Category Archives: Christianity

Thankful Thursday ~ A New Beginning!

Lamentations 3: 21-25 ~

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”

I am thankful for a new year, each new day that the Lord extends his love and mercy to me and my loved ones.

I am thankful that He is the faithful one and nothing that I do changes who He is.

I am thankful that He continues to teach me through His Holy Spirit.

I am thankful that He gives me the desire to continue to seek Him and wait for him.

I pray that we all grow in His wisdom and grace this New Year.

For more Thankful Thursday posts head over to Lynn’s who I am thankful to for hosting again!

The First Noel ~ Christmas Carol

  The First Noel

The first Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay tending their sheep,
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Refrain

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

They lookèd up and saw a star
Shining in the east, beyond them far;
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.

Refrain

And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from country far;
To seek for a king was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.

Refrain

This star drew nigh to the northwest,
Over Bethlehem it took its rest;
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right over the place where Jesus lay.

Refrain

Then did they know assuredly
Within that house the King did lie;
One entered it them for to see,
And found the Babe in poverty.

Refrain

Then entered in those wise men three,
Full reverently upon the knee,
And offered there, in His presence,
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.

Refrain

Between an ox stall and an ass,
This Child truly there He was;
For want of clothing they did Him lay
All in a manger, among the hay.

Refrain

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
That hath made Heaven and earth of naught,
And with His blood mankind hath bought.

Refrain

If we in our time shall do well,
We shall be free from death and hell;
For God hath prepared for us all
A resting place in general.

Refrain

The First Noel is unknown in origin but is generally thought to be English dating back to the sixteenth century. There is a misconception that the First Noel was French and it is believed that this is because of the French spelling of Noel as opposed to the olde English Anglo-Saxon spelling of the word as in Nowell. After England was captured by the Normans numerous words were adopted from the Norman French language and Noel was re-spelt as Nowell, early printed versions of this carol use the Nowell spelling. The First Noel was first published in 1833 when it appeared in “Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern,” a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys.

 

Thankful Thursday ~ Ephesians 3: 14-20

 I am thankful today for all we have in Christ and for my friends and family.

My gift for you who visit here and all who participate in Thankful Thursday is this prayer from Ephesians. It is so rich and so full. Blessings on all of you at this wonderful Christmas time.

Ephesians 3:14-20 ~

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives it name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

For more Thankful Thursday visit Lynn.

Christmas Tour of Homes ~ 2007

 Boo Mama is hosting a Bloggy tour of Christmas homes. Come join the fun.

Christmas Tour of Homes

Please do come in and enjoy my home at this beautiful Christmas time. Jesus has prepared the way for us to love and enjoy this season. There would not be a Christmas worth celebrating without Him!

The wreath welcomes you at the front door. Please do come in and make yourself at home.

I’ve been busy preparing for your visit.

From a Christmas past on to Christmas present…

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care…

and lighted garland is placed here and there…

Some Christmas decorations handed down from years gone by…

Now here’s a Caramel Pecan treat before we go any further. If you enjoy them you can find the recipe here.

Now to some tables set for my friends. First red and green on cream.

or how about gold with green?

Here’s the fun Christmas breakfast table set for the family with placecards and placemats from long, long ago.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my home. It would be so much fun to see you in person and share a cup of coffee, cocoa, eggnog or tea to go with the Caramel pecan cookies. We could sit by the fire and enjoy the lights on the tree. Blessings on your day touring other homes. Click here to continue your tour from Boo Mama’s.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

 God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

“Fear not then,” said the Angel,
“Let nothing you affright,
This day is born a Saviour
Of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan’s power and might.”
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Saviour lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Some Spurgeon from Of First Importance ~

 

“The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother.”

“The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. I can hear their trampings now as they traverse the great arches of the bridge of salvation. They come by the thousands, by their myriads, e’er since that day when Christ first entered His glory.

They come and yet never a stone has sprung in that mighty bridge. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them, trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.”

– Charles Spurgeon

(Ht: Of First Importance)

How Cheering is the Christian’s Hope ~

 How Cheering is the Christian’s Hope

How cheering is the Christian’s hope,
While toiling here below!
It buoys us up while passing through
This wilderness of woe.
It buoys us up while passing through
This wilderness of woe.

It points us to a land of rest,
Where saints with Christ will reign;
Where we shall meet the loved of earth,
And never part again.
Where we shall meet the loved of earth,
And never part again.

Fly, lingering moments, fly, O fly;
Dear Savior, quickly come!
We long to see Thee as Thou art,
And reach that blissful shore.
We long to see Thee as Thou art,
And reach that blissful shore.

(anonymous)

If you’d like to hear the tune click here.

Photo of Lake Washington taken at Log Boom Park in Kenmore

Thankful Thursday ~ Heirs Because of Christ!

Galatians 4: 4-6

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

What a wonderful time of year to consider all the wonderful blessings that are available to us because of Christ’s coming to earth and ultimately his sacrifice for our sins. Amazing to consider that we are heirs with Christ, simply amazing thing to be thankful for! Blessings on all of you.

 

For more Thankful Thursday head over to Laurel Wreath’s Reflections.

I also have a post below this of 33 things about my marriage up today since today is my 33rd wedding anniversary…I’m thankful for my husband and the 33 years God has given us so far filled with life changing experiences, boring days, sad days, exciting days and all kinds of days filled with His joy!

 

Coffee and Devotions

 Come and have a cup of coffee with me and consider some thoughts…

I’ve got the gas stove burning

The coffee is brewing. Pick a Christmas cup for your “Joe”. I can also boil water for tea, you know…

I’ve got mine ready to go…

This morning I was reading from John Piper’s Taste and See and I found these thoughts something good to ponder. I’m not including the whole of meditation #5 but parts of it.

“If we would be wise people – people on the way to being “sages” – we must understand how our sinful human hearts and minds work. One profound biblical insight we need to embrace is that our heart exploits our mind to justify what the heart wants. That is, our deepest desires precede the rational functioning of our minds and incline the mind to perceive and think in a way that will make the desires look right. It is an illusion to think that our hearts are neutral and incline in accordance with cool, rational observation of truth. On the contrary, we feel powerful desires or fears in our hearts, and then our minds bend reality to justify the desires and fears….

….It is an old tale. From Cain (Genesis 4:9) to American presidents, truth has been sacrificed to desire, and the mind has been shrewdly employed by the darkened heart to shroud its passions. This is the point of Romans 12:18: They suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Truth is held hostage by the unrighteous commitments of the heart. The unrighteous heart then employs the mind to distract and deceive. As Jesus says, “Everyone who does evil hates the Light” (John 3:20). Doing the evil we love makes us hostile to the light of truth which will expose the evil and rob us of its fleeting pleasures. In this condition the mind becomes a factory of half-truths, equivocations, sophistries, evasions, and lies – anything to protect the evil desires of the heart from exposure and destruction.

[sophistry -unsound or misleading but clever, plausible, and subtle argument or reasoning; sophism] [I added this definition because this was a new word to me]

We are all given to this. Our only hope is the transforming work of God in our hearts to free us from the bondage of a hardened heart that produces a futile mind.

….we should pray for God to change hearts so that they can see the beauty of truth and love it.

…Romans 6:17, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were commited.” Obedience came from the heart. Thanks be to God. And if thanks be to God, then let prayers be to God. He is our only hope – to escape our own delusions and deliver others.”

I hope you find these thoughts something good to ponder and learn from today. Go into this new day with truth and grace. Blessings…

Eternal Glory of the Sky ~ Hymn

 

Eternal Glory of the Sky

Eternal Glory of the sky,
Blest Hope of frail humanity,
The Father’s sole begotten One,
Yet born a spotless virgin’s Son!

Uplift us with Thine arm of might,
And let our hearts rise pure and bright,
And, ardent in God’s praises, pay
The thanks we owe him every day.

The day-star’s rays are glittering clear,
And tell that day itself is near:
The shadows of the night depart;
Thou, holy Light, illume the heart!

Within our senses ever dwell,
And worldly darkness thence expel;
Long as the days of life endure,
Preserve our souls devout and pure.

The faith that first must be possessed,
Root deep within our inmost breast;
And joyous hope in second place,
Then charity, Thy greatest grace.

All laud to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the holy Paraclete.

Words: At­trib­ut­ed to Ambrose of Milan, 4th Cen­tu­ry (Ae­ter­na coeli glo­ria); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to En­glish by John M. Neale in The Hymn­al Not­ed, 1854.