Category Archives: Christianity

Church of God, Beloved and Chosen ~ Hymn

Church of God, Beloved and Chosen

Church of God, be­loved and chos­en,
Church of God, for whom He died,
Claim thy gifts, and praise the Giv­er,
Ye are washed and sanc­ti­fied—
Sanctified by God the Fa­ther,
And by Je­sus Christ His Son,
And by God the Ho­ly Spir­it,
Holy, ho­ly, Three in One.

By His will He sanc­ti­fi­eth,
By the Spir­it’s pow­er with­in;
By the lov­ing hand that chast­en­eth
Fruits of right­eous­ness to win;
By His truth and by His pro­mise;
By the Word, His gift un­priced;
By His own blood, and by un­ion
With the ris­en life of Christ.

Holiness by faith in Je­sus,
Not by ef­fort of thine own,
Sin’s do­min­ion crushed and brok­en,
By the pow­er of grace alone;
God’s own ho­li­ness with­in Thee,
His own beau­ty on Thy brow;
This shall be thy pil­grim bright­ness,
This thy bless­èd por­tion now.

He will sanc­ti­fy thee whol­ly;
Body, spir­it, soul shall be
Blameless til thy Sav­ior’s com­ing,
In His glo­ri­ous ma­jes­ty.
He hath per­fect­ed for ev­er
Those whom He hath sanc­ti­fied;
Spotless, glo­ri­ous, and ho­ly,
Is the Church, His chos­en bride.

Words: Francis Havergal, 1873.

Truth for Today #115

Thursday August 29th

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! 

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life–is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

From Vera:

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Karen:

Psalm 124:8

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

A Hodgepodge Full of Cliches!

We made it to our little Country Fair Parade on Saturday morning. We were only sprinkled on and didn’t get wet…just sprinkled. ‘Every cloud has a silver lining.’ Our Grands were able to gather a bunch of candy as the different participants in the parade threw the treats to the sides of Main street. Our Fire department starts the parade off with their sirens and such and that is why Addy and JJ have their ear protection on! ‘Better Safe than Sorry’

Onward to our questions of the week…

Yikes! It’s the last Wednesday Hodgepodge for August! Thank you to Jo, From This Side of the Pond, for the questions that ‘give us a run for our money‘.

1. What is one cliche you think is nonsense?

‘Easy as pie’, for me, is nonsense. Getting the pie crust just right and making a great pie without a ‘soggy bottom’ is not easy for me. I wasn’t raised with a pie baking mom so making a pie has always been intimidating. That said, I do appreciate my pie making friends and their great pies with the crust being just right!

What’s one you think holds truth?  

‘Ugly as sin’ Sin is ugly and has caused all the trouble we’ve ever seen in our world or will ever see. So thankful that God made a way for us to be out from under it’s condemnation! That way came through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross for our sin. Colossians 1:13-14: For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

2. What’s the last thing you broke and how did it happen? 

Recently, I knocked a stemless wine glass off my little side table and it shattered and traveled to many places unknown. The glass did not have wine in it, it was empty which was a good thing! It was a cheap variety of glass, too, not a Riedel, (if you know, you know). ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk’

3. Are you a fan of s’mores? Have you had a s’more this summer?

Not a fan and no I haven’t had a s’more this summer.

Last thing you ate that you wanted to ask for ‘s’more of’? 

A Scone with lemon curd. ‘One Man’s Meat is Another Man’s poison’

4. A mode of transportation you’ve never tried? Will you someday? 

I’ve never tried a Hover board and I will never try them. I’m at the ‘it’s too easy to break a hip’ stage of life! ‘Don’t Play With Fire’

5. Believe it or not, next week’s Hodgepodge lands in a brand new month. What’s your happiest memory from the month we’re bidding adieu? 

My favorite part of August was when Josh and Laura came for a 4 day visit in the middle of the month. All the gathering moments together were sweet and it’s always good to spend time together ‘face to face’.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of Josh and Laura, they celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary this past Sunday.

This is what I posted on Facebook about them…
Thanking God today for your twenty third wedding anniversary Josh and Laura!
We are so thankful to God for creating each of you and bringing you together, the very best of teams. Your generosity and caring hearts have helped so many. Your niece and nephews’ lives have been enriched with your love and care and generosity! May God continue to strengthen you in Him and with each other and in the ‘Body of Christ’! We love you, we love you, we love you!
Pops and I will take you out for dinner in Scotland to celebrate…soon!!
Happy Cliche Hodgepodge y’all. I hope to get around to most of you this week. Wow! Labor Day weekend is just ahead of us. Put on those white shoes and celebrate those remaining days of summer!

Jesu, Lord of Life and Glory ~ Hymn

Jesu, Lord of Life and Glory

Jesu, Lord of life and glo­ry,
Bend from Heav’n Thy gra­cious ear;
While our wait­ing souls adore Thee,
Friend of help­less sin­ners, hear:
By Thy mercy, O de­liv­er us, good Lord.

Taught by Thine un­err­ing Spir­it,
Boldly we draw nigh to God,
Only in Thy spot­less mer­it,
Only through Thy pre­cious blood:
By Thy mer­cy, O de­liv­er us, good Lord.

From the depth of na­ture’s blind­ness,
From the hard­en­ing pow­er of sin,
From all mal­ice and un­kind­ness,
From the pride that lurks with­in:
By Thy mercy, O de­liv­er us, good Lord.

When temp­ta­tion sore­ly press­es,
In the day of Sa­tan’s pow­er,
In our times of deep dis­tresses,
In each dark and try­ing hour:
By Thy mer­cy, O de­liv­er us, good Lord.

When the world around is smil­ing,
In the time of wealth and ease,
Earthly joys our hearts be­guil­ing,
In the day of health and peace,
By Thy mer­cy, O deliver us, good Lord.

In the wea­ry hours of sick­ness,
In the times of grief and pain,
When we feel our mor­tal weak­ness,
When the crea­ture’s help is vain:
By Thy mer­cy, O de­liv­er us, good Lord.

In the so­lemn hour of dying,
In the aw­ful judg­ment day,
May our souls, on Thee re­ly­ing,
Find Thee still our rock and stay:
By Thy mer­cy, O de­liv­er us, good Lord.

Jesu, may Thy pro­mised bless­ing
Comfort to our souls af­ford;
May we now, Thy love pos­sess­ing,
And at length our full re­ward,
Ever praise Thee, Thee, our ev­er glo­ri­ous Lord.

Words: James J. Cummins, 1839

Truth for Today #114

Thursday August 22nd

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! 

1 John 2:1-6

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him, ” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

From Dianna:

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you have have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world. ” John 16:33 LSB

From Vera:

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭23‬-‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder ~ Hymn

Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder
~
Let us love, and sing, and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior’s name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.
~
Let us love the Lord, who bought us,
Pitied us when enemies;
Called us by his grace, and taught us,
Gave us ears, and gave us eyes.
~
Let us sing, though fierce temptations
Threaten hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqueror’s crown,
~
Let us wonder, grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store;
When we trust in Christ our fortress,
Justice smiles, and asks no more.
~
Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high;
Here they trusted him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky.
~
Hark! the name of Jesus, sounded
Loud, from golden harps above!
Lord we blush, and are confounded,
Faint our praise, and cold our love!
~
Words: John Newton, 1774.

Truth for Today #113

Thursday August 15th

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! 

Matthew 5:17-20 (ESV)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

From Dianna:

So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Romans 14:19

From Vera;

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭23‬-‭30‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Maria:

Flee from the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don´t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.

2 Timothy 2:22-23

From Cindy:

Psalm 44:3 – It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm Lord, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

 

Lemony Hodgepodge

Addy’s first lemonade stand in August of 2020.

It’s time again for Wednesday Hodgepodge with thanks to Jo From This Side of the Pond.

1.What was the best (or one of the best) summers of your life? Tell us why. 

The best summer of my life was in 1963. The summer of that year I responded to God’s call on my life. I repented of my sins and believed and put my faith on the Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for my sins and began following my LORD and Savior. Why is this the best? Jesus is my guarantor of a future with the Triune God in heaven. I have been saved from the wrath of God, saved from Hell. Now I am a child of God and His love is over me. I was given eternal life and everything I need on this earth to grow in obedience and the knowledge of the one who saved me. Jesus is way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Him.

Repentance is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin and pursue Christ and obedience to Him. It isn’t enough to believe facts about Christ. Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God, but they don’t love and obey Him. True saving faith always responds in obedience.

2. When you have a trip coming up do you make a list and check it twice to ensure you don’t forget anything? Or are you a ‘throw whatever you can think of into the suitcase at the last minute’ kind of packer?nd 

Lists, lists, and more lists. Sometimes I do throw in some last minute items!

When returning from a trip do you unpack immediately or leave the suitcase right where it lands? 

It depends. If I’m suffering from jet-lag it could take a day or two for the unpacking and laundering.

3. What’s your favorite food or beverage made with lemons? Is that a flavor you enjoy? 

Lemon curd is a favorite on a scone or in a pastry.

A Kensington Dream for a drink. It has a half a lemon squeezed in it.

I do enjoy lemon flavor.

4. When was the last time you had to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking I mean? 

This was a tough one for my memory bank. When we were in the condo for a couple years in Southern California, I wanted to make a calzone for the first time. I did not have a rolling pin as they were both back in our home in Washington State. We did have a muddler and I ended up being able to use that to roll out the dough!

5. Did you like school growing up? Why or why not? 

I did like school growing up. I remember that ‘feeling’ in September when school was just about to start. I can remember holding a book early on and loving the fact that I could read the words on the page. I had some wonderful teachers who encouraged me in their kindness to enjoy school. Mrs. Nicklaus, Mr. Demar, Mrs. Sawyer, My senior American Government teachers, Henke, Simon and Sciandra. Mr. Sciandra signed my annual with this sentiment; “I certainly have enjoyed having a swell Christian in class. Best wishes for your future. “

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I captured a few shots of the northern light show on Monday night but it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as this one I captured back in May of 2024. The cool thing I saw on Monday night was a shooting star! It’s been ages since I’ve seen one of those.

Have a good end of the week everyone!

An August Week

The Great Jungle Journey is our Vacation Bible School theme for 2024!

The theme verse for the week: To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1;17

The Jungle Theme has been a hit! It’s such a treat to get a sweet hug at my station each evening from these two!

Craft and Science time outdoors under a shade cloth with misters!

I had to zoom in across the parking lot for these photos that are not sharp. A fun science experiment and a craft to take home.

There is a memory verse for each night of VBS.

Day 1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.- Genesis 1:1

Day 2: They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt, there is none who does good, not even one. -Psalm 14:3

Day 3: Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. -Genesis 11:9

Day 4: But to all who did receiver him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. ———John 1:12

Day 5: He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. – Revelation 21:4

We have had up to 185 children each night and 140 volunteers working with the kids and behind the scenes. Our amazing kitchen crew feeds the volunteers and their children dinner each night.

Besides VBS this week, Greg and I have been continuing our early morning walks on the Rotary Trail.

What’s new for you this August?

Truth for Today #112

Thursday August 8th

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! 

Jeremiah 31:31-34:

Behold the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

From Dianna:

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what pleases Me,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11

From Vera:

“Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. 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. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭28‬:‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Nikkipolani:

Hosea 6:1-3

1Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

From Leonard:

Psalm 70:4

“But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, God is great!”

From Maria:

Psalm 86:11-13- Teach me you way, O Lord, And I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

From Karen:

I John 4:14

And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.