Jesus, Stand Among Us ~ Hymn

Jesus, Stand Among Us

Jesus, stand among us
In Thy risen power;
Let this time of worship
Be a hallowed hour.

Breathe the Holy Spirit
Into every heart;
Bid the fears and sorrows
From each soul depart.

Thus with quickened footsteps
We pursue our way,
Watching for the dawning
Of each eternal day.

Words: William Pennefather, 1855.

Greek Salad

Here’s another great Summer salad.

Greek Salad
Ingredients:

1 cup cucumber chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo), drained, rinsed.
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, sliced
1/4 cup scallions, sliced (you can substitute red onion here)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

Method:

Combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, scallions, and parsley in a large bowl.
Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper for the vinaigrette in a bowl.
Drizzle olive oil into lemon juice mixture in a steady stream while whisking, after it emulsifies stir in mint and adjust seasonings to taste.
Pour over the combined ingredients and mix well.

Double the recipe if you are serving this as a main dish. This recipe would serve 2 as a main dish.
As a side it serves 4-6 people.
I used the whole English Cucumber for the salad pictured above which was probably 2 cups or more of the cucumber.

Out of the Blue

This Ground Hog showed up on our property this week. We have never seen one in our yard before. Our neighbor also said he has never seen ground hogs in our little stretch of homes.

After reading about the ‘colonies’ these critters are associated with we decided to send it on it’s way.

It was fun to watch for a day…

Robins have been quite active around here building nests. The Swallows are busy with their nests in the bird houses around our property. The birds are entertaining and we welcome them.

Welcome to July! We don’t have plans for the weekend but we will be attending a Monday 4th of July gathering with several folk from church. Do you have plans?

Truth for Today #24

Thursday June 30th

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 this year!

Jude 17-23

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

From Vera:

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:9-10

“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. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

From Cheryl:

This was in my Bible reading today. Amazing . . . that our Lord looks at us as His brothers or sisters or mothers!

Mark 3:31-35

And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?”
And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”

‬ ‭

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God…

Jo is taking the week off from Wednesday Hodgepodge.

I was up early on Tuesday and stepping outside I enjoyed the beautiful skies while listening to all the songbirds greeting the morning. Couldn’t help myself from hoping I’d hear that trumpet sound!

Painting is in progress. This is the South side and most exposed and faded part of the house. We are changing the trim to white and simply framing the windows with white. The rest of the siding will be the Teton Blue by Behr paints. We won’t add a third color except for the doors which are already painted the Marine Dress Blue. Don’t look too closely at all our weeds.

June is speedily coming to an end.

All My Times Are in Thy Hands

Even though the day be laden,

And my path dreary,

And my strength small,

A song keeps singing in my heart:

For I know that I am Thine;

I am part of Thee;

Thou art kin to me,

And all my times, all my times are in Thy hands.

~Inscribed on an altar in the Hebrides

And here are some photos of the current state of our plants after all our Spring rain, then being basked by some summer sunshine. We had to water for the first time this year on Saturday.

Peonies have such a delightful but short season. I’m always in awe of their beauty.

These two are celebrating their 7th Anniversary. They spent Sunday without their little ones in tow and had a nice time in Spokane which included bowling. They met each other at the bowling alley in Colville and that’s where it all began. Happy Anniversary Dan and Jamie! We love the two of you together! God bless you with many many more anniversaries!

Hope you all have a beautiful week which brings us into July.

How Pleased and Blest Was I ~ Hymn

How Pleased and Blest Was I

How pleased and blest was I
To hear the people cry,
Come, let us seek our God today;
Yes, with a cheerful zeal
We haste to Zion’s hill,
And there our vows and honors pay.

Zion, thrice happy place,
Adorned with wondrous grace,
And walls of strength embrace thee round;
In thee our tribes appear
To pray, and praise, and hear
The sacred Gospel’s joyful sound.

There David’s greater Son
Has fixed His royal throne,
He sits for grace and judgment there:
He bids the saint be glad,
He makes the sinner sad,
And humble souls rejoice with fear.

May peace attend thy gate,
And joy within thee wait
To bless the soul of every guest!
The man that seeks thy peace,
And wishes thine increase,
A thousand blessings on him rest!

My tongue repeats her vows,
Peace to this sacred house!
For there my friends and kindred dwell;
And since my glorious God
Makes thee His blest abode,
My soul shall ever love thee well.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1719.

Cobb Salad

A Cobb salad is a great choice for a summer dinner. I’m working on a more heart healthy diet and would like to have this at least once a week for dinner. You can add all these ingredients or leave out the items you don’t enjoy.

Cobb Salad for two:

2 hearts of romaine chopped, washed and spin dried.
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced.
1 Avocado skinned and chopped.
4 slices of Canadian Bacon, chopped.
1 cup cooked and chopped chicken breast.
1 tomato, chopped.
Crumbled bleu cheese or Gorgonzola, optional
Red onion thinly sliced.

Layer your choice of ingredients and enjoy.

The choice of dressing is up to you. My husband enjoys a Bleu cheese dressing with his Cobb. I prefer to just use salt and fresh squeezed lemon. A Red Wine Vinaigrette is also a good choice.

Pelicans on the Pier

I was happy that these Pelicans were resting instead of flying so I could get my photos.

Back here in N.E. Washington State we have entered a dry warm cycle which means I’ll need to start watering the planters.

Dear has started painting the exterior of our home. When it’s complete I’ll share some before and after photos. Enjoy the last weekend in June!

Truth for Today #23

Thursday June 23rd

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen the glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

1 Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

From Cheryl:

Mathew 16:24-26

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”