We decided to take down these umbrellas that didn’t work well with our windy afternoons and replaced them with a shade cloth. I say we in the royal sense, Dear did it all!
We are happy with this new arrangement. The cloth is secure enough to withstand strong wind gusts. It will be easy to take down at the end of summer.
On Saturday this buck found this shady spot in our backyard and stayed put the whole time Dear went back and forth from the house to the Traeger to cook our dinner. I guess we didn’t pose a huge threat to him. Country living is full of surprises.
As soon as my internet service allows it I’ll upload my photos of our new shade cloth on our back deck.
Hope you all have a good new week ahead.
This song is titled My Hope is Built and sometimes The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ name.
Refrain
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain
Words: Edward Mote, circa 1834; first appeared in Mote’s Hymns of Praise, 1836.
On Friday JJ’s mommy and Addy went to Spokane with Granny and Granny Great to celebrate a friends new baby. JJ and Baba were left to their own devices. It is so good to just spend time with one Grand now and then. JJ is developing the right skills to pedal his bicycle and it was fun to watch him. We spent a little time in the garden and he gets to pick and eat all the raspberries he wants. Inside he enjoyed his lunch and then we played with trucks and blocks and puzzles. We worked on a Kiwi Activity box that gets delivered monthly. After we read the book that came with the activity box JJ brought several other books he wanted me to read to him. Later in the afternoon it was time to wind down to his nap so we watched Octonauts just as Mommy and Addy pulled into the garage. A nice day for everyone.
The photo above popped up in my memories this week from our first home in the state of Washington. Our kids built this fort in our back yard in the early 90’s.
Do any of you watch the show on History Channel called ‘Alone’?
“The HISTORY Channel’s hit survival series “Alone” is back like never before and taking place in the most dangerous location yet. In Season 8, 10 contestants fight to survive in the Canadian wilderness on the shores of Chilko Lake, British Columbia.”
I’m always impressed with the structures the contestants are able to build with just an ax. They have to cut the trees down all alone…
I’ve moved on from Romans to 1 Corinthians in my daily readings so today I’m sharing several verses from my concentrated time in the Book of Romans. Share your verse/verses from anywhere in the Bible and I will add them below.
Romans 1:16,17:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 5:10,11:
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 6:6:
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Romans 6:17,18:
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:23:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:11:
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:26:
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Romans 10:9,10:
…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 15:4:
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:13:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
From TCKK:
Galatians 5:22-23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
From Vera:
Ephesians 1:3-10 (ESV):
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
From Karen (HappyOne):
Philippians 4:13:
I can do all things through Christ who strenghteneth me.
From Maristella:
Ephesians 4:26-27:
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
From Barb:
Psalm 6:9:
The Lord has heard my supplication: The Lord will receive my prayer.
This photo of sand and surf and a pier is from Huntington Beach, California.
Thank you Jo From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge.
1. July 5th is National Hawaii Day…have you ever been to Hawaii?
Yes, once in 1997.
Any desire to visit or make a return trip?
Not particularly.
Pineapple, mango, or guava…what’s your pleasure?
Pineapple but not on a pizza. 🙂
2. Last time you were ‘thrown in at the deep end’? Explain.
I’ll leave out some information to spare the mostly innocent but ‘the deep end’ was showing up at an event that no one was really in charge of and having to jump in and make it run smoother than it was going to.
3. Sun, sea, sand, salt…your favorite when it comes to summer?
I like the sea in the summer because it is usually cooler at the seashore than inland.
4. Bury your head in the sand, the sands of time, draw a line in the sand, pound sand, shifting sands…pick one and tell us how the phrase currently relates to your life in some way.
I’ll go with the sands of time as in ‘the steady unstoppable passage of time’. It currently relates to my life as I turned 70 this year. How did that happen? As the saying goes I am not a Spring chicken but that is quite okay as I’ve lived and learned a lot with a lot more to learn!
5. On a scale of 1-10 (1 = make your own rules and 10=like a warden), how strict were your parents? If you’re a parent where on the scale do you land?
Our Pop worked long hours but he had his priorities and that was making sure we were all at church on time a few days a week. My mother tried to be a warden but mostly fell in at about a 5. I was the baby of the family for 7 years before my younger 4 siblings arrived and I wore my parents down and got to do things my older siblings didn’t do. We didn’t really have chores and we never had an allowance.
Dear and I fall in closer to the warden side than the “free range kids” side. Maybe at a 7, it’s hard to put a number on it. We had rules, specific bedtimes and other expectations but we didn’t lock them in their rooms. They had the freedom to break the rules when we weren’t watching.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
At my follow-up appointment yesterday my eye tests confirmed I have 20/20 vision in my right eye after my cataract surgery. Looking forward to my left eye cataract surgery July 16th.
Many of our plants have survived our epic heat wave and for that I’m grateful.
This clematis hasn’t bloomed the last couple of years but this year we’ve gotten two blooms. This is the second bloom.
The daylilies seem to thrive in the heat.
How does your garden grow?
Today I have a follow-up appointment in Spokane so we’ll leave O-dark-thirty to get to the appointment on time. Need anything from Costco while we are there? That’s a standard question we ask our kids and they ask us depending on who is headed to Spokane.
Today my baby sister and her hubby are stopping overnight before they venture home to the west side of the Cascades.
We had such a wonderful church service on the 4th of July.
Have you ever sung the 4th stanza of our National Anthem? We sang all 4 stanzas in church on Sunday.
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Praising the Power who hath preserved our nation. Thank you Lord!
Last week during our heat wave we tiptoed to our neighbor’s Cherry trees very early to help him out by picking. Our neighbor had his leg amputated below the knee this past year and understandably is unable to do what he’s done in the past. We didn’t want to wake him up or get his little dog barking so we were as quiet as could be.
They are very tall trees and Dear is on a 10 foot ladder.
There are still more cherries to pick so we’ll sneak over early today to pick some more.
Fourth of July lands on a Sunday this year and I’m sharing this post again, A prayer from George Washington’s Prayer Journal.
“O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul.
Direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb, and purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit, from the dross of my natural corruption, that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee, the ever lasting God, in righteousness and holiness this day, and all the days of my life.
Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel. Give me repentance from dead works. Pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation. Teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments. Make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber. But daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life. Bless my family, friends and kindred unite us all in praising and glorifying thee in all our works begun, continued, and ended, when we shall come to make our last account before thee blessed Saviour, who hath taught us thus to pray, our Father.”
I’m humbled by this prayer from the first president of the United States. I pray along with it as I ready this post.
The stained glass window with the sun streaming through casting it’s light and color onto the statue of George Washington was taken at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. in May of 2011. Dear had a conference in D.C. and I was able to tag along. The National Cathedral is a must see if you ever travel to D.C.
It is folly to say our nation was not founded on Christian principles. Some would like to blot out this part of our history and remove all evidence of our Founding Father’s faith in the one true God.
Have you ever seen or read the third verse of “The Star Spangled Banner”, our National Anthem?
O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, “In God is our trust.”
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Praising God this morning for preserving our nation to this point in history.
Give me this day almighty God the Spirit filled mind to serve thee in the righteousness of your dear Son, Jesus my Lord, who’s sacrifice covers my sin repented of and gives me the strength to live in your holiness. God bless America and keep our land free to worship you in righteousness and truth.
Happy Independence Day the 4th of July to all my friends and family in the U.S.A.!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 