Category Archives: Christianity

One Anothers…

This was in my drafts from a few years ago and since Valentine’s Day is on Wednesday this is a good encouragement on how to love ‘One Another’.

I recommend this easy study to any of you to do at home or in a study group. Grab your concordances and search and find all the ways we are suppose to behave with one another. I’m including one great passage from Colossians that covers a few and suggestions for what to look for. Enjoy!

Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV)

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances  you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Here are some helpful descriptions of some of these virtues; (taken from The Reformation Bible, ESV, R.C. Sproul – general Editor)

Kindness: Readiness to do good, even when it may be undeserved (Rom 2:4; Titus 3:4).

Compassion: An emotional, caring relationship with those whose lives are hurt and broken (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; Rom. 12:1).

Humility: A posture of lowliness and servanthood (Mark 10;45; Phil. 2:1-11).

Meekness: Or, “gentleness” in offering help, a non-coercive approach to encouraging change in others’ lives (Matt. 11:29; 2 Cor. 10:1; Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:25).

Patience: Willingness to take the long view in face of human frailty (Rom. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:16).

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the “one anothers” to look for; love one another, serve one another, accept one another, forgive one another, comfort one another, encourage one another, care for one another.

Our Christian life is meant to be lived in community. What a good challenge it is to be encouraging to one another as we grow in community.

Before the Throne of God Above ~ Hymn

 

Before the Throne of God Above

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Words: Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863

Truth for Today #87

Thursday February 8th

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! 

Since Valentine’s day is just around the corner here are the verses I’m sharing for this week:

From Lauren:

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

From Dianna:

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9

From Leonard:

Proverbs 30:2-3

“Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.”

“human wisdom is limited, the wisest people recognize their ignorance.”

From Vera:

”For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Sweet ‘Little’ Memories Hodgepodge

Our first Wednesday Hodgepodge in February is bringing back special memories of our dear Babushka Vera. We also called her our ‘little babushka’. The photo above was taken at Greg and my wedding in December of 1974.

Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for her questions this week.

1. Something you’ve waited for recently? 

Dependable hot water.

2. What’s something you loved to do as a child? 

So many things: Hide n Seek, Jacks, Tetherball

One of the best family memories is stopping at 31 Flavors (Ice Cream shop) on Beverly Blvd. after a church event for our two or three scoops! I chose orange sherbet and chocolate chip. One of my brothers always chose vanilla.

3. Something you learned from a grandparent? 

From our little babushka Vera we learned you could still do amazing things with only one hand. Her left arm was amputated at the elbow when she was very young. With one arm and hand, she managed raising children, cooking blintzes, baking piroshky and creating beautiful embroidery just to name a few. The photo of her above was taken at Greg and my wedding shower at Bethany Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

She made all those goodies on her kitchen table for Christmas breakfast before we walked a few doors down for church. All her ‘people’ would stop into her apartment before church for a treat and the most Merry Christmas start to the day.

This embroidered tablecloth and napkins was my little babushka’s wedding gift to us.

4. The most visited cities in the world last year (according to this site) were-Bangkok, Paris, London, Dubai, and Singapore. Have you been to any of the cities mentioned? Which would you most like to see? How do you feel about international travel in general these days? 

Of these cities, I’ve only been to London and would choose London to see again from this list of cities. Still hopeful for travel to the United Kingdom. I’m a comfort traveler so I’d avoid any country where I wouldn’t feel comfortable about language barriers, etc. There are enough wonderful International adventures for me in the UK.

5. February is the perfect month to ______________________.

February is the perfect month to be loving and kind to one another.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our Babushka Vera was promoted to heaven to be with her Savior in March of 1980. She was a Godly woman who prayed for all her grandchildren and for all her grandchildren’s future spouses. She prayed for our Pop’s salvation and for the salvation of her own husband. After they were married and he became a follower of Christ, our Dzedushka Fedot became a Baptist Minister. He was killed in Iran just after our parents immigrated to the USA after World War II. Our little Babushka immigrated to the USA with my Uncle and his family without her husband. I am so looking forward to seeing Babushka in heaven and seeing Dzedushka for the first time in heaven.

A long post about our Little Babushka is here.

I’m way behind this week after a busy full and wonderful weekend and then our Hot Water Tank repair job that took our son Dan and Greg all morning into the afternoon on Monday to fix. Hey…but we have some hot reliable water now and it will hopefully last a while.

Savior of the Nations, Come ~ Hymn

Savior of the Nations, Come

Savior of the na­tions, come;
Virgin’s Son, here make Thy home!
Marvel now, O Heav­en and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by hu­man flesh and blood;
By the Spir­it of our God
Was the Word of God made flesh,
Woman’s off­spring, pure and fresh.

Wondrous birth! O won­drous Child
Of the Vir­gin un­de­filed!
Though by all the world dis­owned,
Still to be in Heav­en en­throned.

From the Fa­ther forth He came
And re­turn­eth to the same,
Captive lead­ing death and hell
High the song of tri­umph swell!

Thou, the Fa­ther’s on­ly Son,
Hast over sin the vic­to­ry won.
Boundless shall Thy king­dom be;
When shall we its glo­ries see?

Brightly doth Thy man­ger shine,
Glorious is its light di­vine.
Let not sin o’er­cloud this light;
Ever be our faith thus bright.

Praise to God the Fa­ther sing,
Praise to God the Son, our king,
Praise to God the Spir­it be
Ever and eter­nal­ly.

Faith

 

What if I say
“The Bible is God’s Holy Word,
Complete, inspired, without a flaw”
But let its pages stay
Unread from day to day,
And fail to learn there from God’s law;

What if I go not there to seek
The truth of which I glibly speak,
For guidance on this earthly way,
Does it matter what I say?

What if I say
That Jesus Christ is Lord divine;
Yet fellow-pilgrims can behold
Naught of the Master’s love in me
No grace of kindly sympathy?

If I am of the Shepherd’s fold,
Then shall I know the Shepherd’s voice
And gladly make his way my choice.

We are saved by faith, yet faith is one
With life, like daylight and the sun.
Unless they flower in our deeds,
Dead, empty husks are all the creeds.
To call Christ, Lord, but strive not to obey,
Belies the homage that with words I pay.

Maud Frazer Jackson

Happy February everyone!

Truth for Today #86

Thursday February 1st

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! 

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24:

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

From Vera:

”Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.“
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭28‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Karen:

Proverbs 1:10

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Comfort, com­fort ye My peo­ple,
Speak ye peace, thus sa­ith our God;
Comfort those who sit in dark­ness,
Mourning ’neath their sor­row’s load;
Speak ye to Je­ru­sa­lem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cov­er,
And her war­fare now is ov­er.

For the her­ald’s voice is cry­ing
In the des­ert far and near,
Bidding all men to re­pent­ance,
Since the king­dom now is here.
O that warn­ing cry ob­ey!
Now pre­pare for God a way!
Let the val­leys rise to meet Him,
And the hills bow down to greet Him.

Yea, her sins our God will par­don,
Blotting out each dark mis­deed;
All that well de­served His an­ger
He will no more see nor heed.
She has suf­fered ma­ny a day,
Now her griefs have passed away,
God will change her pin­ing sad­ness
Into ev­er spring­ing glad­ness.

Make ye straight what long was crook­ed,
Make the rough­er places plain:
Let your hearts be true and hum­ble,
As be­fits His ho­ly reign,
For the glo­ry of the Lord
Now o’er the earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the tok­en
That His Word is nev­er brok­en.

Truth for Today #85

Thursday January 25th

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! 

Isaiah 61:10:

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

From Vera:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Maristella:

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19.

From Karen:

Matthew 16:28
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Tips For You Hodgepodge

If it’s Wednesday it must be Hodgepodge. Click over to Jo’s blog, From This Side of the Pond to join in.

1. Do you have a word for the year (WOTY)? If so, and you’d like to share, please share. How do you decide on a word? If you don’t have a word are you still on the hunt for one for 2024? 

I did not pick a WOTY for the year but I did pick a phrase.

Love Jesus More in Twenty Twenty Four

2. January 23rd is National Pie Day…will you celebrate? Do you like pie? What’s your favorite? 

We don’t celebrate except for in November before Thanksgiving our church has a pie and praise night. We enjoy pie but don’t have it often. My favorite pies were the fresh Strawberry or fresh Peach pies from Marie Callender’s. Growing up in Southern California it was a special treat to have boysenberry pie from Knott’s Berry Farm.

I just remembered Chicken Pot Pie and the all the great savory pies in Great Britain, yum!

The photo at the top of this post is of a Pear Custard Pie. Click here for the recipe.

3. Tipping. What are your thoughts, expectations, as to who, when where? Do you appreciate a store/restaurant giving a ‘suggested amount’? Have you ever left an extravagant tip? 

We do tip and we try not to skimp. When service is over the top exceptional we tip even better. We have left large tips for some of our favorite waiters/waitresses but extravagant is in the eye of the beholder. Before we moved away from the Seattle area, Seattle instituted a set tip and service fee in their prices. That change was confusing and we stopped tipping in Seattle. These days we avoid driving into Seattle to dine.

Since we are talking about restaurants and trends I’m not a fan of using my phone or a table top device to order food. I like the personal touch of the waitstaff coming to the table to take our order. I haven’t mastered the whole take a photo of the thingie that looks like a weird puzzle piece (QR Code) so you can connect with your phone. (yes, I’m old)

4. Share with us one household ‘tip’ that works for you. 

We got a tip from a dishwasher salesman that it is good to run the tap till the water is good and hot and then start your dishwasher cycle.

5. Influencers on social media are people who’ve built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular subject. Do you follow any influencers online? Have you made a purchase or tried something new because of that ‘influence’? If there’s one you particularly enjoy tell us who they are and why you enjoy them. 

The type of influencers we follow online are well known and knowledgeable teachers of the Bible who have proven they believe and teach the inerrancy of the Bible for all areas of life. We regard them as the best influencers out there.

Grace to You, John MacArthur, Ligonier, R.C. Sproul, Master’s Seminary, Tim Challies, Sinclair Ferguson, Keith and Kristyn Getty,  just to name a few.

We have purchased books, commentaries and music influenced by these folks. Keith and Kristyn Getty’s music is exceptional.

There are many ‘false teachers’ that we avoid like the plague.

The other type of following we do are the ‘how to people’, like ‘how to replace the hot water thermostat’, or ‘how to smoke a brisket’, or ‘how to clean your oven racks’.

On the lighter side of things this granny is fun to watch…

https://www.youtube.com/@memesrecipessc  Meme is a hoot to watch and I love her closing line! She is a cooking in the kitchen influencer.

I also like the jewelry this young gal is creating for sale; Nicole Joy Jewelry Design

https://www.instagram.com/nicolejoyjewelrydesign/?hl=en

https://06e86a-2.myshopify.com/

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

These two get to enjoy the snow with joy and then their mom adds more fun with these frozen colored water balloons to decorate their snow castle.

It’s still winter out there!

Update on our Water Heater, the parts arrived early and we should have hot water before this post is published on Wednesday. PTL! And yes, we do have hot water thanks to Greg!

Happy Hodgepodge, I’m looking forward to reading your tips.