Category Archives: Bible

Time and Time Again…

…God has shown His goodness to me and my family.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 (English Standard Version)

A Time for Everything

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

Lessons in Rain and Dew…

Deuteronomy 32:1-4 (NLT)

“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!
Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
Let my teaching fall on you like rain;
let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,
like gentle showers on young plants.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
how glorious is our God!
He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.
Everything he does is just and fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong;
how just and upright he is”

We are going back and forth this week from wet days to dry days. Yesterday was dry today is wet again. It’s nice that I don’t have to water any of my plants for now.  Hope your week is going well and you are being encouraged.

National Day of Prayer ~ Psalm 19:14

 

I want to take some time to pray today for our Nation, the World, my community, and all the churches we’ve visited in the last couple of months.

Ephesians 3: 20-21

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

II Thessalonians 2: 16-17

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Hebrews 13: 20-21

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,  equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jude 24-25

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Tablescape Thursday ~ Apple Blossoms!

If it’s Wednesday that means it’s time to get ready for Thursday and the world of Tablescapes. Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is the hostess with the mostess for this event. Click on over to see a lovely array of styles, shapes, and colors!

This week I brought my Apple Blossoms inside as the inspiration for my table.

When I was at Goodwill earlier this week I found these great apple and apple blossom napkins, 10 for $4.99. I don’t think they’ve been used at all. The napkin rings are part of an apple with the stem and leaves.

I only have 4 of the apple blossom dessert plates so I set the table for 4. The plates are “Blossom Time”, Made in Staffordshire, England with a 22KT. Gold Decoration. I bought the goblets from Goodwill last year and they have a gold/yellow tint to them. The pink depression glass items are from Dear’s Great, great aunt.

I started with one of the napkins on the center of the table but thought again and took it off.

Thank you so much for stopping by to see my Apple Blossom Table.

Psalm 17:8 ~ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Proverbs 7:2 ~ Keep my commands and you will live;
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

Proverbs 25:11 ~ A word aptly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Enjoy your day!

Good Friday

John 17: 1-5

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.  For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

John 19: 16-18

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

This week in history is so important to our world. It’s no wonder that we still take notice 2000 years later. The events leading up to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ are powerful. His Resurrection will never be trumped by any other event in history. Even the name of Jesus has more power then any other.  Today my sister Lana G! and I will be baking and keeping with our Russian traditions of making Easter Bread (Kulich) and a sweet cheese spread for the bread called Seerney Paska in anticipation of our Resurrection Sunday celebration. Growing up Good Friday was a day of fasting until our church gathering Friday evening. After the service the congregation would break bread together and have a meal to break the fast. Good Friday was a very sorrowful day for the followers of Jesus 2000 years ago because they could not understand the miracle of His resurrection that brought them out of their despair. I’m glad we know the end of the story. Our Savior conquered death and He lives and still saves today. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Have a wonderful Easter Everyone!

 

The Waves Teach…

For Lent this year I’m working through a 40 day devotional our pastor wrote on Wisdom. When we were walking on the beach this past Saturday and saw the waves tossing to and fro Dear quoted part of this next section of scripture from Ephesians…

Ephesians 4:11-16 (English Standard Version)

11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We really experienced the waves going in all directions this past Saturday which really illustrated this passage well.

Thank you for all who have stopped by and encouraged me with your kind comments. I really appreciate all of you. I’m really looking forward to being in one place again and I’ll wait and see how my blogging changes or stays the same. There will be new places and new environments to share. I’m overwhelmed with the blessings that God has passed on to me through my blogging friends both those I’ve met face to face and those I still have not met in the flesh. When I wake up at 2:00 in the morning I ask the Holy Spirit to make me recall any comments I’ve left where I’ve said “I’ll pray for you”, or “I’ll pray for that”, and He is faithful and brings those to mind.

God bless all who pass by my blog with His light and His grace in your lives…

 

Angels?

Things that make me wonder!

Have you ever wondered why so many images of angels are so gentle looking and non threatening? I’m thinking our images of angels are a little too feminine and nice. The Bible speaks of angels appearing, angels speaking to someone in a dream, angels fighting in the Spiritual Realm, us being unaware of angels in our midst, angels ministering to Jesus during the temptation, angels with the Israelites in the Exodus. An angel is a messenger of God. Sometimes angels are seen, sometimes they are not seen. Sometimes they have swords in their hands. They are supernatural messengers. The angel Gabriel and the angel Michael are the only two angels named in the Bible. Gabriel stands in God’s presence. Gabriel brought the announcement of John the Baptist being conceived and he brought the good news of the conception of Jesus. He is someone to be believed. If I’m ever in real trouble I’d love to have Michael in front of me. An angel with a sword in his hand and not flowers…

Luke 2:8-13 ~ “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

I’d really like to find a strong, masculine, mighty looking angel to go with my Nativity set. I wonder how long it will take me to find one?

WFW ~ John 13:1, 14-15

John 13:1 ~ “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

For more Word Filled Wednesday click here.

I took this photograph yesterday in Thousand Oaks, California at the Gardens of the World.

The Gardens of the World is privately owned and operated by the Hogan Family Foundation.