Today happens to be two things:
1) The Lord's Day (Sunday) and
2) Christmas
I don't celebrate Christmas in the usual way (I happily celebrate the fact that my Savior was born; praise God!), but I desired to celebrate the Lord's Day.
Unfortunately, illness got in the way of joining my brothers and sisters in Christ today. Both my husband and I managed to come down with some stomach virus (Thankfully, Bee didn't get sick; she managed to hit a growth spurt instead.).
I wish everyone a blessed Lord's Day, a happy Advent and a merry Christmas (I'm covering all of the bases here...)!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen and amen.
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
12/25/11
4/25/11
This week in Scripture!
I had the fortunate blessing of going to church this past Sunday (It was Easter; I can't help but celebrate the fact that my Savior's alive!); during the past week I came down with bronchitis and, while it affected my ability to sing in the choir (It's not good for a soprano to squeak while failing to hit a high note!), I was still able to make a joyful noise. :)
I'm thankful that I was well enough to stand in the choir and to be able to worship with everyone; I'm even more thankful that God was glorified.
Being thankful for what I have and not desiring what I don't is something that I need to work on; that said, my Scripture verses this week are from Colossians 2:6-7, which goes like this:
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
I'm focusing on that this week because I should be thankful for what God graciously gave me; I shouldn't dwell on the things that were "missed opportunities" or "unanswered prayers". Those things weren't meant for me to begin with; He knows what He's doing and He wants what's best (It's similar to what a father would do for his children; God is the same way in that aspect!). Why not let Him lead you?
I'm thankful that I was well enough to stand in the choir and to be able to worship with everyone; I'm even more thankful that God was glorified.
Being thankful for what I have and not desiring what I don't is something that I need to work on; that said, my Scripture verses this week are from Colossians 2:6-7, which goes like this:
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
I'm focusing on that this week because I should be thankful for what God graciously gave me; I shouldn't dwell on the things that were "missed opportunities" or "unanswered prayers". Those things weren't meant for me to begin with; He knows what He's doing and He wants what's best (It's similar to what a father would do for his children; God is the same way in that aspect!). Why not let Him lead you?
4/22/11
Good Friday musings
Today is Good Friday, a day in which Christians are reminded that their Savior was tortured and executed for them.
I had wondered why we call it "Good Friday", since it normally isn't considered a good thing for someone to face his or her execution (At times, it's obvious that I'm still a toddler in the faith; today happens to be one of those days!); however, it's what happens three days after Jesus' death that makes it "good".
Jesus was resurrected (Latin resurrēctiōn, which is the past-particle of resurgere, which we get "resurge"; that means "to rise again").
Given that Adam (the first man) brought us death (through the sin of disobedience), I think that it's appropriate that the Second Adam (Christ) brought us life.
The Romans were incredibly cruel with their punishments and, morbidly, perfected the "art" of executing criminals; the whippings alone were more than enough to kill a man. With a crucifixion, a criminal was either tied to two beams formed in a T (During the Roman Empire, the style and method of crucifixion changed considerably; they started with a single pole and eventually moved to what's known as a Latin cross; that appears as a lowercase T to us.) or was nailed directly onto the beams (The nails would go through the feet and through the wrists (There are several nerves and ligaments within the wrists that would be destroyed, but no bones would be broken. The bones and muscles that the hand, wrist and arm meet would hold the nail in place.) in order to anchor the poor soul to the beams.); the condemned would actually die of asphyxia (Being hoisted up in that fashion would make the lungs work harder and the person would be taking deeper breaths to compensate; that quickens the person's death in actuality.) and blood loss from the whipping endured prior to the crucifixion.
It was agonizing, to say the least. That's why we have the word "excruciating" in our lexicon today; crucifixion was a horrendous way to die.
Yet, Jesus died this way. For you. For me. With our sins weighing Him down.
The best part of the whole thing is this: He didn't stay dead.
God was gracious enough to forgive us of our sins, but they were placed on His own Son instead.
Read up on Matthew 27 and 28 to get just a foretaste of what our Messiah went through.
I had wondered why we call it "Good Friday", since it normally isn't considered a good thing for someone to face his or her execution (At times, it's obvious that I'm still a toddler in the faith; today happens to be one of those days!); however, it's what happens three days after Jesus' death that makes it "good".
Jesus was resurrected (Latin resurrēctiōn, which is the past-particle of resurgere, which we get "resurge"; that means "to rise again").
Given that Adam (the first man) brought us death (through the sin of disobedience), I think that it's appropriate that the Second Adam (Christ) brought us life.
The Romans were incredibly cruel with their punishments and, morbidly, perfected the "art" of executing criminals; the whippings alone were more than enough to kill a man. With a crucifixion, a criminal was either tied to two beams formed in a T (During the Roman Empire, the style and method of crucifixion changed considerably; they started with a single pole and eventually moved to what's known as a Latin cross; that appears as a lowercase T to us.) or was nailed directly onto the beams (The nails would go through the feet and through the wrists (There are several nerves and ligaments within the wrists that would be destroyed, but no bones would be broken. The bones and muscles that the hand, wrist and arm meet would hold the nail in place.) in order to anchor the poor soul to the beams.); the condemned would actually die of asphyxia (Being hoisted up in that fashion would make the lungs work harder and the person would be taking deeper breaths to compensate; that quickens the person's death in actuality.) and blood loss from the whipping endured prior to the crucifixion.
It was agonizing, to say the least. That's why we have the word "excruciating" in our lexicon today; crucifixion was a horrendous way to die.
Yet, Jesus died this way. For you. For me. With our sins weighing Him down.
The best part of the whole thing is this: He didn't stay dead.
God was gracious enough to forgive us of our sins, but they were placed on His own Son instead.
Read up on Matthew 27 and 28 to get just a foretaste of what our Messiah went through.
4/3/11
Sorta related to knitting. :)
I was challenged by a good friend of mine (Kelli from The Beauty of His Love) to memorize Scripture (One to two verses a week.), starting next Monday (the 11th).
I decided to start a week early; since I love to knit, my first couple of verses will focus on that (Knitting takes a lot of labor and a lot of love; a person who loves to knit or loves the recipient of a knitted gift knows the difficulty and the labor it takes to construct a viable and practical (Or something not-so-practical.) gift.). :D
Here's my verse for the week (All verses will be from the English Standard Version.): For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).
This not only strikes me as a knitter, but as a mother; my Bee (Now at 18 months old!) was knitted together by the very One who, in a sense, knitted the universe together and knows how many hairs (Including my gray hairs; eep!) are on my head. To me, I'm awestruck by that; a God who takes the time to count my gray hairs (There aren't many, as far as I know!) and knits a baby in her mother's womb is surely a God that is meant to be personal and personable. Add to that a God that is creative (A duck-billed platypus? Check. A three-toed sloth? Check. A klutzy knitter who prefers heels while trying to avoid a cat trying to trip her? That's a check, too!).
That said, throughout the rest of the year, I'll be learning and memorizing Scripture; thank you, Kelli, for the opportunity and for the challenge!
Knitting-wise, I'm still on my second Swallowtail; I'm a really slow knitter. :)
I decided to start a week early; since I love to knit, my first couple of verses will focus on that (Knitting takes a lot of labor and a lot of love; a person who loves to knit or loves the recipient of a knitted gift knows the difficulty and the labor it takes to construct a viable and practical (Or something not-so-practical.) gift.). :D
Here's my verse for the week (All verses will be from the English Standard Version.): For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).
This not only strikes me as a knitter, but as a mother; my Bee (Now at 18 months old!) was knitted together by the very One who, in a sense, knitted the universe together and knows how many hairs (Including my gray hairs; eep!) are on my head. To me, I'm awestruck by that; a God who takes the time to count my gray hairs (There aren't many, as far as I know!) and knits a baby in her mother's womb is surely a God that is meant to be personal and personable. Add to that a God that is creative (A duck-billed platypus? Check. A three-toed sloth? Check. A klutzy knitter who prefers heels while trying to avoid a cat trying to trip her? That's a check, too!).
That said, throughout the rest of the year, I'll be learning and memorizing Scripture; thank you, Kelli, for the opportunity and for the challenge!
Knitting-wise, I'm still on my second Swallowtail; I'm a really slow knitter. :)
2/23/08
Socks, Church and Really, Really Good Food!
So far, Monkey's been a good pattern; I just started the toe decreases on sock one. Photos coming soon on that. I really liked how the lace pops out, even when the sock isn't even blocked! The yarn that I chose for it (Alpaca Sox) is really soft on my feet; that and I reversed the sole of the sock (I made the purl-side facing down so I don't have to deal with the ridges hurting my feet; yes, my feet are that sensitive. Other socks I've made I can't wear due to the purl ridges rubbing my soles raw.).
Non-knitting news: I'm slowly digesting tonight's meal, courtesy of the Harvest "Winter Banquet" (Formerly Valentine's Banquet; single Marines felt left out!). Mike's Farm definitely makes the best macaroni and cheese EVA!
I think this group o' Presbyterians got the Baptists beat when it comes to potlucks and meals; no one leaves hungry and everyone leaves happy, thanks to awesome fellowship with like-minded believers and simply delish food to boot (To be honest, I look forward to the fellowship than the meal; being around other Christians energizes my spirit.)!
Anywho, off to sleepy-time; church in the morning!
Non-knitting news: I'm slowly digesting tonight's meal, courtesy of the Harvest "Winter Banquet" (Formerly Valentine's Banquet; single Marines felt left out!). Mike's Farm definitely makes the best macaroni and cheese EVA!
I think this group o' Presbyterians got the Baptists beat when it comes to potlucks and meals; no one leaves hungry and everyone leaves happy, thanks to awesome fellowship with like-minded believers and simply delish food to boot (To be honest, I look forward to the fellowship than the meal; being around other Christians energizes my spirit.)!
Anywho, off to sleepy-time; church in the morning!
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