Songs On Sunday

Over the skies of Bethlehem appeared a star
While angels sang to lowly shepherds
Three Wiseman seeking truth they traveled from afar
Hoping to find the child from heaven
Falling on their knees they bow before the humble Prince of Peace

We bring an offering of worship to our King
No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing
Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due
O Lord I bring an offering to you

The sun cannot compare to the glory of your love
There is no shadow in your presence
No mortal man would dare to stand before your throne
Before the Holy One of heaven
It's only by Your blood
It's only through Your mercy
Lord, I come

I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus, may you receive the honor that you're due
O Lord, I bring an offering to you

We bring an offering to you
We are an offering to you
We are an offering to you, Jesus


We are an offering of worship to our King
No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing
Jesus, may you receive the honor that you're due
O Lord, we bring an offering to you
O Lord, we bring an offering to you
We bring an offering to you
We are an offering to you
We are an offering to you

(by Paul Baloche, and on the new Casting Crowns Christmas album that I am impatiently waiting to arrive on my door step any minute!)



No Christmas or snow pictures so I hope you don't mind seeing the foxgloves from the Olympic Peninsula. They were growing wild and crazy this summer, more than I have ever seen. One day when I have my cottage garden, I will grow them. They remind me of my Grandma Hopkins.



1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.


2. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

(Charles Wesley)

Thanks

Princess, Boogie and Sunshine

Hubby, Boogie and Princess with a feast laden table

A bad picture of Mama, but a good picture of Sunshine! Sunshine looks quite a lot like me at the same age, only I had much darker eyes and almost black hair.

Boogie and Princess being goofy while we read the list of what the first Thanksgiving feasters ate - num, num! eel pie! LOL (Note the banana - Boogie, my pickiest eater said before hand that he would try two bites of turkey so that he could eat pie and other goodies. It was his choice not to eat, but I gave him a banana to tie him over to the next meal.)

There are so many things that I am thankful for that I think I will continue doing this every Thursday. In no particular order:

1. All the Thanksgivings past that have given me a rich heritage of thankfulness and togetherness.

2. All the dishes and silverware that we used for our Thanksgiving dinner - just our everyday - but they are all wedding gifts from people who love us.

3. Unlimited long distance plan - so we could call and talk to Grammy and Grampa today even though we talked to them several times this week already!

4. My best friend Shelley who made me laugh so hard on the phone last night that I had an asthma attack! LOL

5. Camera RAW that I am learning how to use to improve my pictures. Still in the learning curve, but it's fun!

6. My Hubby (I'm sure I mentioned him before but he bears repeating!) who helped me get everything read today so that we could have a nice family meal.

7. My kiddos who have expanded our family and our hearts!

From our home to yours, we hope you are blessed with special moments today that you can take with you throughout the year! Happy Thanksgiving!

Wellness Wednesday

If you are interested in Wellness Wednesday, please see my post about that and my Thanksgiving turkey at My Journey To Wholeness.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please visit The Simple Woman's Daybook on Mondays, to learn more and find links to other ladies who are participating.

FOR TODAY November 24, 2008...

Outside my window... it's beginning to look more winter than fall.

I am thinking... about my faith and whether my life reflects what I believe and what I can do to change that.

I am thankful for... my Aunt Grace who turns 74 today.

From the learning rooms... we are learning Our 24 Family Ways and reading Plymouth Pioneers, which my son loves!

From the kitchen... Roast Turkey!

I am wearing... sweats, since I'm sick and cold (still).

I am creating... a top down cardigan from my friend's handspun for my youngest daughter.

I am going... to Costco in a neighboring town tomorrow because they carry many more organic items than mine.

I am reading... Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson (it's good!) still and the book of Galatians in the Bible.

I am hoping... that I will have a peaceful home for Thanksgiving.

I am hearing... children playing

Around the house... lots of changes and rearranging.

One of my favorite things... is the whole holiday of Thanksgiving from food to family to decorations to last, but not least, God!

A few plans for the rest of the week: household organizing, baking for the holiday and celebrating Thanksgiving with our family.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... I shared this on my old blog, but thought it was pretty enough to share again and it reminds me of family gatherings past at my Mom's! (It's some of her Iris and Herringbone Depression Glass.)

Church And Starbucks?

What If Starbucks Marketed Like The Church?

(hat tip to Miss Jocelyn)

I read a little bit on the website of the video producer and don't know much about them. The word "marketing" leaves a bad taste in my mouth. LOL Probably I'll step on some toes here, but I've never been for all the different "programs" and "goals" etc that various churches have to draw others in. Instead I would rather have the pastor and leaders in the congregation disciple me in how to live a REAL life so that others see Jesus in me.

Programs come and go but the Gospel is forever. I haven't arrived their yet, but one of the things that has been on my mind is that old phrase, "If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Honestly, I think I could be convicted of being a Christian, but it's the condition of my fruit that concerns me! Because of that, I have decided to study in the New Testament all the ways that Paul, James, Peter, John and others described that we should be living as Believers and evaluate whether I am applying those in my own life. Last night I started with Galatians after thinking about the Fruits of the Spirit. I'm looking forward to seeing what He has to say to me, even if some of it makes me cringe and say "OUCH!"



16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Romans 1 NIV Biblegateway.com

Songs On Sunday And A Gold Country Adventure

This is a view across the field at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park in Coloma, California. It commemorates the site at Sutter's Mill where John Marshall discovered the gold that inspired the 1849 California Gold Rush. This last week we watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie where the children heard the expression "It's Sutter's Mill all over again!" which referred to the fighting and bickering, as well as murder that followed the finding of gold. So, when we looked for a place to get our noses into the fresh air this weekend, this state park seemed only fitting. Boogie, our son, is very interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder, though at the museum and park he was more interested in running around, climbing and jumping around! He is a normal 7 year old!



Another view of the buildings at the state park. In many ways, fall is like a second spring in California. It's my favorite season here. It's warm but you don't usually get burnt to a crisp, the air is fresher and crisp and the cooler temperatures accompanied by occasional rainfall, makes everything green again! No more brown!!! :o)

We bow our hearts

We bend our knees

Oh Spirit come make us humble

We turn our eyes

From evil things

Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh give us clean hands

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let this be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Oh God let us be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

We bow our hearts

We bend our knees

Oh Spirit come make us humble

We turn our eyes

From evil things

Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Give us clean hands--Oh God

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let us be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Oh God let us be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Oh God of Jacob

(Give us clean hands)

So give us clean hands

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Give us clean hands--Oh God

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let us be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Oh God let us be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Oh God of Jacob

Oh God of Jacob

Give us clean hands

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Give us clean hands--Oh God

and give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let us be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Oh God let us be

a generation that seeks

Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Oh God of Jacob

(Chris Tomlin)

Simple but powerful words that I have been pondering for a week now... oh let us not lift our souls to another. What kind of idols are in my life? Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure? Am I humbled by the Spirit? Do I turn my eyes from evil things? Am I seeking Him?

Doesn't it look like horses should be grazing here?



I love when the trees make a bower. With the red bows, I could imagine it with snow and Percherons drawing a sleigh!




Day into night You can turn the dark into light
You can take a soul that was lost and turn it around
Lord on my own my heart can turn as hard as a stone
But You can make it tender again with Your love


Stir up a hunger
Stir up a hunger in my heart
Nothing will satisfy me
Nothing else will do
Stir up a hunger
A hunger in my heart
Stir up a hunger in my heart
For more of You

(Paul Baloche)


Lately I feel He is stirring up a hunger in my heart and it is making me restless during the waiting time when I don't know how to direct this hunger and energy.





Who says your yearly school picture has to be stuffy and boring. Each year I do the kids' pictures for school. Last years pictures were dull and uninspired, but I like how these turned out. My oldest, my son "Boogie" is 7 and in 2nd grade. He is serious and silly, all rolled into one with a HUGE obsession for Legos!




I like this even better of his face and cropped it out of a picture of him with his sisters.


You've already been introduced to my second child and oldest daughter, "Sunshine". She is 5 8/12 and in kindergarten. She is "Twin A" and most of the time would be considered the "dominant" twin even though she is introverted and shy.

This is "Princess", a true baby of the family. She came out "Ta Da! I'm here, take care of me!" and she has kept us running since. Thankfully she has a sweet and tender heart and a winsome smile that endears her to all. She is also in Kindergarten. I'll be posting more of our field trip on our school blog and put a link here when I'm finished.

Here is one of the pictures that was in running for Christmas card shot, but didn't quite make it - Sunshine, Boogie and Princess (L to R). In spite of my aggravations in getting the "perfect" shot, we had a lot of time playing in all these leaves! It's not often that Mom tells you to get down in the leaves and on the dirty ground and mess around! LOL

When I looked at this shot, I thought, this is how I want my heart to be with God! We have seriously considered using it for a Christmas card. Hey! If people want to see their faces closer up, they can come for a visit! :o)


All three songs for this weeks "Songs on Sunday" come from our service last week. Today, after all our big adventures, all five of us woke up sick. I think we've never gotten totally better from before. When we miss church fellowship, we "do church" at home together and it is a sweet time of fellowship with each other and the Lord. It is a joy to see Him working in their hearts.

The Family Prayer Song

1. Come and fill our homes with Your presence

You alone are worthy of our rev'rence

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

We will serve the Lord

2. Lord we vow to live holy

Bowing our knees to You only

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

We will serve the Lord

Staying together, praying together

Any storm we can weather, trusting in God's word

We need each other, fathers and mothers,

Sisters and brothers in harmony and love

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

We will serve the Lord

(Rob Mathes, Maranatha Music)

Joy

I love this picture even though there isn't a single thing in focus! This is my oldest (by 2 minutes) daughter "Sunshine" who marches to the beat of her own drum. This can be frustrating for parenting and educating! She continually challenges me to bear the Fruits of the Spirit...

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5 NIV courtesy of Biblegateway.com)

Most of the time I fall down at patience, gentleness and self control. This child of my heart that I love heart and soul drives me to exasperation at times! Today was one of those days. We were on a field trip to the Marshall Gold Discovery Park and I was trying to get a picture of all three for our Christmas card. The girl would. not. look. at. the. camera. PERIOD! She was in her own world. I lost my self control and thought I was going to explode, but when I relaxed, I looked up and saw this. Sunshine lives every moment of her life! Sigh... point taken.

Exasperations aside, I can't imagine life without Sunshine!

I'll post more on our day later. There were lots of pictures. :o)

Thanks On Thursday

Sorry it's hard to see the writing in low resolution. It says:

Give thanks to the Lord for

He is good and His love

endures forever.

What a long day! I'm happy to sit down and write my list tonight.

1. Blogging friends - new and old!

2. Kids who helped me rearrange their room and our school area without complaining!

3. Food in the pantry even when the checkbook is almost empty.

4. Unexpected phone calls from far away friends.

5. My kitty Abbie who has sensed my stress and comes to sleep on my hip when I read in bed at night.

6. Books - I can't imagine life without them.

7. The heritage of thankfulness that Grandma Hopkins gave me.

Lonely?

Today I read this wonderful post by Sally Clarkson on loneliness. Except for the part of being an accomplished author and speaker, I could have written it almost word for word. All my life I have felt like I was standing on the outside of a huge crowd, peering in trying to see what everyone else was doing or enjoying. As I get older, especially after turning 40, it does get a little easier, but still I am not exempt to that feeling. The last several months that feeling has increased. I keep giving it over to Him. I know He understands because He made me. In my 20s, when it was even more of a struggle, I clung to many verses in the Psalms. One of my favorites was Psalm 68:6 which says that God sets the lonely in families.

If you are feeling lonely, please read Sally's post which is quite encouraging. She admonishes us to grab onto joy - He gives it freely.

What Happened To Wellness Wednesday?

If you followed me here from my old blog, you may or may not be wondering about Wellness Wednesday. Well, I'm still doing it but have chosen to blog about it at My Journey To Wholeness, where the subject matter seems to fit in more appropriately. For those of you working on a healthier life through nutrition, cooking and exercise, I would LOVE for you to join me on that blog! Come look around and please leave a comment if you visit! I love hearing from you. Let's encourage each other in this area of our lives.

Holiday Freebie From Sue Gregg

I just love Sue Gregg's cookbooks. They're not all glossy and beautiful but the food inside is healthy and tasty. She is very generous in giving free previews from her books and is now offering a holiday preview I thought you might enjoy.

A Call To Prayer

The results of the recent election have really saddened me. No, I didn't vote for a lot of the people elected or even who you might suspect I did. Short of a personal revival, I can't think of much that would excite me about our incoming elected leaders, but what has made me even sadder is the accusations and hurtful things being said on both sides of the fence by Christians. While I can understand the feelings and some of the reasons, my heart has been sad and aching.

As the kids and I read about the Pilgrims leaving Leiden and England to come to the New World, I cannot help but relate. I do not descend from the Mayflower Pilgrims but some of my ancestors were in Leiden, many of them were pastors persecuted by King James for preaching the Truth and many of them were Puritans who came across the Atlantic in the wave of immigration that followed the Puritans in the late 1620s-early 1630s. I don't know if that surge of passion I feel is genetically passed down or if it is unique and peculiar to my own personality, but lately I have been thinking, "God is it time for a New World? Where can we go to be safe to seek You and obey You?" Since the enemy is said to roam the whole earth, I guess it is safe to say that until death, there is no escaping his pranks, politics and tactics.

So, I have felt restless. I am caught in between the Now and the Not Yet. I don't expect everyone to agree with me (it's more important you agree with God than with me). But I have felt like I have walked in a spiritual no man's land where I am not accepted by many who find me too black and white and may even consider me "legalistic". On the other hand, many who might agree with much of what I think theologically do not accept me as equal because I don't dress appropriately, read the "correct" version of the Bible or do other things they deem necessary.

And here we are again, reduced down to Sadducees and Pharisees, arguing about jots and tittles, failing to praise and serve Him because we are afraid of losing out on our own agendas. I'm not suggesting we all hold hands and sing Kum Ba Ya! But I am saying that I am asking God to meet me in my loneliness and cleanse Me so that I will not be a "white washed sepulchre" and I am asking Him to show me where to focus my intensity, how to choose, how to worship and how to serve. I want Him to mold my heart so that it beats with His passion, NOT mine!

Whether or not you agree with me or with politics, whether you voted for and love who is coming into office or not, I think there is no time like the present, to gather and obey God's command to pray for our leaders! This is something that I have done off and on throughout my life, but something I would like to do more consistently now.

Last spring Precept Ministries sent out a Call To Prayer for our nation. In my opinion, the prayers should not end because the polls are closed. There is an interesting short video about the Fulton Street Revival, as well as a pdf document with information on praying. I'm inviting you, if you care to, to join me in praying for our country and for our newly elected President and for your state and local officials. Ask God to transform their hearts and lives and to hear His voice - not just what we want to have happen, but what HE wants for our officials and our neighborhoods and states and countries. For some time I have felt that it is time in America to pray for another great revival! While political causes can sometimes be good, let's not be remembered only for our positions on abortion, war, education and laws. Let's leave a Legacy of Faith that is a light to future generations. The "us" I refer to in "let's" is the Community of Faith, Believers in Jesus Christ across the nation and the World. In our efforts to lead people away from sin, let's lead them to a wonderful relationship with God.

I'm writing this, NOT because I feel I have all the world's answers. I have none. I'm writing this because sitting and moping in the darkness does nothing for me or for the people around me that the Lord loves and wants to bring into His Kingdom. Since the people who started this Call To Prayer began on Thursdays, I think I will choose that day to focus on these prayers. There is also more information at Presidential Prayer Team.

If you made it this far, thank you for listening to my heart.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

On several of my friend's blogs I have seen The Simple Woman's Daybook on Mondays, so I thought I would give it a try.

FOR TODAY November 17, 2008...




Outside my window... my neighbor's Golden Amber tree is flaming red.


I am thinking... I'm emotionally exhausted!


I am thankful for... my Husband who is working hard today and tonight at his 2nd job to take good care of us.


From the learning rooms... we are enjoying Heidi and Legos today since we are all sick.


From the kitchen... I made fresh ground whole wheat and spelt biscuits with organic peach jam. Nummy!


I am wearing... sweats, since I'm sick and cold.


I am creating... new designs for my blogs.


I am going... nowhere to spread my germs! :o)


I am reading... Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson (it's good!)


I am hoping... that my Hubby and kiddos will feel better ASAP!


I am hearing... the sounds of girly giggles as they are lost in their "twin world"


Around the house... it's a mess! :o)


One of my favorite things... the intense colors of autumn


A few plans for the rest of the week: School, Thanksgiving preparations, blog updating, household organizing


Here is picture thought I am sharing...

A New Beginning

A fresh new page invites words. So, this is a new beginning in my blogging life. I cannot wait to see where the adventure takes me! Welcome! I'm so glad you found me. Stay tuned as I will be adding more every day.