Some goals for October

 

We're three days into a brand new month and I'm thrilled to welcome October -- arguably my favorite month of the year.  Here are some goals for the month:

 * Memorize at least 4 Bible verses and review some older ones
* Participate in the 31-Day Cry Out! prayer challenge at Revive Our Hearts
* Post in my blogs and on Instagram as often as possible
* Continue our discipleship study with new believers
* Have folks over for Sunday lunch a time or two
* Complete some estate responsibilities
* Work on the cottage we are fixing up
 * Walk and/or exercise at least 4 times each week
* Get back into Flylady's homemaking zones of the week
* Do something creative each day
* Continue planning for family birthday gifts and crafting any handmade ones
* Spend a little time on some UFO craft projects
* Redouble my efforts in stocking my Etsy shop and continuing to sell vintage items
* Write at least 4 encouraging notes to friends and family
* Plan a getaway and time at a couple's retreat with my hubby
* Attend some edifying fall meetings at local churches
* Help and encourage my local daughter as I'm able
* Continue to encourage and support my hubby as he works through a pastoral search for our church
* Begin a 40-day sugar fast
* Help our widowed friend Terry with the challenges of life in general
* Get to bed by 9 pm each night  
* Pay much more attention to drinking enough water each day
* Read several books  
HEALTHY HABITS FOR OCTOBER:  Drink more water/get more sleep/walk regularly/limit sugar
MY WORD FOR 2020: Diligence

D is for ...

Graphic from Good Morning Girls

It's Thursday, and time for  Ellen's A to Z Bible Verse Challenge over at The Happy Wonderer.    I think it's a wonderful idea to help us stay our hearts and minds on God and His Word during these days.  Today we are looking for words beginning with the letter D.  

I picked the word Deliver.  This is such a meaningful word.  If we have trusted Christ as Savior, He has delivered us from our former life and given us a brand new life.  (And if we don't yet know Him, He is ready to do that for us if we will turn to Him and ask.)

"[He] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son."  (Colossians 1:13)

The word "delivered" in the above verse is from the Greek verb rhuomai, meaning "to rescue from".  

Our English word means just about the same:

 And there is more ... much more.  Here are just a few of my favorite verses regarding God's deliverance of His people:

 "For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living."  (Psalm 116:8-9)

When I worked on a study of Psalms, I wrote this simple prayer in response to these verses:

"Lord, I am so thankful for Your bountiful dealings with me.  In Your grace and mercy, You have inclined Your ear to me and helped me when I called upon You.  I thank and praise You for loosing my bonds and delivering my soul from death.  I pray that You will help me to faithfully walk with You every day of this life, in Jesus' name, Amen."

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished."  (2 Peter 2:9)

"The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles ... Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth him out of them all."  (Psalm 34:17, 19)

"And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." (Psalm 50:15)

How true I have found this to be!  When I call upon God in times of trouble, He rescues me in some way.  It may not always be the way I am hoping for, but He does come to my rescue.  And then I can share testimony of His faithfulness and goodness to me, glorifying Him!  

God told Jeremiah,

" Be not afraid of their faces; for I am with thee, to deliver thee, saith the LORD ... And they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee."  (Jeremiah 1:8, 19)

And remember what David said as he faced Goliath?

"David said moreover, the LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.  And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee."  (1 Samuel 17:37)

And how about Daniel's three friends who would not bow down to the image?  They said,

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thy hand, O king.  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."  (Daniel 3:17-18)

They understood that it might not be God's plan to deliver them.  But they had no doubt at all that He was able to deliver them, and they confidently acted on that trust.

Oh, there is so much more in God's Word concerning deliverance.  I have merely scratched the surface.  In my study of Mardi Collier's wonderful book What Do I Know About My God? I did a section titled "My God Delivers" and found, without even looking very hard, over 25 Bible passages that allude to God's deliverance of His people.  (If you have never read this book, it is completely Bible-centered and helps you to get to know your God as you may never have known Him before.  You will end up with a notebook full of truth about Him.  I can't recommend it highly enough.)

 I'll finish off this simple post with Psalm 37:39-40:

"But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.  And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him."

What a blessing for God's children to keep in mind today! 

(Wouldn't you like to read more,  or join in with Ellen's Bible verse challenge?  Be sure to head over to The Happy Wonderer to do so!) 

End of September Hodgepodge

 

 Yes, it's Wednesday again and we're rolling toward the end of the month.   It's time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge, where Joyce asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers.  It's always a lot of fun -- though sometimes a challenge -- and a great way to come up with an interesting blog post.  If you'd like to join in,  just head over to From This Side of the Pond and get the questions from Joyce, then answer them on your own blog. Here are the questions for this week:

1. When is the last time you experienced nostalgia? 

Probably this morning.   I was outdoors taking a few fall photos and noticed my old blue bike (I got it when I was 12 and spent countless happy hours riding it) propped against a tree.  My hubby found it in our garage clean-out and we thought it would make good outdoor decor, although we've done nothing decorative with it yet.  If  he replaces the tires as he promised to do, I might even ride it occasionally.

 2. September 29th is National Coffee Day. Do we need this? Ha! So are you a coffee drinker? If so how many cups per day, and tell us how you like it. Is there a recipe you enjoy that calls for coffee as one of the ingredients? 

 

I am a coffee drinker.  I didn't start drinking coffee until I was in my 40s, but now I really enjoy it. I probably drink 2 cups a day, some days 3.  I like it with just cream, no sugar.  I remember a recipe for a sort of spicy frosted bar cookie containing coffee.  If I can find it, I'll add it to the post.

 3. Do you find praise or criticism to be more motivating? Explain. 

 

I would say that I find praise, or, more accurately, encouragement, to be more motivating. Criticism, far from making me say "I'll show them!" and try even harder, makes me feel like not trying at all.  When someone gives me a bit of encouragement, though, I am much more apt to work harder at whatever I'm doing, or seek to make it more better or more effective, or whatever the situation happens to be.

 

4.  What's a television series you keep coming back to and re-watching? 

 

The Andy Griffith Show.  Mayberry is a good time and place to revisit when life in the real world is tough. It reminds us of what America used to be and could still get back to.

(If you like the 5x7 print being displayed below, you can buy it here: Raising up Rubies.  Jaime has loads of other gorgeous items for sale in her shop, too, so you may want to check it out.)

 

5. As the month of September draws to a close give us three words to describe your mood. 

 

Hmmm ...  how about Trusting in God?  That's really the only answer for me right now.  

And, not an answer as such, but don't you love the way God puts unexpected colors together and they look so beautiful? 

 

 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

In our clean-out of the homestead,  not to mention our own garage, we found many items that qualify as hazardous waste.  Usually in our area, household hazardous waste collection days are held in May.  This year, the dreaded pestilence caused those to be cancelled.  We were pleased when we learned that such a collection would take place in September.  My hubby set aside that morning to deal with it (such collections are typically well attended and wait times can be lengthy).  Until, that is, we read this:

"Okay, that does it.  We'll wait until next year."  Hubby wasn't jumping through all of those hoops, and I didn't blame him one bit.  A mask inside a closed vehicle that you are in all by yourself and cannot get out of, in a situation in which you personally interact with no one other than by "visual signals"?  Small-town government overreach at its finest.  I have a feeling that if other people looked at those rules in advance (those who failed to comply with these and other regulations would be turned away), the line may have been quite a bit shorter than usual.

And there's the Hodgepodge for the last day of September.  Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Monday musings

 

 It was a busy weekend and I didn't find time to post a Friday five or even a Saturday six.  But I don't want another week to go by before counting a few blessings.  

1.  A lovely hike on Tuesday to the top of a local mountain, for a very special reason.  Our granddaughter was playing in a little concert with her orchestra group.  So much fun to see how far she's come in just a few short months of lessons!

2.  The fall foliage popping out almost overnight on Thursday.  It's so dry up here, and I think that's why the foliage is early.  We need rain very badly, but I think that if it comes, it will knock most of the beautiful leaves off the trees.

3.  A wonderful day with friends in Vermont on Friday.  I want to blog more about this, but it included a lovely walk around a historic site.  This is the view from our friends' back yard:

4.  Getting to meet up with my nephew and his family on Saturday.  They were up here from MA spending time at the extended family's cottage on a remote pond.  It was good to catch up with my nephew and his wife and also to see their 2 kids, ages 3 and 6 and busy as bees.

Photo from inside a covered bridge on Friday

 

5.  A wonderful time with other friends in another part of Vermont on Sunday afternoon.  We attended the afternoon service at their church and then went for a walk on a nearby hill.  We didn't have our camera with us, but the foliage was surely camera-worthy!  (Photo below is from Friday.)

Just one more musing on this Monday afternoon: 

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  (Psalm 121:1-2)

It seems to us that the autumn foliage is unusually bright this year.  Once again,  it seems that God is pointing our attention to Himself and His amazing creativity and power.  He is truly in control of all things and it is such a blessing to look to the hills and be reminded of this!

C is for ...

 I just learned about Ellen B's A to Z Bible Verse Challenge over at The Happy Wonderer.   Ellen is hosting this every Thursday, and what a wonderful idea it is to help us stay our hearts and minds on God and His Word during these crazy uncertain times. Today is the letter C, and, although there are loads of words beginning with C in the Bible -- including, most importantly, Christ -- I chose the word Courage.  

"Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."  (Joshua 1:9)

I'm going to borrow a bit from a January 2019 post in which I chose Courage as my word for that year.  The part within the ====  and ==== is my older post.

==========

 Below you see a dictionary definition for courage.


I thought it would be a good idea to also look this up in a Bible dictionary, since I would be approaching this word from somewhat of a spiritual perspective.

Here is the definition from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary: "the strength of purpose that enables one to withstand fear or difficulty.  Physical courage is based on moral courage -- a reliance on the presence and power of God and a commitment to His commandments."

I like that definition quite a bit better,  don't you?  The standard dictionary definition leaves out God, His presence, and His power!

Several years ago, I studied Joshua 1:9 using the simple SOAP method of Bible study, and thought I would just share those very simple insights here.  The "S", of course, is for "Scripture", and I have written that out above, so we will just go on with the rest of the acronym and see what I found.

O= After Moses' death, God spoke to Joshua, who would be the new leader of the children of Israel.  How amazing it must have been to be encouraged by God Himself!  He assured Joshua that every inch of the promised land was theirs (v. 2-4); that He would be with him and not fail or forsake him; that no man would be able to stand before them (v. 5).  He encouraged and commanded Joshua to keep His Word in the forefront of his thinking, to meditate on it and obey it (v. 7-8).

Here in v. 9, God reminds Joshua to be strong and courageous: "Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of good courage."  This is the third time God has told him this: verses 6 and 7 record the same command.  He expands on it here:

* Be not afraid
* Be not dismayed

And then He tells him why: "for the LORD thy God is with thee wherever thou goest."  What possible need could there be for fear?

A= This is the perfect day for me to be meditating upon this verse.  Things are changing in my life.  There are many things I could be fearful about, from family concerns to legal matters.  Literally,  things will never be the same as they were before.  And yet ...

* I can be strong
* I can be courageous
* I need not be afraid
* I need not be dismayed

BECAUSE

* The Lord my God is with me wherever I go and whatever I face.

P=  Lord, how I thank and praise You for Your Word!  I thank You today in particular for this powerful verse.  What a great reminder!  Because You, the all-powerful, all-knowing God, are with me, I can be strong and very courageous.  There is no need for fear or dismay.  I pray that you will help me to keep this verse firmly in my mind as I face the unknown, and thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen.

==========

 This verse, and the need for courage, is even more important to me (and all believers) today, in September 2020.   We are facing so many unknowns, but God is with us wherever we go and we can take so much courage from that!  I hope that my readers will forgive the copy and paste and that these simple thoughts and this precious verse will be a blessing to someone today.

Falling for the Hodgepodge

 

 Yes, it's Wednesday again and a brand new season -- my very favorite! It's time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge, where Joyce asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers.  It's always a lot of fun and a great way to come up with an interesting blog post.  If you'd like to join in,  just head over to From This Side of the Pond and get the questions from Joyce, then answer them on your own blog.  (Photos in this post will be from previous autumns, because I have so many beautiful ones.)  Here are this week's questions, based off this change of seasons:

1. It's fall y'all. What's something you love about this season and also something you don't? 

I love nearly everything about this season.  Really, the only thing I don't like about it is the fact that it means winter will inevitably follow.

2. When you think of the colors of fall, which one is your favorite?

I think that my favorite may be orange, though I love red leaves also.  I always enjoy finding unusual leaves that have a lot of colors in them.   When I do, I scan them. Pressing doesn't show or preserve the colors as well.

Ketchup mustard relish leaf (terminology borrowed from Vee)

Red & green leaf

Polka dot leaf

Yellow diamond leaf

Is there somewhere you could easily day trip to see the leaves in all their glory? Will you? 

I think that our trip to the Monadnock region of our state for a couples' retreat will fit the bill for this question.  The colors there are always glorious.

3. What's one thing you've let 'fall' by the wayside during this season of staying home and staying away? 

Grocery shopping.  My wonderful hubby has been doing it all ever since he retired.

4. If you're wearing a sweater is it most likely a cardigan, crew neck, v-neck, or zip up hoodie? 

Probably a crew neck; occasionally a cardigan.

5. What's your secret to dealing with change? 

For me, there is only one secret to dealing with change: holding fast to the God who does not change.  I think of the words of the hymn: "Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, Abide with me."  And if we have trusted Christ as Savior, we don't have to ask Him to abide with us.  He just does!

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Let's see ... well, this afternoon my hubby and I did something different and fun.  One of our granddaughters is involved in an orchestra class.  This afternoon the class hiked up a mountain with a lovely scenic view of lakes.  It's actually this view:

And against the glorious backdrop above the orchestra presented a little concert.  Mr. T and I hiked up too along with a number of other spectators.  It was simply delightful!  I am hoping to be able to blog about it at some point, as we got some pictures and video.

And so ends this Hodgepodge for the second day of Autumn.  Happy fall, everyone!

Late to the Hodgepodge

 Yes, call me late to the Hodgepodge, where Joyce asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers.  It's always a lot of fun and a good way to come up with an interesting blog post.   Since I haven 't blogged since last Friday, I thought I would jump in, better late than never, and answer this week's questions:

1. What's one thing you learned at the ripe old age of whatever age you are now?

Something that I already knew could happen in one's personal world, but never thought I would see in the world at large: everything can turn upside down in a moment.  However ...

Oh, and I learned a new game this week: Quiddler.

2. I read here a list of foods that can help you look younger-

extra virgin olive oil, green tea, fatty fish, dark chocolate, vegetables, flaxseeds, pomegranates, avocados, tomatoes, spices, bone broth.

How many of the foods listed have you tried? How many do you eat regularly? Your favorite from the list?

I eat nearly all of those on a somewhat regular basis.  I've tried them all.  My favorite?  It would be a tossup between dark chocolate and avocados.  Sounds messy, doesn't it?

You can't tell at all, but this is an avocado omelet from Happy Corner Cafe in Pittsburg, NH

3. Something you miss from the 'good old days'? When were the good old days anyway?

The good old days were as recent as 2019.  I miss liberty and common sense.

Graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

4. What are two or three of the most rewarding things to be found in growing older?

Julia and Josiah

It would have to be these, and others in the same category, plus many not pictured:

Sam

Sarah

Darrin

Julia

5. What's your favorite part of your life right now?

See above.  Also, that we are retired and don't have to restrict our activities to weekends.   If we want to take a weekday getaway or do an important errand, we can go whenever it works for us.  

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

So thankful for a getaway up north Monday through Friday!  We enjoyed lake time, visits with friends,  yummy food, peace and quiet, being out of cell and internet service, and much more.

A corner of our cabin on Back Lake

A Back Lake sunset from last year

So ends my belated Hodgepodge post!  I have lots more to share so hope to get back to blogging next week, but we will see.