“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise;
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continures through all generations.”
-Psalm 100
Blessings,
Nancy
We sang this hymn in church on Sunday. I’ve sung it most of my life, but I was really blessed by it this week. I love the tune, but as I thought about the words, I was especially thinking of my Dad and it was such a wonderful comfort. I am praying that it will be a blessing to you too, Mom, as well.
“Be still, my soul! the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul! thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul! thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul! the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul! the hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul! when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”
Text by Katharina von Schlegel; translated by Jane L. Borthwick
Blessings,
Nancy
Photo courtesy of Corbis
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”
It makes my heart smile to think of my Dad dwelling with his Savior.
Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments and prayers! I’ll be back to posting as soon as I am able.
Blessings,
Nancy
(photo courtesy of Corbis)
“Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.’
And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.’
Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, ‘You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.’ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ “
-Matthew 28
May you and your family be blessed by the truth that we serve a risen Lord, who is alive and sitting at the right hand of God, interceding for us; and who will come and take us to be with Him, where we will live with Him in perfect peace and joy, forevermore – this is the future that He has purchased for us, the gift that He has presented to us – if only we accept it from His pierced hands.
Blessings,
Nancy
(photo courtesy of Corbis)
“Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke
was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in
His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.”
-Isaiah 53
Blessings,
Nancy
This day is winding down to eveningtime. My chicken is cooked and waiting in the crockpot for me to mix up the sauce and “smother” it. A salad is chilling in the refrigerator, as is a large bowl of orange Jell-O. This was supposed to have been the meal for yesterday, but a few unexpected errands turned dinner into tacos instead, so the chicken was moved to tonight. I love using my crockpot, because I feel so ahead of the game all day – it’s nice to smell dinner cooking while I go about the rest of the day.
Today we finally got around to one of our long overdue school projects. We have been reading “A New Coat for Anna” for going on the third week now, and have not had time to get to the projects that I had planned. Normally I might have just decided to move on, but I’ve been so looking forward to doing these activities, that I just kept moving them back a week. Today’s project was weaving placemats from construction paper, while discussing the weaving of fabric on a loom. Here we are at it -
And our results -
We discussed loving our enemies in our Bible lesson today, and agreed that it was something that we all need to be reminded of often -
” ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?’ “
Matthew 5: 43-48
I hung a new bird feeder right outside (on!) the kitchen window – it will give us a good, up-close look at our feathered visitors. I then proceeded to fill all of the feeders except the new one! One bag of seed is just the right size to fill the existing three feeders, so I don’t have any left over. I guess we will have to wait until I get to the store to pick up some more to enjoy the new one!
The children did their chores early so that they could watch the new High School Musical dvd, which is what they are doing right now ( and yes, I even took a picture of the screen) -
They will be heading out to basketball practice (the last one) right after dinner. And speaking of dinner, I better head to the kitchen and get that sauce made, so we can eat before they have to leave.
I hope to be back soon with those pictures from our antique shopping this weekend, including the new hutch.
Have a wonderful, warm and relaxing evening!
Blessings,
Nancy
Last night we started our Ladies Bible Study back up at church. We finished studying Romans in November, and took off the month of December. Our new study is a topical study – we are going through the book “Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety” by Elyse Fitzpatrick. I am really looking forward to seeing what the Lord has for us in this study, as I, like most women, deal with many of these issues in my life.
We have only begun with the first chapter, but I wanted to share just a few of the things that have impressed me and encouraged me already. Some of these came from reading the book and some of them from our discussion last night, which is always a blessing as the Lord uses other believers to minister to me from their own experiences and by sharing what the Lord has taught them.
- One comment that was made was the fact that so many of our fears are based on “what if’s”, and we imagine having to go through so many things from our present point of view. What really hit me was when someone reminded us all that God gives us grace for those times at the time of need, not before – so it is needless to worry about “what if” something happens, when we really need to spend that energy trusting the Lord to give us that grace when it is needed. This has been such a comfort to me, as I tend to be one who thinks about these “what if’s” more than I should, and I am trying to remember this truth whenever I find myself worrying in this way.
- Another comment that was shared that really impacted me was in relation to parenting and perfectionism (eek!). Someone shared something she had read that stated that our focus in parenting is not to make perfect children, who make no mistakes, but to teach them to recognize their sin and lead them to the Savior with a repentant heart. I totally agree with this, but realized that – in practice – I probably lean more toward the former rather than the latter. I expect to be able to teach them the right thing to do, and then expect them to just do it, and then I get frustrated when they fail over and over again (as I do!). It was further pointed out that parenting this way actually drives them away from God, rather than towards Him – in realizing their need for Him – which was a huge wake-up call for me. There is a chapter later in the book on perfectionism, which I can’t wait to read (and may not wait to!)
-One final thought comes from the final paragraph in this chapter, and deals with the truth that trust in the Lord is the antidote for the harmful fears and worries that beset us – this will be greatly delved into throughout the course of the book, but these words really touched my heart -
“Look deeply also into the heart of the One who loved you so much that He walked into the jaws of death and His enemy’s grasp for your sake. Love like that just demands to be trusted. So whether your fears are real or imagined – whether you’re just beginning to understand them or you’re too familiar with them – you can throw yourself on the mercy of God, the one who loves you more than you could possibly know.”
I’ll try to share more insights as I work through the study over the next 6 months.
Have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
Nancy
photo courtesy of Corbis
“The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice
and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.”-Isaiah 6: 2-3, 6-7
(This post was scheduled to have gone up on Christmas morning, but I just found out that it never went up – I must have done something wrong in the scheduling – ah, something new to learn! Seeing as how it is just as appropriate for any day of the year, I went ahead and posted it now.)
Blessings,
Nancy
Santa courtesy of Corbis
Sorry folks, I’ve been busy! I just haven’t had time to put down in writing just what we’ve been up to, so I’ll try to remember now the last couple of days together (no small feat).
The ice finally thawed around here as temperatures started to climb. A thick fog has hung over us for the last two days, but it hasn’t been cold (or frozen), so I’m not complaining. We were able to venture out again on Wednesday, so I spent the afternoon shopping at the toy store. This was a pleasant activity and I was happy to find everything I went in looking for.
I returned home just in time to head out again, this time with everyone in tow. We met Jeff at Wal-Mart to shop for our Santa’s Helpers gifts. Each of the children shopped for an item for a child their age, which didn’t take very long. Soon we were on our way to our next destination.
Laura’s birthday dinner from the day before had been postponed to this night, and she had chosen Chick-Fil-A, which also happened to be the drop-off spot for the Santa’s Helpers gifts. Ryan met us for dinner and we enjoyed chicken, good conversation, and the indoor playground for the kids. After dinner, Jeff took Laura to purchase her new I-Pod with her birthday money. I went on home with the rest of the crowd.
We spent the rest of the night watching “Holiday Inn” with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, while I finished writing and addressing the Christmas cards (which is why I didn’t get on here to write and tell you all about our day!).
photo courtesy of Corbis
Guess what I did the next day? Yep, back to shopping – you’d think I’d be done now! Actually I spent this day running several errands and only shopped a couple of stores, but one of them was very productive and crossed many items off of my list. Too bad I can’t share them with you, but little people often read what I write and I am a stickler for keeping Christmas presents a surprise – just ask them.
I was too tired this night to do much more than watch my daily “Arthur’s Christmas” and fall asleep in the chair.
I have been struck the last few days by the words of a lovely old Christmas carol – every time I hear them, I am moved and encouraged. I have bolded the part that keeps standing out to me -
“I heard the bells on Christmas Day,
Their old familiar carols play;
And wild and sweet the words repeat,
Of Peace On Earth, Good Will To Men.I thought, as now this day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rung so long the unbroken song
Of Peace On Earth, Good Will To Men.And in despair, I bowed my head,
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of Peace On Earth, Good Will To Men.”Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
with Peace On Earth, Good Will To Men.” “-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
May we all rest in these truthful words now and in the days to come.
Blessings,
Nancy
This is the sight we woke up to on Tuesday. No, that’s not snow – that’s ice, folks! And when ice covers the land around these parts, everything shuts down – the local schools were closed and Jeff worked from home. Our plans outside the home were postponed and I was left to replan the day once again.
Here are a few more pictures – just because I think it’s pretty and it’s always exciting when anything white covers the ground -
Tommy and Sarah left early to go “sliding” down hills with some neighborhood friends. The littles were happily playing upstairs and Jeff and Laura were both working on computers, so I locked myself in my bedroom and began this year’s Christmas gift wrapping. With Christmas music playing on the CD player, I worked for several hours wrapping up beauties to put under the tree, much to the joy of the children who have been begging me to wrap for over a week.
The day went by pretty quickly, and soon it was time for dinner. We had planned to go out to dinner for Laura’s birthday, but the temperatures had not climbed above freezing all day, and the ice still lingered, so we heated up some frozen snacks and fried a few eggs and called it dinner. Dessert was Laura’s choice of ice cream sundaes, which we had thankfully already purchased before we were stuck at home. We put in a candle and sang “Happy Birthday” to her, and enjoyed her choice -
Laura opened her birthday presents and then it was time to get children off to bed. We watched the new Batman dvd (one of her birthday gifts and a departure from my usual rule of watching only Christmas movies for late-night in December), which I did not enjoy. The Joker was a very disturbing character – his actions were extremely violent and his lack of respect for human life made me shudder. We had a conversation after it was over about the message that he was sharing – that every man is really evil, no matter how they act, and will show his true colors when pushed far enough. He wanted to prove that everyone is really just like him on the inside and there was great despair and depression in that fact. This made for a very dark movie, because that is where they left you. The movie tried to show that it wasn’t true for most people – that the good in most people will conquer the evil, but this point was so immersed in the violence that it seemed to be a minor statement compared to the evil going on in the city. The problem I felt was that there was some truth in what the Joker was saying – the Bible says:
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
-Romans 3: 10-12
But that is not the end of the story, praise God! We are not left there, as the Joker would have us believe. The realization of the fact that we are evil and sinful, (the result of the Fall of man in Genesis) is the starting point to our realizing our need for a Savior outside of ourselves – our need for Christ. And this is the whole point of Christmas – we celebrate Jesus’ coming, but forget why He came – it was to save us from our sad condition – to grow up and to give Himself, sacrificially, as a substitute for us – to pay the penalty for our sin, because we cannot do it ourselves. For those who choose to accept His free gift of grace, there is no longer despair in our sinful condition, but hope and joy the Lord, as God changes us into the image of Christ.
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
-Ezekiel 36: 25-26
Oh, all of the trimmings of Christmas are wonderful! But let us not forget that this is the reason we celebrate – this is the reason for our joy!
Blessings,
Nancy
