Category Archives: Christianity

This World Is Not My Home Hodgepodge

 

It’s Wednesday and I’m rolling in a little later than usual for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you, Jo!

1. Hello August. What’s one thing you’re looking forward to this month? 

I’m still soaking in the last four days of July. So much to share about our time in Texas.

In August I’ll enjoy watching our Grands play soccer.

2. What are you doing to beat the heat right now? If you live in the southern hemisphere are you enjoying cooler temps or counting the days until summer? 

Oh goodness me. When we stepped out of the airport in Spokane on our way home from Dallas last night, we were relieved to be in 90 degree weather instead of 100+++ weather. What I do to beat the heat is to work in the early morning hours and stay inside in air conditioning for the other hours. If I’m outside I always navigate to shade!

Today the high in Colville is supposed to be 95 but right now it’s a cool 53 degrees! Woohoo!

3. How do you see the world? 

I see the world as a training ground in my Faith and walk with Jesus. The song that popped into my head when I read this question is the title I used for this post. I’ll share the full song here because another thing we enjoyed the last 4 days of July was singing together at my sister’s home, at the Twins birthday bash and in church on Sunday morning.

This World Is Not My Home

This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Chorus
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

They’re all expecting me and that’s one thing I know.
My Savior pardoned me and now I onward go.
I know He’ll take me through, though I am weak and poor.

Chorus
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Just up in Glory Land we’ll live eternally.
The Saints on every hand are shouting victory.
Their song of sweetest praise drifts back from Heaven’s shore
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

4. What food product do you think is better store bought than home made?

Fried Chicken or donuts. I don’t or wouldn’t even attempt to make those items at home.

How about something you refuse to buy because it is so much better homemade? 

So much is better homemade and fresh from the stovetop or oven. Anything my mother made could not be bought. Growing up our family always had homemade. Once in a great while our Pop would bring home pizza.

5. Are you easy to get along with? 

For the most part, yes. I do hold my ground on my strong beliefs and don’t appreciate being identified with movements or ideologies I’m opposed to.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

We are home from a wonderful birthday celebration with family and friends in Dallas, Texas. We also took a side trip to Waco in the heat while in Texas. I’ll be gathering my thoughts and my photos and photos from family and friends of the wonderful time we had and will be posting soon. Here we are on this last Sunday in July singing along with 3500 voices praising our LORD! It was glorious!

Thanks for stopping by. I’ll try and visit between laundry loads!

Truth for Today #65

Thursday July 27th

On Thursdays 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 dig deep in God’s Truth again this year! 

Ephesians 2:13-22

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us  both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭3‬ ‭ESV

“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”
‭‭

When This Passing World is Done ~ Hymn

 

When This Passing World is Done

When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o’er life’s finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know—
Not till then—how much I owe.

When I hear the wicked call,
On the rocks and hills to fall,
When I see them start and shrink
On the fiery deluge brink,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know—
Not till then—how much I owe.

When I stand before the throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart,
Then Lord, shall I fully know—
Not till then—how much I owe.

When the praise of Heav’n I hear,
Loud as thunders to the ear,
Loud as many waters’ noise,
Sweet as harp’s melodious voice,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know—
Not till then—how much I owe.

Even on earth, as through a glass
Darkly, let Thy glory pass,
Make forgiveness feel so sweet,
Make Thy Spirit’s help so meet,
Even on earth, Lord, make me know
Something of how much I owe.

Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Savior’s side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.

Oft I walk beneath the cloud,
Dark, as midnight’s gloomy shroud;
But, when fear is at the height,
Jesus comes, and all is light;
Blessed Jesus! bid me show
Doubting saints how much I owe.

When in flowery paths I tread,
Oft by sin I’m captive led;
Oft I fall—but still arise—
The Spirit comes—the tempter flies;
Blessed Spirit! bid me show
Weary sinners all I owe.

Oft the nights of sorrow reign—
Weeping, sickness, sighing, pain;
But a night Thine anger burns—
Morning comes and joy returns;
God of comforts! bid me show
To Thy poor, how much I owe.

Words: Robert M. McCheyne, 1837, “I am A Debtor”

Truth for Today #64

Thursday July 20th

On Thursdays 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 dig deep in God’s Truth again this year! 

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

From Sheila:

John 15 v 5

Jesus said … Apart from me you can do nothing

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.

From Vera:

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭23‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“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.”

From Cathy:

Psalm 119:36-37 NLT

“Give me an eagerness for your laws
rather than a love for money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word.”

From Maristella:

Psalm 34:17-18

When the righteous cry for help, The Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care ~ Hymn

Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care

Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To welcome endless day?

Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that into God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.

Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet
Thy blessèd face to see;
For if Thy work on earth be sweet,
What will Thy glory be!

Then shall I end my sad complaints
And weary, sinful days
And join with the triumphant saints
That sing my Savior’s praise.

My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ‘tis enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with Him.

Words: Richard Baxter

Truth for Today #63

Thursday July 13th

On Thursdays 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 dig deep in God’s Truth again this year! 

Ephesians 2:1-7

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience–among whom we all once lived in the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

From Vera:

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭43‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.”

From Karen:

Isaiah 5:21

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Speak, I Pray Thee, Gentle Jesus! ~ Hymn

Speak, I Pray Thee, Gentle Jesus

Speak, I pray Thee, gentle Jesus!
O, how passing sweet Thy words,
Breathing o’er my troubled spirit
Peace which never earth affords.
All the world’s distracting voices,
All th’enticing tones of ill,
At Thy accents mild, melodious,
Are subdued, and all is still.

Tell me Thou art mine, O Savior,
Grant me an assurance clear;
Banish all my dark misgivings,
Still my doubting, calm my fear.
O, my soul within me yearneth
Now to hear Thy voice divine;
So shall grief be gone for ever,
And despair no more be mine.

Words: William Williams, 1717-1791)

Translated from Welsh to English

Truth for Today #62

Thursday July 6th

On Thursdays 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 dig deep in God’s Truth again this year! 

Ephesians 1:15-23

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

From Lana:

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

From Karen

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

 

Whom Having Not Seen, I Love ~ Hymn

Whom Having Not Seen, I Love

A friend have I who’s ever near,
Who comforts me and stills each fear,
It is my Lord and Savior dear,
Whom, having not seen, I love.

Refrain

He’s gone to prepare a place
For me in His home above;
And I shall behold His face,
Whom, having not seen, I love.

In vain may fancy strive to trace
My Savior’s beauty and His grace;
More fair than I can dream, His face,
Whom, having not seen, I love.

Refrain

The precious hope of that bright day
Illumines all mine earthly way;
He’ll take me home with Him to stay,
Whom, having not seen, I love.

Refrain

With that glad meeting e’er in view,
My pilgrim journey I pursue,
And try His holy will to do,
Whom, having not seen, I love.

Refrain

Words: Maud Fraser, 1908

Addyson May’s Baptism

On Sunday June 25th our granddaughter Addy was baptized at the end of our morning service at First Baptist Colville. Our whole family and Addy’s Granny and Granny Great were at the service to witness Addy’s step in her new found faith.

Aunties and Uncles and brother all in a row. Gramps and Baba were across the aisle to have a better view of the baptismal pool.

Pastor David going over how Addy got to the place where she wanted to be baptized. First she was born again and then she wanted to proclaim it publicly through baptism. I love this sweet photo. We could barely see her whole head when she stepped into the pool.

Pastor lifted her up so everyone could see her.

Mom and Dad were looking on as were the rest of us.

We are so grateful for God’s saving grace and mercy on our sweet Addy May and praise Him for what He has done and will continue to do in the life of His little lamb. Baba and Gramps love you dear granddaughter of ours!

After the service we all gathered on Bayles Mountain for tacos.

Addy’s Mommy and Daddy bought her a sweet necklace with a cross, her initial and her birthstone. On the back of the cross the date of her baptism was engraved. I didn’t get a good close-up of the necklace. Auntie LoLo and Uncle Joshie got her a child’s version of Pilgrim’s Progress beautifully illustrated. Baba and Gramps also got her a cross necklace.

I’m trying out a new collage program and until I master it in my organization you’ll see some duplicate photos.

Addy and I were looking at her Pilgrim’s Progress Child version.

The kids stayed on at the Mountain but Gramps and Baba had one more event on this day to attend at church for our Pastor Candidate meet and greet. We were also in charge of the Ice Cream Social after the formal question and answer time Sunday Evening.

After the sunset walk the adults were able to get some card playing in while Addy and JJ crashed for the night. It was a long full day of excitement and celebration. Baba and Gramps crashed, too.

Katie and Andrew left on Monday morning to get back over the mountains and home.

On Monday before Uncle Joshie and Auntie LoLo hit the road for home at noon there was one more get together at a local park.

Another wonderful Family weekend that we do not take for granted.

I’ll leave you with this quote from a larger poem by Jean Ingelow, 1879. It was put to music by John Chadwick.

“I sought the Lord,
And afterwards I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him,
seeking me!
It was not that I found,
O Saviour true;
No, I was found by Thee.”