Let Us Run with Perseverance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. — Hebrews 12:1

Last night we watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.

It brought back memories of our wonderful time in Paris two years ago.

And the crowd of spectators gathered there now for the games.

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, too.

But our crowd consists of the saints who've gone before us.

My mom, Kirk's mom, Polly Whigham, Mildred & Blain Marksbury, Burt Smith, Penny, Paul Pulliam, Gabe Saliba, and so many more.

Our lives have been blessed by each of them.

And we pray that our lives, too, will be a blessing to many.

A Light Has Dawned

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. — Isaiah 9:2 

Today's Miki's birthday!

We are blessed to have her in our family.

And also to be called children of God.

Even while we were walking in darkness, God reached down in love to us.

We have seen a great light.

On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.

We can clearly see the light of God's glory.

You Have Found Favor With God

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” — Luke 1:30-33 

The angel told Mary not to be afraid.

She had found favor with God.

And as a result, she would be the mother of the Son of God, Jesus.

He was part of the lineage of King David.

And He will reign forever.

His kingdom will have no end.

And we can live with Him forever.

Happy New Year!

Marvelous Ways

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ — Job 37:5-6 

God's voice thunders and roars.

He speaks to us in marvelous ways.

And He does great things that we can't beging to understand.

He tells the snow when to fall on teh ground.

God tells the rain when to shower and when to downpour.

He is mighty and majestic.

There Is No One Like Our Lord

How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. — 2 Samuel 7:22 

There is no one like our great God.

And there is no God but the Lord.

He is Sovereign.

We have heard with our own ears.

And seen with our own eyes.

That God is great and glorious!

Great Peace Have Those Who Love God's Law

Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. — Psalm 119:165

Those people who love God's law have great peace.

Even in the midst of life's troubles and cares.

Nothing can make them stumble.

When they're rooted in the Lord, He makes sure that their feet will not slip.

He wraps His loving arms around them.

The Lord Supported Me

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. — Psalm 94:18-19

God's love supports me just when I need it most.

When my foot starts to slip, He is right beside me to keep me from falling.

His love is unfailing.

When I start to get anxious, the Lord consoles me.

He brings me joy!

Call to Me and I Will Answer

This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. — Jeremiah 33:2-3 

God our creator made the earth and everything in it.

He formed it out of nothing.

The Lord established it.

He created this beautiful sunset we marveled at earlier this week in Palm Desert.

He created me.

Yaweh is His name.

And He says we can call to Him.

In fact, He commands us to call out to Him.

And He promises to answer.

Even more, He will tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know.

Amazing!

We Give Thanks to You, Lord

We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. — Revelation 11:17

We thank You, Lord.

Our God Almighty.

The One Who is and was.

You have taken Your great power.

You have begun to reign over the world.

And we are thankful.

Good News of Great Joy

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." — Luke 2:10 

Mary was fearful and startled to see an angel appear before her.

But the angel Gabriel brought her good news.

He announced the coming of Jesus!

News that would cause great joy for all people.

Not the worldly temporal joy that we often celebrate this time of year.

But the deep-seated, everlasting joy of God coming to earth as a man.

And saving us from our sins.

How great our joy!

Great Are the Works of the Lord

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. — Psalm 111:2 

God's works are great.

He created the heavens and the earth as well as me and you.

How marvelous is His Creation!

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with family and friends, but actually, every day is an opportunity for us to thank God for His great works.

We also celebrated Carly's birthday with her mom's delicious Crowdpleaser ice cream dessert.

Yum!

God's Voice Thunders in Marvelous Ways

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ — Job 37:5-6 

Celebrating Veteran's Day!

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways.

He does great things beyond anything we can comprehend.

God tells the snow when to fall.

He commands the rain when to shower.

And He watches over you and me.

Wonderful!

How Great Are You, Lord

How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. — 2 Samuel 8:22 

La Jolla Shores Beach

We have heard with our eyes and seen with our eyes that God is great.

He is Sovereign.

There is no one like Him.

And there is no God but the Lord.

How great you are, Sovereign Lord!

Great Is Our Lord and Mighty in Power

Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.— Psalm 147:5

Our Lord is great.

He is mighty in power.

His understanding has no limit.

He created our beautiful earth.

And everything in it.

Praised be His name!

We Are Filled With Joy

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. — Psalm 126:3

On Sunday evening we went over to Coronado for Abby's birthday dinner. 

Afterward, we walked down to the Hotel Del Coronado and watched the sunset.

We found some steps to sit on in front of the hotel.

Then we stayed and watched fireworks.

A fun way to celebrate her 25th!

Great and Mighty God

Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind. — Jeremiah 32:18-19 

Today we had an outdoor worship service at Waterfront Park down by the harbor.

The weather was beautiful and lots of people turned out.

Our great and mighty God is the Lord.

His purposes are great.

His deeds are mighty.

His eyes are open to the ways of all mankind.

Welcome, August!

You Have Made the Heavens

Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. — Jeremiah 32:17

God has made the heavens and the earth.

By His great power and outstretched arm, He has created everything.

Nothing is too hard for the Lord.

He is Sovereign, omnipotent, and omniscient.

Let Us Run With Perseverance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. — Hebrews 12:1

La Jolla Shores Beach

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

Over the past few weeks, even more saints have gone to be with Jesus.

Sharon's dad, Gale.

Sue's mom.

Ron's mom.

And many more.

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us.

And let us throw off the sin that so easily entangles us.

Let us run the race before us with perseverance. 

The Father of a Righteous Child Has Great Joy

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25 May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful! — Proverbs 23:24-25 

My father-in-law Gary had great joy seeing his sons grow up.

And seeing his middle son become a righteous man,

Serving God with all his heart.

His mom also rejoiced and was joyful.

Rita gave Kirk birth and rejoiced at the person he had become. 

We rejoice in having Kirk as my husband and Abby's father.

Happy Father's Day!

The Father of a Righteous Child Has Great Joy

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. – Proverbs 23:24

We are very blessed by our husband and father.

Here he is playing basketball in high school.

He has done a great job of raising up our child and his students.

The father of a righteous child has great joy.

A man who father's a wise child rejoices in that child.

We rejoice!