Category Archives: God

Hello December Hodgepodge

It’s Time My Friends for Wednesday Hodgepodge hosted by the lovely Jo From This Side of the Pond!

1. When it comes to gift giving are you more of a ‘create something from scratch’ or a ‘buy something in a shop’ kind of giver? Tell about a favorite homemade gift you’ve given or one you’ve received. 

I am a ‘buy something in a shop’ kind of giver. My favorite homemade gifts these days come from our little grands.

2. Do you have the ‘gift of gab’? Is that a blessing or a curse? 

Simple answer is no, I do not have the gift of gab. There are times when I’m worked up that I can go on and on but usually I can be pretty boring in conversation.  Coming out with one liners is more my style. A blessing would be that I might not say more than I need to say and end up offending.

3. What’s something you have going on that you need/want to ‘wrap up’ this month? 

I need to buy some items for the church kitchen before the end of the year and submit the receipts so the expenditures are taken out of this years budget.

4. A food you love that is ‘wrapped’ in some way?

Blintzes, burritos, tacos…

5. December is upon us…share something here (quote, verse, poem, song lyric, your own thoughts) related to the word hope. 

I’ve been going through a commentary on 1 Peter after reading 1 Peter for a month and this section of Scripture on Hope is where I would focus my meditation.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

And from the commentary on this section of Scripture;

“Peter goes on to declare that regeneration results in believers receiving a living hope. The unbelieving world knows only dying hopes (Job 8:13; Prov. 10:28; Eph. 2:12) but believers have a living, undying hope (Pss.33:18; 39:7; Rom. 5:5; Eph. 4:4; Titus 2:13; Heb. 6:19)  that will come to a  complete, final, and glorious fulfillment (Rom. 5:2; Col. 1:27). It is hope that Peter later described when he wrote, “according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. This hope is what prompted Paul to tell the Philippians, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain”. At death believers’ hope becomes reality as they enter the glorious presence of God and the full, unhindered, joyous fellowship with the Trinity, the angels, and other saints. (Rom. 5:1-2; Gal. 5:5)

The means of Christians’ appropriating this living hope and eternal inheritance is spiritual birth, and the power for that appropriation was demonstrated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. …Christ rose from the dead, forever securing the believer’s living hope in heaven by finally conquering death.

~The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1 Peter.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Slowly, slowly the Christmas decorations are being put up here. This week is starting out slow for me physically and mentally. I’m blaming it on the turkey! Welcome December!

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise ~ Hymn

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible, hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, silent as light,
Nor striving, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy Justice like mountains soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of mercy and love.

To all life Thou givest, both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, true life of all;
Thy blossom and flourish only are we,
To wither and perish—but nought changeth Thee.

To-day and To-morrow with Thee still are Now;
Nor trouble, nor sorrow, nor care, Lord, hast Thou;
Nor passion doth fever, nor age can decay,
The same God for ever as on yesterday.

Great Father of Glory, Father of Light,
Thine angels adore Thee, veiling their sight;
But of all Thy good graces this grace, Lord, impart—
Take the veil from our faces, the veil from our heart.

All laud we would render; O help us to see,
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth Thee;
And now let Thy glory to our gaze unroll
Through Christ in the story, and Christ in the soul.

Words: Walter C. Smith, 1867.

Behold, He Comes, The Glorious King ~ Hymn

Behold, He Comes, The Glorious King

Behold He comes! the glorious King
Whom once a cross upbore;
Let saints redeemed His praises sing,
And angels hosts adore.

The reed, the purple, and the thorn,
Are lost in triumph now;
His person robes of light adorn,
And crowns of gold His brow.

Dear Lord, no more despised, disowned,
A victim bound and slain;
But in the power of God enthroned,
Thou dost return to reign.

To Thee the world its treasure brings;
To Thee its mighty bow;
To Thee the Church exulting springs;
Her Sovereign, Savior Thou!

Beneath Thy touch, beneath Thy smile,
New heavens and earth appear;
No sin their beauty to defile,
Nor dim them with a tear.

Thrice happy hour! and those thrice-blest
That gather round Thy throne!
They share the honors of Thy rest,
Who have Thy conflict known.

Words: Joseph Tritton

7 Days Until Christmas!

How is it going at your house? Are you almost ready to celebrate Christmas?

After looking at the photo above I moved that star above the angels head about a foot to the right.

Hope you are finding ways to Be Merry!

May the pure love of Jesus shine brightly in your heart this Christmas Season!

One tiny baby, one manger stall, one God who sent His Son to show His love for all.

Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge ~ N is for…

It’s Thursday and time for our Bible Verse Challenge. We are on the letter N. Leave a verse or verses in the comments and I’ll add them here. If you have a post on your blog please leave your link the comments.

N is for Name:

Philippians 2:4-11

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the NAME that is above every NAME, 10 so that at the NAME of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

From Patsystitch: Name

Acts 3:12-16. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, To this we are witnesses. And his name – by faith in his name – has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

From Vera: Now

““Now I will arise,” says the Lord, “now I will lift myself up; now I will be exalted.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭33:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Happy One: N is for NEED

Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

From Maristella: N is for NATIONS

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:16
And:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

Click over to Bethany’s Blog, Raindrops and Rainbows for her post on verses for the letter N.

“For N I am choosing the word NAME. Through December I have been writing a verse a day with the theme of names of Jesus.  It is a good reminder of all He is to us….the Good Shepherd, Savior, Mediator, Teacher, Alpha & Omega.” 

Keep digging!

I Worship Thee, Most Gracious God ~ Hymn

I Worship Thee, Most Gracious God

I worship Thee, most gracious God,
And all Thy ways adore;
And every day I live, I seem
To love Thee more and more.

When obstacles and trials seem
Like prison walls to be,
I do the little I can do,
And leave the rest to Thee.

I have no cares, O blessèd Will,
For all my cares are Thine;
I live in triumph, Lord, for Thou
Hast made Thy triumphs mine.

He always wins who sides with God;
To him no chance is lost;
God’s will is sweetest to him when
It triumphs at his cost.

Ill that He blesses is our good,
And unblest good is ill;
And all is right that seems most wrong,
If it be His sweet will.

Words: Frederick W. Faber, 1849.

Christ is Thy Light ~ Hymn

Christ is Thy Light

Christ is thy light, O wand’rer, tempest tossed!
The beacon light is pointing to thy rest;
Dark is the night,
And rocky is the coast,
But sure it shines above the billow’s crest;
Christ is thy light!

Christ is thy strength, O faint and weary soul!
Thy strife is vain; embrace without delay
The grace that pleads
With thee To make thee whole;
Who by His blood has washed thy sins away;
Christ is thy strength!

Christ is thy guide, O pilgrim seeking rest!
He gently bids thee open wide the door
For Him to enter
In and be thy guest;
O trust and follow Him forevermore;
Christ is thy guide!

Christ is thy hope! O cling to self no more,
No more to hopes which flatter and decay,
But to the Rock
That stands the tempest’s roar,
On which thy trembling ark will find a stay;
Christ is thy hope!

Christ is thy king! He wore the crown for thee,
A crown of thorns, a diadem so meet;
But bow before
His love that made thee free,
And humbly cast thy crown before His feet;
Christ is thy king!

Words: Richard B. Cadbury

Important Events ~ Good Friday

We are on the letter I and I’m choosing Important for my theme. This is an important weekend in the history of Christianity. Today we remember Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified on a cross and when he breathed His last was laid in a tomb.

Were the angels looking down from heaven to see all that would transpire?

Growing up there were Good Fridays when we would fast on that day until our church service in the evening with Communion breaking our fast and then having a meal together.

We will miss being able to attend Good Friday services this year but that will not stop us from our reading and contemplating the importance of this event in history and it’s importance today and in our future.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
From Matthew 27:

The Death of Jesus

45 Now from the sixth hour[f] there was darkness over all the land[g] until the ninth hour.[h] 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son[i] of God!”

55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard[j] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Tomorrow for the letter J my post will be about Jesus and His resurrection including photos from Easters past.

God’s Artwork

I’m thankful for the beauty all around me. One morning this last week when I went out for a drive into town the Camry caught my attention.  The detail of the ice on the car was like beautiful artwork or carvings.

This Saturday morning we are already at 31 degrees but they are predicting a snow flurry this morning. Sunday and Monday are the warmest days this coming week but just above freezing. The rest of the week is at freezing and below. Hope our travelers do not have any problems coming over the Cascade mountain range.

We freshened up some rooms in our country bungalow and I’ll share some of those changes next week.

I’m itching to decorate for Christmas but I’ll hold off till after Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have a tip for you. I needed to send off some Thanksgiving cards to loved ones and popped into the Dollar Tree in Colville. Don’t forget that they have a nice variety of cards all the time and some are even 2 for a $1.00. That beats the $3.99 and up you have to pay elsewhere these days. Your welcome.

I’m attaching a few photos here just to keep up with family doings. Our grands are still enjoying time on the other side of the mountains at Uncle Josh and Auntie Lolo’s house. They are coming back home on Monday.

JJ is pulling himself up and standing and he’s so proud of himself.

Hi mommy, I can see you better from here.

New adventures await. Never a dull moment for his parents and sister! Soon he’ll be chasing Addy around.

Thank you, Auntie Lolo, for all these great photos you text us!