Category Archives: Jesus

It Was Merry and Bright

On Christmas morning Katie, Andrew, Greg and I enjoyed Eggs Benedict for breakfast before the rest of our crew arrived for our Christmas Day festivities. Josh and Laura left the Seattle area 8ish in the morning for their trek across the mountains to our country bungalow. We were so thankful it was clear sailing for them all the way to our place. After they arrived our Colville kids packed up their truck and headed over.

Before we opened gifts, Greg (Gramps) read from from Hebrews 1 which speaks of who Jesus Christ is and Luke 2 in the Bible which speaks of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:1-3a


Addy and JJ made the wrapping paper for some of the gifts they gave.

 

This little guy was impersonating a Bah-bush-ka!

The Yorkshire pudding popped up well!

The meal (which I didn’t photo) was Prime Rib roasted to perfection, Yorkshire Pudding, Creamed Corn, roasted brussels sprouts and asparagus. After the meal was enjoyed we popped the poppers and enjoyed the crowns and gifts and jokes!

Since Andrew and Katie had to leave early on Boxing Day, Katie shared a cake with Jesus. Our Grands mommy made a two tiered cake that was chocolate and vanilla for Katie and Jesus. Addy requested both flavors. After we sang happy birthday to Katie and she blew out her candles, we closed our eyes while Addy and Jamie redecorated the top of the cake.

We all marveled at the wonderful cake topper for our celebration of the birth of Jesus. Great creativity Jamie and Addy!

 

What a wonderful treat to be able to be together on this special day to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We are thankful for the joy we can share with one another.

Katie and Andrew’s sleigh left on Tuesday, Boxing day. Josh and Laura are here for a few more days of fun and adventures.

Today is Katie’s actual birthday. Happy Birthday dear Katie. Dad and I love you and are so thankful for you and what you mean to our family.

 

Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas Carol

Hallelujah! hark! from above
Angels come on their wings of love;
Loud hosannas welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Glory to God the choral strain;
Glory to God the sweet refrain;
Glory, glory, glory to God!
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Chiming, chiming, hark! ’tis the bells;
Joy to all now their music tells;
Floating onward, greeting the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Hallelujah! joyful we sing,
While we praise our exalted king;
Let our carol welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

Hallelujah tis done, I believe on the son, I’ve been saved by the blood of the crucified one.

Christmas Eve 2023

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying,

4

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those

with whom he is pleased!”

С Рождеством Христовым

(S Roždestvom Khristovym)

On the birth of Christ a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

JOY!

 JOY

Joy is a recurring theme and response to Jesus and what he has done for us. Look at the joy in these verses from the Bible. Take a moment to read through them.

Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 2:9-11
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Matthew 2:9-11
You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
Luke 1:13-15
For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:43-45
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:9-11
Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.
Luke 6:22-24
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
Luke 10:20-22
In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:9-11
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
John 15:10-12
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
John 17:12-14
And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:51-52
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:11-13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:12-14
…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-3
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
1 Peter 1:7-9

Remember this Christmas season when you see a star, man made or God made, pause to rejoice.
When you see a babe think of our Savior and rejoice.
When you see gifts beautifully wrapped think of the very best gift of all we have been given from God through Jesus and rejoice.
REJOICE with the angels.
REJOICE with the shepherds.
REJOICE with Mary and Joseph.
REJOICE and again I say REJOICE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This post is replacing Truth for Today this week. Truth for Today will resume next week. Praying you all will have reason to Rejoice this Christmas.

Listening and Sipping Tea Hodgepodge

With gratitude to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our last Hodgepodge questions of the year.

1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? 

I’m happy to say that I did more listening than talking yesterday. Our grands were here in the afternoon for a few hours and it was fun listening to their banter. JJ had several stories to give us the details on. He talked about his dad’s work on the hot water tank, in detail. Addy filled in anything he missed. He chuckled while calling me, Baa bush Kah, in three separate syllables instead of Baba. Addy read out the instructions on the cookie recipe we made. During dinner together JJ had many things to share. I made the comment that he was quite the conversationalist!

2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea?
I grew up in a tea drinking household where tea was served regularly and we enjoyed our tea with a sweet cherry syrup or lemon syrup that our mom made and canned in quantity.
At the church we grew up in we’d have meals where tea was served. My friends and I enjoyed making bridges of sugar cubes across the top of our tea glasses before we poured the hot water in. We broke the sugar bridge with the hot water. No tea bags, loose tea steeped. The glasses were hot so the tea was poured into the bowl and we drank the tea from the bowl. At our Russian wedding receptions, Чай не сладкий  (the tea is not sweet) ‘Chai nye slatki’ was a chant that was made while gently tapping our tea glasses with a spoon so the newly married couple could stand and give each other a kiss to sweeten our tea.
I think we mostly had tea in the afternoon or evening.
After I was married I transitioned to coffee and enjoyed tea as an event rather than daily consumption. When I drink tea I enjoy Earl Grey or English Breakfast Tea. No green tea for me. I do not make Christmas tea but I do remember having some in the past.
3. What’s an activity you won’t try, an event you won’t attend, or an athletic challenge you won’t take part in not even for ‘all the tea in China’? 
I will not try bungee jumping. I will not attend a Monster Trucks Show. I will not take part in a marathon.

4. What’s something most people seem to love but is not ‘your cup of tea‘? 

Owning pets.

5. How does your family celebrate New Year’s Eve? 

Hmmm. It has changed over the years and we do not have any set traditions for this eve. Lately we are in bed by 9pm and will hear the fireworks go off at midnight. I used to watch at least one of the countdowns (New York) that were 3 hours ahead of us. Here in Colville the Fourth of July is not a good time to shoot off fireworks because of the fire danger so many folks save their fireworks for New Year’s Eve.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m still relishing our Children’s Christmas Musical that was on this past Sunday and this song that the Children sang.

You can have my room, Jesus.
You’re always welcome here, Jesus.
I won’t turn you away to a cattle stall.
You can have my room, Jesus.
You can have it all.
Come in, Come in,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
You can have it all.

A Very Merry Christmas to Jo and all of my Wednesday Hodgepodge Friends!

The First Leon ~ A Children’s Christmas Musical

Here are the parents, who had their part of getting Addy to play practices on Sunday evenings starting well before Thanksgiving. JJ was part of the younger crew and their practices started after Thanksgiving. Hats off to them for being faithful to this responsibility and helping Addy learn all the songs for the performance. Since they had to have Addy and JJ at church early on performance day they were able to save us all some good seats and have some down time before the show began.

An exciting start to the Christmas musical which was so well done.

After the first choir number Addy and her duet partner got ready for their song. ‘If you want to be a Star.’

Addy sang her heart out on her duet. She never missed a beat throughout the many songs that the Children’s choir performed during the play. She was diligent and engaged and learned all her parts early.

An addition to the duet, JJ and several other younger ones came on stage dressed as stars. They had to walk and bob in these cute costumes. They entered at the beginning of the duet and exited just before the duet was over.

 

 

 

This was a hilarious part of the musical when the choir turned their backs on us and then turned around again with their shades on and sang an upbeat version of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.

The stars became manger animals backstage and re-entered right on cue, nonchalantly.

 

Time for the animals to exit stage left…

 

One of my favorite songs during the musical was, ‘You can have my room, Jesus.’ It was so tender and touched my heart and I shed a few tears.

You can have my room, Jesus.
You’re always welcome here, Jesus.
I won’t turn you away to a cattle stall.
You can have my room, Jesus.
You can have it all.
Come in, Come in,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
You can have it all.

 

And just like that, after months of hard work, the Children’s Christmas Musical was over for another year. It was a program that shed good light on the Christmas Story and honored our Lord Jesus Christ. We are thankful for the directors of the play and all their helpers that put in so much time and energy for the musical.

Our Pastor closed out the play with a short gospel message explaining Hebrews 2:9.

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

A fitting conclusion to the Christ honoring musical.

On Monday our grands spent a few hours here and we baked cookies and enjoyed time together.

Only 6 more days until Christmas!

Once In Royal David’s City

Once In Royal David’s City

Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.

He came down to earth from Heav­en,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.

And, through all His wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden,
In whose gentle arms He lay:
Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as He.

For He is our childhood’s pattern;
Day by day, like us He grew;
He was little, weak and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love,
For that Child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in Heav’n above,
And He leads His children on
To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him; but in Heav­en,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
Where like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.

Words: Cecil F. Alexander, 1848.

Truth for Today #81

Thursday December 14th

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 2:1-20

 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

From Vera:

”To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.“
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭25‬-‭26‬

From Dianna:

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we held His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

From Lauren:

Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased!

Less Stress More Peace Hodgepodge

Time for another Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for the questions!

1. Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2023 is ‘rizz’. Hmmm…before today had you ever heard the word? Do you know what it means? (Apparently it’s short for charisma) Have you ever used the word? If you were in charge of the world, what word would you declare word of the year for 2023?

I have not ever heard that word before today and I did not know what it meant. It sounded more like a nickname for a person to me.

The first word that came to my mind to declare to the world is REPENT! Our world is in a mess.

2. What’s one word you tend to abbreviate in your writing or speech? (as in rizz for charisma)

I’m drawing a blank here except for FYI. It probably will become clearer when I read your answers to this question.

3. Are you a Hallmark movie watcher this time of year? What’s your favorite character from a holiday- themed movie, book, or TV special? 

We do watch some Hallmark movies. Because I’ve had to think so hard and long to come up with a favorite, I don’t think I have a favorite. 🙂 I enjoy the Christmas specials in ongoing series like Call the Midwife or All Creatures Great and Small.

4. Something you look forward to eating this month? 
Our Christmas dinner, all the things on the plate together, prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, creamed corn, roasted vegetables.

5. What’s the most stressful part of the holiday season for you? 

Over the years the stress has decreased because I’m learning to adjust my expectations. Those adjustments have made things less stressful. Sometimes it is hard to admit that I am the one causing the undo stress and I’m the one who needs to adjust. I need to remember to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart.

Getting the Christmas letter/photo/cards out probably has the most time/deadline stress.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m reading a Christmas Advent Devotional these days leading up to the 25th of December. The writer is covering several Christmas Carols/Hymns/Songs, some very familiar ones and some not so familiar. On Day 12 this was the song that was covered, written by Jester Hairston in 1956.

Mary’s Boy Child

Long time ago in Bethlehem so the Holy Bible say, Mary’s Boy Child, Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day!

Hark! Now hear the angels sing: “A New King born today, And man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!

Trumpets sound and angels sing, listen to what they say, That man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!

While angels watched their flocks by night They saw a bright new shining star, And heard a choir from heaven sing the music came from afar.

Now Joseph and his wife Mary came to Bethlehem that night. They found no place to bear her Child, not a single room was in sight.

Hark! Now hear the angels sing: “A New King born today, And man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!”

By and by they found a little nook in a stable all forlorn. And in a manger cold and dark Mary’s little Boy Child was born.

Hark! Now hear the angels sing: “A New King born today, And man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!”

From the devotional:

A memorable line, repeated four times, is this: Man will live forevermore, because of Christmas Day.” It seems rare for a carol to emphasize eternal life, but this line is ‘spot on’. If it weren’t for Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection, there would be no eternal life for any man, woman, or child. Among the many things that Christmas means, this is not the least–Christmas means we can have eternal life! 

Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our Christmas Letter 2023

Friends and family, we send you our 2023 Christmas message with love.

We could recount all the cool experiences we had in 2023, or talk about how Greg completely remodeled our Master shower even with a left hand that is 30% functional, but if you are at all interested, Ellen’s blog covered it with photos. http//happywonderer.com

Now that we are both in our seventies we feel an urgency to share our greatest treasure with you. Some of you have the same treasure but our desire is for all our friends and family to know this treasure. We’ll start with the words from our favorite song since September of this year, My Worth Is Not In What I Own. (Keith and Kristyn Getty, and Graham Kendrick)

My worth is not in what I own,

not in the strength of flesh and bone,

but in the costly wounds of love, at the cross.

My worth is not in skill or name,

in win or lose, in pride or shame,

but in the blood of Christ that flowed, at the cross.

I rejoice in my redeemer,

greatest treasure,

wellspring of my soul.

I will trust in him, no other,

my soul is satisfied in him alone.

As summer flowers we fade and die,

fame, youth and beauty hurry by,

but life eternal calls to us,

at the cross.

I will not boast in wealth or might,

or human wisdom’s fleeting light,

but I will boast in knowing Christ, at the cross.

Two wonders here that I confess,

my worth and my unworthiness,

my value fixed, my ransom paid,

at the cross.

I rejoice in my redeemer, greatest treasure,

wellspring of my soul.

And I will trust in him, no other,

my soul is satisfied in him alone.

My soul is satisfied in him alone,

my soul is satisfied in him alone.

We are all sinners and we all need redeeming. Jesus is the one and only redeemer who can save us from our sins and their consequences, giving us peace with God. Jesus paid our ransom at the cross. He is the only one who could be the perfect sacrifice for sin. We need to recognize that our sin separates us from God and we need what Jesus accomplished on the cross to reconcile us to God. Acknowledging our sin and putting our faith in what Christ did on the cross gives us new life, spiritual life, with God.

When Greg and I came to that place in our lives, recognizing our sin and trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins we began a new life with eyes and hearts open to learning more about God from the Bible. All he wants us to know and become is written in His Word. From Genesis to Revelation we learn about Jesus and how he is the answer for life with God. Satan is real and dominates our world with lies. His sphere lies in darkness and that is where we are until we accept the light of the world, Jesus. With Jesus you inherit light, without Jesus you will remain in darkness.

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:11-14

Don’t let Satan fool you into believing you are just fine the way you are, that you aren’t a huge sinner, that you are a ‘good’ person because you haven’t murdered anyone…yet! No! That belief will land you in hell instead of heaven. We are all sinners and we need Jesus to save us from the eternal consequences of our sins. We urge you to choose light and life today! Start the new year with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior who loves you and cares for you!

For those of you who have put your faith in Jesus we encourage you to keep growing, don’t drift, obey God’s Word, learn more about our God in Three this year. We hope to love Jesus more in 2024!

Love in Christ,

Greg and Ellen