Write it Down Hodgepodge

I’ve jotted it down in my notebook and it’s time for Hodgepodge Wednesday. Joyce asked the questions and we answered them.

1. What surprises you the most about people?

How little the general population knows about God and the Bible. God and His Word are the source of life and peace and wisdom, just to name a few benefits. Why would we ignore what God has to say to us and what He wants us to know about Him?

2. Would you rather have a chauffeur, nanny, gardener, maid, personal shopper or cook? Tell us why that one?

Gardener because that is the hardest task of all the ones mentioned for me. My wrists and lower back suffer after a day doing the weeding, etc.

3. May 18th is National Notebook Day. No idea what that means but let’s run with it anyway. What’s something you currently keep in a notebook? Have you seen the movie The Notebook? On a scale of 1-5 how does it rate? (5=a favorite, can watch and re-watch and re-watch again)

I can’t recall if I have seen The Notebook. I watched the trailer and it looks entertaining but I can’t rate it without watching the whole movie.

I do love notebooks and use one daily for my devotions, prayer lists, Sunday sermon, notes to self, etc.

A quote from my notebook from Sunday February 5th, 2023:

J. I. Packer ~ God Has Spoken

“Faith in the Bible is not, as existentialists make out, a leap in the dark, but rather a step in the light, whereby one puts one’s whole weight on the firm ground of God’s unshakeable promises.”

and

“The promises of God are the ground of faith; for where Christians are not living in the joy of the knowledge that all God’s promises are theirs, the truth is that God’s Word is not being heard.”

4. Do you like mushrooms? Last dish you made or ate that had mushrooms on the ingredient list? Your favorite dish that calls for mushrooms?

Yes, we do enjoy mushrooms.

My favorite way to enjoy mushrooms is in a sauce like in this recipe below. Other creamy sauces for topping a steak, etc. are also delicious.

This Polenta with Mushroom Sauce is delicious. Click on link to see the recipe.

We’ve also enjoyed sautéed mushrooms alongside eggs for a not so full-English.

5. What would you say is the most annoying thing people do in public?

Talking on their phones using the Speaker option. Oye!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We enjoyed the company of Pastor Dennis and Miss Lori, as our Grands call her, last evening for dinner. They are moving to Iowa for a special calling to teach at Faith Baptist Bible College and theological seminary. We will miss them dearly but know that in their new positions they will be used mightily in teaching the younger generation.

Our church, First Baptist Colville, looks to the promises of God for a new lead Pastor to fill the pulpit soon. It will be a time of growth for us…

Souls of Men, Why Will Ye Scatter ~ Hymn

Souls of Men, Why Will Ye Scatter

Souls of men, why will ye scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts, why will ye wander
From a love so true and deep?

Was there ever kinder shepherd
Half so gentle, half so sweet,
As the Savior who would have us
Come and gather round His feet?

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows
Are more felt than up in Heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings
Have such kindly judgment given.

There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man’s mind.
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

Pining souls! come nearer Jesus,
And oh! come not doubting thus,
But with faith that trusts more bravely
His huge tenderness for us.

If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would all be sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.

Words: Frederick William Faber, 1854.

Truth for Today #55

Thursday May 11th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the 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!

Psalm 3:3

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

Psalm 18:2

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults and with my song I give thanks to him.

and this verse in Russian;

Господь–крепость моя и щит мой; на Него уповало сердце мое, и Он помог мне, и возрадовалось сердце мое; и я прославлю Его песнью моею.

From Vera:

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

From Anneliese:

Psalm 65:8

“You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.”

I Know Whom I Have Believed ~ Hymn

I Know Whom I Have Believed

I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.

Refrain

But I know whom I have believèd,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.

I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart.

Refrain

I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing us of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him.

Refrain

I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.

Refrain

I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.

Refrain

Words: Daniel W. Whittle, 1883.

Truth for Today #54

Thursday May 4th

Isaiah 43:25

“I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

Isaiah 54:10

For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Zechariah 1:3

Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

Isaiah 54:7

For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.

Psalm 119:49

Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.

From Vera:

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬-‭39‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
‭‭

Truth for Today #53

Thursday April 27th

Hosea 6:3

Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.

Ecclesiastes 7:5

It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.

Ecclesiastes 9:17-18

The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

From Sandi:

Matthew 23:12

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

From Vera:

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭56‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭56‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Karen:

Hebrews 13:2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Truth for Today #52

Thursday April 20th

Revelation 4:11

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Hebrews 13:14

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

From Vera:

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”

From Karen:

1 Samuel 12:24

Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

Truth for Today #51

Thursday April 13th

Hebrews 12:1-4(ESV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

From Vera:

‭‭‭John‬ ‭15‬‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

From Nikkipolani:

Psalm 89:11 NASB

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have founded them.

From Maristella:

Proverbs 3:7

“Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”

From Cindy:

Psalm 84:10 –

‘Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.’

Good Friday 2023

Today we remember Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified on a cross and when he breathed His last and was laid in a tomb.

Were the angels looking down from heaven to see all that would transpire?

Growing up there were Good Fridays when we would fast until our church service in the evening with Communion breaking our fast and then having a meal together.

We are so fortunate to be able to attend a Good Friday service this evening in Colville.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

From Matthew 27:45-66

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, ⁵⁶among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶²The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Is it not strange, the darkest hour

That ever dawned on sinful earth,

Should touch the heart with softer power,

For comfort, than an angel’s mirth?

That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn,

Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?

~Spurgeon

Truth for Today #50 Easter Week

Thursday April 6th ~ Maundy Thursday

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Galatians 1:3-5

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:23

…but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Galatians 6:14

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 5:8

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

From Vera:

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

From Leonard:

John 3:15

“so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

From Karen:

Isaiah 41:10

Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea,
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
‭‭

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Bible

Write it Down Hodgepodge

Souls of Men, Why Will Ye Scatter ~ Hymn

Truth for Today #55

Господь–крепость моя и щит мой; на Него уповало сердце мое, и Он помог мне, и возрадовалось сердце мое; и я прославлю Его песнью моею.

I Know Whom I Have Believed ~ Hymn

Truth for Today #54

Truth for Today #53

Truth for Today #52

Truth for Today #51

Good Friday 2023

The Death of Jesus

Jesus Is Buried

The Guard at the Tomb

Truth for Today #50 Easter Week