When shades of night around us close,
And weary limbs in sleep repose,
The faithful soul awake may be,
And longing sigh, O Lord, to Thee.
Thou true Desire of nations, hear,
Thou Word of God, Thou Savior dear;
In pity heed our humble cries,
And bid at length the fallen rise.
O come, Redeemer, come and free
Thine own from guilt and misery;
The gates of Heav’n again unfold,
Which Adam’s sin had closed of old.
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.
Words: Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary, 1736 (In noctis umbrâ desides); translated from Latin to English by the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861.
On Fridays 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 continue to dig deep into God’s truth.
The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!
1 Corinthians 1:4-9
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
From Dianna:
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name;
Make known His name among the peoples. ”
1 Chronicles 16:8
From Vera:
“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
Psalm 9:1-2 ESV
From Willow:
Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1. Do you feel like you have a ‘full plate’ at the moment? In what way?
Yes, yes I do have a full plate at the moment. The calendar is as full as can be with Thanksgiving festivities, both spare bedrooms full for a few days. Monday after Thanksgiving ladies ministry meeting plus decorating our church for Christmas. Tuesday escape to Idaho for an overnight to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary (December 6th is the actual day). Ladies Christmas party on Friday the 5th. I’ll fit in some Christmas decorating, too.
2. How did you learn to cook? If you have children did you teach or encourage them to cook? Do you like to follow a recipe or is your cooking style more ‘let’s wing it’.
Mostly I learned the basics in my Home Economics classes. I didn’t cook with my mother growing up. My learning was hands on after I got married and it became my responsibility. My kids have the skills on their own initiative. Our sons are both good cooks. Our daughter can tackle any recipe. We modeled openness to invite people over to share a meal and our kids picked up on that. I follow recipes for baking but wing it a lot for spur of the moment meals.
3. Last time you bit off more than you could chew? Elaborate.
Winterizing our property, namely the planters, this is more than I can chew. I’m hoping to bring in some help to complete this task. It’s more than my back can handle.
4. When did you last say ‘the more the merrier’ and mean it?
Anytime my kids or family or friends want to travel to spend time with us I feel like the more the merrier.
5. Write an acrostic using the word T-H-A-N-K-S.
Thank you, LORD God
Hope of Heaven
Acceptance you give me in Jesus
Nothing to doubt
King Jesus my Savior
Salvation assured
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Last Saturday we attended JJ’s promotion at Taekwondo. He did very well and received his Tiger Badge.
He answered all the questions the Grand Master asked of him. One of the Tiny Tiger Creeds is “Tiny Tigers will obey their parents”. The Grand Master asked JJ why he should obey his parents and JJ answered, “because it is written in the Bible, Sir!” Well said, JJ!
Later on this day our Colville kids enjoyed their yearly tradition of a Christmas lights boat cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Thank you to all who stop by here. I’m thankful for visitors to my blog and fellow bloggers!
On Friday November 21st, I joined three ladies from our church for a trip to Spokane to hear Handel’s Messiah performed by Spokane Symphony and Chorale. The Performance by the orchestra and chorale was hosted by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
Handel’s Messiah is an oratorio that tells the story of Jesus Christ through three parts: his birth and miracles, his passion and death, and his final glorification in heaven. Composed rapidly in 24 days by George Frideric Handel in 1741, the work uses verses from the King James Bible. Charles Jennens wrote the libretto, or text, (not Handel) comprising passages from the Bible. It premiered in Dublin in 1742 as a benefit concert and has since become a holiday staple known for its religious narrative and powerful choruses, like the famous “Hallelujah” chorus.
Messiah was originally conceived as a work for Easter, and its world premiere was given during Lent.
In July of 1741, Charles Jennens, who had written the libretti for two of Handel’s oratorios wrote the following in a letter to a friend–the earliest mention of Messiah:
“Handel says he will do nothing next Winter, but I hope that I shall persuade to set another Scripture collection I have made for him, and perform it for his own Benefit in Passion week. I hope that he will lay out his whole Genius and Skill upon it, that the Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah…”Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.”
We found our general admission seats and then we wandered about the cathedral which included climbing the spiral staircase to the gallery below the Rose window and some of the pipes of the organ.
While Messiah is a large-scale oratorio that takes almost 3 hours to perform in its entirety, it is not Handel’s longest work.
Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.
The U.S. premiere of the complete Messiah was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society on Christmas Day in 1818 at Boylston Hall in Boston.
I’m adding a couple YouTube videos to give you a hint of what we heard.
No. 17. Chorus: Glory to God
The presentation we enjoyed did not perform all 53 movements in the original Messiah but performed 45 of the 53. The Hallelujah Chorus is movement #44.
The performance on Friday did end with the last movement, No. 53 Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. [Revelation 5:12, 13]
It was a grand location to enjoy this God honoring, Christ proclaiming Oratorio. Hallelujah to our Risen Savior!
I was thankful that Bethany drove for the majority of miles and that I only had about 5 miles to drive home at the end of our evening. I pulled into our garage at midnight! That is late for me.
I’m going to catch up with posting some quotes that spoke to me and I’ve written down in my journal over the last several months. Putting them here will help me find them easier.
The photos that I’m interspersing with them came from our drive to and from Spokane on Wednesday the 19th of November, 2025.
The first quotes are from notes in my Church History Study Bible related to Psalm 81 and 82 and 93.
“There is unconquerable opposition between us and God. Without a mediator there can be no communion with him.” Blaise Pascal
“Where ignorance reigns in the mind, there is confusion in the heart and life.” Thomas Boston
“There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who see knowledge in order to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love.” Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God.
” The time will come when all races of men shall own their God and accept him as their king. There is one who is King by right divine, and he is even now on his way. The last days shall see him enthroned, and all unrighteous potentates broken like potters’ vessels by his potent sceptor. The second advent is still earth’s brightest hope. Come quickly, even so, come Lord Jesus.” Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David.
“May the Lord appear in his church, in our day in manifest majesty and might, saving sinners, slaying errors, and honoring his own name.” Spurgeon
“The only reason God is our Savior is that he is merciful.” John Calvin
Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
“Faith is not just an exercise of the mind. It is a commitment of the heart that fundamentally changes the way you live your life.” Paul Tripp
“You may begin anywhere in the Bible and preach Jesus. You may begin at the first chapter of Genesis, or at the last chapter of Malachi, at the first of Matthew or the last of Revelation, and still preach Jesus, for he is the sum and substance of the whole Scripture.” Charles Spurgeon
“God is to be praised because he has not based his covenant of the forgiveness of sin on our merit but on his Word, and because he commands that it will stand firm and eternal, not falling when we sin, nor becoming valid only when we are godly.” Martin Luther
Today is Saturday before our Thanksgiving week here in the USA begins. This is a very busy weekend. Last night I attended The Messiah at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane with three friends. Today we have 2 events at church to meet and learn more about a Pastoral Candidate and his family. Besides church on Sunday morning we have a Pie and Praise event Sunday night and I’m in charge of getting the pies out for everyone to enjoy. Whew! After Sunday we’ll have a few free days until it is full speed ahead with Thanksgiving Day and a house full here Thursday through Sunday. Life is rich!
On Fridays 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 continue to dig deep into God’s truth.
The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!
Romans 6:1-4
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 8:1-4
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
From Vera:
“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.””
Jeremiah 9:23-24
From Dianna:
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge.
It means honoring and obeying the laws of my country and doing whatever is in my power to insure the freedoms our founding fathers established. I love singing the National Anthem at sporting events. A little flag waving is good, too. Displaying the flag on holidays and other key times during the year.
2. September-October-November…your favorite fall month? Tell us why. If you live in the southern hemisphere use these months but sub spring for the word fall.
I’m cheating and naming something that is special to me for each of these months.
September ~ it always seems like the fresh start back to routine activities that make me feel grounded and we get to celebrate Greg’s birthday in this month.
October ~ where Fall colors shine the best and we enjoy the annual corn maze.
November ~ the Thankful month. gathering with family on Thanksgiving.
3. A song you love with the word thanks (or some form of that word) in the title or lyrics?
I’m sharing one of many songs that make me say thank you, Jesus!
My hymn of Praise shall always be forever Jesus! In Jesus I have sooo many reasons to say Thank You!
4. November is National Peanut Butter Month. Are you a fan? What’s the last peanut butter bite you had? Fill in the blank: peanut butter and _____________________ .
Oh, and you can’t say jelly.
It is peanut butter and honey for me. I had a piece of toast with peanut butter and honey for breakfast on Monday.
5. This week’s gratitude question-What event from this past year are you most grateful for?
The year started out with an epic surprise visit from Josh and Laura. We were having our local kids over for a birthday dinner on a Saturday. Dan and Jamie have birthdays 1 day apart and Josh has a birthday 3 days after Dan. Dan and Jamie arrived and 5 minutes later Josh and Laura came in the house with shouts of surprise!! It was such an epic surprise and so much fun to be able to celebrate all our January family birthdays together! I’m so grateful to God for the love he extends through our family.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of patriotism I’m copying a post here from 2011. This is from the Orange Circle Flag Ceremony, a weekly event, in Orange, California.
Before they lowered the flag and folded it properly Mark Wayland acknowledged 5 veterans in the audience that had served in World War II. One of the veterans was celebrating his 90th birthday and his family brought cupcakes for everyone at the ceremony. We got to sing Happy Birthday to him. This vet with Mark in the photo above, served in WWII, Korea, and the Vietnam War. He comes to the ceremony every week. It was great to meet him.
Mark also acknowledged a young bride in the audience who’s Marine husband was serving in Afghanistan right then…our Katie. He made her cry but the tears were good tears and then when the big burly Vietnam Vets came over to give her a hug with tears in their eyes we knew they understood and we cried some more. It was great to hear these Harley riders tell her they would be praying for her and Andrew.
Dear’s brother Terry and wife Christina with one of their 3 daughters with Katie and me. Christina got to know Mark while working with the Orange County School Board. She invited Katie and me to attend this ceremony.
I got the following information from an Orange County Register article written by David Whiting although my sister-in-law who knows Mark from working with him at the Orange County School board also filled me in about Mark and his giving heart, a Purple Heart retired Marine.
“Mark Wayland, Marine Vietnam vet, retired firefighter and Orange school board member, looks like a biker with his denim vest and bushy mustache. And he is. So are many of the men in the Circle.
Most are members of the Patriot Guard Riders. In particular, they ride to remember fallen military brothers and sisters and to ensure things go smoothly at military funerals.
With his black Harley Electra Glide decorated with Marine logos parked just 50 yards away, Wayland explains tonight’s mission.
Every Wednesday night, Wayland, his buddies, their wives, friends and supporters gather in the Orange Circle. They come to lower the flag at 6 p.m. and honor, as Wayland puts it, “those who are in harm’s way.”
What an honor to be able to meet these folks and to honor them and others who have sacrificed so much for all of us. Thank you Mark for all you do and may your sacrifices return to you tenfold.
ht: Orange County Register, David Whiting.
The Patriot Guard Riders honored our brother-in-law at his burial on Veterans Day in 2015.
Thanks for the time you took to visit this very long and wordy Hodgepodge. I’m grateful for all who stop by here.
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!
Announcement: I will be switching my Truth for Today posts to Friday starting next week.
John 12:44-50
And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
From Dianna:
“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
From Vera:
“Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:27-31 ESV
From Karen:
Matthew 9:37-38
Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
We’ve had a few days of showing our friends from Southern California around our parts and even took a little trip into Canada with them. I’ll share all the fun in a future post.
1. Besides Thanksgiving, something on your November calendar you’re looking forward to?
We have been gifted tickets to the Nutcracker and we are also going to enjoy a performance of the Messiah in Spokane.
2. Dictionary.com’s word of the year is ‘6-7’. Huh?
Is it even a word??? I had to consult the internet to find out it’s meaning because apparently I’m old and this particular slang is not part of my vocabulary. Is it part of yours? According to the article I read, it’s a viral term, more of an inside joke with an unclear meaning driven by social media.
What do you think? Oye is what I think.
Dictionary. com says it’s selection each year is a ‘linguistic time capsule reflecting social trends and events, but they also admitted to being confused by ‘6-7’. Some say it means so-so and is sometimes accompanied by the up and down hand motion we associate with the phrase so-so.
What word do you think would have made a better choice?
3. What’s a food, trend, activity, or thing people love but you think is just so-so?
Cruising on the high seas in a little city called a cruise ship! Specialty coffee drinks. Sushi.
4. Are you a tea drinker? Hot or cold? How do you like yours and at what time of day? Do you like flavored teas or teas billed as calming, energizing, healing, etc?
These days I’m a morning coffee drinker. I’ll enjoy teas if I go to high tea or other tea experiences but tea is not an everyday thing for me.
5. The November Hodgepodge has always included a weekly gratitude question. Here’s the question for today-what are three things that make your heart sing?
Being with family, part or whole.
2. Listening to a sermon from the Word of God. Here’s a quote I saw on Sunday at Tim Challies Blog;
“Preaching is the miracle of God communicating himself to a fallen world through the words of a fallen man.” Brian Edwards
“Each Sunday, he (God) communicates to fallen men through fallen men to save his people and to sanctify them. What a miracle!” Tim Challies
If you are interested in reading the whole article, click on Tim Challies Blog, above.
3. Trips to the United Kingdom.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We have adopted the first line of the Guy Fawkes Rhyme and repeat it on November 5th because it was on November 5th of 2022 that Greg had his stroke. By God’s providence. Greg survived and he survived well. There are lingering difficulties as we continue to live with the ‘thorn in the flesh’, but we thank God that Greg’s life was spared and trust God with our future.
Remember, remember, the 5th of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot. Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent To blow up the King and the Parliament Three score barrels of powder below Poor old England to overthrow By God’s providence he was catch’d With a dark lantern and burning match Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring Holler boys, holler boys God save the King!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 