Songs On Sunday

"Disclaimer" - I realize that a lot of my posts have been "heavy" lately and for those of you who have known this primarily as a "knitting blog" you are probably wondering if I still knit! Yes I do, I just haven't had energy to block my lace, photograph finished objects and post. That will be coming soon. I am in a season of my life where God is asking me deep questions, causing me to think through things that I thought I had already figured out and sorting through the clutter in my emotional and mental attic! I understand if you are not interested in reading. I enjoy my interactions with other women in the blogosphere, but I also write to help my own growing progress. I hope that makes sense. My posts won't always be so heavy, but life isn't sweetness and fluff all the time!

Today was Communion Sunday. Our church chooses to celebrate this the first Sunday of each month as did my church in Washington. For me this is nice - not so often that it becomes rote and not so seldom that we forget. Ironically in our sermon series on Abraham, this Sunday covered Melchizedek, the High Priest of God, meeting with Abram after the recapture of Lot and the return of the spoils of Sodom. Melchizedek brought bread and wine - the food of kings at the time, but also the ingredients for performing a Covenant.

Sadly, in this day and age and in western culture, we do not understand the idea of a covenant. Thus we so easily break them - marriages, commitments to God, promises to those we love. In ancient times the breaking of a covenant meant death. Today it's an every day occurence. Sad.




My Mom took this picture at Laurel Church, the church I attended through most of my 20s and my early 30s. At the foot of this cross (behind us), Hubby and I made a Covenant. As you can see 9+ years later, we have fulfilled our promise to be fruitful and multiply! :o) L to R, J, D and A. I wanted a picture here because our tenth wedding anniversary is coming up.

As we made our eternal Covenant with God, we took Communion together for the first time. Today, it was so odd, when the tray came to me I wanted to serve my Husband. That's not what we normally do, it's not something I thought out but something that I felt compelled to do at the moment. I chickened out when the wafers came, but did pass him the grape juice. I'm not sure what this meant and I'm still digesting it. But one thing I know, that I NEVER get tired of taking communion with my husband.

This is one of those things I did not think of when I was single and dreaming of marriage - you think of physical intimacy, someone to go to the movies with, snuggle with etc. Don't get me wrong, those things are nice, but I praise God every day for the man who prays with me, takes communion with me, teaches my children about God and loves me even if I don't deserve it! Let me tell you ladies, I lived in an unequally yoked home, a single parent home, I was single long enough and in enough BAD relationships to appreciate what I have. And young ladies, waiting for God's choice for you, PLEASE WAIT! What He has planned for you is better than you can ever imagine. No relationship is perfect, but when God is the Head of your household, He does amazing work in your lives! And if your heart is broken from the pain of a sad or unhealthy relationship, God is the place to go for comfort and healing! I know!



One of the joys of having children has been seeing my Mom, Ruth, and my step Dad, Jack interact with them... not only as loving Grandparents but as torchbearers to the next generation! This picture was taken while Hubby and I were on our "honeymoon" and the kids went to church alone with Grandma and Grandpa. J is in my Mom's lap and A on Grandpa Jack's lap and naturally D is in between.

As for Songs On Sunday, we sang beautiful Hymns today - both old and contemporary - How Great Is Our God, My Jesus I Love Thee, The Wonderful Cross, Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus) and In Christ Alone. The woman who sang Untitled Hymn as a solo during Communion was so LOVELY. By the time she was done, the tears were streaming down my face. I relate to so many of the words and then through my grief journey I cling to the end "fly to Jesus" and it gives me HOPE.

This is A getting ready for church at Grandma's. She is wearing for the first time a dress I made her. It started out as a top from a vintage pattern that was too short for modesty. I didn't have enough to make a dress so I found some coordinating green and had just enough of the main print to put a band at the bottom of the front only... oh well, at least she has a unique, one of a kind outfit! :o) She loves it!

Here J contemplates the butterflies on her new jumper that I made her. (All photos today taken by my Mom Ruth)

In Christ Alone

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townsend

Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone,

Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave

He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Grandpa and his kids! J, A and D with Grandpa Jack.

A and J watching brother and the big kids practice their musical performance. The kids really clicked quickly with the kids at Laurel and had a blast with teacher R!

Untitled Hymn by Chris Rice

Weak and wounded sinner

Lost and left to die

O, raise your head, for love is passing by

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted

And carried far away

And precious blood has washed away the stain, so

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby

Don't be afraid to crawl

And remember when you walk

Sometimes we fall...so

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely

And steep and filled with pain

So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over

And music fills the night

And when you can't contain your joy inside, then

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat

Kiss the world goodbye

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus and live!

Family Dinner

I'm trying to start catching up on posts. This lovely day occurred Sunday, August 3rd. Here J in aqua, A in pink and D sit at the kiddy table waiting of Aunties and Uncle to arrive and Cousin W. We planned a family dinner while I was here so that I could see everyone. While Grandma Hopkins was alive, she was the "reigning matriarch" of our family, every bit as regal as England's Queen Mum. Family dinners occurred at least twice a year - Thanksgiving and Mother's Day and generally at her home. Thanksgivings have just not been the same without her! But when did this happen? It used to be Cousin W, Cousin M and me at the kiddy table! :o)

First, Uncle Doodlebug drove in with his lovely wife, Auntie M, Mom's middle sister and Auntie G, Mom's oldest sister. Auntie G made these pickles which were quite the hit. Some even threatened violence to obtain more than their fair share! We wondered when Cousin W would arrive.

Here is A, getting acquainted with the family.

Poor J with her black eye from running into Grandma's counter top corner.

And Mr. D. hanging out waiting for the action to start.

Here is Auntie G. wearing one of her shirts from Africa. She has traveled all around the world, photographing, sketching and painting as she went. For many years she taught oil painting through the Boeing Art Club and other venues in the Seattle area. She has been instrumental in teaching me composition and other photography skills.

Well, Sneaky Cousin W finally arrived, but not in her pretty blue Dodge pick up but in a big black rental car driven by her brother, my cousin M and accompanied by M's lovely wife, my cousin B! WOW! What a shock! They came all the way from North Carolina and they really blessed my socks off!

The only sad note of the day was that Hubby was not there. :o( He was still in CA teaching school.

Here we are... all the Hopkins Girls... My Mom and her sisters, we cousins and my daughters, the next generation.

B, M and W being silly.

Auntie M's family.

My family can be stinkers about having their picture taken. I suppose it could be the "paparazzi effect" that happens whenever we all gather together. So, I just take pics anyway. Here B is hamming for the camera since most table pics show us with forks mid air or mouths mid chew anyway! lol

D wanted to show cousin M his Lego magazines. He gets very excited when anyone wants to discuss Legos.


Cousin W... the sneaky girl! :o)

Auntie G and Mom, laughing til they cried over something... hmm... can't remember what now!

Rhubarb is taken seriously in Auntie M's family. Here B gathers while Jack cuts.

Every job needs at least two supervisors, right?!

J, A and D go off exploring with their "bee-knock-lee-urs".


Then there was the attempt to get the three sisters together. L to R they are in age order. My Mom is the baby. What was the big secret Auntie M?

Here Auntie M is trying to maintain composure.

Whatever the peanut gallery was saying must have been funny. She's losing it! lol

Go ahead, let it out! Laugh!

Okay, back to business, G, M and R.

M and B

Saying good bye to Uncle Doodlebug, Auntie M and Auntie G.

Then it was time to say good bye to Cousin B.

Okay, one more hug! :o)

What one does, we all need to do!

I love this picture of B with A, J and D. It was too crowded for J, so she hopped out after this was taken. Something was mentioned about taking the kids home with them. And J thought that they were going to take A and D. J clouded over, "I don't want them to take them!" We assured her that our family was not going to be split apart!

Mom and Cousin M.

Goodbye! Good bye means "God Be With Ye" in old English. It's quite fitting. The time was all too short and the gift of your presence was awesome! Thank you!!!

Pigtails and Smoothie Smiles!

Here is the picture I couldn't load earlier with the sunset pictures. What a lovely surprise to come around the bend and actually be able to see James Island and the islands near it! Yeah! No more fog! :o) This is the Quillayute River. One thing I love about my home state, are all the Indian names... Pilchuck, Shuksan, Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Sammamish, Tukwila, Tillicum, Squamish, Squalicum, Alki, Skykomish, Wenatchee, Yakima, Nooksack, Chelan, Tahoma, Chinook, Klickitat, Lummi, Humptulips, Tulalip, Makah, Muckleshoot, Mukilteo, Cayuse etc. (That is only the beginning!) California seems to have retained many of its Spanish names but not as many of its native Californian names, though I have seen a few. It's funny to hear people try to pronounce some of the native names, like Puyallup (pronounced Pew-al-up) which I have heard pronounced "Pull y'all up!" lol Quillayute is comparatively easy to pronounce! By the way, spell check caught every one of those names! Anyway...


Today, J asked me to put her hair in pig tails. She has never had them before and it wasn't an easy task without a comb and with sticky stuff in her hair! When we got done she was so cute, that I'll have to do it again with a comb.

Here she is, smiling at Grandpa.

The shiner on her right eye is gradually fading but still there. Here and there the little dark marks are smoothie remnants!

A saw her sister and was not to be out done. She wanted pig tails too! Here she is... She eats her food with her whole face and has more smoothie on her, but she was pretty tickled with how she looked and was saying, "I love you Daddy!"

Here are D, A and J watching for Grandma to come home. I don't know whether the fan was blowing A's pigtails or if she was swirling them for effect.

A, J and D have spotted the arrival of Grandma and D is "taking pictures" with a View Master!

Day 3 and Wellness Wednesday

Today was a busy and tired day. I spent most of the time getting situated with all our stuff and unpacking. But I started the day with a 3 mile walk with Leslie Sansone. It was a struggle. I am still having breathing issues, which seem to be related more to my fluid retention than my asthma. Because of this I am staying an extra day before heading to Shelley's for our trip. Today, I also went shopping for that trip to the ocean (more interesting pictures coming!) and guess how many steps I took today? 13,101! That is by far the most I have done since wearing the pedometer and only the second time over 10,000. The scale was disappointing though. When I left Monday at home, my weight was 310#! Yeah! This time last year I was 335#! But my Mother has a demon scale! LOL It says I weight 324.4#! I'm not retaining that much fluid, nor did I eat that much junk food! :o) It certainly is harder to stop eating junk/sweets, once you taste it a few times. My body is craving a salad about now!

When we got home we went out to play. These first two shots are in my Mom's beach garden which has lots of grasses and I thought they looked pretty in the light.

One of the bird baths.

Fuchsia - something I don't see often in California! The heat melts them! LOL

One of the many birdhouses on the lot.

This maple is one of the newer trees that has been planted and the rich colors were beautiful with sunlight streaming through.

J and D were quite engrossed in playing in the sand.

A on the left was pretty determined in her play and it looks like she didn't want to be interrupted!

Mr. D. had a lot of fun too, but it was COLD for us! Lower 60s with the wind blowing!

The view from the back yard - the neighbor's Herefords (aka Hamburger!).

Another bird house.

We started reading the first chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A didn't make it all the way through. This chair was my Grandma's and Mom had it reupholstered.

J stayed awake until the end, but was in a daze...sleeping with her eyes open. Behind her on the left you can see the foot stool to the previous chair. This was Grandma Hopkins' table, which her Daddy got her for a desk. Later, her husband cut the legs down and made an ottoman for her.