TODAY IS: 15 January 2024
AROUND ME: It is currently 15 degrees F. which actually is warmer than when I went to bed last night. At 11:00 last nightit was 9 degrees F. But it is nice and warm inside our home!
I AM PONDERING: The goodness of God. Last week Strongheart and I listened to the daily devotional by Sinclair Ferguson on the revelation of Jesus Christ. He referred almost daily to the hymn "Our Hymn of Grateful Praise". On Friday afternoon we lost power around 4:30 due to high winds. When it hadn't come back on by 9:30 that night, Strongheart got out the generator and started it up to take care of our two freezers and our refigerator. We continued to use candles for lighting because our generator isn't large enough to take care of everything. I went to bed that night telling the Lord that I knew He understood...that He was still in control and He knew what we were going through. I woke up Saturday morning with still no electric but my first thought was, "Father, I know You know what we are going through. I know You are in control and to You I lift up this, my hymn of grateful praise." We continued on with our day resting in His providence. We spent the morning reading and doing what odd jobs around the house we could do without electricity. We ate lunch and around 12:30 the power came back on! And once again, I offered to Him my hymn of grateful praise. It is so much easier to live in the freedom of trusting in His goodness and mercy than it is to spend our days fretting. May His Name be praised!
AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS: This hymn:
- For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies—- Refrain:
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
- Refrain:
- For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light— - For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild— - For Thy church that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Off’ring up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love—
BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING: Chasing Shadows by Lynn Austin; The Gospel's Power & Message by Paul Washer; The Rare Jewel of Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs; and continuing to use Refreshment for the Soul, which is the dovotional with the writings of Richard Sibbes. It's SO good. The month of January has been based on the heart...currently the tender heart.
I AM THANKFUL FOR: Men like Paul Washer who have a heart for God and who share the TRUTH of Scripture and the Gospel. This book was a gift to me by a dear friend Melanie and one that is deeply appreciated.
NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN: I enjoy oak furniture...and our kitchen cabinets are oak, our hutch is oak, as well as our table and chairs. I've been trying each week to do some major cleaning task in each room of the house. Last week I decided to try the new cleaning product for wood that I had ordered. I must say that it worked the best of any wood cleaning product that I have ever used in the past including Murphy's Oil Soap.
FROM THE KITCHEN: We've been eating a lot of soup these days. I enjoy trying different recipes. We've recently enjoyed another butternut squash soup recipe, as well as a chicken pot pie soup, and then what we refer to as "Get Well" soup. I make it with some of the Italian sausage that Strongheart made, and tomatoes, carrots, corn, onions, garlic, and cabbage.
SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY: Caring for these lovelies.
A QUOTE TO REMEMBER: "The Father ordains salvation, the Son accomplishes salvation, and the Spirit applies salvation. In other words, there is no Christian life without the Spirit. The Christian life is purely theoretical if there is no operation of the Spirit. Everything that we experience of God is the working of the Spirit. That is true at conversion, as the Spirit opens our eyes to our sin and Christ's saving offer. And it is true of our growth." Dane Ortlund How Does God Change Us? (page 79)
TO DO LIST FOR TODAY: Laundry and note/card writing, plus a little ironing.
It was 8 degrees here this morning but thankfully the wind is gone! Yesterday morning was brutal. You do have a lot of plants! I have four that are barely kept alive by me but they are alive and that is an accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe that this is only part of my plants? These are just the ones that live in the kitchen and bathroom windows. 🥺
DeleteI love your plants and flowers! You certainly know how to take care of them.
ReplyDeleteIt's snowing steadily here now with a temp of 28. We'll be below freezing until at least Thursday. That means our snow will stick around for a while.
I'm glad your power came back on. A generator is a definite blessing during times like that.
I'm glad you're enjoying Paul Washer's book.
Stay warm!
Thank you, my friend. I do enjoy taking care of them. Stay safe with the snow coming down.
DeleteI'm sorry you've been without power! Here it's still snowing and everything is cancelled yet again. But I'm so thankful that our power has stayed on.
ReplyDeleteYour plants are so pretty. I can't keep them alive in my house.
I'm going to have to look for that stainless steel cleaner.
How do you keep up with that many books at once? I do one, maybe two at a time.
I'm glad you haven't lost power. We have a wood stove for our primary heat so we cook on it and heat water. When "Sandy" went through several years ago, we were without power for 8 days, so less than 24 hours wasn't too bad.
DeleteThank you for your kind words regarding my plants. If you enlarge the picture and see the Ivy that is in a green and white pot, it's one I brought home from Betsy's this past summer. I found that cleaner for the stainless steel on Amazon. It's a really good product. Keeping up with several books at once really is about strategic placement. With the current list I read in the devotional during my quiet time in the morning. I like to keep a novel and a Christian growth book going at the same time l keep one of each on the stand by my chair and when I have a break I will pick one of them up and read a chapter or two... always alternating between the genres. And then I keep something that will benefit me spiritually by the bed to read before going to bed. Right now I am using the book by Jeremiah Burroughs for that because I have to read it slowly and think it over which helps me to fall asleep. That's how I do it. 😊
It's always an adventure when the power goes out! That Rock n Roll bloom is gorgeous. So nice to enjoy in the bleak mid-winter. Love the expression "our hymn of grateful praise' and 'my hymn of grateful praise. I'm going to remember that today and join you in grateful praise. We are always encouraged and challenged when we listen to Sinclair Ferguson. Our God is three in one and it that quote is a good reminder. Have a wonderful and grateful day. Thanks for the encouragement of your journal.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying the Amaryllis. I sent a picture of it to our daughter today so she could enjoy it too. I think the name of that hymn is actually For the beauty of the earth. But when you read down over the words to the hymn, isn't a beautiful example of the revelation of Jesus? We really enjoy Sinclair Ferguson. He is so soft spoken and yet because he teaches the Truth of the Word his messages can be so convicting. I'm thankful that you found encouragement here today, Ellen.
DeleteSo glad your electricity is back on...and hope you are feeling snug. Goodness but is cold. Thank you for the devotional suggestion. I am going to look into that one today. I do not think I have heard that hymn...I will look into that (for listening) as well. So many interesting and encourging things here on your blog. What a blessing! Have a wonderful week ahead. Here's to more yummy soups, too! My favorite:)
ReplyDeleteHello Jennifer! We are nice and snug here. The wind has died down and what a difference it's made. We are getting a bit more snow, but it's winter in WV so we should expect it. Last winter we had very little snow and I think we got spoiled. 😊. I hope you find a devotional that you really like. I'm certainly enjoying Refreshment for the Soul. I'm so glad that you have found encouraging things here today. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteI’m amazed that you read so many books at the same time!
ReplyDelete😊. I shared with Marii above how I do it. Plus I don't have children at home to do for so I'm probably not as busy as others.
DeleteWe've got about 6-7 inches of snow right now and 29 degrees. But it's supposed to get down to 6 tomorrow and -2 on Wednesday (according to my weather app now, which changes constantly). I'm hoping and praying the power doesn't go out. It's good you have a generator.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have blooming plants in the winter!
I love that hymn.
I'll have to look for that wood cleaner. I usually use Pledge dust wipes or a Swiffer for general dusting, but our wood furniture could use a deeper cleaning.
Oops--that's me above. I forgot to put my name in.
DeleteHello Barbara! That's quite a bit of snow for your area. Hopefully you can stay in where it's warm. Our power outages come from high winds and trees not being trimmed like they should be. I wanted to let you know that I purchased that wood cleaner from Amazon. It's so easy to use everything looked brand new when I finished.
DeleteWow you have a lot of plants!!
ReplyDeleteI do indeed... and that's only part of them. 😂
DeleteI've been wondering how cold it is for you! We got a lot of sleet and ice today so our roads are in horrible shape, but not much snow. So far our electricity is hanging in there, but our temps will get near 0 over the next few days. I'm sorry you had to go without electricity as long as you did! Stay warm, my friend!
ReplyDeleteSleet and ice are worse than the snow. At times over the weekend we had rain then sleet and ice before it snowed... and of course howling wind through it all. Thank the Lord, the wind has stopped. It's crazy that your temps are getting so low. The weather people must have forgotten that you are in the deep south. I hope you are able to stay in where it's warm and safe. ❤️
DeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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