Category Archives: Jesus

Marching Forward Hodgepodge

Our back acres taken yesterday morning. It snowed much of the day.

Joyce From This Side of the Pond has the questions ready for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Marching forward…

1. Hello March! Is it coming in like a lion where you live?

We are having light snow showers so I’d say not so much like a lion. It’s typical for this time of year here.

How do you feel when it rains? It depends. If it hasn’t rained for a while it’s nice to hear the pitter patter on the roof. If it’s the 5th day in a row of rain I long for a dry sunny day.

2. What’s something you’d like to do differently this week than the last? Explain. 
We are supposed to avoid inflammatory foods so I’d like to cut out some of those and replace them with something healthier for us.
3. March 1st is National Sunkist Citrus Day…do you drink orange juice?
I do enjoy a glass of orange juice but not on a regular basis.
Orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit…what’s your favorite citrus fruit?
As a fruit to eat it’s a toss-up between an orange or tangerine. Lemon is very versatile in baking and for salad dressings, etc. Limes for guacamole and a G & T. Grapefruit juice might just be my favorite to drink. One of Dear’s new medications has a warning for him not to have grapefruit anything.
A dish you love with a citrus fruit as one of it’s key ingredients? 
I really can’t come up with a dish but I do enjoy lemon curd.
4. What do you consider to be your culture. Elaborate. 
What best describes my culture is ‘Conservative Christian’. Being a follower of Jesus Christ has the most significant influence on the things I choose to do, wear, say, read, enjoy. Praying I represent my culture better each day.
~
I could also say that I used to be a ‘city girl’ but in the last 4 years I’ve become a ‘country gal’ because of the huge difference in the area I live in now. My wardrobe has taken on more boots and snow appropriate clothes.
5. Sum up your February in fifteen words or less. 
Losing the same ten pounds again this year that I gained back last year, OYE!
6. Insert your own random thought here. 
I came across this little quote that maybe I should tape to my bathroom mirror…
~
“Taste your words before you serve them.” 
~
I’m looking forward to seeing some Spring green and color hopefully by the end of March.

Truth for Today #44

Thursday February 23rd

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the 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!

Psalm 25:4-5

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 86:11-13

Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O LORD my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

From Vera:

‭‭Joel‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?”

From Nikkipolani:

Psalm 3:3-4 NKJV

But You, O Lord, are a shield [a]for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill.

From Marilyn:

Psalm 91:1

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in him will I trust.

Mighty Army of the Young ~ Hymn

Mighty Army of the Young

Mighty army of the young,
Lift your voice in cheerful song,
Send the welcome word along,
Jesus lives!
Once He died for you and me,
Bore our sins upon the tree,
Now He lives to make us free,
Jesus lives!

Refrain

Wait not till the shadows lengthen,
Till you older grow,
Rally now and sing for Jesus,
Everywhere you go;
Lift your joyful voices high,
Ringing clear thro’ earth and sky,
Let the blessèd tidings fly,
Jesus lives!

Voice of youth so glad and free,
Sing your song of victory;
Sing to all on land and sea,
Jesus lives!
Light for you and all mankind,
Sight of all by sin made blind,
Life in Jesus all may find,
Jesus lives!

Refrain

Jesus lives, O blessèd words!
King of kings, and Lord of lords!
Lift the cross and sheathe the swords,
Jesus lives!
See, He breaks the prison wall,
Throws aside the dreadful pall,
Conquers death at once for all,
Jesus lives!

Refrain

Words: John R. Colgan (1891)

Truth for Today #43

Thursday February 16th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the 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!

2 Peter 3:13-18 (ESV)

But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

From Vera:

‭‭Amos‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

“For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!”

From Karen:

Joshua 1:9

Have not I commanded thee?
Be strong and of a good courage;
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:
for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

From Nikkipolani:

John 21:25 NKJV

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Truth for Today #42


Thursday February 9th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the 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!

Luke 2:52

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

2 Peter 3:18

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity, Amen.

Ephesians 4:11-16

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭12‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

From Karen:

Deuteronomy 4:39

Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
‭‭

Truth for Today #41

Thursday February 2nd

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the 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!

Resuming Truth for Today for 2023 starting today.

Job 28:28

And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

I’ve been reading The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan and I’m going to share the following quote from the book.

“Hopeful: How will you describe right fear?

Christian: True or right fear is discovered by three things: 1. By its rise: it is caused by saving convictions for sin. 2. It driveth the soul to lay fast hold of Christ for salvation. 3. It begetteth and continueth in the soul a great reverance of God, his Word, and ways; keeping it tender, and making it afraid to turn from them, to the right or to the left, to any thing that may dishonor God, break its peace, grieve the Spirit, or cause the enemy to speak reproachfully.”

From Cathy:

Isaiah 41:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

From Vera:

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”
‭‭Micah‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭32‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Cheryl:

“This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy ~ Hymn

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in God’s justice
Which is more than liberty.
There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measures of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple
We should take him at his word,
And our lives would be illumined
By the presence of our Lord.

Troubled souls, why will you scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts! why will you wander
From a love so true and deep?
There is welcome for the sinner
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Savior,
There is healing in his blood.

Words: Frederick W. Faber

Awake My Heart; Arise, My Tongue ~ Hymn

Awake My Heart; Arise, My Tongue

Awake, my heart; arise, my tongue,
Prepare a tuneful voice;
In God, the life of all my joys,
Aloud will I rejoice.

’Tis He adorned my naked soul,
And made salvation mine;
Upon a poor polluted worm
He makes His graces shine.

And lest the shadow of a spot
Should on my soul be found,
He took the robe the Savior wrought,
And cast it all around.

How far the heav’nly robe exceeds
What earthly princes wear!
These ornaments, how bright they shine!
How white the garments are!

The Spirit wrought my faith, and love,
And hope, and every grace;
But Jesus spent His life to work
The robe of righteousness.

Strangely, my soul, art thou arrayed
By the great Sacred Three!
In sweetest harmony of praise
Let all thy powers agree.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1707

As With Gladness, Men of Old ~ Hymn

As With Gladness, Men of Old

As with gladness, men of old
Did the guiding star behold
As with joy they hailed its light
Leading onward, beaming bright
So, most glorious Lord, may we
Evermore be led to Thee.

As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly manger bed
There to bend the knee before
Him Whom Heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.

As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King.

Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.

In the heavenly country bright,
Need they no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down;
There forever may we sing
Alleluias to our King!

Words: William C. Dix, 1860

He wrote this hymn on the day of the Epi­pha­ny, while sick in bed; it was first pub­lished in his Hymns of Love and Joy.

I Hear the Words of Love ~ Hymn

I Hear the Words of Love

I hear the words of love,
I gaze upon the blood,
I see the mighty sacrifice,
And I have peace with God.

’Tis everlasting peace!
Sure as Jehovah’s name,
’Tis stable as His steadfast throne,
For evermore the same.

The clouds may go and come,
And storms may sweep my sky;
This blood-sealed friendship changes not,
The cross is ever nigh.

My love is ofttimes low,
My joy still ebbs and flows;
But peace with Him remains the same,
No change Jehovah knows.

That which can shake the cross
May shake the peace it gave,
Which tells me Christ has never died,
Or never left the grave!

Till then my peace is sure,
It will not, cannot yield,
Jesus, I know, has died and lives—
On this firm rock I build.

I change, He changes not,
The Christ can never die;
His love, not mine, the resting place,
His truth, not mine, the tie.

The cross still stands unchanged,
Though Heav’n is now His home,
The mighty stone is rolled away,
But yonder is His tomb!

And yonder is my peace,
The grave of all my woes!
I know the Son of God has come,
I know He died and rose.

I know He liveth now,
At God’s right hand above,
I know the throne on which He sits,
I know His truth and love.

Words: Horatius Bonar, (1808-1889)

Happy New Year everyone!

Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth.
~Martin Luther