Pictures from the weekend
Sisters, partners in crime (it is a long story …)
San Francisco Bay, from the 92 bridge
Sisters, partners in crime (it is a long story …)
San Francisco Bay, from the 92 bridge
Sisters, partners in crime (it is a long story …)
San Francisco Bay, from the 92 bridge
birthday bouquet
birthday bouquet, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.
Birthday musings
I have been slowly reading through Ezekiel. It has taken at least two months – I am not finished yet – and something has begun to stand out with almost painful clarity. I am not sure if I will be able to articulate what I have been seeing, but I’ll try!
God was crying out for Israel to know Him.
He loved Israel with a perfect love, a love that included the wisdom of a Father and the passion of a Lover.
God expressed this love over and over. He looked for a response ……….. and repeatedly saw Israel turn away to lavish their affection on other gods (“I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols … on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak.” -6:9,13).
Over and over He showed them Himself, His power, His provision, His protection.
Israel would be dazzled by God’s greatness and His strength, but they did not make the next step of knowing Him.
They acknowledged Him, paid Him lip service and made sacrifices to Him, but never gave Him their hearts. That is all God wanted! He wanted to be their LORD, not just the God they were obligated to sacrifice to.
He wanted to have a heart relationship with the people He loved.
That is what He asks of us today.
God asks for our hearts.
God does not ask us for part of our hearts, or for our hearts for a limited amount of time. God asks for all of us, for all of time. (“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”. -Jeremiah 29:13)
He desires that we desire Him.
Not for anything He does, but for Who He Is.
LORD.
LORD of everything (Who He Is and the things He does are interchangeable, really). Do we recognize His LORDship in our lives? In every part?
Have our hearts answered to the wooing, calling, and crying of His?
God displays Himself for us over and over. He declares His love, His power, His holiness and His redemption in every place.
Just as God looked for a response from Israel, He is looking for our response today. What will it be? Will you give Him all of your heart and place Him as LORD over all of your life?
Ezekiel 36
16 Again the word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. … 18 So I poured out my wrath on them … 19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. 20 And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the LORD’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ …
23 “I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
24 ” ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. … 36 … I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.
38 … Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:9-11
Happy Birthday To Daddy, Happy Birthday To You!
He turned 50 today!!!!!!
Wow, that’s old! Or young, it just depends on your perspective.
We had a party this afternoon, to which some of Dad’s oldest friends (or at least, the oldest local ones) were invited.
The main event was a BBQ, and included hot dogs and kosher Polish dogs (with sour kraut), two kinds of hamburgers, and salmon.
Some of the favorite recipes from today were Ambrosia (otherwise known as “5-Cup Salad”), Chocolate Spice Cake and Lemon Meringue Pie. Yummy!
Ambrosia
1 cup flaked/shredded coconut
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mandarin oranges
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 cup miniature marshmallows
Combine everything, and let it sit overnight in the fridge. You can mess with the proportions as much as you want (I like to triple the recipe and put in 4 cups of mini marshmallows). Best served chilled.
Chocolate Spice Cake
Grease and dust a 9×13 sheet pan.
Sift together:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
Combine and bring to a boil:
1 cup butter
1 cup water
4 tbsp. cocoa
Pour this over the dry mixture and mix in:
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
Bake at 400 degrees, 20-25 minutes.
Icing
Heat:
1 stick butter
4 tbsp. cocoa
6 tbsp. milk
Add 1/2 – 1 box powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency and 1 cup pecans (optional). Spread on cake while hot.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Combine
3 tbsp. cornstarch with
1 cup (scant) sugar in the top of a double boiler. Add
grated rind of 1 lemon,
4 tbsp. lemon juice,
1 tbsp butter, and
3 beaten egg yolks. Mix well, then add
1 1/2 cups boiling water slowly.
Cook over hot water until thick (should coat the back of a spoon).
Pour into pre-baked pie shell.
Meringue
Beat until foamy
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
5 tbsp sugar (beat in slowly) until stiff and glossy.
Do NOT under-beat.
Heap meringue onto hot pie filling and spread – carefully sealing edges to prevent shrinking or weeping.
Bake about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, or until delicately golden-brown.
Cool gradually to prevent shrinking.
It sounds as if all we did was eat! Not so …………….. There was a lot of talking, laughing, and remembering!
We had a wonderful time celebrating Dad and all that he has meant to us.
I do not think that it is possible to overstate the blessing of having a father who loves God, a father who seeks to know God ever better and deeper. Even more, one who prays for his children every day.
Thank you, Daddy, for teaching me about the Lord of your life and the world He so lovingly created.I love you Dad.
A Party For Julia – and Grandpa’s birthday
Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!
Today was Grandpa’s birthday! He turned 81, a very young 81.
Julia had a birthday party this afternoon, and Grandpa and Grandma came over as well.
There is a verse in Proverbs somewhere says that something to the effect that “children glory in their fathers”.
I was thinking about this verse in respect to Grandpa. His children and grandchildren do “glory” in him. He has lived a life of that we desire to emulate, and he continues to do so.
Grandpa taught his sons to be men of God, and now we, his grandchildren, can “glory” in our fathers. None of them are perfect, nor will they ever be, but they serve a mighty God and desire to bring Him glory and praise.
God has indeed blessed our family.
Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!
Julia Pearl turned 11 today!
Breakfast in bed – er, on the floor! When you sleep on the top bunk, the floor is a much safer place to eat breakfast!
Happy birthday to you…
She blew out all eleven candles in one short breath!
Happy Birthday To You …
Anna Genette Jacobsen
Anna’s birthday was yesterday. She turned 19.
19 years of Anna’s life, some bittersweet, but all wonderful, and I am thankful for every moment.
Watching her grow up (it sounds so odd to say that, I am only 20 months her senior) physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally has taught me alot. In many ways I look up to her (and not just because she happens to be 3 1/2 inches taller). She has walked through valleys so deep that I cannot see myself ever being in them, and she has come through with a strong and glorious faith. She is far from perfect, and knows it very well, but has an incredibly strong desire to grow ever more like Christ. And she really knows how to have fun (she just might be the camp counselor who helped your daughter put Vaseline on the door knobs). I can hardly wait to see the kind of woman she might be in five years …
We celebrated tonight with presents and a chocolate cake that Julia made (from scratch – it was very good). “A good time was had by all.”
Now He Is Eight . . . .
“Ben, how does it feel to be eight?” “I don’t know!”
“Since it’s my birthday, can I lick my plate?”
“Do I have to do my school work today?”
We had a pancake breakfast (with 8 candles) for Ben
Presents? Oh goody!
– A birthday phone call from Gramma –
Dad took Daniel, Julia and Ben to the Zoo this afternoon, at Ben’s request. His favorite animals were the prairie dogs. Why? “Cause they pop up an’ down an’ dance around an’ sing.”
Thank You, Lord, for eight wonderful years with our little guy.