Tag Archives: The National Cathedral

4th of July 2022 ~ God Help America!

On this 4th of July 2022 I’ll share this prayer from the first president of the United States.  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.!

My post is late this year since we had a very mighty thunderous storm yesterday knocking out our electricity and internet for a time. The electricity came back on but the internet was still out when I tried to create a post for today. 

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut…

…sometimes you don’t! I usually choose Almond Joy over Mounds!

It’s time for a nutty Hodgepodge. Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for the questions!

1. February 16th is National Almond day…are you a fan? If so what’s your favorite food item or recipe that contains almonds? 

I am a fan of almonds and love the crunch and interest they add to a dish.

Favorite savory dish would be rice pilaf with butter sauteed raisins and slivered almonds.

On the sweet side of things Haagen Daz Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream.

2. Something you are currently ‘nuts’ about? 

I think I’ll always be ‘nuts’ about these two…

3. Something currently driving you ‘nuts’? 

Okay…you asked and I’ll be truthful. It drives me nuts to see children in masks. Unmask our children! Stop the madness!

4. Something you recently bought for ‘peanuts’? 

Greeting cards at the Dollar store, which by the way is not the dollar store anymore but the $1.25 store! They still do sell some of their cards at two for a dollar. It’s hard for me to purchase a $4.95 card that will probably get thrown in the trash after opened and read.

5. Share a favorite quote uttered by any U.S. President ( if you’re not an American, a quote made by the leader of your own country). 

Since we used to celebrate Lincoln’s (12th of February) and Washington’s (22nd of February) with a day off for each of these birthdays way back when I was in school I found a quote I can stand behind from each of these Presidents.

If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. 

~George Washington

So my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.

~Abraham Lincoln

The photo at the top of my post is a collage from the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. The statue of George Washington gets such great light reflection from the stained glass window during certain times of the day. I was happy to be able to capture it when we were there in May of 2011.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

On Valentine’s Day we received about 3 more inches of snow. The forecasters underestimated the amount by 2-1/2 inches, so it was a surprise to see the large fluffy flakes keep falling, and falling until we accumulated three or more inches.

Happy Day to all of you!

Tuesday’s Treasures…

Pictures51

This is a treasured work of art we have that a friend painted. Here is a link to her website. The work was inspired by a small nook in the crypt of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

This is a collage of the actual nook on the left and our painting on the right. We owned this painting before we visited the Cathedral and it was like a treasure hunt for us to find the nook.

If you ever find yourself in Washington D.C., the National Cathedral is a must see. It’s on one of the hop on hop off trolley lines.

I’m linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveler for Tuesday’s Treasures.

We are having a Spring heat wave here in the Seattle area. We are breaking heat records for April with highs in the 80’s! We barbecued tonight and we’ve had to do a lot of watering that we don’t usually do in April. Thinking of those of you who live in the Houston area and I do hope you are above water.

Inside the National Cathedral

For InSPIREd Sunday I promised a couple weeks past that I’d share some inside shots from the Washington National Cathedral.

We searched the crypt for this very nook because we own a painting by a friend of ours that was inspired by this very spot in the cathedral. The next photo is of our painting that hangs in our home.

These photos I’ve shared today are just a very small sample of the amazing architecture and beauty of our National Cathedral. You can spend a day touring the Cathedral and Close and still miss some beautiful details. If you ever find your way to Washington D.C. take a Tour Trolley out to the Cathedral!

Hope your weekend has been inspired in some way.