Category Archives: Christianity

Taxes and Tulips Hodgepodge

Get your muck boots on and tiptoe through the tulips with me.

It’s not taxing to answer Wednesday Hodgepodge questions, thank you, Joyce!

1. Big week in the US of A…do you do your own taxes?

We don’t do our own taxes.

I am in charge of the books for our well that four properties share and I have to file an annual nonprofit tax form and I’m patting myself on the back for getting that done.

What’s something you’ve found ‘taxing’ lately? 

Exercising.

2. When it comes to travel are you a last minute packer or a lay it all out a week in advance type?

I don’t lay it all out but I do think about it and make lists.

Do you struggle to pack light?

For our trip this past March we packed very light and proved we could do it so we will be packing light for any trips in the future unless it is a road trip.

Share a packing tip that has worked for you. 

Pack your socks inside your spare pair of shoes that you are packing.

3. April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Hmmm…who knew it got its own month? Do you like a grilled cheese sandwich? What ingredient do you add to take yours to the next level? 

We do enjoy a good grilled cheese sandwich. A good slice of salami can take it to the next level.

4. There’s a well known quote that says-

‘A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” John A. Shedd  

Is constant growth necessary or do you think it’s more important to prioritize stability and peace in your life? 

As a Biblical Christian I am admonished to grow. Grow in my knowledge of the Word of God. Grow more like Christ. Grow in my love for God, my Savior. My peace and stability come from walking with God and knowing Him more and growing more and more like Jesus Christ. This does not happen overnight, it is a lifelong process of Sanctification.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:17-18

5. Let’s wrap this up with a fun spring this or that-

  • daffodils or tulips ~ first daffodils and then tulips!
  • lemonade or iced tea ~ lemonade
  • gardening or hiking ~how about walking
  • ladybugs or butterflies ~ butterflies
  • umbrella or raincoat ~raincoat
  • floral patterns or polka dots ~polka dots

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of tulips, you don’t have to travel all the way to Amsterdam to enjoy amazing tulip fields. When we lived in Kenmore, Washington we tried to make an annual trip to Mount Vernon, Washington for the tulip festival. That was just an hour to an hour and a half drive. It was worth the tulip traffic and dodging all the people like us who wanted to enjoy the glorious fields of tulips.

I could go on and on with the photos I have but this will give you a good taste of the variety and massive industry of tulips from this area of Washington State. Besides the fields there are several gardens to enjoy with many more unique varieties of tulips with gift shops, etc.

Jesus Lives! O Day of Days! ~ Hymn

Jesus Lives! O Day of Days!

Jesus lives! O day of days!
Glad we bring our grate­ful praise;
He is ris­en! Gone the gloom,
Angels sit with­in the tomb.
Vain the taunt of Jew de­ny­ing,
Vain the vaunt o’er Je­sus dy­ing,
Heav’nly voic­es, from the grave,
Now pro­claim His pow­er to save.

Refrain

He is ris­en! Come and see,
How He tri­umphed migh­ti­ly!
Conqueror thus o’er all His foes,
Jesus from the dead arose.

Lord and Pro­phet, spake He not?
Have ye His own words for­got,
Telling, while in Ga­li­lee,
Thus the vic­to­ry should be?
How through scorn and dire af­flic­tion,
Thorny way and cru­ci­fix­ion,
Vanquished death, and rent the grave—
Christ the King should live to save.

Refrain

Tearful to the se­pul­cher
Mary comes in grief and fear;
Sees the stone now rolled away,
Hears the wait­ing an­gels say:
Why the dead among the liv­ing
Seek ye? Lo! The Lord life-giv­ing
Rises, vain the watch, the grave:
Prince of Life, He lives to save!

Refrain

Welcome then, the day of days!
Lord, ’tis Thine our tune­ful praise;
Thine, for us, the Tempt­ed, Tried,
Thine, for us, the Cru­ci­fied;
Thine for us the Re­sur­rect­ion,
Thine the Life, the Sure Pro­tect­ion.
Savior! So­ve­reign ov­er the grave,
May we know Thy pow­er to save.

He is ris­en! joy­ful­ly,
Lord! we raise our song to Thee,
Conqueror thus o’er all His foes,
Jesus from the dead arose.

Words: George D. Wildes, 1871.

Truth for Today #182

Friday April 10th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the 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! 

Welcome back to Truth for Today.

Psalm 97:9-12

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name.

From Vera:

“Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭107‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Easter Monday

We were in charge of the Easter Coffee Fellowship at our church for Easter Sunday. On Saturday we made a trip to Spokane to buy some of the goodies we would be serving. We had a very successful shopping trip at 6 stops.

Our first stop was at Kiev Market in Spokane and they were selling Kulich/Paska (Russian Easter Bread).

I knew it wouldn’t be as good as homemade but it was better this year than in previous years. After we dropped all the muffins, strawberries, yogurt and tulips off at church we had a quiet evening at home before our busy Easter Sunday.

I brought some of our outdoor daffodils inside to cheer up our kitchen space.

I’ve been working on this puzzle and only have the hardest part left.

Josh and Laura served at an Easter Service Saturday night helping with the photo area. They attended services on Sunday with Laura’s brother’s family.

Dan had to work on Easter but Jamie and her mom got this photo at the Easter service at our church. We were busy in the kitchen getting ready for the Coffee Fellowship in between both services. I did not think to get a photo of the presentation of the food tables. We got our photo with our Grands at our Easter lunch at Dan and Jamie’s.

Many Easter eggs were hidden and the kids were anxious to find them.

Ready, set, go!

Everyone had full baskets/bags of eggs and other vessels.

Three cute bunnies.

Dan got home after all the festivities and it was time for a family photo.

It was a wonderful day all around and a good weekend. I was on my feet for too many hours and will be giving them a rest for the next couple of days.

Hope your Easter was glorious, too.

Glorious Resurrection Day!

 

Easter Visits Earth Again

Easter visits earth again,
In the solemn spring;
Blossoms brighten hill and glen,
Notes of joy sweetly ring.

Refrain

Hail Him, vic­to­ri­ous,
King of love, throned above;
Tell the news o’er and o’er,
While the years go by:
Make His praise glo­ri­ous;
Sing again, earth and sky;
Tell the news ev­er­more,
Our Je­sus lives on high.

Every flower that lifts its head,
Breathes a message bright;
He is ris­en from the dead;
Happy day, day of light!

Refrain

Tell the story of the spring
With triumphant voice:
Jesus reigns, exalted King,
In His grace, we rejoice.

Refrain

Words: Eliza E. Hewitt, 1916.

Christ Is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

Khristos voskrese!    Voistinu voskrese!

Христос воскрес!
воистину воскрес!

Blessings to all on this Glorious Easter Day!

Lamb of God! Our Souls Adore Thee ~ Good Friday

Lamb of God! Our Souls Adore Thee

Lamb of God! Our souls ad­ore Thee
While upon Thy face we gaze;
There the Fa­ther’s love and glo­ry
Shine in all their bright­est rays;
Thine al­migh­ty pow­er and wis­dom
All cre­ation’s works pro­claim;
Heaven and earth alike con­fess Thee
As the ev­er great I AM.

Lamb of God! Thy Fa­ther’s bo­som
Ever was Thy dwell­ing place;
His de­light, in Him re­joic­ing,
One with Him in pow­er and grace;
Oh, that won­drous love and mercy—
Thou didst lay Thy glo­ry by,
And for us didst come from Heav­en,
As the Lamb of God, to die!

Lamb of God! When we be­hold Thee
Lowly in the man­ger laid,
Wandering as a home­less strang­er
In the world Thy hands had made;
When we see Thee in the gar­den,
In Thine ago­ny of blood,
At Thy grace we are con­found­ed,
Holy, spot­less, Lamb of God!

When we see Thee, as the vic­tim,
Bound for us up­on the tree,
For our guilt and fol­ly strick­en,
All our judg­ment born by Thee—
Lord, we own, with hearts ad­or­ing,
Thou hast loved us un­to blood:
Glory, glo­ry ev­er­last­ing,
Be to Thee, Thou Lamb of God!

Lamb of God, Thou soon in glo­ry
Will to this sad earth re­turn;
All Thy foes shall quake be­fore Thee,
All that now des­pise Thee mourn;
Then Thy saints all ga­thered to Thee,
With Thee in Thy king­dom reign;
Thine the praise and Thine the glo­ry,
Lamb of God, for sin­ners slain.

Words: James G. Deck, 1841

Jesus Prepares to Die…

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On the Thursday of Easter week we remember the Passover supper Jesus had with his disciples and the washing of the disciples feet. Some of what Jesus shared with his disciples on this day in history is copied below.

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.”

Artists have tried to depict the last supper and we’ve seen some of those attempts in person over the years in our travels.

While in England in 2014 year we saw two amazing paintings of the last supper, one in the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist in Windsor and one in the chapel of Magdalen College.

The Thames 094

The Thames 104 - Copy - Copy

Oxford Day 6 141Above the stalls in the chapel hangs Giampetrino’s remarkable 15th copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, on permanent loan from the Royal Academy. In view of the bad condition of the original fresco in Milan, Magdalen’s copy on canvas is a piece of increasing historic and artistic significance.

Oxford Day 6 144

This photo is a life sized artist’s depiction of the night Jesus had the Passover meal with his disciples, the event we call the Last Supper. This was taken at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan Italy in 2013. “Do this in remembrance of me”

There seems to be only 11 of the 12 disciples which makes me wonder if the artist depicted the scene after Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, had left the meal.

The sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet at the top of this post was taken in Thousand Oaks California at the Gardens of the World. 

“Come, my heart, rejoice in the immunity that your Redeemer has secured for you, and bless His name all day and everyday.” C.H. Spurgeon

Easter week, remembering what was accomplished by Jesus on the Cross and in His resurrection, our redemption, is celebrated every week and every day for true believers!

March Was Lovely Hodgepodge

Thank you, Joyce for keeping the Hodgepodge questions coming.

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less.

Budapest, Bratislava, Czech-Republic, Austria, Cambridge, Seventy-Five, Nine…Travel and Birthday Joys!

2. Are you afraid of heights? No

When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

Besides flying at whatever thousands of feet, the highest was climbing with our own two feet to the Panorama Look-Out at St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest last month.

It did not make me nervous until we started down on these stairs.

3. What’s a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down?

Occassion , Ocasion, Ocassion, Occasion whew…finally I got it right.

Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar. 

We are looking forward to several occasions to celebrate in April starting with Resurrection Sunday and then two more family birthdays.

4. Love ’em or hate ’em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So… do you love ’em or hate ’em?

I neither love them or hate them, I ignore them.

Speaking of peeps, what’s your favorite way to have chicken? 

Chicken pot pie is a favorite.

5. This week’s Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite? 

The form of poetry I love are old hymns by people like Fanny Crosby, John Newton, Wesley, and others. I’ll share a stanza and refrain from Fanny Crosby’s, Like a River Glorious;

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest

This has been a favorite for years. It was a hymn we sang often at Bethany Baptist church in L.A. and in other churches we’ve been a part of. It has a great four part harmony and the alto part comes back to my memory easily when singing it with the congregation. The longer I’ve been following Jesus as my Lord and Savior, God’s peace gets fuller and deeper.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It’s Easter week and this is another hymn that speaks of Jesus Christ and what the cross, Good Friday and Easter are about. Happy Easter, Hodgepodgers!

 

Lamb of God, We Fall Before Thee

Lamb of God, we fall be­fore Thee,
Humbly trust­ing in Thy cross.
That alone be all our glo­ry;
All things else are on­ly dross.

Thee we own a per­fect Sav­ior,
Only source of all that’s good.
Every grace and ev­ery fa­vor
Comes to us through Je­sus’ blood.

Jesus gives us true re­pent­ance
By His Spir­it sent from Heav’n;
Whispers this trans­port­ing sen­tence,
Son, thy sins are all for­giv’n.

Faith He grants us to be­lieve it,
Grateful hearts His love to prize;
Want we wis­dom? He must give it,
Hearing ears and see­ing eyes.

Jesus gives us pure af­fect­ions,
Wills to do what He re­quires,
Makes us fol­low His di­rect­ions,
And what He com­mands, in­spires.

All our pray­ers and all our prais­es,
Rightly of­fered in His name—
He that dic­tates them is Je­sus;
He that an­swers is the same.

When we live on Je­su’s mer­it,
Then we wor­ship God aright;
Father, Son, and Ho­ly Spir­it,
Then we sav­ing­ly unite.

Hear the whole con­clu­sion of it:
Great or good, whate’er we call,
God, or King, or Priest, or Pro­phet,
Jesus Christ is all in all.

Words: Joseph Hart, 1759

Shout Aloud, All Ye Lands ~ Hymn

Shout Aloud, All Ye Lands

Across the blue wa­ters
The mes­sage of grace
O’er king­dom and em­pire
Is fly­ing apace;
The day-beam is break­ing,
Majestic and bright,
And mill­ions are turn­ing
From dark­ness to light.

Refrain

Shout aloud, all ye lands,
And be glad while ye sing;
Shout aloud, all ye lands,
For the Sav­ior is king!
And the sound that went forth
On the night of His birth
Shall be heard to the ut­ter­most
Bounds of the earth.

All crea­tures ador­ing
Shall bow at His word,
All tongues shall con­fess Him
Their Sav­ior and Lord;
His truth and its glo­ry
Extended shall be,
And cover the earth
As the wa­ters the sea.

Refrain

How gent­ly and kind­ly
There comes from above
His scep­ter of mer­cy,
His stand­ard of love!
He rul­eth in wis­dom,
The mon­arch of peace;
His reign shall be glo­ri­ous
And nev­er shall cease.

Refrain

The day is ap­proach­ing,
The time draw­eth nigh,
When na­tion to na­tion
Hosanna shall cry;
The id­ols they wor­ship
In dust shall be laid,
And Je­sus be hon­ored,
Exalted, ob­eyed.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1875.

Spring Firsts

On our trip to Spokane on Tuesday we saw the new roadside sign from Williams Valley Mennonite Church as we drove through the little town of Clayton. Such a great verse for Spring!

Speaking of Spring we have a few signs on our property that Spring is springing before our eyes.

The birds have been very busy. Two nests in two of our roadside shrubs.

Greg spotted this mud lined nests on his way to our mailbox.

I wonder which birds made these nests.

Hooray for these sweet daffodils that are finally opening up. They make me smile. We’ve been dropping below freezing the mornings this week but the daffodils don’t seem to mind.

What signs of Spring are you enjoying as we head into Easter week?