Joy to the World! He is Risen!

 

I know we don't usually say Joy to the World on Resurrection Sunday, but that is truly when the joy happened!  My favorite song for this morning is "Easter Song" written by Annie Herring and recorded with her brother and sister in the group Second Chapter of Acts (listen here).  Keith Green does a fabulous job with it, too, you can hear his version here. Turn up the volume and sing along!

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing that you can be born again
Hear the bells ringing
They're singing Christ is risen from the dead

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He is risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He is risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah, hallelujah

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing that we can be born again
Hear the bells ringing, they're singing
Christ is risen from the dead

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He is risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He is risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah!

Celebrations A'Plenty!

Les and I got home late Sunday night from about ten days in Tennessee.  Our purpose was triple-fold - we were there celebrating the birthdays of both his parents and his sister, Lisa.  These weren't just any birthdays, either.  His dad turned 90 and his mom turned 85!  His "little" sister turned 55 in between his parents' big days. We spent most of our time there visiting, but did get out for some fun by ourselves.  I'll save that recap for another post, today is just about our celebrations. 

Our first celebration was on Sunday, October 30th, Bill's 90th birthday.  Not everyone was able to be in town for this one, but we still enjoyed enchiladas and cheesecake!

Almost the entire clan was able to be together on Saturday, November 5th.  Lance's wife, Monica, is still recovering from a recent surgery so she and their youngest daughter, Hannah, didn't make the trip.  Five of six grandchildren were in attendance:

Galina was able to crop Hannah into the picture, but she was still missed!

 

We really enjoyed sitting in the Wearing's screened in porch.  The weather all week had been gorgeous, but it was cool enough to turn on the heater and bundle up just a bit. 

Have you ever seen NINETY candles on a cake?  And yes, they were all lit!

The original five:

 

It was a wonderful time.  I'm so glad we've had so many years with Pops and Mom McElhaney!

Where Did September Go?

 

It's been almost six weeks since my last post.  We had a very busy end of the summer.  Les traveled to Philadelphia for work the last week of August.  We then enjoyed Labor Day at home - we even made s'mores in our backyard!

The day after Labor Day we flew to Hawaii.  DRC (Decision Research Corporation, Les' employer) celebrated 50 years of business and Les spent about 10 days in the office.  This was our first trip to the island this year - we've definitely missed it and our many friends, especially our First Church Hawaii Ohana.

 

 

We also enjoyed running and cycling.

 

Beautiful sunsets.

 

 

Friday night fireworks.

 

And a double rainbow!

We did not enjoy the fact that our Hawaii car broke down.  But God definitely led us to the right mechanic.  Sanchez Mobile Car Care came to us.  Jon was such a pleasure to work with and I immediately felt that I could trust him.  He had to replace the alternator and the starter, but his prices were completely in line with what we read online.  He had quite an office/diagnotics setup in his truck!

We got home from Hawaii Saturday morning, September 17th.  Victory Tabernacle Sunday school department hosted a Fun Day Sunday the next day.  The theme was Safari and our Sunday school department did an outstanding job!

We spent the afternoon outside - eating, fellowshipping and playing games.

The dunk tank was quite a hit!

Les had to fly to Las Vegas for a work conference the next day.  We decided I would go to Fresno on Thursday and he would fly from Las Vegas to Fresno on Friday morning when his conference was over.  We then drove home together.  I enjoyed some sister time!  I also saw my nieces and the sweetest little boy, my grand-nephew Bo!  (If you're local and want to see what he looks like, please don't hesitate to ask!)  Les got to meet Bo for the first time and Bo was fascinated with his great uncle!

No trip to Fresno is complete without a stop at Bravo Farms.  We had lunch there, then stopped at the fudge counter.  Whoever makes their fudge is a master!  The flavors are amazing.  We got Heath, Strawberry shortcake, Pralines, and Lemon meringue, because they always have "Buy Three, Get One Free."  Again, the flavors are amazing!

Last week we started revival with Evangelist Mike Truck and his wonderful family.  God is moving at Victory Tabernacle and we are thankful!

Joy to the World!

I know we don't usually say Joy to the World on Resurrection Sunday, but that is truly when the joy happened!  My favorite song for this morning is "Easter Song" written by Keith Green.  You can hear his version here.  Second Chapter of Acts does a fabulous job with it, too (listen here).  Turn up the volume and sing along!

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing that you can be born again
Hear the bells ringing
They're singing Christ is risen from the dead

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He is risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He is risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah, hallelujah

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing that we can be born again
Hear the bells ringing, they're singing
Christ is risen from the dead

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He is risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He is risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah!

Repost: When Satan Runs Amok in the Streets

I received an email yesterday from a modest clothing company called Kosher Casual.  According to their website: "The Kosher Casual mission is to make high-quality clothing basics that are modest, affordable and comfortable - to not only look good, but to live in."  The email said, "Happy Purim!"  This reminded me of a Sunday school lesson that Les taught.  I blogged about it in 2015, but wanted to re-post it today as Purim begins at sundown.

 

Our adult Sunday school class has been studying Feasts and Celebrations this quarter.  This past Sunday, Les taught a fabulous lesson about the Festival of Purim.  This is the celebration that was instituted after the Jews were delivered from Haman's wicked plot in the book of Esther.

This feast is still celebrated each year in March. It covers two days, the first being the Fast of Esther, followed by the Festival of Purim. This particular fast has one purpose - to remember God’s deliverance of the Jews from Haman’s attempt at extermination.  We don't usually fast to remember, but to ask God for something.  I know I have never fasted in remembrance of what God has done for me.  The next day, during the Festival of Purim, is a time of joyful celebration.

Les concluded the lesson by sharing a story of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.  400,000 Jews were rounded up and 300,000 were eventually killed.  It was a dark time.  There was nothing to celebrate, but Rabbi Kalonymos Kalman said:

"In the Zohar it is written that Yom Kippurim means Yom ke Purim, ‘a day just like Purim’. That is to say, just as on yom Kippur – whether you like it or not – you must fast on orders of the Holy One, blessed be He; so you must rejoice on Purim. Even if Satan runs amok in the streets, you have to be happy, it is the will of God."

If anyone had a reason not to celebrate, it was these Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.  It is said that young Gerer Hasidim courageously emerged from their bunkers in the Warsaw Ghetto on the festival of Purim in 1943 and danced in the spirit of this joyous festival.

It often seems like Satan runs amok in the streets of America, but we must rejoice, it is the will of God.  We serve the God of deliverance and He will come through for us! 

Celebrating Forty Years

This weekend Victory Tabernacle celebrated the Fortieth Pastoral Anniversary of Pastor and Sister White.  It was an incredible weekend!  It started with service Friday night, a banquet on Saturday afternoon, and a final service Sunday afternoon.  So many friends and church family members past and present were in attendance.  Our building was packed!

I didn't take a single picture on Friday night.  I got one picture on Saturday with a lifelong friend, Sis. Ruby Wilson.  I was in their wedding 40 years ago and she and her husband are responsible for us meeting!  (You can read all about it here.)

After Sunday's service, our church presented the Whites with their gifts.  Sis. White received a very large check and we were able to buy Pastor White a new car!  This took months of planning and sacrificial giving from our entire church family.  I am so thankful that we were able to do this for them.

Everyone made their way outside, then the Whites were brought out with blindfolds on...

Stunned does not even begin to describe their reaction!

It was such a privilege to honor these two great people!  They are more than deserving of double honor!  We are also thankful that Pastor White got a clean bill of health this past week - that was the icing on the cake for our church!

After the gift presentation, all the ministers and their families were provided with a delicious meal.  My final picture of the day has some amazing women in it:

 

I have known these ladies for many, many years.  Sis. Luke (first one of the left) is who I have known the longest.  She and her husband helped start a church in Clovis way back in the 70s and I attended some of the services there when I was about 12.  Many of the others I have known since I was a teenager - their husbands have preached messages at camps and conventions that remain with me still.  I'm so thankful that our pastor and first lady have such a fine group of friends that bless our church on a regular basis.

 

I have been privileged to call Pastor and Sis. White my pastor and first lady for 30 years.  I really don't have enough words to say just how much they mean to me.  I am completely blessed and so very grateful.

Joy to the World! It's Not a Hoax

I posted this on Resurrection Sunday 2017, but I think we all need to turn our hearts to the only real reason to have joy.  He is Risen!  There is no doubt in my mind and because He lives, well that is enough for me.

I know we don't usually say Joy to the World on Resurrection Sunday, but that is truly when the joy happened!  My favorite song for this morning is "Easter Song" written by Keith Green.  You can hear his version here.  Second Chapter of Acts does a fabulous job with it, too (listen here).  Turn up the volume and sing along!

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing that you can be born again
Hear the bells ringing
They're singing Christ is risen from the dead

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He is risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He is risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah, hallelujah

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing that we can be born again
Hear the bells ringing, they're singing
Christ is risen from the dead

The angel up on the tombstone
Said He is risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world, He is risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah!

Update:
After posting this, I realized that today is April 1st.  Good old April Fool's day.  Many through the ages have called the resurrection of Jesus a hoax.  It started with the chief priests in Matthew 28:11-15:
Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Acts 1:3 says, "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."  If the resurrection had been a hoax, at least one of the disciples would have recanted.  They were eye witnesses and never changed their story. If Jesus had been a fraud, they would not have endured the torture they each endured:

1. Judas hung himself because he knew he had betrayed innocent blood.
2. James (son of Zebedee, AKA James the Greater): Acts 12:1-19 says that James was beheaded with a sword.
3. Simon, AKA Peter: Peter asked to be crucified upside down, so that his death would not be the equal of Jesus and the Romans supposedly obliged.
4. Andrew: According to 15th Century religious historian Dorman Newman, Andrew—the brother of Peter—went to Patras in western Greece in 69 AD, where the Roman proconsul Aegeates debated religion with him. Aegeates tried to convince Andrew to forsake Christianity, so that he would not have to torture and execute him. But when that didn’t work, apparently he decided to give Andrew the full treatment. Andrew was scourged, and then tied rather than nailed to a cross, so that he would suffer for a longer time before dying. Andrew lived for two days, during which he preached to passersby.
5. Philip: Philip, became a missionary in Asia. Eventually, he traveled to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where he was scourged, thrown into prison, and crucified in 54 AD.
6. Bartholomew: Bartholomew supposedly preached in several countries, including India. In one account, “impatient idolaters” beat Bartholomew and then crucified him, while in another, he was skinned alive and then beheaded.
7. Thomas: Apparently Thomas preached the gospel in Greece and India, where he angered local religious authorities, who martyred him by running him through with a spear.
8. Matthew: According to legend, the former tax collector turned missionary was martyred in Ethiopia, where he was supposedly stabbed in the back by an swordsman sent by King Hertacus, after he criticized the king’s morals.
9. James (son of Alphaeus, AKA James the Less): According to Foxe, James, who was elected by his fellow believers to head the churches of Jerusalem, was one of the longest-lived apostles, perhaps exceeded only by John. At the age of 94, he was beaten and stoned by persecutors, and then they killed him by hitting him in the head with a club.
10. Thaddaeus, AKA Judas or Jude: According to several stories, he was crucified at Edessa (the name of cities in both Turkey and Greece) in 72 AD. * more than 40 years after Jesus’ resurrection.
11. Simon the Canaanite AKA the Zealot: Simon preached in Mauritania on the west coast of Africa, and then went to England, where he was crucified in 74 AD.
12. John: John was the only one of the original disciples not to die a violent death. Instead, he passed away peacefully in Patmos in his old age, sometime around 100 AD.

2 Peter 1:16 says, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."  Joy to the world indeed!

Friday Foodie ~ Fourth of July Goodness

I hope you all enjoyed celebrating yesterday.  Les and I certainly did!  We both went on bike rides (mine was significantly shorter) then enjoyed a relaxing day at home.  I was at home when the earthquake jolted Southern California.  We live about 100 miles from the epicenter.  I definitely felt it, water splashed around in our pool, but we didn't have any damage.

I decided earlier in the week that I was going to make some homemade ice cream.  Les requested coffee flavored.  I did a little research and found different ways to make it  Surprisingly, the recipes were split between using brewed coffee and instant.  A website called "I Need Coffee" (by Coffee Fans, for Coffee Fans) suggested using instant and I decided that was good enough for me! 

My recipe started with the Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream recipe that I made a couple years ago.  It was a huge hit.  This recipe came with my ice cream maker and at the bottom of the recipe it listed Coffee Ice Cream.  All I had to do was add instant coffee to the recipe I made before so that's what I did.

Coffee Ice Cream
Makes 4 Quarts
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons instant coffee (this was 8 single serve instant coffee packets)
5 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten
4 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1.  Combine sugar, flour, salt and coffee in saucepan.

Gradually stir in milk.  Cook over medium heat approximately 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

The coffee completely dissolved.  Side note: you can use decaf coffee if you don't want too much caffeine (or half of each.)  I asked Les about it and he said he wanted the full experience!

2.  Gradually stir about 1 cup of hot mixture into the beaten eggs.  This step is important to get right.  You want your eggs to be cooked but not scrambled!

Add egg mixture to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat.  Refrigerate 2 hours.

3.  Combine whipping cream and vanilla in large bowl; add chilled mixture, stirring with wire whisk to combine.  Pour into ice cream maker.

4.  Freeze as directed.  Mine churned for about 40 minutes.  Then it went into the freezer for a few hours to finish hardening.

As is typical with homemade ice cream it was a little soft, but OH MY!!!  it was so delicious!!!  We topped brownies with it but it is so good it really doesn't need anything with it.  The flavor is spot on for coffee ice cream.  If you love coffee and you love ice cream you really need to try this!