now Hail We Our Redeemer

Now hail we our Re­deem­er,
Eternal Son of God,
Born in the flesh to save us,
And cleanse us in His blood.
The Morn­ing Star as­cend­eth,
Light to the world He lend­eth,
Our guide in grief and gloom.

A man, of God be­got­ten,
Brought in the age of grace;
Lo, all the earth is ra­di­ant
With light, and hope, and peace.
Our pri­son He de­mol­ished,
Death’s pow­er He abol­ished,
And op­ened Hea­ven’s gate.

O Je­sus, grant us mer­cy,
And grace on us be­stow,
To walk by Thine own guid­ance,
Thy sav­ing truth to know.
For Thee our hearts are yearn­ing,
From world­ly plea­sures turn­ing
Unto Thy right­eous­ness.

Into Thy hand the Fa­ther
Gave all, that we might be
In bonds of faith unit­ed,
And de­di­cate to Thee,
A people through Thy mer­it
Entitled to in­her­it
Thy realm eter­nal­ly.

Words: Ambrose of Milan (340-397)

Black Friday

JJ took our group selfie with a little help from his mom.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal together with most of our family and Jamie’s family.

Andrew and Katie drove over the mountains and through the woods on Thanksgiving day and Josh and Laura are doing the same today.

I’m adding some great Thanksgiving quotes from Spurgeon’s Thanksgiving Gems.

“Our thanksgiving is measured by the depth of our awareness of what we’ve been delivered from, and of the glorious blessings which we shall soon partake of.”

“We are debtors to God’s saving grace, and the very least we can do is to give Him endless thanks.”

“He who has been forgiven much–loves much and thanks much. True gratitude springs from a deep sense of what God has done for us in Christ.”

So grateful for God’s love, mercy and saving grace.  Thankful for all of our loved ones!

Are any of you shopping today? I’m waiting till tomorrow to shop small local businesses. Have a great weekend!

Pour It On Hodgepodge

Joyce from This Side of the Pond is dishing up some new Wednesday Hodgepodge questions just in time for Thanksgiving.

1. Talking turkey…are you cooking the turkey this year? Does ham belong on a Thanksgiving day menu?

I will not be the one who is cooking the turkey this year, our Colville kids will do the honors. Ham is not typically on our Thanksgiving day menu but this year there will be one. My side of the family grew up Kosher so I don’t crave any pork products. But now that I said that a BLT sounds real good right now! 🙂

When it comes to gravy do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it altogether, or land somewhere in between?

I pour the gravy on the turkey, potatoes and stuffing.

Cranberries-homemade or jelled right out of the can?

I’ve gone to the trouble of making homemade and the response to eating it hasn’t been great so it comes out of the can.

Do you look forward more to the main course, the savory sides, or the desserts?

On Thanksgiving, it’s the main course that I look most forward to.

I know there are at least a couple of bloggers who participate here who live outside the US and won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving. If that’s you feel free to adapt this question to your December (or any) holiday meal.

2. Holiday movies…tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs?

Miracle on 34th Street is a Christmas movie that I enjoy. The original Die Hard is another favorite…what a contrast to Miracle on 34th Street!!

3. A favorite way to give back and help others? 

Giving unexpected gifts to those in need without them knowing who it’s from.

4. Name a place or setting you encountered this month that made you feel grateful.

Our church worship services make me feel grateful to be able to worship God with the melting pot of people in our congregation. 

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday what would you do differently?

Yesterday as in Tuesday the 26th of November I wouldn’t do anything differently. If you go back to my teen yesterdays there are a lot of things I would do differently. Naming just one: I wouldn’t date most of the guys I dated.

6. Spill your own random thought here.

Looking back at our Grands at their first Thanksgivings in 2017 and 2019…

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you Hodgepodgers in the USA. Happy end of November to everyone around the world!

Scotland Travel Journal ~ St. Michaels Golf Club

On Friday September 20th Josh was able to tuck away a goal by playing a round of golf in the country where it is said that the game of golf originated.

Golf in Scotland was first recorded in the Scottish late Middle Ages, and the modern game of golf was first developed and established in the country.

After a nice early breakfast at our lodgings, Josh and Laura drove the very short distance to St. Michaels Golf Club. There was a one track bridge with limited sight to cross to get into the club where you were directed to honk so that you wouldn’t meet another vehicle head on.

Laura kept Josh company getting some great photos and adding thousands of steps to this 22,000+ step day!

Borrowed clubs and cart in tow, he set out on the course.

The owner of the lodge we were staying in gave Josh a bag of golf balls for his game.

Yippee for the one and only red squirrel that was spotted on our trip. Well done, Laura!

Greg and I enjoyed a leisurely morning in the lodge while Josh golfed. Josh and Laura returned before noon for our afternoon in St. Andrews, just a short distance from our lodgings. As you can see this was a rare cloudy and overcast day that we experienced on our Scotland travels.

Our Scotland Travel Journal serves to keep our memories alive and to remind us of God’s care and provision in our travels. Thank you for traveling along with us.