Category Archives: Bible

Truth from A to Z ~ R is for…

It’s the last week in January of 2021 and that brings us to the letter R. So many rich verses with words that begin with R. It’s always hard to choose just one or two or three.

Share the verse/verses you have come up with in the comments and I’ll add them to this post. Enjoy searching and digging!

Besides my current Bible reading in Luke and Proverbs I’m reading a Psalm a day. For my verse this week I’m sharing from Psalm 25. The whole Psalm is so good…

R is for Remember:

Psalm 25:6-7 ~ Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! 

From Cheryl: R is for Rich

” But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:4-7

Visit Bethany at Raindrops and Rainbows for her verses on remember.

From Patricia: R is for Remember, Rise, Remembered, Risen

Luke 24:6-8 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words.

From Vera: R is for Redeemed

“You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:58‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Maristella: R is for Righteous, Righteousness and Rebuking

” I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:7-8
AND:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17

From Cindy: R is for Rock and Refuge

Psalm 18:2 ‘The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.’

“The Lord is our safe place, a place where we can find comfort and peace. He’s our shelter in the storm and we’ve certainly been in a storm the last year or so! He’s our foundation, a solid place to stand on when we need confidence and reassurance. He is my Rock and my Refuge!”

From Wendy: R is for Renewed

Renewed — Ephesians 4:23 

I’ll let you all look that one up and read the whole paragraph from verse 17 to 24!

 

Hit the Road Hodgepodge

Speaking of travel the photo above is of me behind the waterfall in the pool at our son’s Airbnb in Arizona a week ago, sigh.

Jo From This Side of the Pond has come up with the weekly questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you, Jo! Click on over to join in on the fun.

1. Have you done more binge watching this past year than in ‘normal’ years? Any plans to break that habit in 2021? Tell us one or two shows you binged last year that you really liked. 

Our satellite connection for tv and the internet is temperamental and works better some parts of the month over other times. When it is working well we’ll binge some of our favorite shows on Acorn or BritBox. Since many of the British seasons are 4 to 8 episodes it’s not tough to binge. We’ve enjoyed Murder in Paradise, and we always enjoy going back to Midsomer Murders and the Great British Baking Show. Murder in Paradise had a new season in 2020 and we binge watched it. We enjoy other shows like Endeavor and Vera, too. If in 2021 there are any new seasons of these shows we’ll watch them when the internet is working well.

2. January 26th is Australia Day. Have you ever visited or lived in Australia?

No.

Have you ever tasted Vegemite, and if so what did you think? 

No thank you.

Is a trip down under on your bucket list?

No and I’ll tell you why…it would take far too long on an airplane to get there. If I could afford business or first class with the opportunity to lie down flat for much of the trip I might consider it.

We answered a question about travel three months ago (the October 21st Hodgepodge), but let’s revisit now…where are you when it comes to planning or even imagining travel this year? 

Our youngest niece on Dear’s side of the family is getting married on October 1st of this year in North Carolina. We are planning and imagining what a road trip from Washington State to North Carolina would look like with possible stops at some National Parks on the way. On the way back we are considering a route that would take us through Dallas to visit my youngest brother’s family then home via Colorado with a detour to some National Parks in Utah, Lord willing.

3. Something that zaps your energy?

Unconfessed sin, misunderstandings and confrontations.

Something that energizes you? 

Planning a trip, Spring, having company.

4. On a scale of 1-10 what are your eating habits like these days? (1=all junk food all the time and 10= juicing every green thing in the frig)

Dear says, “we’ve been juicing all the junk food in the fridge”. Haha.

I’m gonna say we are a 5 in eating habits these days.

Healthiest meal you’ve eaten in the last week or so? 

White meat chicken tacos with corn tortillas that weren’t fried with cabbage.

5. What’s your most often ‘Back in my day….’ thing to say? 

Back in my day we did not have cell phones to call anyone.

This phrase comes up a lot, “well we didn’t have cell phones then”.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Psalm 39:1 (ESV)

Consider joining in for Truth from A to Z, a Bible verse challenge for Thursdays on my blog. Tomorrow we are on the letter R. You don’t need a blog for this challenge.

Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge ~ Q

January is moving along and we have come to the letter Q. Choices might seem easier this week as the letter Q has a shorter quantity of words in our Concordances! Enjoy your search and thank you very much for sharing your verse or verses in the comments here and I’ll add them to this post as soon as I can.

Q is for Quarrelsome:

Proverbs 21:9 (ESV) 

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 

From Cheryl: Q is for Quicken:

“Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth” Psalms 119:88

From Vera:

Q is for QUALITIES:

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:5-9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Visit Bethany at her blog by clicking here https://raindropsrainbows.blogspot.com/

Her word is quieted with some inspirational thoughts, too.

From Maristella:

Q is for QUIET:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside *quiet* waters.”
Psalm 23:1-2
And
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and *quiet* spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
1 Peter 3:3-4

From Happyone:

Q is for Quench:

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to QUENCH all the fiery darts of the wicked.

From Patsystitch:

Q is for Quarrelsome:

2 Timothy 2:24
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge~ P

This Thursday we are on the letter P. Looking forward to seeing what verses in the Bible you choose to share. As usual I will add your verses as you share them in the comments. Thank you in advance.

The letter P has so many possibilities and options. I might add more later but here is the verse I will begin with. Please note that we are traveling this week and I probably will be late in seeing the verses you post and late in adding them here but I will do it as soon as I am able. Thank you for your understanding.

P is for Poor and Poverty:

2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 

From Vera: P is for PLANS and PURPOSE
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19:21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Linda P. ~ P is for Peace and Power

Romans 15. v. 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and PEACE in believing that you may abound in hope by the POWER of the Holy Spirit.

From Maristella: P is for PRAYER:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
And
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
Colossians 4:2

From Gatorandshegator: P is for patience
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.

From Patsystitch: P is for Poverty and Poor

Proverbs 30:7-9 O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

Bethany posted on her blog and her word is Promise! https://raindropsrainbows.blogspot.com/

Click over to read her post!

From Happyone: P is for Pasture.
John 10:9
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and find PASTURE.

Thank you everyone for your contributions this week. What an encouragement to read the verses you have chosen to share.  Our family is having a time away in Arizona so I am a little late in adding all the verses to this post. Thank you for your understanding!

 

Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge ~ O

A new year and the first Thursday in January 2021 brings us to the letter O in our Bible Verse Search and Challenge. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for O. Add your verse to the comments and I’ll share it on this post.

O is for One:

Ephesians 4:4-7 (ESV)

There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

From Vera: O is for overcome

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:4-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Patricia: O is for One

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love, Honor one another above yourselves.

From HappyOne: O is for Open

Ephesians 6:19 KJV
And as for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may OPEN my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.

From Maristella: O is to OBEDIENCE:

“Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.”
Psalm 128:1
And:
“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
Romans 5:19

Family Moments Hodgepodge

1. Tell us about your favorite moment or share one of the bright spots from the year we’re leaving behind.
~
My favorite moment was when our Colville kids decided enough was enough and we were allowed to hug our grandchildren again. Oh Happy Day!
2. What do you wish you’d known at the start of 2020? Elaborate.
~
I wish I’d known that travel would be so adversely affected because of the COVID. I wouldn’t have booked our flights to London and our lodging in Oxford. Then I wouldn’t have had to spend any time cancelling and wondering if we’d get our money back. Thankfully we were refunded for everything.
3. Best book you read this year? If you did not read any books this year, what’s the best thing you ate all year? We’ve all eaten, right?
~
Nonfiction: Besides the Bible which is by far the best, Only Jesus (What It Really Means To Be Saved) by John MacArthur
Fiction: All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
This was the only nonfiction book I read all year and it wasn’t until December that I read it!
4. The Pantone Colors of the year for 2021 are ultimate gray and illuminating yellow (a bright shade)…are you a fan? Would we find either of these colors in your home or wardrobe?
~
The ultimate gray could be found but I would not choose the illuminating yellow. We have some gray in our home and wardrobes but no illuminating yellow.
5. If you were/are making a list of 21 things to do/accomplish in 2021 what is one thing that would be on it?
~
Weeding out things that I don’t want to leave to our children to deal with is one of the 21 things to accomplish in 2021!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
~
Our family of 10 had a wonderful few days together over Christmas and we are so thankful for the relationship strengthening time we had!
Our 4 kids from the other side of the Cascade Mountain range left on Tuesday for home. We are thankful for how they honor us, their parents, and how they contribute to our family unity!
Addy asked our “Coast Kids”, “Why don’t you live here with us?” She loves spending time with her aunts and uncles. Addy had several deep questions during our times together. Out of the mouth of Babes…
~
Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond for your faithful weekly questions that add a midweek boost to our blogging!

Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge ~ N is for…

It’s Thursday and time for our Bible Verse Challenge. We are on the letter N. Leave a verse or verses in the comments and I’ll add them here. If you have a post on your blog please leave your link the comments.

N is for Name:

Philippians 2:4-11

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the NAME that is above every NAME, 10 so that at the NAME of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

From Patsystitch: Name

Acts 3:12-16. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, To this we are witnesses. And his name – by faith in his name – has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

From Vera: Now

““Now I will arise,” says the Lord, “now I will lift myself up; now I will be exalted.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭33:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Happy One: N is for NEED

Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

From Maristella: N is for NATIONS

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:16
And:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

Click over to Bethany’s Blog, Raindrops and Rainbows for her post on verses for the letter N.

“For N I am choosing the word NAME. Through December I have been writing a verse a day with the theme of names of Jesus.  It is a good reminder of all He is to us….the Good Shepherd, Savior, Mediator, Teacher, Alpha & Omega.” 

Keep digging!

Truth from A to Z, M is for…

Today is Thursday December 10th and we are on the letter M. So many verses, so little time.

Besides the Gospel of John I’m reading a Psalm a day and Psalm 8 is a wonderful Psalm filled with these words, majestic, mouth, moon, man, mindful and made. The key word is majestic.

M is for Majestic:

How Majestic is Your Name

O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2     Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

From Patsystitch:

Psalm 76:4. You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game.

From Maristella: M is for MOUTH:

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Luke 6:45

Visit Bethany at her blog for her Bible Verse Post for the letter M.

We are both fans of Psalm 8!

From Vera: M is for Mercy

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I’m looking forward to the verse/verses you decided to share for the letter M. As usual I will add your verses or link to you blog when you leave a comment with your verse or blog information. Thank you so much in advance for your participation. Keep digging in God’s Truth!

Christmas Spirit Hodgepodge

Wednesday Hodgepodge questions that Joyce From This Side of the Pond asks each week are not surprisingly Christmas themed in December. Here we go…

1. What do you think it means to have the holiday spirit?

Going deep on this one and deferring to my hubby:

“It’s having the Spirit of Christ, who convicts of sin and enables faith in that Jesus is who He says He is and has done what He has says He has done. Without the work of the Spirit of Christ we would have no hope for forgiveness, for eternity with Him, for glory.

Romans 5:1 (ESV)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

2. What’s one thing you’ve baked this month?

I baked a Chocolate Decadent Bundt cake last week for our card night.

Have you eaten the finished product?

Yes, at the card night last Friday night. It got very good reviews from those who ate it.

How much baking do you do around the holidays?

This varies from year to year. Some years I don’t make any cookies…shock!

What baked sweet something does your family insist is on the menu during this season of the year?

Roolyet is a Russian treat our mom would make every Christmas. A yeast dough rolled with a  walnut filling (walnuts, sugar, egg whites and vanilla). Now that my sister and I perfected the recipe I should make it every Christmas, too.

3. Your most recent ‘half-baked’ idea?

How about thoroughly baked. In January I clicked on the buy button for plane tickets from Seattle to London for September of this year. Then COVID-19 struck us all. Plane tickets, Air BnB deposits and many plans made that had to all be cancelled. Thankfully all was refunded.

4. Where were you the last time you ‘baked’ in the sun?

In my own backyard pulling weeds.

The top ten sunniest destinations in the world (most sun from January-December according to this site) are Dubai, Bali Indonesia, Los Angeles CA, Miami FL, Barbados, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Antiqua, and the Canary Islands Spain. Have you been to any of the cities listed?

I was born in East Los Angeles and raised in the “burbs” of Los Angeles and spent many summers baking on Southern California beaches slathered in Coconut Butter. Craziness!

Which one on the list appeals to you the most?

We do not choose sunny destinations these days. We do not lay in the sun. We look for shade and head straight to an umbrella when the sun is out and the air is hot. The only reason L.A. is appealing these days is because of our loved ones who live there and who we enjoy spending time with.

If the world were not upside down crazy and you could lie on a beach anywhere right now where would you go?

Never mind lying on the beaches, I would choose Jolly Old England any time of the year, walking down a lane instead of lying on a beach!

Now that said, we do enjoy walking on the beach at dawn in the summer and any time of day in the Winter.

5. Today I wish I had more _____________________.

Options for shopping in my little town of Colville.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This past Sunday to Monday we enjoyed a 46th Anniversary night at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Dinner at Beverly’s on the 7th floor made us feel like normal before all this craziness came upon us all.

Our complimentary Anniversary dessert! Vanilla ice cream wrapped in cotton candy with some fruit and dessert bark.

When the Christmas cards are all signed, sealed and delivered to the Post Office I feel like I should get an award. Do you still send cards?