The Lord Is With You

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. — Zephaniah 3:17 

God is with us.

He is our mighty Warrior who saves us.

The Lord takes great delight in us.

After all, He love us.

He will no longer rebuke u

But He will rejoice over u

And he will sing - covering us with song.

Let the Message of Christ Dwell Among You

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. — Colossians 3:16

Today we celebrate the first day of Advent.

Our Jewish friends celebrate the festival of Hanukkah.

Both prepare us for the coming of Jesus.

We set up our nativity yesterday.

A fitting reminder of the season.

And of God's gift to us — His Son, our Lord Jesus.

Singing to God with gratitude in our hearts for his precious gift.

Singing with Thankfulness

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. — Colossians 3:16

Yesterday we made modge podge flower pots.

Our Bible study theme was "bloom where you are planted."

And Josie took this picture of the finished pots.

They really turned out beautiful.

And each one is unique.

Just as God's creation shows His beauty and glory.

We praise Him with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Singing with thankfulness in our hearts to God.

Singing to God

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. — Colossians 3:16

The message of Christ is eternal life.

We love singing psalms and songs from the Spirit.

God has given us the voice to sing his praise. 

Through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.

Singing to God with gratitude in our hearts.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.

With all wisdom as we teach and admonish one another.

The sunflower is a great example of God's love shining on us.

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. — Psalm 63:5

During this season of Lent, I praise God with singing.

Even though I am sheltering in place so I can't sing with the soloists at church, I can sing at home.

I will sew us some masks this weekend.

We will purchase a ham for Easter.

And I'll make another coffee cake over the weekend.

We will celebrate Christ's resurrection with just the three of us.

He is risen! He is risen indeed.

Filled with Joy

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

On Sunday I had the privilege of singing with my friends Judith and Glen.

We sang one hymn with Hornswoggle, a group of 24 french horns.

What an exciting way to enjoy old hymns.

Our organist joined in on some of the songs, too.

It was a great ensemble sound.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord!

Marvelous Things

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. — Psalm 98:1

Last week I thought our roses looked beautiful, but this week they have budded and blossomed even more!

Both rose trees look like this. What a fabulous view from our living room and even from the street.

The flowers are so heavy that the trees are leaning a bit under the weight of them all.

I am singing my heart out to the Lord.

What miraculous ways he reaches out to me in love. He surrounds me with good things to see, taste, and hear.

He has done and continues to do marvelous things!

Shout for Joy

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn — shout for joy before the Lord, the King. – Psalm 98:4-6

I love the Sundays that our orchestra plays during our worship service.

The instruments add so much to the hymns, at times even drowning out our voices, causing us to sing even louder and more jubilantly.

The trumpet players often sit in front of me in the choir loft, and I especially enjoy their sound, although I love them all.

The trumpet en chamade on our organ has pipes that extend over our heads, and that sound is wonderful, too.

Shout for join to the Lord, all the earth. Burst into jubilant song with music.

Shout for joy before the Lord, the King!

Spring Flowers

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come. — Song of Solomon 2:11-12
 
These are the beautiful flowers that Kirk's colleague Amy sent to us, wishing Kirk a restful Easter break.

They still look beautiful as they add a pop of color to our living room.

And they looked wonderful gracing one of our tables for Easter dinner on Saturday. What a thoughtful gift!

I continue to feel good, no nausea, just a bit tired. I fell asleep when our friend Rudy came over Sunday. But fortunately I stayed awake long enough to admire his amazing photos from his last trip to Japan.

And I was still up to take a call from Abby so we could catch up before the day ended.

The season of singing has come!

Easter Celebration

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. — Psalm 30:5

Sunday the weather cooled a bit at our house. Steve and Miki made it to church, which was a huge blessing.

I went for a walk around our neighborhood after church. The birds are singing and the sun is shining. The flowers are blooming in honor of Easter.

Our friend Rudy stopped by in the early evening to say hello and catch up.

Ernie was planning to come too, but his car was sideswiped so he ended up  having to file a police report instead. What a bummer.

We are blessed with wonderful friends who surround us with their love.

Rejoicing comes in the morning!

Strength to Keep Going

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9

Mission San Luis Rey Oceanside 2016

This weekend I attended a women's retreat up at Mission San Luis Rey, and it was wonderful.

God really blessed me through the speakers, reading my Bible, praying, connecting with friends, meeting new Christian sisters, celebrating Joy's birthday, singing God's praises, sitting among the flowers, laughing over wine and cheese, doing some crazy skits, trying cupping plus a variety of yoga balls, and eating wonderful food.

I probably gained a couple of pounds, so I'll head out for a hike this afternoon after I do our taxes.

I felt great the whole time until Friday night after dinner, when I headed over to hear the first speaker. I stopped to take a nausea pill and threw up the pill and my coleslaw all over the walkway.

I actually felt much better after that so headed back to the kitchen, borrowed a mop, and cleaned up the mess before heading into the meeting room. I missed the music, but arrived just in time to hear Dawn share the story of God's faithfulness to her during the loss of her first baby.

One of the things she shared was that she bought a pair of awesome really high heels to wear to the baby's funeral service just to help her feel good about herself on the outside as she was struggling on the inside.

She encourage us not to fake it with our relationships with others but to come before God, humbly lay ourselves bare, and admit our need for healing and salvation so God can use our weakness to point to the cross.

God meets us where we are and helps us move beyond ourselves.

Shout for Joy!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.  — Psalm 98:4-6

Flowers from Axos Bank Employees

Yesterday I drove back into work for the first time since my surgery.

I was overwhelmed with wonderful food including fruit, coffee cake, muffins, croissant sandwiches, a chocolate genache cake and two bouquets of flowers! Here's one.

One of my coworkers even lent me his ergonomic anti-fatigue mat so I could use it while standing at my computer. When I offered to return it that afternoon, he encouraged me to keep it for a week until I decided if I want to get one of my own.

I am blessed by wonderful people who kept asking about how I was doing.

After work, I met with my prayer accountability group, and they are such encouraging and supportive Christian women.

Thank you, Lord, for surrounding me with such a blessed support team.

Today we are shouting for joy!

Singing Birds

Flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. — Song of Solomon 2:12

I'm listening to the birds chirping outside and watching the flowers and plants bloom after all of the rain.

And of course the weeds are poking their heads up, too, trying to compete for a place in the ground before our plants take over.

The weeds in my life try to poke their heads out, too, competing for my thoughts. But God helps me focus on His love and care for me.

He will continue to guide me through the days to come, the cancer treatment, recovery, and hearing the pathology report.

Sunday, I was reminded of His presence once again as the toddlers and preschoolers sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "God, Our Father, We Thank You for Our Many Blessings."

I'm thankful for the many blessings God has given to me and to our family.

Gratefully singing.