R is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Monday April 21st and we are on the letter R.

R is for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, our Risen Savior!

Our greater family and friends were celebrating Easter from Washington State, California, Texas, Utah, New York and North Carolina. We had such joyous, meaningful, epic celebrations in our church gatherings and in our homes.

There will be a ridiculous amount of photos to document Easter 2025.

I’m starting with First Baptist Colville and our Colville Kids. Our Pastor’s Easter sermon was exceptional, focusing on why the Resurrection is the keystone of Christianity. God is good. The whole service was wonderful.

We were in charge of our continental breakfast between the first and second service on Easter Day.

Canyon Hills in Bothell, Josh and Laura’s church, had an epic service renting Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett so their very large congregation would be able to worship together instead of having many services.

Laura’s family gathered at Josh and Laura’s for their Easter Meal.

We gathered at Dan and Jamie’s after our church services for our meal and for the Easter Egg Hunt!

JJ and Addy posed as bunnies.

We were able to dodge the rain showers for the hunt.

Our Texas Family attended services at Watermark Church and had their Easter meal of Shashlik (Lamb Shish-kebab) and other goodies at our sister’s home.

Lana got creative and formed her Kulich/Paska (Easter Bread) into a tomb with the stone rolled away.

One of the California gatherings with the more traditional Kulich/Paska (Russian Easter Bread) and the Seernaya Paska (sweet cheese spread).

I ~~stole~~ borrowed some of these photos off of the family texts. It was a full day of Rejoicing!

Today, Easter Monday, will be a rest and recuperation day for me.

Good Friday 2025

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?

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

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 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?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And 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. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.When 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!”

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

Jesus Is Buried

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and 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.Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilateand said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore 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.”Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”So 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 #140

Today is a special day on the Christian calendar and it is the day we consider the ‘last supper’ Christ had with his disciples and how He washed their feet and taught them, encouraging them for what was about to happen.

Thursday April 17th

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!

Excerpts from John chapter 13…

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.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 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.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From Vera:

Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭32‬-‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
‭‭

Hodgepodge and N is for…

This is the latest puzzle I completed just in time for Easter week. It was a gift from Josh and Laura.

Another Wednesday Hodgepodge in the middle of this very special week.

1. Do you complete your own taxes?

No we let someone else complete the forms and shuffle through the details.

Besides actual taxes, what’s something you’ve found taxing lately?

Taxes don’t tax us at this time of life. Something that has been taxing me is my Plantar Fasciitis. It makes walking and standing a pain.

2. What are three values you treasure most in a friendship?

The kind of love that bears up with the good and bad, forgives and stays connected.

Love~Forgiveness~Loyalty

3. Do you meal plan or do you mostly wing it?

These days if there is any planning it happens the morning of and winging it is a fair description. There is planning if we are having company.

Share your dinner menus for this week.

We just had a big family weekend celebrating JJ’s 6th birthday and Andrew’s 36th birthday. We had Greg’s famous Tomato Rice Soup with Fresh Bread for a meal on Thursday evening which turned into lunch the next day. Swedish pancakes for breakfast on Friday morning. Hamburgers on Friday evening. Egg Scramble Saturday morning. Pizza fresh vegetables and fruit for JJ’s birthday party. Steak and Roasted Veggies plus salad for Andrew’s birthday dinner. Birthday Cake at JJ’s party. Birthday Pecan Pie for Andrew. Butterscotch Peanut butter Rice Krispy bars for snacks. Oatmeal Sunday morning before church.

After all of that this last weekend, there is nothing specific planned for this week.

4. Thomas Sowell is credited as saying, ‘‘There are no solutions, only trade-offs.’ Agree or disagree? Discuss.

Since this is the middle of Easter Week, I choose to respond to this question with this prayer from The Valley of Vision showing the amazing transfer (trade-offs) from God to me…

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal life.

My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorny crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift min, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live.

O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me, All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished; Help me to adore thee by lips and life.

5. What’s the best perk you’ve enjoyed at a job?

The jobs I had over the years never really had built in perks. I liked the fact that I had summers off and Easter and Christmas breaks when I was a teacher. I suppose you could count that as being a perk.

When it comes to Greg’s jobs, I enjoyed traveling with him on his conference trips to enjoy a free hotel room. Of course we had to pay for my flights and all the other expenses but a free room motivated me to travel with him on some great trips to Chicago, Las Vegas, Washington D.C., San Diego, and Milan, Italy.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today we are on the letter N and since JJ’s birthday is today and I’ve published his Birthday post besides this hodgepodge post, I’ll just add the letter N photo for my random thought here.

N is for Nature, specifically nature right here in my neighborhood in the here and now and very near.

The daffodils right now and…

…this neighborhood visitor craning it’s neck and then hopping up on the deck to nose around.

Happy Easter to all my Hodgepodge friends!

Truth for Today #139

Thursday April 10th

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

Hebrews 12:11 (NASB)

¹¹All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

From Vera:

‭‭Job‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”

From Karen:

Luke 12:34

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

From Leonard:

2 Kings 6:16-17

“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.”

Truth for Today #138

Thursday April 3rd

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

Isaiah 42:8-12

I am the Lord; that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to carved idols.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
    and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
    I tell you of them.”

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
    the coastlands and their inhabitants.
Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
    the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
    let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord,
    and declare his praise in the coastlands.

From Vera:

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“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. 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. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

From Leonard:

2 Samuel 14:14

“All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. That is why God tries to bring us back when we have been separated from Him. He does not sweep away the lives of those He loves and cares about…”

From Karen:

Matthew 28:6

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

C is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is April 3rd and C is the letter for the challenge.

C is for the Cross of Christ…

We will be celebrating Easter in April this year and the Cross of Christ and Resurrection of Christ is central to Christianity.

Matthew 16:24-26

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

*This sculpture is from the Bishop’s Garden in Wells, England, taken in 2013.

Who’s Fool Are You?

We were at Trader Joe’s in Spokane on Sunday and they had 20 stem bunches of daffodils on sale for just $2.99. We bought 2 bunches! They are such a happy Spring flower. The trumpets announcing that Easter is coming.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our Hodgepodge questions this week.

1. No foolin’! April is here. What’s one fun thing on your April calendar?

Our grandson’s birthday is in April and we will enjoy his Batman party with family. JJ’s party is scheduled on our Son-in-law’s birthday so we will have another double party weekend soon.

2. It’s often said, ‘A fool and his money are soon parted’…what’s the last thing you wasted money on?

Sometimes my impulses get the best of me. I buy before I totally investigate. A dish rack is going into the garage sale pile. Instead of having a tilt and easy flow of water into the sink, it pools the water in the pan under the rack.

3. April 2nd is National DIY day. Are you a do-it yourself kind of person or maybe you’re married to one?

I am married to a DIY master. When it comes to major projects, I like to leave and come home when they are all done.

We have a fun mini DIY project happening this week. Our old bird bath bit the dust and we found this lovely solid one on Sunday from a store called ‘At Home’. We are choosing the right spot for it and will set it into place soon.

If so, what’s the last thing you DIY-ed. (I’m going with the ‘Royal We’)

Replacing our water heater was probably the last DIY job around here.

If you’re not a DIY-er what’s the most recent job you had to hire someone to complete?

I hire out the window washing of our home. They come and complete that job in about an hour!

This year we will probably have our Septic serviced…which is a major job. Definitely a hiring out job with a company that have all the necessary equipment.

Our water hydrants both need replacing and that will be a labor intensive job. Digging is the intensive part. This job will be done by Greg and our son.

4. Do you eat lamb? If so do you have a favorite dish that calls for lamb?

Yes! I was raised eating lamb and Greg enjoys lamb. Greg did not eat lamb growing up but when we married he was introduced to lamb and is happy to eat it. Lamb was the main course for my family’s Easter meal growing up.

Shashlik is a favorite. You can see what that is by clicking here.

Lambsickles (Rack of Lamb) is another favorite and I enjoyed these recently in Dallas.

Butterflied Leg of Lamb is another way we serve lamb on Easter and other occasions.

A properly cooked lamb shank is very good. I ordered this lamb shank at a Mexican restaurant.

5. Do you fit a stereotype in some way? Explain.

I used to be a stereotypical soccer mom but now I’m more of the benevolent grandmother. This Baba loves her grandchildren and will do all she can for them.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Here is a sampling of Bible verses about the fool and the foolish and the wise.

Psalm 14:1 ~ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

Proverbs: 10:1 ~ A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Proverbs 12:15-16 ~ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.

Ephesians 5:15-17 ~ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Titus 3:3 ~ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Let Everlasting Glories Crown ~ Hymn

Let Everlasting Glories Crown

Let everlasting glories crown
Thy head, my Savior and my Lord;
Thy hands have brought salvation down,
And writ the blessings in Thy Word.

What if we trace the globe around,
And search from Britain to Japan,
There shall be no religion found
So just to God, so safe for man.

In vain the trembling conscience seeks
Some solid ground to rest upon;
With long despair the spirit breaks,
Till we apply to Christ alone.

How well Thy blessèd truths agree!
How wise and holy Thy commands!
Thy promises, how firm they be!
How firm our hope and comfort stands!

Not the feigned fields of heathenish bliss
Could raise such pleasures in the mind;
Nor does the Turkish paradise
Pretend to joys so well refined.

Should all the forms that men devise
Assault my faith with treacherous art,
I’d call them vanity and lies,
And bind the Gospel to my heart.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1707.

Truth for Today #137

Thursday March 27th

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

Hebrews 7:23-28

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

From Vera:

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

From Karen:

Romans 5:8.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Bible

R is for…

Good Friday 2025

The Death of Jesus

Jesus Is Buried

The Guard at the Tomb

Truth for Today #140

Hodgepodge and N is for…

Truth for Today #139

Truth for Today #138

C is for…

Who’s Fool Are You?

Let Everlasting Glories Crown ~ Hymn

Truth for Today #137