Mountain Musings

Sunday Hymn

A Mighty Fortress is our God

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Here's the view this afternoon from our front porch after we received 15 inches of snow yesterday. The temperatures are up to the mid-40s today...so some has melted already...a good thing for the guys who need to traverse our steep hills to get to work tomorrow!

The gang spent quite a bit of time snow-blowing and shoveling towards the end of the day yesterday even though snow was still falling heavily. It made today's shovel-up-the-rest-of-the-snow easier.

Our church services were cancelled again this Sunday, and the above hymn was one of our selections picked for our family time of singing and listening to a sermon together this morning.

Do you like customized ring-tones on your phone? I'm a fan of them...and have selected certain songs to play when a certain person is calling. Every time I hear the above song, A Mighty Fortress is our God, I know my friend Jan is calling because that's what's programmed into my phone for her ring.

So this morning when we were singing this song, I felt like my phone was ringing off the hook! Ha!

And in case you're interested, Tom's ring tone is Be Thou My Vision (I love when I hear that song if he calls on the way home from work!); Jonathan's is There is a Fountain; Hannah's is Amazing Grace (The Water is Wide tune instead of the normal one); Sarah's is Oh, Shenandoah, because she loves this area of Virginia so much; Granny rings in as At Calvary--because it reminds me of her church back home; my sister's ring is The Cleansing Wave; and anyone else who calls without a customized ring plays as Come Thou Fount.

Well, enjoy your week, even if you're digging out like we are! We should have an enjoyable week as Tom's sister is arriving tomorrow from Connecticut for a few day's visit...and she thought she was getting away from all their snow! Haha!

~Deb

Sunday Hymn

And it shall come to pass...that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains.  ~ Isaiah 2:2

Behold! The Mountain of the Lord

Behold! the mountain of the Lord
In latter days shall rise
On mountain tops above the hills,
And draw the wondering eyes.

To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues, shall flow;
Up to the hill of God, they’ll say,
And to His house we’ll go.

The beam that shines from Zion hill
Shall lighten every land;
The King who reigns in Salem’s towers
Shall all the world command.

Among the nations He shall judge;
His judgments truth shall guide;
His scepter shall protect the just,
And quell the sinner’s pride.

No strife shall vex Messiah’s reign
Or mar the peaceful years;
To plowshares soon they beat their swords
To pruning hooks their spears.

No longer hosts encountering hosts,
Their millions slain deplore;
They hang the trumpets in the hall
And study war no more.

Come then, O house of Jacob, come
To worship at His shrine;
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.

This is one of the hymns we picked to sing here at home this morning. Many churches in our area, including ours, were closed for Sunday services due to the extremely low temperatures, high winds, and forbidding traveling conditions for our friends who would be driving from over the mountain.

Whenever a Sunday like this happens, we still get together as a family to sing, pray, and listen to a recorded sermon. This morning Tom downloaded a message given by Phil Johnson from Grace Community Church in California speaking on Effectual, Fervent Prayer.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

~ James 5:16

Jonathan first read James 5:7-20 for us before the message began. Then Mr. Johnson spoke on Elijah from I Kings 18. Elijah prayed Privately, Passionately, and Persistently. If you'd like to listen to his sermon or just read what we heard today, you can go to this link.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday...if the power doesn't go out here and Tom's not called in to work the outages, we're expecting guests for supper tonight. Should be some good fellowship, even though we didn't meet with our regular church group today.

~Deb

Arise and Be Baptized

Our church gathered at the local river to witness 5 people give testimony to their faith in Christ. It was a beautiful day for a baptism and picnic!

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

"...there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized."

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"

"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

  " And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Speaking of breaking bread, we did just that after the baptisms.

Decker and Sons Grilling Co. took charge of the main course.

Sarah created this special cake for the occasion:

Afterwards there was plenty of fellowship and playful activity as part of the joyful celebration.

~Hannah

Spring Break ~ Goats, Music, & Fellowship ~ Part 2

Spring Break week continued as we eagerly waited for the rest of the family to arrive in South Carolina on Good Friday. We were all scheduled to attend the late afternoon performance of The Living Gallery at Bob Jones University. Driving on campus is always a treat when the trees and flowers are in bloom. It was just lovely:
This was our first time to see this magnificent production where actors step out of paintings and then back into them (and vice-versa) to actually become part of the painting. If you didn't see it happen, you'd never know the characters were real. We loved it!

And my motto of always taking a camera with me everywhere I go? Fail! I left it behind because no photography was allowed inside the auditorium.

And what happens?! I met my blogging friend Becka, who writes Becka's Blog, for the first time InRealLife! She and her husband, Rob, were attending the same showing, and she had spotted us in the crowd and came over. Ooh, I was so disappointed when our cell phone camera didn't work! Becka and I will have to plan a real get-together another time with lots of blogging pictures!

Saturday and Sunday we traveled further south to Aiken to visit new friends that some of the family met at last fall's White Unto Harvest conference in Asheville, NC. Here we are getting acquainted with the Hammond family:First order of business was a tour of their dairy--so very interesting for all of us who know nothing about goats! We saw the milking station and the processing area where the milk is handled and where cheese and goat's milk soap are produced for several Farmers' Markets they attend each week:Thirteen goats were ready to be milked...most by machine, but some new mama goats needed milking by hand since little goat babies were newly born that morning! We arrived very close to milking time, so guess what? They allowed us to participate. Hi, Goats!And, yes, all of us practiced milking! Even I was talked into it! But Sarah was a natural and caught on quickly: The fresh milk from the mama goats was put into bottles for the babies...here are Hannah and Sarah holding some very cute little baby goats just before they fed them:  The Hammonds' daughter and son-in-law from Canada were visiting with their little daughter while we were there. It was great meeting them, too. Caleb talked with Jonathan while one of the kids had some fun nibbling on Jonathan's pants: Here are all the Hammond ladies, including little Miss Victoria:Jonathan takes a turn at feeding one of the newborns. This one was named Frisky: Now Hannah takes a turn feeding Peaches...there were enough newborn babies so everyone got some practice: Sarah always seems to find the doggies...or they find her:After a delicious meal around the table, we brought out instruments and played some Celtic tunes and sang a few hymns: Here's the Hammond family having fun as they prepare to sing for us: We also had an enjoyable time looking at wedding photos and watching the wedding video of Caleb and Jordan. Ethan, one of the Hammonds' sons looks along with Tom and Sarah: The next morning, Resurrection Sunday, we attended the Hammonds' home church fellowship which consisted of six or seven families. They met in a beautiful log house nearby.

Here Tom and I are posing with the Hammonds after the service...Mr. Hammond is the pastor of the church:We enjoyed the Easter brunch the ladies of the church prepared and also enjoyed fellowshipping with the families there:This home church day brought back many good memories of when church families met in our home for several years:
Flowers were blooming everywhere, and the day was just beautiful for outside conversations also. The Hammonds' youngest son, Noah, plays on the deck with the other children:Thank you, Hammond Family, for your gracious hospitality and friendship! We certainly enjoyed the visit!

~Deb

Hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Spring must be around the corner...all of us wanted to get outside for some fresh air this weekend and decided to ride up to the Blue Ridge Parkway for some hiking.

Even in winter with the barren trees and hardly a car in sight, the Parkway is a beautiful drive. However, everyone else must have had spring fever, too, as we found some of the hiking parking lots full.

So we bypassed the more popular Humpback Rocks area and continued on to a hiking trail that Jonathan had scouted out for us.

Here's the gang just before the hike...yes, excited doggies love hiking, too! Since I'm not a hiker, I stayed in the van knitting away on the kitchen towel I posted about last week--lots accomplished.

After the hike we drove down the road a bit to find a turning around spot and happened upon this beautiful view of the Valley.

Rock Point Overlook seemed very familiar to me...I thought I remembered it from years ago when we didn't live in this area but vacationed here instead because we loved the Valley so much. So I came home and scouted around in some scrapbooks to find the picture I was remembering. 

This picture was dated 1991 ~ 20 years ago! Oh, my! What a bunch of little cunnings! Where has the time gone?

Okay...enough reminiscing...on with the rest of the post.

Earlier on Sunday for our morning worship, old friends who were in the area stopped by for church with us and for lunch. What an enjoyable time getting to visit with them.

Hannah kept company with the six children at the nook table and enjoyed catching up with them. 

And here are the parents of this delightful crew! We posted at Thanksgiving when we visited their beautiful home.

What an enjoyable Lord's Day. We always love having friends here!

** The family has let me know that they think this blog is turning into a "quilting blog." So I'm trying to remedy that situation with this post! However...all those quilters who do enjoy the quilting posts...stay tuned. :)

~Deb

As For Me & My House...

"Choose you this day whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  ~ Joshua 24:15

When we visited friends at Thanksgiving, I really loved the Scripture on their walls. Sarah picked up on that idea and gave me some of the vinyl lettering for Christmas. Yesterday the girls worked on peeling and sticking (definitely easier said than done!) and succeeded in getting the Scripture attached to the wall before the church meeting at our house today.

Old friends and new friends that we met for the first time this morning arrived to worship with us for an impromptu Sunday gathering since all of our paths were crossing this weekend. Here are some scenes from our day.

The men getting acquainted after the meal...

Young men searching the scriptures after the meal...

The ladies enjoyed some fun conversations along with delicious food...

It was a wonderful day, and we'd love to enjoy more Sundays like it. Opening our home for hospitality is one of our favorite things to do.

~Deb

Sunday Hymn

Abide With Me

Words: Henry F. Lyte, 1847/Music: William H. Monk, 1861

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

~Deb

* Photo: Sunday morning fog near Rockfish Gap...taken this morning from the car window coming down Afton Mountain on our way to visit a home church in Dillwyn.

High Spots and Low Spots

Yesterday was definitely a high spot on the calendar for us...it was the long awaited day that Tom and I would meet our long-time friends, Fred and Chris, in Richmond for lunch.

We try and plan a get-together as a twosome (just us girls) once a year and a foursome once a year to renew old friendships and to catch up on what's happening in our lives. With 14 children between us, there's a lot of information to pass along, lots of grandbabies' pictures to show off, and lots of quilt talk!

Maggiano's, located at Short Pump Town Center, was a fun new place for us to visit. The food was delicious, although we opted for the soup and salad and didn't experiment with some of the more exotic Italian dishes.

Our personable waiter gladly took a picture of the four of us together. What a good day it was! Thanks, friends!

On another note...since I've mentioned our home church on the blog many times before and posted pictures of some of our activities, I would like to mention that this Sunday was the last gathering of our home fellowship...it was a low spot for us today.

In the past months some families have moved away from our area, and others who were driving long distances (like 2 hours each way) have (understandably) decided that it was too much to drive each Sunday. Another family decided that they needed a fellowship with a larger cross-section of families. So a decision was made to acknowledge the end of our home fellowship and pursue whatever else the Lord might have for us.

Would you pray for wisdom and discernment for us to know what to do next, where to find fellowship of like-minded families, and for encouragement for all of our family during this season of our lives. Thank you so much!

~Deb

Continuing On

"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And all that believed were together, and had all things common."  ~ Acts 2: 42,44

* photo taken at Sherbrooke Village, Nova Scotia

~ Deb

Sunday Afternoon Practice

The date for the April Hymn Sing in Northern Virginia is quickly approaching, so the Mountain Musings Musicians have been diligently practicing, both during the week and on Sunday afternoons, along with two members of a family in our church.

Instruments: one violin, two flutes, one harp, a mountain dulcimer, and a guitar.

Musical Selection: a special arrangement of There is A Fountain and The Cleansing Wave.

This Sunday's practice was the best yet! They even practiced how they would stand when they are called to play. I've enjoyed listening to all the practices, and I'm looking forward to hearing the real performance.

~Deb