Category Archives: Christianity

Truth for Today #199

Friday August 14th

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.

Psalm 9:1-2

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.

Isaiah 45:8 (ESV)

“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.”
~
From Vera:
~
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭148‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬
~
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created.” ‭‭

 

Sweetly the Holy Hymn

Sweetly the Holy Hymn

Sweetly the ho­ly hymn
Breaks on the morn­ing air;
Before the world with smoke is dim
We meet to of­fer pray­er.

While flow­ers are wet with dews,
Dew of our souls, des­cend:
Ere yet the sun the day re­news,
O Lord, Thy Spir­it send.

Upon the bat­tle­field,
Before the fight be­gins,
We seek, O Lord, Thy shel­ter­ing shield,
To guard us from our sins.

Ere yet our ves­sel sails
Upon the stream of day
We plead, O Lord, for hea­v’n­ly gales
To speed us on our way!

On the lone mount­ain side,
Before the morn­ing’s light,
The Man of sor­rows wept and cried,
And rose re­freshed with might.

Oh, hear us then, for we
Are ve­ry weak and frail,
We make the Sav­ior’s name our plea,
And sure­ly must pre­vail.

Words: Charles H. Spurgeon, 1866.

Truth for Today #198

Friday August 7th

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.

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.

From Maristella:

John 12:26

If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also; if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

From Vera:

Isaiah‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ‭‭

From Steve:

Psalm 18:32

the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.

From Karen:

Isaiah 25:1

O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

VBS-2026

Welcome to Stillwater Farm.

There is a coloring contest before the week begins and if you win a ribbon you get a free t-shirt.

Children from age 3 to 6th grade fill the church each evening this week. We have over 75 volunteers helping things run smoothly. Our kitchen crew even feeds the workers and their families each evening.

By the end of the week the truth of Psalm 23 will have been heard and hopefully many will know that the Lord is their Savior and they will travel on the right path all the days of their lives following the one true Shepherd.

Amidst us Our Beloved Stands ~Hymn

Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands 

Amidst us our Be­lov­èd stands,
And bids us view His pierc­èd hands;
Points to the wound­ed feet and side,
Blest em­blems of the Cru­ci­fied.

What food lu­xu­ri­ous loads the board,
When at His ta­ble sits the Lord!
The wine how rich, the bread how sweet,
When Je­sus deigns the guests to meet!

If now, with eyes de­filed and dim,
We see the signs, but see not Him;
O may His love the scales dis­place,
And bid us see Him face to face!

Our for­mer trans­ports we re­count,
When with Him in the ho­ly mount,
These cause our souls to thirst anew,
His marred but love­ly face to view.

Thou glo­ri­ous Bride­groom of our hearts,
Thy pre­sent smile a heav’n im­parts!
Oh lift the veil, if veil there be,
Let ev­ery saint Thy beau­ties see!

Words: Charles H. Spurgeon, 1866.

Truth for Today #197

Friday July 31st

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.

Hebrews 7:21b-25

…but this one was made priest with an oath by the one who said to him: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’. This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. 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.

1 John 3:24

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

From Leonard:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;”

From Vera:

Jeremiah ‭32‬:‭1‬7 ESV

“‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” ‭‭

From Jan:

Hebrews 1:3 NLT

“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”

From Maristella:

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in heaven.

From Karen:

Isaiah 12:2

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Have No Fear…

I saw this artwork at Hobby Lobby and I had to buy it and bring it home. I’ll post the hymn that this short text comes from soon. I’m sure a lot of you can sing along, especially the refrain.

Matthew 10:29-33

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Sweet is the Work, My God, My King~ Hymn

Sweet is the Work, My God, My King

Sweet is the work, my God, my king,
To praise Thy name, give thanks and sing,
To show Thy love by morn­ing light,
And talk of all Thy truth at night.

Sweet is the day of sac­red rest,
No mor­tal cares shall seize my breast;
O may my heart in tune be found
Like Da­vid’s harp of so­lemn sound!

My heart shall tri­umph in my Lord
And bless His works, and bless His Word.
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep Thy coun­sels, how di­vine!

Fools nev­er raise their thoughts so high;
Like brutes they live, like brutes they die;
Like grass they flour­ish, till Thy breath
Blast them in ev­er­last­ing death.

But I shall share a glo­ri­ous part,
When grace has well re­fined my heart;
And fresh sup­plies of joy are shed,
Like ho­ly oil, to cheer my head.

Sin (my worst ene­my be­fore)
Shall vex my eyes and ears no more;
My in­ward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Sa­tan break my peace again.

Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I de­sired and wished be­low;
And ev­ery pow­er find sweet em­ploy
In that eter­nal world of joy.

And then what tri­umphs shall I raise
To Thy dear name through end­less days,
For in the realms of joy I’ll see
Thy face in full fe­li­ci­ty.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1719.

The Round Church Cambridge

This will be the last post of our travel journal for our time in Cambridge from March 8th-March 14th, 2026. This post will cover Friday late afternoon and evening into Saturday March 14th.

On Friday afternoon as we made our way back to The Wilde, we noticed the Round Church was open to visitors.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, universally known as the Round Church, is one of only four surviving medieval round churches in England. Built around 1130 by the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre, its iconic circular design was directly modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is currently managed by the educational charity, Christian Heritage.

This panel was such a great presentation of Christianity.

I missed seeing the images in the tiles.

The historical panels were extensive and so well done. You could spend a lot of time reading the history through the centuries.

 

This brings me to the wrap up of our Cambridge travel journal.

I loved walking in a town with Jesus Lane, All Saints Passage, Jesus Green, Trinity Lane, Trinity College, Christ College, Emmanuel College, Jesus College.

Such rich history and foundation of Christianity in the past. In the present day you wonder how many students have an inkling of all of this.

As is always the case, we came, we wandered, and in no way did we see all there is to see or learn all there is to learn. We are grateful for what we did see and what we did learn. Time will tell if we will ever return.

Our bus ticket was for 9:20 on Saturday March 14th. We were up early and had our showers and were all packed up and ready to go. I went down to the lobby to see what pastries were available to purchase to have with our coffee. The almond croissants were huge. (One would have been good to split) March 14th happens to be my birthday so the hotel manager of the morning gave us two on the house!

Our taxi got us to the National bus stop on Parkside and we were off for our 2-1/2 hour bus ride to Heathrow Airport.

We had time at the airport to enjoy a bite to eat before boarding our plane for our 11+ hour flight home. One weird thing about our boarding was that we were bused to the plane and had to climb up the stairs to board. Thinking back on that, we should have asked for assistance with our carry-ons! (Being over 70)

Woohoo! We had a window row to ourselves so we were able to stretch out our legs over the course of the flight. The attendants found out (I told them) that it was my birthday so champagne arrived almost immediately and then when we got off the plane in Seattle, a Happy Birthday announcement was made over the speakers. Arriving in Seattle, we went through customs and then waited for our short hop flight to Spokane.

In Spokane, our son was waiting to drive us home with our car decorated and stuffed with balloons to wish me a Happy Birthday. Our Grands included these sweet cards.

And that my friends, is the end of this travel story.

Life goes on and the ordinary continues and we thank God for that, too.

Truth for Today #196

Friday July 24th

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.

James 1:25

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed for his doing.

From Vera:

Isaiah‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

From Karen:

Psalm 118:24

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

From Cheryl:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

~ Micah 6:8