Scriptures for Saturday + the New Year

Some people write New Year's Resolutions

(I did for many years and then never followed through with many/most of them).

Some choose a significant or special word as a focus for the year

(a good idea).

 

But for the last few years I have chosen a special scripture...

and this year,

as New Year's Day neared,

the one that I strongly believe God was bringing to mind

was this one.

 

And be not conformed to this world:

but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,

and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:2 KJV
 

I LOVE this verse because it was just what I needed at this point in my life!
 

And then, shortly thereafter, another piece of scripture came along...

I found it when I was looking for a Bible reading plan because of the above verse.

It was also perfect for where I am at,
and I believe God directed me to it also.

 

Remember ye not the former things,

neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth;

shall ye not know it?

I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:18, 19 KJV

 

Ah! LOVE these both:)

Such hope God has brought to me by these scriptures!

Nothing has changed...
we still have major problems with the house,
I still fight fears about the future and other things at times,
my dad still has health issues which require family/friends to be with him 24/7
(although he is doing incredibly well, knows family and friends,
carries on conversations quite easily, and can ambulate with a walker),
and we still face other challenges...some of which I am not free to discuss here.

And yet,
everything has changed!
Since the first of the New Year,
I have been filled with a deep joy and hope.
Bible reading is no longer a duty, but a pleasure...
I am drawn to watch and listen to things that glorify God.
And more and more, I find myself looking to HIM and desiring an even closer walk with the Creator.
So, it's true--God is doing  a NEW thing...
in me:)
He truly is the Prodigal's Father and for that (and many other things) I am grateful.

 

Do you have a special verse for this new year?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Note:

When I quote verses
I almost always,

use the King James Version.

This is mainly for three reasons--

1. It is in the public domain so there is no limit on what I can use,

2. It's so beautifully written--although archaic it is SO poetic,

3) It's widely accepted worldwide.

 

But I totally fell in love with the verses from Isaiah in the NIV

(at home I have both the KJV and NIV in addition to the Jerusalem Bible bought during college)...

I won't quote them here,

but you can find them if you follow this link:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2043:%2018,%2019&version=NIV
LOVED the use of the word 'perceive'...
I wonder how much I miss because I don't perceive what God is doing in my life?

 

BTW, if you're looking for a Bible Reading plan for this new year as I was,
the site above has several.
I am doing the 365 plan
and

will soon be downloading a bible app for my smartphone.

Yea, a smartphone---how did I ever live without one?

:)

Actually quite well...but they do make life a bit easier. 

History Being Made: A Visit to Portland's Sellwood Bridge

Ah, it's late and I am typing this by candlelight so I'll hurry and

 hope I don't make too many errors in the process

(also some fresh blueberries and crab await me-another reason to hurry).

Today was a glorious day--sunny, blue skies, temperature above 32 degrees,

and I had, as usual, been doing some browsing on the Internet when I became intrigued

at what I found there.

A field trip was certainly needed, and off a friend and I went in search of history

(some of it in our past and some of it being made now).

*insert fresh crab and blueberry break here as I couldn't wait...

Definitely on my trip itinerary was a stop to see one of Portland's old bridges that is being replaced.

Now, this bridge and I have a love-hate relationship.

I HATE going over it,

and I love it when I am safely OFF it

(just ask my dear daughter-in-law).

Alas---two other Portland bridges have this same effect on me,

as does the lovely Tacoma Narrows bridge in Washington state.

But we won't talk about that right now...

~

Now as much as I DO hate this bridge,

it IS part of Portland's history (built 1925) and it is being MOVED...

to become a temporary bridge while a new, much wider bridge is being built

where the old one is right now.

~

I felt that this kind of history called for a personal goodbye and visit from me, so off we went.

~

They had closed the bridge at 0500 and were hard at work on it,

separating the main part of the bridge from the west and east accesses to it;

Saturday they will move the truss over and onto the temporary supports.

BTW this is a photo of the Willamette River...

the river that divides the City of Roses.

This photo is taken from west Portland.

On the other side, in SE Portland, is the Sellwood District and

 Oaks Park--

an awesome historical amusement park with a great historical roller skating rink

(love, love, love it there!)

Last time I was over this bridge,

with my dear DIL and tease of a hubby,

I told them it wasn't safe...

today I sent her and my dear daughter a photo to prove my point.

I know, you all agree with me:)

Smartphones can be so handy at times, especially when you 'need' to prove a point.

Although this isn't the best photo

(taken while we driving)

I think you can see the new, temporary supports for the bridge.

I think...

1100 feet of bridge truss being moved...

THIS Saturday.

~

I'd SO love to see it in person,

but this Saturday we're working on a little project of our own...

I guess I'll have to content myself with the fact that I was there on the first day of the bridge's closure

and catch a glimpse of the time lapse video they'll post here the day after the move

http://www.sellwoodbridge.org/?p=bridge-move-and-detour-bridge

**Correction: the above site has a lot of information about the bridge, the move, etc...
but this link will bring you to the actual daily time lapse video:
http://www.sellwoodbridge.org/?p=construction-camera
 

 

Next up---a trip to the OK Corral and Wild, Wild West...sort of:)

 

How was your day?

Blessings,
Aimee

 

Photos taken January 17, 2013

A Year Ago: January 2012

The older I get, the faster time seems to go by.

It hasn't always been that way...

when I was a child time seemed to go much more slowly.

But now that I'm a grandma,

it seems like warm summer days were just yesterday

and that spring bulbs will be here before I know it

(although I am hoping for quite a few more snow events before then).

 

But let's go back in time...

back a year ago to January 2012 and some great memories.

First up-a trip to a historical dam I had been wanting to see for a long time,

a 'hidden' waterfall

and

some very peaceful mountainside and creekside views

(hum, I wonder what this area looks like in snow...)

January 2012 also brought us a visit from our oldest son...

who came bearing gifts--

edible and very, very yummy homemade gifts!

(He is a really good cook--love it when he shares his chef recipes with me)

A year later,

he no longer lives in the Pacific NW...

but he is still cooking --

 albeit under much sunnier, and generally, much warmer southern skies.

~

Along with some snow,

the PNW usually gets a bit of flooding--

some years being much worse than others.

Last January the Willamette Valley really got hit--

as the Willamette River swelled past its banks.

 This was taken in the Salem area--

it was just one of the flooded roads we encountered.

 We also saw a flooded ferry landing, orchards and farm fields.

~

Next up: winter's waterfowl.

Our normally abundant rainfall

and

mostly

(I say mostly because we've had subfreezing conditions for longer than usual this January)

temperate climate, brings a lot of waterfowl to the PNW

and some of the best places to observe them is at the many NWR's

(national wildlife refuges) to be found here.

Last January found a friend and I at Ankeny NWR--near Salem, Oregon.

It was my first visit there but not my last.

Now that I can change camera lenses,

I will be making more visits to our NWR's to get some zoom photos of

dusky Canadian geese, swans and the other waterfowl to be found there.

Visiting our NWR's and other wildlife preserves during the winter

somehow makes the seemingly endless rain and more subdued color palette a little more bearable:)

~

Last,

but definitely NOT least,

January 2012 saw some snowfall...

I am hoping for more in January 2013:)

What are your fav memories from January 2012?

 

Blessings, Aimee

~

House update:

we haven't made a lot of progress the last couple weeks but this coming weekend we start on the family room alcove. I am very, very excited:)

 

In the garden:

blooming camellias,

frozen and somewhat frozen ponds,

some very frozen kiwi that wasn't

snow and ice off and on.