Today’s word is Light. So many verses to choose from…
Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
In my college years our Russian Choir recorded a song with the words from Psalm 27 so I can almost recite this Psalm in Russian…almost.
If you have a verse from the Bible to share about light please do either in the comments or on your blog. It’s been great to read the verses you all have shared.
Here are some verses others have chosen on Light:
From Patsy and Vee, too:
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me wii not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”.
Maristella shared this verse in the comments:
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5: 15-16.
From my sister Vera:
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” Ephesians 5:8 NIV
We bowled, we played with sand, and we played with water.
After we moved inside the electric pencil sharpener was a big hit!
Jaymison has great small motor skills for a 1 year old.
Yesterday was a busy day at our Country Bungalow. We finally had promises kept and several dump truck loads of Clean fill were dumped in our empty pond cavity. It’s so nice to have a flat area instead of the steep drop off. We might have more delivered tomorrow. I’ll show photos soon.
Before I dive into the Wednesday Hodgepodge today is the 5th of August and the word prompt for our August Bible Verse challenge is Jesus.
I’m sharing a section of scripture from Acts. This is what Peter testified in Jerusalem to the rulers, elders and scribes gathered together along with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high-priestly family after Peter and John were arrested because they healed a crippled man and they were saying things in the temple that the leaders did not like.
Acts 4: 7-12 (ESV) ~
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
1. What’s happening where you live in terms of schools opening? How do you feel about it?
It really isn’t clear what is happening in the Fall here. They seem to be saying they are trying both online and in person learning experiences. We live in the 2nd poorest county in the state of Washington. Many of our students don’t have computers or their internet connections are very poor so online learning becomes more difficult. All I can say is OYE and my heart goes out to teachers, staff and parents of school aged children.
2. What’s something you still do ‘old school’?
We still listen to Music CD’s in our house.
3. August 4th is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Will you/did you celebrate by baking a batch? Eating a batch? Nuts or no nuts? Homemade or store bought? Soft and chewy or do you prefer your cookie to snap when you bite into it?
I won’t be baking cookies because we had an overload of bread so I made bread pudding. Can’t have too many desserts at one time around here.
I have a loaded chocolate chip cookie that our household loves and they are not the crispy variety. Yes to nuts and oatmeal in this recipe. I also only put 1/2 the bag of chocolate chips in my loaded cookies. I use the Toll House recipe with added nuts and oatmeal. I take them out of the oven when the bottoms are light brown. Homemade is always best!
4. What are you starved for?
I’m starved for a really nice meal out with things on the menu that I don’t regularly have. The photo above is of the last great meal we had out on March 13th of this year just a couple days before the lock downs started.
I’m also starved for leisurely shopping experiences without a mask on.
5. Anything new and interesting on your August calendar? What is one thing you’re looking forward to this month?
We are supposed to have some weekend visitors that we are looking forward to. Haven’t heard the final date from them yet.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I have an August challenge going on my blog right now. Using the word prompts for the day I post a verse or section of scripture that relates to the word. An easy challenge that gets me to search and find verses I haven’t read for a while. If you want to join in on any given day in August feel free and please let me know so I can read the verses you choose and link them.
Continuing with the August challenge to post a Bible verse or section of scripture with a word prompt. Today the 4th of August is Love.
Romans 12: 9-10 (ESV): “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Feel free to share a Bible verse on love in the comments or on your blog. If you post a verse on your blog please let me know. Tomorrow’s prompt is Jesus.
On Saturday morning I harvested our garlic and hung it to dry in our laundry room. I mentioned on Facebook that our laundry room was smelling like a good Chinese restaurant. This is the first time ever I have seen or harvested garlic growing. It was a fun experience for me.
Anyone want to join me in a challenge for the month of August even though we are almost 3 days in?
I put a word prompt up for each day of the month and our challenge is to post a Bible Verse or a section of scripture that has that word in it. Easy peasy. Since tomorrow is the the third of August already, I’m posting all three days of prompts here. You can copy the list to your blog if you want. Let me know if you’ll be joining in on the challenge or if you post a verse along the way. If you would like to share a verse of your choice in comments instead, please do. I’ll add them to my post. I’ll be trying to post a photo a day, too.
HOPE: Psalm 119:81 ~ My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.
PEACE: 1 Corinthians 14:33 ~ For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
JOY: James 1:2-3 ~ Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
In the last couple of days we’ve had some progress on the shop roofing. Dear and our son Dan are getting the hang of the 20ft 7inch steel roof panels (50#’s each) and how to maneuver them up onto the structure. Underneath each panel is a reflective vapor barrier that they roll out and fasten before they put the steel panel up and screw it into the purlin.
Some encouragement for those who are called by God from Spurgeon and God’s Word…
It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase, “God is for me.” He was for us before the worlds were made. He was for us or He would not have given His well-beloved Son; He was for us when He smote the Only-begotten and laid the full weight of His wrath upon Him—He was for us, though He was against Him. He was “for us” when we were ruined in the Fall—He loved us notwithstanding all. He was for us when we were rebels against Him and with a high hand were bidding Him defiance. He was for us or He would not have brought us humbly to seek His face. He has been for us in many struggles; we have been summoned to encounter hosts of dangers; we have been assailed by temptations from without and within—how could we have remained unharmed to this hour if He had not been for us?
~
Psalm 56:9-11 ~ 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?
1. The Hodgepodge lands this year on National Secret Keeping Day…on a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being I’m a blabbermouth and 10 being I’m a vault) how good are you at keeping secrets?
I’m going to say 8.
I can keep secrets but I will not listen to secrets people want me to keep from my husband except for surprises for him.
There are secrets that are more detrimental than helpful. The truth is easier to deal with than secrets has been my mantra for years. I can deal with the truth but the imagination is hard to deal with.
I read here nine jobs for people who can keep a secret-cybersecurity worker, executive assistant, housekeeper, lawyer, nuclear plant technician, physician, private investigator, psychologist, security guard Of the jobs listed, which one most interests you and why?
I could be an executive assistant and I have been a housekeeper. The houses I cleaned never needed secret keeping. I did get called on occasion wondering if I saw the remotes or other things the homeowners found missing. I also found things in the cushions that they were missing. Sometimes I think I could have been a good detective…
2. What’s the secret of life (or one of them anyway)?
The Bible has the best prescriptions for life and they aren’t a secret.
Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Him.
Today counts for eternity and life continues into eternity. Where will you spend it? There are only two choices heaven with God or Hell without Him. And the great news is you can start spending life with God right now. I pray He is calling you to live life with Him through the life and sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
3. Off the record, best-kept secret, a fly on the wall, top secret, my lips are sealed, secret shopper, as quiet as a mouse, poker face, spill the beans, open secret, bite your tongue…which secret idiom can you best relate to right now? Explain.
Bite your tongue is the one I’ll choose. Don’t answer a fool according to his folly…
4. Spill here the secret ingredient in one of your favorite recipes?
This is a story about my dear mother. She had lots of great recipes that she had in her head not on paper. Our sister Vera worked hard getting those recipes recorded for all of us. Once when our mom visited us at our home in Kenmore she decided to make a large pot of her Borsch. When I was watching her she added something that was not in the recipe, a cube of butter. Maybe that was her secret. I don’t think I have any secret ingredients although sometimes I’ll add a little sugar to some sauces that I don’t publicize.
5. My mama celebrates a big birthday tomorrow. Share a favorite quote, song lyric, saying, or verse of scripture that will add some sunshine to her day (ours too!)
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
A very happy birthday to your dear mom!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Today July 8th is Dear’s only brother’s birthday and Terry is his only sibling. Dear is younger by 4 years. I made this collage to show the resemblance of each of the boys to their parents. I think Terry resembles my mother in law and that Dear resembles my father in law. Rex died in 1985 before our Katie was born and Verna died in 1997. Verna was very close to our daughter Katie. Dear’s brother’s family is living in North Carolina these days. The photo of Terry and my Dear was taken at my mother’s funeral in 2013.
Thank you to Joyce for asking the questions! Click here to see more answers.
5 Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my groaning. 2 Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. 3 In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order myprayer to You and eagerly watch.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. 6 You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. 7 But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.
8 O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me. 9 There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue. 10 Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.
11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. 12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.
It’s not a hummingbird but it flies like one. What kind of bug is this?
Turkeys continue to visit here and there.
Fun to catch the fan.
This little guy is probably going to have a growth spurt. He’s eating everything in sight.
Addy is enjoying her bicycle and she got a bell and handle streamers this week. I think she likes them and riding with her new accessories!
I’m limiting social media at present. Many mean well but there is just too much noise. I need to protect my head and heart. I haven’t stopped praying. I’m reading my Bible which is the best Truth I can digest right now. The only dialogues I’ll participate in are face to face, one on one conversations. That way I can see and hear the tone of the conversation instead of trying to guess what is being communicated. I do have phone conversations with my “Coast” kids since I can’t see them face to face right now.
My morning readings this month are Psalm 19, Psalm 119, The Gospel of Luke and then I read a chapter in Proverbs that corresponds with the day. I finish up with a good dose of Spurgeon. Thursday was the 4th so I read Proverbs 4. These verses stood out to me;
Proverbs 4:13-18 (ESV)
Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
Hope you all have a good Friday and great weekend in your corner of the world.
Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely,
And long for Heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
Refrain
I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
Let not your heart be troubled,
His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness,
I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth,
But one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
Refrain
Whenever I am tempted,
Whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing,
When hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him,
From care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
Refrain
Words: Civilla D. Martin, 1905.
Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God.
Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair.
Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them.
One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it.
Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn His Eye Is on the Sparrow was the outcome of that experience.
Civilla Martin
The next day Martin mailed the poem to Gabriel, who wrote the music.
Singer Ethel Waters (1893–1977) so loved this song that she used its name as the title for her autobiography, and it appears on her tombstone.
Matthew 6:25-27 (ESV)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
1. In a single sentence tell us something about your 40’s. If you haven’t reached that milestone yet tell us (in a single sentence) something about whatever decade you’re in now.
The decade in my 40’s (1991-2001) was the most tumultuous of my life.
(Photo above taken at 2nd rental home 1998ish)
2. Life begins at forty. Agree or disagree? Tell us why. And if not at forty, when?
I don’t agree. I’m too black and white. Life began for me in my mother’s womb. From birth on life has been shaping who I am now. I was born again in 1963 so I’ve been in the sanctification process for 57 years. I wish I had been more obedient in this process.
Sanctification: When you were justified, you were declared righteous by God. Now that you are justified, there is a process of growth and transformation in which you are enabled more and more to grasp the reality that you are dead to your old sinful life and that you actually become more and more like Christ. There are three aspects to our sanctification: definitive sanctification, progressive sanctification, and ultimate sanctification.
3. Share a favorite book, song, or quote with a number featured in it somewhere.
I didn’t remember this great song with a number in the title but Theresa posted it on her post and it really has meant a lot to me over the past several years so I’m adding it in here. Thank you, Theresa!
This quote from the Bible is one I wrote down after reading it.
Jeremiah 32:39 ~I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever for their own good and the good of their children after them.
~
And this quote that I forget who said it…maybe Steve Lawson: “Don’t let your feelings get captured. Your feelings can suffocate your understanding of God. Gaze on the Lord 10x more than you concentrate on your feelings.”
4. A picture’s worth a thousand words, a stitch in time saves nine, back to square one, catch-22, on cloud nine, my two cents…pick a number phrase and tell us how it applies to your life currently.
I will pick “A picture’s worth a thousand words” or 1,000 pieces and 500 pieces. One of our COVID-19 stay at home activities has been putting together jigsaw puzzles. Some of these puzzles we’ve had for years and others were acquired before COVID at garage sales. The Fireside Embroidery one was a purchase during COVID-19. I was happy to see our local grocery store had a rack of puzzles a couple weeks ago and I grabbed this one.
Buying a threefold poster board has really aided our puzzling endeavors. We can move it off the dining room table easily if we are having the kids over for a meal. It also gives a nice flat surface.
5. Last time you drove more than 40 miles from home? More than 400 miles from home? Where were you going? Was it before or after this current season of social distancing?
Today bright and early we are driving to Spokane for a follow-up eye appointment. My surgery was last August. This will be a 70 mile drive from home. This one is during social distancing and Dear will have to wait in the car when I go in for my appointment.
The last time we drove closer to 400 miles from home was December 2019 when we drove to the Seattle area to stay overnight with our “Coast Kids” and then continue on to Chilliwack, British Columbia for our annual MGCC Christmas Party. This was before we knew about this Pandemic.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I’m going to go deeper into that decade in my forties. Dear’s mother was living with us in a Mother-in-law apartment in our basement. In that decade Dear completed his Pharmacy degree at the University of Washington, had a year of residency, got a job at Immunex Corporation in Seattle Washington. While he was in school I started a house cleaning business and added a medical clinic and dental clinic at night as part of the job. Dear and I worked together in the evenings at those clinics. Because Dear’s mother was living with us we could leave at night after the kids were in bed. I was the skinniest I had ever been with all that aerobic scrubbing.
When Dear’s new career was going well I retired my cleaning business just in time to pull our daughter out of public school and home school her for 4th, 5th and 6th grade. She was experiencing heart wrenching persecution at school. During those homeschooling years with our sons in high school we had a major landslide on our back slope and long story short we walked away from our dream home and started the very new to us need to rent homes while still having all of Dear’s mother’s stuff in our possession. When the major slide forced us to walk away from our home, Dear’s mother moved out of our home to Yuba City, California to live close to her younger sister.
In May before our oldest son graduated from high school, Dear’s mother passed away and we were in Yuba City for the funeral and then having to divide up her stuff between Dear and his older brother and haul it back to our place. In August I drove Josh to Westmont College in Montecito , Califonia. (Santa Barbara), on my own. An emotional time for this mom. We were in our 2nd rental home at this time.
In Dan’s senior year we moved to our third rental home in October of 1998. In November of 1998 just one month after moving all our stuff to this third rental home the owner of the home told us he had to sell the home. We were devastated with this news not knowing where we could move next. We decided to try to buy this rental and were amazed to find out that there was nothing on our record showing we had defaulted on our landslide house loan! We bought our home in Kenmore not because we chose it but because we couldn’t face moving again. We enjoyed 20 years in that home and made some amazing upgrades to the property. Dan graduated from high school in 1999. We had Josh and Laura’s rehearsal dinner at this home in August of 2001 and then in September of 200l life changed for all of us because of 9-11. And that my friends was my decade in my forties.
That’s just a little of the story of my 40’s! I’m happy to say my fifties and sixties have been less tumultuous and filled with some wonderful adventures and travel. In my late fifties I was connected to the Mennonite Girls. In my sixties we enjoyed the weddings of our daughter Katie and our son Dan. We made a major move again this time to the country from the city. Blessed with two grandchildren in our sixties. And now Dear is officially retired.
But…we press on to the upward call…
Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Thank you to Joyce for coming up with the questions for Hodgepodge!
M
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 