Category Archives: Holy Spirit

A Thanksgiving Hodgepodge

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this great day here in the United States! Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving week Hodgepodge has been dished out by Joyce From This Side of the Pond! Thank you!

1. Do you feel like you have a ‘full plate’ at the moment? In what way? 

 Yes, yes I do have a full plate at the moment. The calendar is as full as can be with Thanksgiving festivities, both spare bedrooms full for a few days. Monday after Thanksgiving ladies ministry meeting plus decorating our church for Christmas. Tuesday escape to Idaho for an overnight to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary (December 6th is the actual day). Ladies Christmas party on Friday the 5th. I’ll fit in some Christmas decorating, too.

2. How did you learn to cook? If you have children did you teach or encourage them to cook? Do you like to follow a recipe or is your cooking style more ‘let’s wing it’.  

Mostly I learned the basics in my Home Economics classes. I didn’t cook with my mother growing up. My learning was hands on after I got married and it became my responsibility. My kids have the skills on their own initiative. Our sons are both good cooks. Our daughter can tackle any recipe. We modeled openness to invite people over to share a meal and our kids picked up on that. I follow recipes for baking but wing it a lot for spur of the moment meals.

3. Last time you bit off more than you could chew? Elaborate. 

Winterizing our property, namely the planters, this is more than I can chew. I’m hoping to bring in some help to complete this task. It’s more than my back can handle.

4. When did you last say ‘the more the merrier’ and mean it? 

Anytime my kids or family or friends want to travel to spend time with us I feel like the more the merrier.

5. Write an acrostic using the word T-H-A-N-K-S. 

Thank you, LORD God

Hope of Heaven

Acceptance you give me in Jesus

Nothing to doubt

King Jesus my Savior

Salvation assured

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Last Saturday we attended JJ’s promotion at Taekwondo. He did very well and received his Tiger Badge.

He answered all the questions the Grand Master asked of him.  One of  the Tiny Tiger Creeds is “Tiny Tigers will obey their parents”. The Grand Master asked JJ why he should obey his parents and JJ answered, “because it is written in the Bible, Sir!” Well said, JJ!

Later on this day our Colville kids enjoyed their yearly tradition of a Christmas lights boat cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Thank you to all who stop by here. I’m thankful for visitors to my blog and fellow bloggers!

Handel’s Messiah 2025

On Friday November 21st, I joined three ladies from our church for a trip to Spokane to hear Handel’s Messiah performed by Spokane Symphony and Chorale. The Performance by the orchestra and chorale was hosted by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

Handel’s Messiah is an oratorio that tells the story of Jesus Christ through three parts: his birth and miracles, his passion and death, and his final glorification in heaven. Composed rapidly in 24 days by George Frideric Handel in 1741, the work uses verses from the King James Bible. Charles Jennens wrote the libretto, or text, (not Handel) comprising passages from the Bible. It premiered in Dublin in 1742 as a benefit concert and has since become a holiday staple known for its religious narrative and powerful choruses, like the famous “Hallelujah” chorus.

Messiah was originally conceived as a work for Easter, and its world premiere was given during Lent.

In July of 1741, Charles Jennens, who had written the libretti for two of Handel’s oratorios wrote the following in a letter to a friend–the earliest mention of Messiah:

“Handel says he will do nothing next Winter, but I hope that I shall persuade to set another Scripture collection I have made for him, and perform it for his own Benefit in Passion week. I hope that he will lay out his whole Genius and Skill upon it, that the Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah…”Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.”

We found our general admission seats and then we wandered about the cathedral which included climbing the spiral staircase to the gallery below the Rose window and some of the pipes of the organ.

While Messiah is a large-scale oratorio that takes almost 3 hours to perform in its entirety, it is not Handel’s longest work.

Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.

The U.S. premiere of the complete Messiah was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society on Christmas Day in 1818 at Boylston Hall in Boston.

I’m adding a couple YouTube videos to give you a hint of what we heard.

No. 17. Chorus: Glory to God

The presentation we enjoyed did not perform all 53 movements in the original Messiah but performed 45 of the 53. The Hallelujah Chorus is movement #44.

The performance on Friday did end with the last movement, No. 53 Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. [Revelation 5:12, 13]

It was a grand location to enjoy this God honoring, Christ proclaiming Oratorio. Hallelujah to our Risen Savior!

I was thankful that Bethany drove for the majority of miles and that I only had about 5 miles to drive home at the end of our evening.  I pulled into our garage at midnight! That is late for me.

In October of 2017, Greg and I ventured off of our usual route from Kenmore to Colville to view this church. We were pleased to find the doors open so we could explore the inside of the church. Click here to see this beautiful cathedral and some of the stained glass windows.

 

O Love of God, How Strong and True ~ Hymn

O Love of God, How Strong and True

O love of God, how strong and true!
Eternal and yet ever new;
Uncomprehended and unbought,
Beyond all knowledge and all thought.

O love of God, how deep and great!
Far deeper than man’s deepest hate;
Self-fed, self-kindled, like the light,
Changeless, eternal, infinite.

O heav’nly love, how precious still,
In days of weariness and ill!
In nights of pain and helplessness,
To heal, to comfort, and to bless.

O wide embracing, wondrous love,
We read Thee in the sky above,
We read Thee in the earth below,
In seas that swell, and streams that flow.

We read Thee in the flowers, the trees,
The freshness of the fragrant breeze,
The song of birds upon the wing,
The joy of summer and of spring.

We read Thee best in Him who came
To bear for us the cross of shame;
Sent by the Father from on high,
Our life to live, our death to die.

We read Thee in the manger-bed,
On which His infancy was laid;
And Nazareth that love reveals,
Nestling amid its lonely hills.

We read Thee in the tears once shed,
Over doomed Salem’s guilty head,
In the cold tomb of Bethany,
And blood-drops of Gethsemane.

We read Thy power to bless and save,
E’en in the darkness of the grave;
Still more in resurrection light,
We read the fullness of Thy might.

O love of God, our shield and stay
Through all the perils of our way;
Eternal love, in Thee we rest,
Forever safe, forever blest!

Words: Horatius Bonar, 1861.

This hymn was sung at the 2004 fun­er­al of Am­eri­can pre­si­dent Ron­ald Rea­gan.

They Spoke to Me

I’m going to catch up with posting some quotes that spoke to me and I’ve written down in my journal over the last several months. Putting them here will help me find them easier.

The photos that I’m interspersing with them came from our drive to and from Spokane on Wednesday the 19th of  November, 2025.

The first quotes are from notes in my Church History Study Bible related to Psalm 81 and 82 and 93.

“There is unconquerable opposition between us and God. Without a mediator there can be no communion with him.” Blaise Pascal

“Where ignorance reigns in the mind, there is confusion in the heart and life.” Thomas Boston

“There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who see knowledge in order to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love.” Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God. 

” The time will come when all races of men shall own their God and accept him as their king. There is one who is King by right divine, and he is even now on his way. The last days shall see him enthroned, and all unrighteous potentates broken like potters’ vessels by his potent sceptor. The second advent is still earth’s brightest hope. Come quickly, even so, come Lord Jesus.” Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David.

“May the Lord appear in his church, in our day in manifest majesty and might, saving sinners, slaying errors, and honoring his own name.” Spurgeon

“The only reason God is our Savior is that he is merciful.” John Calvin

Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.

“Faith is not just an exercise of the mind. It is a commitment of the heart that fundamentally changes the way you live your life.” Paul Tripp

“You may begin anywhere in the Bible and preach Jesus.  You may begin at the first chapter of Genesis, or at the last chapter of Malachi, at the first of Matthew or the last of Revelation, and still preach Jesus, for he is the sum and substance of the whole Scripture.” Charles Spurgeon

“God is to be praised because he has not based his covenant of the forgiveness of sin on our merit but on his Word, and because he commands that it will stand firm and eternal, not falling when we sin, nor becoming valid only when we are godly.” Martin Luther

Today is Saturday before our Thanksgiving week here in the USA begins. This is a very busy weekend. Last night I attended The Messiah at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane with three friends. Today we have 2 events at church to meet and learn more about a Pastoral Candidate and his family. Besides church on Sunday morning we have a Pie and Praise event Sunday night and I’m in charge of getting the pies out for everyone to enjoy. Whew! After Sunday we’ll have a few free days until it is full speed ahead with Thanksgiving Day and a house full here Thursday through Sunday. Life is rich!

Hope y’all are doing well.

Truth for Today #170

Friday November 21st

On Fridays 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 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! 

Romans 6:1-4

 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 8:1-4

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

From Vera:

“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.””
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭

From Dianna:

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge.

1 Cor. 1:4-5

Come, O Come, Thou Quickening Spirit ~ Hymn

 

Come, O Come, Thou Quickening Spirit

Come, O come, Thou quick­en­ing Spir­it,
God from all eter­ni­ty!
May Thy pow­er nev­er fail us;
Dwell with­in us con­stant­ly.
Then shall truth and life and light
Banish all the gloom of night.

Grant our hearts in full­est mea­sure
Wisdom, coun­sel, pur­ity,
That we ev­er may be seek­ing
Only that which pleas­eth Thee.
Let Thy know­ledge spread and grow,
Working er­ror’s ov­er­throw.

Show us, Lord, the path of bless­ing;
When we tres­pass on our way,
Cast, O Lord, our sins be­hind Thee,
And be with us day by day.
Should we stray, O Lord, recall;
Work re­pent­ance when we fall.

With our spir­it bear Thou wit­ness
That we are the sons of God
Who re­ly up­on Him sole­ly
When we pass be­neath the rod;
For we know, as child­ren should,
That the cross is for our good.

Prompt us, Lord, to come be­fore Him
With a child­like heart to pray;
Sigh in us, O Ho­ly Spir­it,
When we know not what to say.
Then our pray­er is not in vain,
And our faith new strength shall gain.

If our soul can find no com­fort,
If de­spon­den­cy grows strong,
And the heart cries out in ang­uish,
Oh my God, how long, how long?
Comfort then our ach­ing breast,
Grant it cour­age, pa­tience, rest.

Holy Spir­it, strong and migh­ty,
Thou who mak­est all things new,
Make Thy work with­in us per­fect
And the ev­il foe sub­due.
Grant us wea­pons for the strife
And with vic­to­ry crown our life.

Guard, O God, our faith for­ev­er;
Let not Sa­tan, death or shame
Ever part us from our Sav­ior;
Lord, our re­fuge is Thy name.
Though our flesh cry ev­er: Nay!
Be Thy Word to us still Yea!

And when life’s frail thread is break­ing,
Then as­sure us more and more,
As the heirs of life un­end­ing,
Of the glo­ry there in store,
Glory nev­er yet ex­pressed,
Glory of the saints at rest.

Words: Heinrich Held, 1897-1957.

Thou Art the Way ~ Hymn

Thou Art the Way

Thou art the Way; to Thee alone
From sin and death we flee;
And he who would the Fa­ther seek
Must seek Him, Lord, by Thee.

Thou art the Truth; Thy Word alone
True wis­dom can im­part;
Thou on­ly canst in­form the mind,
And pu­ri­fy the heart.

Thou art the Life; the rend­ing tomb
Proclaims Thy con­quer­ing arm,
And those who put their trust in Thee
Nor death nor hell shall harm.

Thou art the Way, the Truth, the Life;
Grant us that Way to know,
That Truth to keep, that Life to win,
Whose joys eter­nal flow.

Words: George Doane, 1824.

Truth for Today #168

Thursday November 6th

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! 

Announcement: I will be switching my Truth for Today posts to Friday starting next week. 

John 12:44-50

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.  If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.  For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.  And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

From Dianna:

“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

From Vera:

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭27‬-‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Karen:

Matthew 9:37-38

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

A Mighty Fortress is Our God ~Hymn

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Words and Music: Martin Luther, 1529.

This song has been called the great­est hymn of the great­est man of the great­est per­i­od of Ger­man his­to­ry, and the Bat­tle Hymn of the Re­for­ma­tion. It was sung at the fun­er­al of Am­er­i­can pre­si­dent Dwight Ei­sen­how­er at the Na­tion­al Ca­thed­ral in Wash­ing­ton, DC, March 1969.

Truth for Today #167

Thursday October 30th

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! 

Luke 24:44-49

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

From Vera:

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.”

From Leonard:

1 Peter 5:6-7

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

From Dianna:

Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

From Karen:

Colossians 3:17

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.