Sunday, March 20, 2016

Rainbows on mountains

Tirzah insisted that I take a picture of the moon as it rose above the mountain a few nights ago.

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou are mine--
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou:
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow:
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I'll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death-dew lies cold on my brow,
"If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now."
(A life well spent is one that is spent constantly giving Him praise.)

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
"If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now."
(Imagine being surrounded by beautiful mansions, but even then, God is more glorious.
He wears a thorny crown [verse 2] to be able to give us a glittering, glorious crown.)

A couple weeks ago there was a bright, distinct rainbow on the mountain right by our house.  I have found in the past that rainbows are often hard to capture with their faded colors, so I was very glad that these pictures turned out!





Thursday, March 17, 2016

Saint Patrick's Day

Shamrock shakes, leprechauns, rainbows, and pots of gold don't really have much to do with the original meaning of Saint Patrick's Day.  It all began with a missionary named Patrick who was committed to God.
Last year my dad gave Tirzah and me each a poster with Saint Patrick's prayer, binding himself to the Lord.  Those posters are now on the wall by each of our beds where I can review it often.  So maybe March 17th isn't all about sugar and having another day to celebrate; it's about committing to be unified with the Trinity and trusting His protection over our lives as we live for Him.

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation; His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on the cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spiced tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way; His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the Cherubim; the sweet "well done" in judgement hour,
The service of the Seraphim, confessor's faith, apostles' word,
The patriarchs' prayers, the prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord, and purity of virgin souls

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven, the glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even, the flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea, around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.  The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force, the natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course; or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours, against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy, against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry, against the wizard's evil craft, 
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same,
The Three in ONe, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Get to know me tag


I was tagged once again by Rebekah Eddy for the get to know me tag!  I realized that several of these questions are often mentioned, but I'd never really given much thought to them.  Thanks, Rebekah!  


Vital stats:

Name: Sharon Mercy Small
Nicknames: Auntie, Share Bear, Mercy, Merc, Mercle (the list of middle name forms could go on...)  My preference is something related to my middle name.
Place of birth: Wasilla, Alaska, and proud of it!
Worst school subject: I didn't know this was an actual question.  Is the answer not obvious?

Firsts:
Friend: My sister, Tirzah, and oldest brother, Jeremiah.  I always wanted more time to play with either of them!
Award: Hmmm...Probably the first official award I got was 2nd place at the local Bible Bee in 2013.  That's not saying much, though.
Sport: I haven't ever really played sports, though it always sounded like fun.  (Well, besides the running, sweating, aching, and general pain.)  I enjoy watching football and wishing that I could play.  My friends think I excel at the sport of getting hurt, if that qualifies.  (It is a rare occasion when I do not have a band-aid on.)  But I do love playing ultimate Frisbee, even if I'm not very good.

Real holiday: Does this mean "vacation"?  I don't really know because my family has done a lot of traveling in my life time.  I do remember flying with my family to Indiana as a little kid every couple years to visit cousins.  I always loved getting to stay at Aunt Nancy's house where she made macaroni and cheese for lunch, and we had unlimited time to play all sorts of things!  I also got strep throat there and first learned to shuffle cards.  :)
Concert: My first concert?  I'm not sure, but maybe going to the opera with the family when I was really young.  I hated it because we had to sit almost a mile away, use binoculars to see anything, and read the subtitles to see what was being said.  I don't have such strong feelings for operas anymore.  Wait, operas don't really qualify as concerts, do they?  Forget it.  I just don't know!

Favorites:
Film: ONE?!  You're kidding, right?  I like Life is Beautiful, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Anne of Green Gables; The Book Thief; and The Sound of Music.  But there are so many other good ones out there, too!
TV show: We don't have TV, so I haven't ever really watched a TV show.
Color: Blue!  But orange, green, black, brown, pink, and purple are all closely following.
Song: I'm convinced that this is impossible to answer.  There are so many good songs out there.
Restaurant: the Costco deli!  Does that count?  What about Taco Bell?  Japanese, Olive Garden, and teriyaki are some other good ones.
Books: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Phantom Tollbooth, and Crazy Love are probably closest to the top.

Currently:
Feeling: Tired, full, and motivated to accomplish something. (I guess I'm feeling pretty normal at the moment.)
Single or taken: Quite single.
Eating: Nothing, but I wouldn't object to some ice cream, pizza, or chocolate. 
Watching: The sky being very blue when I would prefer rain.
Wearing: a khaki skirt and blue hoodie.  (the best things in life are hoodies.)

Future:
Want children?  I've always wanted to adopt, and I take great pride in large families. :)
Want to be married? If that's how I can live most purposefully for God, I'll go for it in His timing.  But I do not see all of my life's purpose being getting married.  Singleness is also a great gift and ought to be used wisely.
Careers in mind: I'm a little lost right now as to what I should spend my single life doing.  When I was younger, I really wanted to be a mechanic (I still think it would be fun to learn) and writer, but I'm not sure if those will fit into my future any more.
Where do you want to live? Anywhere with seasons, not too much heat, and out of the city.  Europe, Australia, Alaska, Washington...there are so many lovely places on this earth!  But I'm really pretty happy in Western Washington.

Do you believe in:
God: Without doubt.  I am so dependent on Him.
Miracles: Yes, though not on demand.  God is not a machine for us to get whatever we want.  He has a sovereign plan, and miracles are not always involved.
Love at first sight: The idea of love at first sight just seems crazy.  I suppose that "like at first sight" is common, but I doubt the genuineness of love at first sight.  A real love for someone goes past appearance or superficial personality, needing to be faithfully kept up following Jesus' model of unconditional love.  But I'm probably not the one to ask.  After all, I did just state that I was very single.
Ghosts: I guess that would depend on how you define "ghosts."  The Bible talks a lot about demons possessing people, and I obviously believe that is true.
Aliens: Not unless we're talking about the term "illegal aliens."
Heaven: I don't know where I'd be without that hope.
Hell: Although God has indescribable love for everyone who walks this earth, there are consequences to being blind to Him.
Kissing on a first date:  Absolutely NOT.  
Yourself: This is another one that kind of needs to be more clearly defined.  I believe that I am alive and existing, if that's what you were doubting.  I don't believe in my own ability to be the person I need to be apart from God.  He is the One Who helps me have a right attitude, be motivated to spend my time well, and all of those things that lead to a purposeful life.  But, yes, I am a real person...aren't I?

Sunday, March 6, 2016

My second family

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and soul and mind and strength
To serve the King of kings.
(there are so many "lesser things" we do in life that we need to put away to serve God with a fuller heart.)

Rise up, O men of God!
His Kingdom tarries long;
Bring in the day of brother-hood
And end the night of wrong.

Rise up, O men of God!
The Church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task;
Rise up, and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where His feet have trod;
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up, O men of God!
(Can you believe we are brothers/sisters of the Son of God?!  He truly has loved us.)

The hymn Rise up, O men of God made me think of our amazing friends, the Thiemes.  They are all such real people, if you know what I mean.  It is such a blessing to have like-minded friends who are passionate about their walk with God.  They have challenged and cared for me and my family, and we've been through many laughs, serious conversations, and even tears together.  I'm really thankful for their faithfulness and unending love in our friendship.

A couple weeks ago they got to come up to visit just for fun!  Our times together are too few now that we are 2 hours apart.  Getting time together makes us all a little excited and crazy.  Even still, it's hard to feel like we've gotten enough of each other when it comes time to part ways again.  We have been friends for at least 10 years now and are basically all just family.  (Scary, right?)  

Around this time last year, Tirzah and I did a photo-shoot with Abigail, Isarai, and Shoshannah Thieme.  We thought it would be fun to get special pictures together at least once a year.  They sure do make for special memories, both in the moment and in the future.  I also recently downloaded photo-shop on my computer and have been very excited about that!  It's been fun playing around with it and having these recent pictures to work with.  But I'm afraid I don't deserve credit for most of these pictures...It was nice to not have to work with the timer the whole time, though.


Not even a tree can hide you from the photographer for long, I'm afraid.
Isarai, Shoshannah, me, Tirzah, and Abigail
And the timer is going....Oops.  Didn't end up as planned, but made for laughs.
Their excuse was that I was the photographer and should therefore be in the middle.
The problem was that I didn't take most of the pictures...
Hosanna is SO cute!

Tirzah, Yael, and Shoshannah braved the mountainous rock.
But getting down was a slightly trickier matter.


Cold toes on a February morning!

She's amazing for laughs and just about anything else.
Flip-flops create great friends...and feet.


How many shades of orange can we wear?
The sun was very bright.
"Oh, was that a practice count off for jumping?"
It took about 3 practice count-offs before getting it right.

"Look, there's a puddle to jump in!" ...everyone else missed out on that fun.





Thursday, March 3, 2016

Spectacular book tag

My Pooh notebook holds all my favorite book quotes!
I was tagged by Rebekah Eddy to do the spectacular book tag!  I would have to admit that I don't read a lot, so my options are somewhat limited.  I'm going to assume that these questions are directed for more novel-type books and leave out some of my absolute favorite devotional/spiritual books as well as the Bible.  :)

1. What are your favorite book covers?
I tend to like simple, leather covers.  They are hardy and old-fashioned looking.  So the cover of my Sherlock Holmes book is one of my favorites, I think.  I also really like that a lot of images make up the head on the cover. 


2. What are your favorite book titles?
Hmmm....I like The Last Battle from C. S. Lewis' Narnia series.  The book has so much to say about our last battle in the world, so the title is very fitting.

3. Have you read a book and didn't know why they named it that and what was the title?
Grr.  I know there was a book we recently read as a family, and I was confused as to where the title came in...But now I can't remember.  I suppose Till We have Faces by C. S. Lewis confused me quite a bit, and I don't recall understanding the relation with the title.  (I should read it again)

4. Have you read a book with a character that made you mad?
Horace Dinsmore's friend, Edward Travilla, from the Elsie Dinsmore series made me really mad.  He was that kind of nice character that was too overdone and therefore made creepy.  I didn't like him at all.

5. Is there someone or something from a book you would never want to come across?
I'm pretty sure there are plenty of villainous characters in books that would not be pleasant to meet.  I know the giants (is that what they were called?)who threatened to eat the hobbits from The Hobbit would not be fun to encounter.  The orcs and other creatures from Tolstoy's books would be frightening, too.

6. If you could meet a character in person from a book, who would it be?
I really love the Anne character from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.  The way she thinks and talks is something I definitely would like to learn from!  I think it would also be cool to meet Sherlock Holmes and learn from his impressive observing.

7. What book are you currently reading?
I am ever-so-slowly reading through A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos.  It is written in journal form, and I really like reading that style.  I am also listening to the audio books Call it Courage and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

8. Have you read a book that made you cry?
To be honest, I just don't cry to books or movies usually.  So I don't recall having ever cried to a book.  However, I do love a sad, less-than-ideal story line.

9. What is the weirdest book you've read?
Probably the Wingfeather series.  It took me a long time to get used to those books (like, not until the 3rd one), and I'm still not sure if I really liked them.

10. What is the worst book or series you've ever read? 
My mind goes blank other than one series: the Elsie Dinsmore series.  I know a lot of people really like them, and they are easy to read.  I didn't like them because the character of Elsie was so perfect that it was way unrealistic.  I don't like predictable, perfect characters.

11. If you could only read one more book the entire year, what would it be?
Seeing that I have a whole book of the Sherlock Holmes collection and that I don't read often, that would definitely get me through the year.  I really like those books!  But any book from the Narnia series could probably provide enough to meditate on for a year.  There is so much about life in those books!