Truth for Today #51

Thursday April 13th

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!

Hebrews 12:1-4(ESV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

From Vera:

‭‭‭John‬ ‭15‬‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

From Nikkipolani:

Psalm 89:11 NASB

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have founded them.

From Maristella:

Proverbs 3:7

“Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” 

From Cindy:

Psalm 84:10 –

‘Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.’

Time is Passing Hodgepodge

The two guys in this photo above celebrate birthdays this week.

Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge! Click over to join in the fun.

1. April 13th is National Scrabble Day…are you a fan? 

Yes, I enjoy Scrabble. Haven’t played in ages!

Do you enjoy word games in general? 

Yes, mostly.

What’s an eight letter word that tells us something about your life currently?

Peculiar; unusual, or particular or special. We are heading into a period of hospitality at our Country Bungalow that does not involve biological family. We are confident that it will be a blessing as we adjust in the month of May and into part of June.

2.  Do you have a junk drawer? Is it full? Do you know what’s in it? What’s in it? 

Yes, yes, and yes. It’s full of things like keys, tape measures, charging wires, and junk! Thank you so much for this question as it caused me to clean out that junk drawer and make it more useable!

3. When does time pass quickly for you? When does it pass slowly? 

When our family is all together, time passes quickly.

Time passes slowly when I’m awake in the night at 2am and not able to get back to sleep.

4. These eight vegetables are in season during spring-asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, collard greens, garlic, herbs. What’s your favorite? Any on the list you refuse to eat? Last one on the list you ate? 

Favorite would probably be carrots. I wouldn’t refuse any of these but I’m not a fan of collard greens. On Monday we had some asparagus, carrots and new potatoes roasted.

5. What’s the oldest thing you own? Tell us about it. 

Dear has a French Violin from the 1700’s. That is old and probably the oldest thing in our home. Dear’s dad got it from someone when Dear was 10 or 11 and decided he wanted to take violin lessons. Dear’s dad Rex has always acquired interesting things. Our baby grand piano which we got from Dear’s folks is over a hundred years old.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This little guy turns 4 this weekend and we will celebrate him with Dinosaurs. Time flies when you have Grands!!

All of our kids will be together this weekend and on Friday evening we’ll start things off celebrating our Son-in-law’s birthday which happens to be today. Happy Birthday Andrew. Can’t wait to celebrate you on Friday!

Thankful that you stopped by to read this post and leave a comment.

Easter Day, Here and There…

Easter 2023 our western crew wasn’t able to be with our eastern crew. We will be all together next this coming weekend, Lord willing. Glad photos were taken of these two in their Easter finery that they wore to church.

We had a sermon centered on Jesus and 3 characteristics of a Risen Savior; He is calling your name, He can calm your fears, He can conquer your doubt. The Bible is a living book about a living Savior. It was good to be in the house of the Lord.

This crew a few hundred miles away had their finery on, too.

After church there was some Easter basket fun with baskets that are not of the traditional kind.

Granny was so creative using these cute umbrellas with the current themes for our Grands, Unicorns and Dinosaurs, filled with lots of fun goodies!

Finally it was time to get our rain gear on and go outside for the Easter Egg Hunt!

We didn’t get the sunshine we had last year for this Easter Sunday and we had a very rainy Easter Monday. We should be full swing into our season of mud here. We only have a couple small snow piles left in our yard. This coming weekend will be a very busy one for us as we will celebrate our grandson’s 4th birthday…with a dinosaur theme.

Easter Monday

Recovering from a glorious Easter day.

We had a little rain just in time for the Easter Egg hunt. That didn’t deter the Grands at all.

When I get my photos together I’ll share more. Didn’t take one photo of the Easter Brunch we had at church. It went well and we had good help so that was a huge relief. We had close to 200 come through for the brunch. For the service we had a full sanctuary and overflow in the gym.

Hope you all have a good week!

Christ Arose! Just Like He Said ~ Happy Easter!

Christ Is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

Khristos voskrese!    Voistinu voskrese!

Христос воскрес!
воистину воскрес!

Blessings to all on this Glorious Easter Day!

One of my favorite Easter hymns growing up was Christ Arose! You just have to hear it sung in a church full of Russian Baptists! (In Russian of course) This song is sung with emotion and joy that can’t be missed.

Christ Arose!

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;
Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain

Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Words & Music:  Ro­bert Low­ry, 1874.

The Day in Between

On this day in between we are preparing for our Joyful Resurrection Sunday service. “It is Finished”

It rained most of the day yesterday but it looks like we have the day off from rain today.

I’ve not been on my computer much as we are busy here at our Country Bungalow preparing not only for Easter Day but some other events this Spring.

Hope to be around soon to see how Spring is unfolding in your neck of the woods.

Good Friday 2023

Today we remember Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified on a cross and when he breathed His last and was laid in a tomb.

Were the angels looking down from heaven to see all that would transpire?

Growing up there were Good Fridays when we would fast until our church service in the evening with Communion breaking our fast and then having a meal together.

We are so fortunate to be able to attend a Good Friday service this evening in Colville.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
From Matthew 27:45-66

The Death of Jesus

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

 

Is it not strange, the darkest hour
That ever dawned on sinful earth,
Should touch the heart with softer power,
For comfort, than an angel’s mirth?
That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn,
Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?
~Spurgeon

Truth for Today #50 Easter Week

Thursday April 6th ~ Maundy Thursday

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!

GOTW-practice035

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Galatians 1:3-5

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:23

…but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Galatians 6:14

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 5:8

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 

From Vera:

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

From Leonard:

John 3:15

“so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

From Karen:

Isaiah 41:10

Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea,
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
‭‭

Easter Week Hodgepodge

Happy Easter Week Hodgepodgers and thank you Joyce for the questions. Find Wednesday Hodgepodge here.

1.What would you say is the most difficult task when it comes to spring cleaning? Have you completed that task this year? Any plans to get it done?

I would say that the most difficult task is washing the windows and screens inside and out. We have not completed this task but we have the window washing guy coming on April 26th and I will gladly pay him to do the task.

2. Your favorite pastel color? Favorite thing you own in a pastel shade? 

I really enjoy the combination of pink and green. My Moss Rose dishes by Royal Albert are a favorite thing that I own.

3. Do you like ham? Do you fix ham year round or is it mostly just a ‘holiday food’? Baked ham-ham and eggs-ham and cheese sandwich-scalloped potatoes and ham-Hawaiian pizza….what’s your pleasure? 
I was brought up mostly Kosher because of a religion my family was part up until my teen years. After we left that religion I enjoyed some pork products, mostly bacon. Dear ate some pork products growing up but not much Ham. These days if we eat pork products it’s mostly bacon and Canadian bacon that would be our go to. We really enjoy Eggs Benedict so that is where the nice round thicker Canadian bacon comes into play. Pork Shoulder on the Traeger for Pulled pork sandwiches is something we enjoy, too. We are not fans of pineapple on a pizza.
4. Do you celebrate Easter? 
Easter is my favorite holiday with Christmas coming in a very close second.
What did Easter look like when you were a kid?
A new dress and white patent leather shoes to wear to church on Easter. A wonderful meal of lamb, rice pilaf and cucumber/tomato salad. Hard boiled dyed Easter eggs that we would crack on each other’s heads. Our mom’s delicious Kulich and Seernaya Paska (Russian Easter Bread with a sweet cheese spread) for dessert.
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What are your plans for Easter this year? 
This year like every year we will attend an Easter service. Our church in Colville has an Easter brunch at church before the Easter service so I will be busy with that since I’m in charge. We will go up to our kid’s home after church for a meal and to watch the Grands on an Easter Egg hunt.

5. Something that makes you feel hopeful amidst all the chaos and confusion this world brings? 

The message of Easter, that Jesus conquered the power of sin by His perfect sacrifice and was raised from the dead which is what makes me hopeful no matter what. I’m a sinner. Jesus died on the cross for sinners. I couldn’t pay the price for my sin but Jesus did. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Even though God’s justice demands death for sin, His love provided a Savior who paid the penalty and died for sinners. Christ’s death satisfied the demands of God’s justice, and Christ’s perfect life satisfied the demands of God’s holiness, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him.

Even in the chaos God is in control and we know the end of the story. God will bring us through any suffering we have to go through on this earth and our hope is in our eternity in heaven with Him because we put our faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Easter two years ago.

I’ll be gone all day today so I’ll be late in coming around to visit your Hodgepodge posts.

Wait for the Lord…

While we were outside during our granddaughter’s birthday celebration this eagle graced us with it’s circling flight above us. It stayed for a while and we were thrilled.

Isaiah 40:28-31

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.

Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed
like the eagle’s.

 

We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday as we enter Easter Week culminating with celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ next Sunday. As Christians we celebrate Christ’s resurrection every Sunday and it’s because He lives that we can have peace and joy in our lives everyday with a special hope for our future with Him in heaven. I pray that those who read this post will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be born again. Jesus died in our place for our sins and because of His perfect sacrifice we can have all our sins forgiven and be at peace with God on earth as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the One who sacrificed His perfect life for us.