Easter 2025

Easter morning began with a beautiful church service and Easter message. Our pastor, Alistair Begg, will be stepping down as head pastor on June 8, so listening to his last Easter sermon was a little bittersweet. If you would like to listen to it, click on this link.

Easter Baskets!

After church, we met the in-town families at Barrington for their annual Easter Brunch. It is always an interesting and delicious spread of food. Something for everyone.

Before heading home, we took some photos outside because it was such a gorgeous day.

Josh & Katherine had a lovely Easter in Indiana.

We ended the day with an impromptu cookout with Daniel and Heidi.

The three boys wearing the same outfit on their first Easter mornings!

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A Christmas Hymn

This beautiful Christmas hymn was originally published as a poem titled "A Christmas Carol" by English poet Christina Rossetti in 1872. It was put to music and titled "In the Bleak Midwinter."

A Christmas Carol

In the bleak mid-winter   Frosty wind made moan Earth stood hard as iron,   Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow,   Snow on snow, In the bleak mid-winter   Long ago. Our God, heaven cannot hold Him   Nor earth sustain, Heaven and earth shall flee away   When He comes to reign: In the bleak mid-winter   A stable-place sufficed The Lord God Almighty —   Jesus Christ. Enough for Him, whom cherubim   Worship night and day, A breastful of milk   And a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom Angels   Fall down before, The ox and ass and camel   Which adore.

Angels and Archangels   May have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim   Thronged the air; But only His Mother   In her maiden bliss Worshipped the Beloved   With a kiss. What can I give Him,   Poor as I am? — If I were a Shepherd   I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man   I would do my part, — Yet what I can I give Him, —   Give my heart.

Christina Rossetti, (1872)

Follow the link below to hear Kristyn Getty sing the hymn. The introduction is by our pastor, Alistair Begg.
In the Bleak Midwinter

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What Does Your Heart Desire?

 

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

"God is unable to grant us our heart's desires until our desires have been reduced to one."

A. W. Tozer

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We Gathered Together!

 

For the first time in over 5 months, our church held a live morning service. We gathered on the lawn and parking lot in the back of our church building. The weather was beautiful for the occasion. Everyone brought a blanket or camp chairs to sit on. Families sat together in groups and the groups were socially distanced. It was so nice to be together again to sing and worship even though we were outside.  Our pastor announced that we will be back in the building on September 27th. We all need to keep masks on and stay socially distanced. I'm not sure how that is going to work, but I'm sure they will put out guidelines. There will be three services to spread us out. Just as they have been doing since the middle of March, a Livestream will continue to be broadcast for those who would prefer to watch from home. 

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Happy Easter!

Have a blessed day!

We attended the Easter service at Parkside Church. Pastor Begg gave a beautiful message that you can listen to here.

After church, we went to brunch at Barrington with Daniel, Heidi, Chris and Jim.

Don and I don't have our photo taken together often enough.

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Happy Thanksgiving

I'm so thankful for Don, Katherine, Josh, Daniel, Heidi, Peter and Kendall ...and of course Riley!

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She Reads Truth

Yesterday, I found a great website for women who want to read a portion of the Bible each day throughout the year. She Reads Truth  is an APP, an online community, and a service that sends a small Bible reading plan to your inbox each day.

Each reading plan has a theme or pertains to a book of the Bible and lasts between 12 and 24 days. Optional journals can be purchased (see photo above for the journal for 1 & 2 Peter).

All of the past reading plans are available on their website, so you can go back when you have time and read through them if you want.

I've signed up to begin tomorrow with the book of Daniel which corresponds to what the sermons have been focusing on at our church each Sunday. Looking forward to it!

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Happy Easter

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Back to School

Today was the first day of school for me. I didn't have to worry about what I was going to wear because my class is completely online. I applied and was accepted to Moody Bible Institute, and I am hoping to complete a certificate in biblical studies within a couple of years. The program consists of seven 8-week classes. I doubt if I will ever take more than one class at a time because now that I've found out how much reading and work is involved, it will overwhelm me.

So how does an online class work? I am finding that out as I go. 

We have a "classroom" called "Blackboard" where the students in my class have been introducing themselves. The age range of students in the class is from 18 to about my age. So far there are 11 of us from all over the U.S.  Our professor lives in the Pacific Northwest.

The professor posted our requirements for the entire 8-week course on Blackboard. This is nice because I can work ahead if I have the chance. Our grade consists of reading, doing assignments and interacting with other students by posting our thoughts on questions the professor gives us.

The first class I'm taking is called New Testament II. We cover all the books of the New Testament except the four gospels and Acts. I'll have to pick up New Testament I next session. I signed up halfway through the semester.

I'm very excited to dig deep into the Scriptures with these fellow students and our professor. When I'm finished with my certificate requirements, I hope to be better prepared to lead Bible studies at church and with anyone else who wants to learn more about the Bible.

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Who is Jesus?

He is...

The Son of God

Emmanuel

Jehovah

Messiah

I Am

Son of Man

The Resurrection and the Life

The Word

Christ

Man of Sorrows

Lord

Savior

Anointed One 

Lamb of God

Shepherd

The Door

The Way, the Truth and the Life

Root of Jesse

The True Vine

The Bread of Life

Morning Star

Sure Foundation

Chief Cornerstone

High Priest

Advocate

Redeemer

Holy One

Deliverer

King of Kings

Lord of All

Righteous Judge

Light of the World

Alpha and Omega

Wonderful Counselor

Mighty God

Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace

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Be Thou My Vision

My favorite hymn is Be Thou My Vision. It is a traditional hymn from Ireland. The English version was set to music by Eleanor Hull in 1912, and the tune to the hymn is from an Irish folk song called Slane.

I love the traditional version of the hymn, but I also like the more contemporary version by Jadon Lavik on his album called "Roots Run Deeper." Jadon Lavik's other album of hymns, "Roots Run Deep" is also a favorite of mine.

I want God to be my vision, my wisdom and the one I turn my thoughts to day and night, no matter what comes my way in life.

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I, Thy true son
Thou with me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart
High King of heaven my treasure Thou art

High King of heaven my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all

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Forgiveness

The summer I turned fifteen, I returned home from being out somewhere. I can't remember where I had been, but when I returned home, there were a number of large garbage bags sitting on the side porch, blocking my way into the house. When I finally made it to the kitchen, I asked my mom why the garbage bags were there. She said, "your dad is leaving." Those words may just as well have been a two-by-four hitting me over the head.

My dad was leaving. He was in the garage gathering up his tools. I ran outside screaming at him to tell me why he was leaving. I did not see this coming, and I was out of my mind with disbelief.

No event in my life affected me the way that news did. I became hysterical. I ran screaming and crying down our driveway and up our street to my cousin Kathy's house. When they saw me coming, they probably thought someone had died.

Someone hadn't died, but part of me had.

My dad was leaving. He cast me aside. At fifteen, I didn't even consider what it had done to my mother. I hated him, and I was going to hate him for the rest of my life.

During the next several years, I saw very little of my dad. I wrote him hate letters. Some of them made it in the mail, and he ignored them.

Many years passed, and at times I forgot I ever had a dad. As far as I was concerned, he didn't exist. He had three grandchildren living under my roof whom he never met. He didn't care. I didn't care. I buried the pain six feet beneath my heart.

Then one day I found out he didn't have long to live. I had to make a choice. Would I bury the pain and the hate with him? Or would I reach out and forgive?

If it hadn't been for the love I felt from another Father who came into my life, I would have continued to hate. God softened my heart. I had been forgiven. How dare I not do the same?

The father I barely saw for 30 years, the father who forgot I existed, was the father I chose to forgive.

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." - Lewis B. Smedes

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Happy Easter

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Happy Valentine's Day

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Delight in the Lord

I have desires...lots of desires. Will the Lord give them all to me? How about the ones that hurt people? The ones that take revenge?

Some of my desires are pure selfishness. I want something that I don't need or is not good for me. Will the Lord give me those?

I have desires that are legitimate. Other people have these things. Don't I have the right to them as well?

The Lord gives and takes away.

He knows what he is doing. He has a plan, and he is not in a hurry.

If I delight in him, I desire what he desires for me. 

"God is unable to grant us our heart's desire until our desires have been reduced to one." - A. W. Tozer

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Good Friday

I used to think only good people went to heaven. I was glad because I was a good person. At least I thought I was. If I looked at the people around me, I was better than most of them.

Then one day I realized I was not a good person at all. I had broken pretty much all of the Ten Commandments multiple times. Did this mean I was now going to hell?  It would take me ten lifetimes of good deeds to make up for what I had done.

I was relieved to find out that the Ten Commandments were not given by God to judge who would go to heaven and who would not. They were rules for his people to follow, and they were given so that we would see how impossible they were to keep. This was especially true after Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount and told the people it's not just your outward actions, but your thoughts that count too. If you hate someone, you have just murdered them as far as he was concerned.

So how do you get to heaven if good people don't go?

The answer is in John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

When Jesus died on the cross many Good Fridays ago, there were two criminals hanging on either side of him. This was the conversation that took place:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Jesus answered him, "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

So who goes to heaven? Bad people?

No.

Only those who are forgiven by believing that Jesus is the Messiah who died for all sin and rose again on the third day.

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Do You Know What I Know?

Jesus has many names, some of which are: Bread of Life, Prince of Peace, Messiah, Christ, Bight Morning Star, Lord, Savior, Light of the World, Son of Man, Redeemer, and Immanuel.

This time of year, Immanuel has the most significance for me. Immanuel means "God with us." God loved the world so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to live among us. He came as a baby in a manger, a baby who was fully man and fully God.

Why did he come to be with us? He came to fulfill the prophecies in the Old Testament. He came so we could see God and realize we are not Him. He came to  teach us how to live. He came to serve. He came to give his life as a ransom for many - for those who would see him, know him and come to him.

God pursues His people. He comes to us. He knocks at our door and wants to come in. He wishes that none would turn him away, but many do.

Don't turn Him away. Open the door.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us." - Matthew 1:22-23

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Be Thankful

Our pastor, Alistair Begg, is a gifted speaker and teacher of the Bible. Every Sunday his message stays with me long after I leave the church. He makes me think long and hard about how I am to live my life.

This week, he talked about being thankful. No doubt this was because it is Thanksgiving weekend. His focus was on Ephesians 5:15-21, and in particular the part that says, "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Every gift is from God including the gift of life, which is not to be wasted. I should be living purposefully, not wasting time, and with the will of God in mind all the while. How do I know what the will of God is? By reading the book He wrote and doing what it says.

One of those things is to be thankful in all circumstances, not wishing my life were different, but embracing the road He has me on. I don't always like what comes my way, but I can trust that it was put there by Him who loves me.

Pastor Begg closed with a poem by Benjamin Malachi Franklin. It reminds me that I can't see the big picture. Only God can.

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving

between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow

And I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper,

And I the underside.

Not til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reasons why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver's skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

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Note to Self #2

Be unshakable.

If I let it, uncertainty can really shake me up. I like to know what's ahead. I like to know the plan. But that's not always possible. Unexpected things happen.

So how can I be unshakable? Trust that God has everything under control. Know that he won't let anything happen that's not in his plan. His plan is best. He knows what he's doing.

"I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

-Psalm 16:8

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That's My King

He's God's Son. He's the sinner's Savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He's august. He's unique. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He's supreme. He's pre-eminent.

My king is the key of knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway of peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. He's the master of the mighty. He's the captain of the conquerors. He's the head of the heroes. He's the leader of the legislatures. He's the overseer of overcomers. He's the governor of governors. He's the prince of peace. He's the King of kings and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King.

I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable. Yes. He's incomprehensible. He's invincible. He's irresistible. That's my King.

- S. M. Lockridge (1913-2000)

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