January 3. Fourteenth day of winter. Cloudy this morning. Temperature went up over night so it was around 23º this morning. Needed a grain for breakfast this morning so cooked a pot of rice. Right after breakfast and quiet time, Daddy and I checked John chapter 12. Then I made corrections in the John file and got chapter 12 set up in the print file. Wrote an e-mail. Then added the English for chapter 13 to the print file so it is all ready for Pidgin 13 to be added tomorrow if we get time to work on it. Tomorrow is shopping day. Made pizza for Daddy’s dinner. This afternoon, I wrote a lesson for ladies’ meetings. Had to do dishes before supper since we’d be going to church tonight. Had to leave a little earlier than usual to pick up Cindie. Pastor Ogle preached this evening from Exodus 25, starting with verse 10, teaching on the ark and the mercy seat where God would dwell among His people and where He would meet with His servant Moses, how a veil separated man from a holy God, and how today we can enter boldly into God’s presence, come before His mercy seat and find grace to help in time of need. What a privilege! “13Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? 14Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 15Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. 17The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. 18The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 19Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.” Psalm 77:13-19 The current winter weather certainly reminds us that there is no God so great as our God. He is the God that does wonders. He has declared His strength in the winter storms. The clouds have poured out water (snow). His way is in the sea and His path in the great waters. People are overwhelmed and afraid and troubled at His presence. It is a winter to remember, and more to come. January 4. Fifteenth day of winter. Very cold, and a super cold nippy wind today. Makes it feel cold all through the house. In spite of the cold and wind, Daddy and I bundled up and went out shopping today. Aldi had some good sales on produce so bought some extra items today. From there, we went to KMart where I looked for a watch and Daddy looked for shoes. I found a nice watch that looked like it might be a band watch rather than spandex; but since it was locked into its case, I wasn’t able to try it on. Ended up only buying four pair of socks on sale for 60c each. Last stop was WalMart where we finished up our grocery shopping. It was around 11:30 before we finally headed home. By the time we got here, we were pretty tired out. Got food put away. Had lunch. Crocheted a while before nap and more afterward. Trying to get the little doll done before the baby shower on Sunday. “2I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 5For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 6That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” Psalm 78:2-8 How soon we forget the mercies of God and all His wonderful works! We don’t remember to show them unto our children. Then our children become stubborn and rebellious as their fathers. Oh, Lord, please help us to never forget and to always remember to show forth the praises of the LORD to the coming generations.
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January 1, 2018. Twelfth day of winter. First day of 2018. Temperature a hair colder than yesterday, but the sunshine beat in through the back door making it bright and warm in the afternoon. Since it’s a holiday, Christy was off work again and wanted to do something together. She had bought three gingerbread houses at Aldi on Saturday for our holiday project. But first I had to get last week’s journal notes together for Connie; print out Bible verses to glue into the cards I had made the other day, glue those into the cards and sign the cards, put the cards into their envelopes and address the two that need to be mailed tomorrow; and also make soup. Made creamy green soup today—kale, spinach, arugula, celery, onion, and barley, chicken stock and seasonings. Consequently, it was late morning, very late morning, before we started putting together the gingerbread houses and decorating them. It was already going on 12:00. Took about two hours to complete the project, get the houses transferred to the living room and set up on the bookshelves, take pictures, and clean up the mess in the kitchen. In between all that, I added cream to the slightly cooled soup, whipped up a blender full, and had a couple bowls full for lunch. It was quite a morning, but the girls and I had fun doing something together. The clock said it was a few minutes after 2:00 when Daddy and I finally lay day for nap. This afternoon, I sent journal notes and pictures to Connie. Also prepared the December progress report, a very short one, for Pastor Ogle. Sent that off to him this evening. Set up a new file for 2018 progress reports. Finished the baby layette just before bed. Praise the Lord for His help, wisdom, and strength through all these things throughout the day. “1To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42:1,2 When a hart is thirsty, it pants for water. My soul should likewise be thirsty and pant after (long for, cry for) my God. He is the living God, and He alone can truly satisfy my needs. I should quickly come before my God and drink of the waters of life. January 2. Thirteenth day of winter. It gets colder as the days go by—down to 15º this morning here. Did NOT take a shower this morning, just a quick sponge bath (as mother used to call it in the olden days). The bathroom was just way too cold. After breakfast and quiet time, I put a load of clothes in to wash. Then Daddy and I finished checking John chapter 11. Praise the Lord! We did NOT hang out any clothes this morning. Put some in the dryer and hung a few in the house to dry. The second half of the morning was spent making ginger snap cookies. Also started getting the rest of John 11 set up in the print file before nap,. After nap, I got John 12 English set up in the print file, ready for the Pidgin to be laid next to it. The rest of the afternoon into the evening was spent working on the first lesson for leadership meetings. Made some polenta pie for my supper—corn grits, leftover quinoa, tuna, egg, salt, curry powder, and oil, cooked in a cast iron skillet. Tasted good. Just need to add a little more liquid next time so it will be a bit softer. “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.” Psalm 73:28 It is good for me to draw near to God. If it is good for me, then that is what I surely want to do. I desire to do that which the Lord says is good for me. I also desire to declare all His works. I have put my trust in the Lord GOD so that I may do so. Lord, help me to do that which is good for me.
December 30. Tenth day of winter. This morning, I washed my hair, made pancakes for Daddy, had quiet time and breakfast, answered e-mails and deleted a bunch, made a couple greeting cards, and made spaghetti for Daddy’s dinner. The afternoon, after nap, was spent making more cards; and this evening, I wrote poems for the cards. I’m happy that all my cards for January are done. Did a little crocheting later in the evening. “Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” Psalm 71:20 The Psalmist talks of his assurance of resurrection from the dead. December 31. Eleventh day of winter. Last day of 2017. Very cold day—below freezing all day. Icy wind blowing when we left church, and a few barely visible snow flurries. In Sunday school this morning, Mrs. Surrett gave a brief autobiography of herself and her family life. There was a little time left after that so various ones in the class gave short testimonies. Then she announced that she was stepping down from teaching Sunday school. We were all rather sad about that. She said she doesn’t know yet who will be teaching. Pastor Ogle preached from Acts 11, the last of the events which took place before Peter drops out of the picture in the book of Acts. Pastor’s preaching had to do with the importance of careful teaching. The auditorium was all set up differently so it wouldn’t take as long to finish getting it ready for Jacob and Rebekah’s wedding this afternoon at 3:00. Christy and Connie picked up Cindie and went to the wedding. After our nap, I fixed pictures to send to Connie to go with this week’s journal notes; and this evening, I looked through an old CD of photos and transferred those I wanted to keep to the picture files in this computer. Still have a few more to look through on that. Afterward, we looked at Jacob and Rebekah’s wedding on YouTube, and I crocheted another ten rows on the baby hat. “17His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. 18Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. 19And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.” Psalm 72:17-19 God is blessed and He is to be blessed. That is, He is to be made happy, to be extolled, praised, eulogized*, magnified. He is blessed and is to be blessed because 1) His name endures for ever; 2) He only doeth wondrous things; 3) His name is glorious. *eulogized -- praised, extolled, lauded, glorified, hailed December 28. Eighth day of winter. A very cold morning, in the mid 20’s, but sunny, and got up to 38º. Right now, we are very thankful not to be living up north. It was shopping day, and we left before 9:00 as there were several stops to make. Daddy had a tool to return to Aldi, and we did some shopping there too. Then we went to exchange a paper punch because the one I had bought a couple weeks ago didn’t cut all the way around. After that, we spent quite a bit of time looking around Big Lots and bought a number of items there. Last of all was WalMart. Daddy paid the rent, and I went off to start the shopping; but we didn’t need much there so got done quickly and were on our way home around 11:00. After getting groceries put away, I had an early lunch. I was quite hungry as all I’d had for breakfast was a smoothie. Then I started looking for a Pidgin tract file that we’d written a long time ago. I wanted to edit it and get it ready for printing. Finally found it, and then we went for nap. Spent most of the afternoon setting the tract up in a new file. This evening, I searched for a good cover picture for the tract, washed the dishes, and started on the hat to go with the baby outfit. “1A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. 3Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 4Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. 5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: 6When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. 7Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 8My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” Psalm 63:1-8 December 29. Ninth day of winter. Low 20’s this morning. Brrrrr! Laundry day too! Too cold for me to hang clothes outside. So half of them went into the dryer, and Daddy hung out the other half. After that, Daddy and I checked verses 1-36 of John chapter 11. So thankful for the Lord’s help with that. Then I revised my birthday list and added it to my projects list. Spent time this afternoon improving the tract I was working on yesterday. Finally got that all reworked so that it looks right and can fit two copies on one sheet of paper. Printed out a copy for proofreading. By then it was supper time. This evening, I helped Christy finish the puzzle she had been working on over the weekend “30I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. 32The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.” Psalm 69:30-32 This was a Psalm of David who determined to praise God’s name with singing and also by giving thanks. He wanted to do so because he knew that this type of sacrifice was much more pleasing (or beautiful) to God than any animal sacrifices. He also knew that it would make the humble glad to see him singing and giving thanks, and that the hearts of those who seek God would be revived. December 25. Fifth day of winter. A cold wind blowing and quite chilly even in the house today. Transferred a few pictures to the computer this morning, edited them, and sent some of them off to Connie along with this past week’s journal notes. Then Daddy and I finished checking the last twelve verses of John 8 (at last—praise the Lord!) and went on and checked the whole of John 9. Praise God for His help and wisdom! After that, I swept all the dust out of the bathroom and bedroom. Then it was time for lunch. After nap, I made my weekly soup—my favorite (sweet tater soup) and then got John 8 and 9 set up in the print file. After doing dishes this evening, I spent some time crocheting December 26. Sixth day of winter. Started wash early this morning because we expected it to be a busy day. It was about 34º when we hung them out; but the sun was shining and there was no wind so it felt good out and was refreshing to get outside. Only my fingers got too cold handling the wet clothes, but there weren’t that many to hang as I had put the bedding in the dryer so it could go right back on the bed. Moved my computer into the kitchen for a while because the baseboard heat was on in the office, and it blows right in my eyes and makes them hurt. Started working on another Sunday school lesson for Owena. Christy had gone out shopping, and when she came back, we all went up to Polkville to shop at the discount store. It was a lovely day for a ride. Didn’t spend long there. Had lunch after we got back. Worked more on the Sunday school lesson. Had nap. Got ready to go see Denise about a house loan. Spent about an hour and a half with her. So thankful for the time she spent with us and all her input regarding the ins and outs of purchasing a house. Came home and had supper. Finished the Sunday school lesson. Did the dishes. Had family devotions. Finished crocheting the second sleeve on the baby sweater and tucked in all the loose ends. “32Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they…. 42According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. 43And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.” Exodus 39:32,42,43 How should I do God’s work? Should I do some of it according to God’s commands and some according to my ideas? Or should I do all that God commands and add some of my own ideas to it? Oh, that I may be like the children of Israel and do ALL God’s work in God’s way and only in God’s way, adding nothing and taking nothing away! Surely then shall I experience God’s blessings. December 27. Seventh day of winter. A cloudy, chilly morning. First order of business was to get the greeting cards out in the mail that I forgot to put out yesterday. Then Daddy and I checked John chapter 11. Praise the Lord for His help with the checking! It is so important to get it as accurate as possible and so urgent to move ahead and get it completed. Got John 10 set up in the print file and also the English side for John 11 set up and ready for Pidgin to be laid next to it. This afternoon, I made the shopping list for tomorrow and worked on MTC lessons. After doing dishes this evening, I started crocheting the border on the baby sweater. I think I spent more time untangling yarn than crocheting so that was a bit frustrating. I did finish the border before bedtime, however, and got the ends tucked in and buttons put on. Thankful for the Lord’s help. “16But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. 17Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.” Psalm 59:16,17 The Psalmist determined to sing songs that talked of the majesty of God—His power, His mercy, His protection. |
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