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Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

“Mustard Seed” Bible reading plans | BIBLE READING PLANS of the week

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Have you ever tried to read through the Bible but then found yourself falling behind when you reached Leviticus and Numbers? The "Mustard Seed" Bible Reading Plan might help. There are two versions: a two-year plan and a one-year plan.  In the two-year plan, you start with the shortest* book of the Bible and successively read longer* books. On the right column, you start with the longest book of the Bible and successively read shorter books. So in the first week alone, you'll have already read six books of the Bible and the first seven Psalms. Eventually, the two columns merge in 2 Samuel. After that, you read the entire New Testament again straight through (Matthew-Revelation). TWO-YEAR PLAN 2018 2019 In the one-year plan, you start with the shortest* books of the Bible and go to the longest* books of the Bible. By the end of January, you'll have already read 29 books, and you spend almost the entire month of December in the Psalms. ONE-YEAR P...

Winter Thaw | MOVIE of the week

"In late nineteenth-century Russia, Martin Avdeitch is a humble shoemaker whose life has been characterized by grief. Martin must find the courage to look outside himself and trust in the goodness of God." Winter Thaw is based on Leo Tolstoy's short story "Where Love Is, God Is." Click here to watch Winter Thaw on the original website. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16

The Snowman soundtrack | SOUNDTRACK of the week

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Movie: The Snowman Movie year: 1982 Score composer: Howard Blake "Walking in the Air" singer: Peter Auty "I remember that winter because it brought the heaviest snow that I had ever seen. Snow had fallen steadily all night long, and in the morning I awoke in a room filled with light and silence. The whole world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness. It was a magical day, and it was on that day I made the Snowman." Raymond Briggs

Psalm 91 | PSALM of the week

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He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels cha...

“The Road Goes Ever On” | SONG of the week

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Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring Instrumental composer: Howard Shore "May It Be" composers: Enya & Roma Ryan "May It Be" singer: Enya "In Dreams" composer: Howard Shore "In Dreams" lyrics: Fran Walsh "In Dreams" singers: Edward Ross & a boy choir "Travel far from home can help you better understand what home is all about." Rick Steves

“Let All Things Now Living” | HYMN of the week

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Words:  Katherine Davis Tune name: Ash Grove (a traditional Welsh melody) Let all things now living  a song of thanksgiving  to God the Creator triumphantly raise,  who fashioned and made us,  protected and stayed us,  who guides us and leads to the end of our days.  His banners are o’er us,  his light goes before us,  a pillar of fire shining forth in the night,  till shadows have vanished  and darkness is banished,  as forward we travel from light into light. His law he enforces;  the stars in their courses  and sun in its orbit obediently shine;  the hills and the mountains,  the rivers and fountains,  the deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.  We too should be voicing  our love and rejoicing;  with glad adoration a song let us raise,  till all things now living  unite in thanksgiving:  to God in the highest, hosanna and praise! "Let...

how to show dates in Google search results | HOW-TO of the week

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Sometimes, you might want to know the date of a webpage. This information can be hard to find, but there is a way to show the dates of webpages in Google search results. This feature can be especially helpful if you're trying to cite a website for a paper (using MLA, for instance) and can't find any dates listed on the site itself. To begin, go to Google and search for something. If you're trying to figure out the date of a specific webpage, type in a phrase you know will bring up that page. Here are my results for "Martha Snell Nicholson": Now, select the URL of the current Google search page. At the very end of that URL, type or paste the following: &as_qdr=y15 Load the new URL, and results should appear with their corresponding dates: " collect as much of the following information as possible both for your citations and for your research notes: . . . publishing date" Purdue Online Writing Lab (about MLA citation...

HWV 294 | CONCERTO of the week

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Concerto:  Harp Concerto in B-flat major, Op. 4, No. 6 ( HWV 294) Composer: George Frideric Handel Video's orchestra: The English Concert "Handel . . . wrote a harp concerto that, in various editions, has become an important edition to the modern concert harp repertoire. " Roslyn Rensch

Old Man Drive Thru Confusion | COMEDY SKETCH of the week

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It's National Sandwich Day in the U.S.A. Show: Studio C Cast: Stephen Meek and Natalie Madsen Director: Jared Shores Producer: Jared Shores and Diane Mayne Writer: Mallory Everton Editor: Yurii Hydrick Date published: October 5, 2015 "Lots and lots of toadybatons"

“When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” | SONNET of the week

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John Milton went blind in his forties. The loss of his eyesight, "that one Talent which is death to hide," is almost certainly the subject of this sonnet. It was after Milton went blind that he wrote (dictated)  Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and many other works. When I consider how my light is spent,   E're half my days, in this dark world and wide,   And that one Talent which is death to hide,   Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present   My true account, least he returning chide,   Doth God exact day-labour, light deny'd,   I fondly ask; But patience to prevent That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need   Either man's work or his own gifts, who best   Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed   And post o're Land and Ocean without rest:   They also serve who only stand and waite. "they that wait up...

Andrew Remillard | YOUTUBE CHANNEL of the week

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Andrew Remillard's YouTube channel is a great resource for finding and learning hymn melodies. He has recorded entire hymnals and continues to upload new videos regularly. Besides hymns, he has also recorded some classical music by various composers. Here are the links to his channel pages, as well as to his website: YouTube channel home uploads playlists about website So go check it out, and enjoy the beautiful melodies. Here's a sample: " O may we ever praise Him with heart and life and voice, And in His blissful presence eternally rejoice! " Jean­ette Threl­fall

harvest paintings | PAINTINGS of the week

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A Golden Harvest John Clayton Adams 1889 Harvest Time, Surrey John Clayton Adams 1874 Returning from the Harvest John Clayton Adams Haymaking near Amberley James Aumonier A Surrey Cornfield George Cole 1864 A Surrey Harvest George Cole 1848 At Arundel, Sussex George Cole 1887 August Days George Cole 1881 Landscape — Harvest Time George Cole 1865 The Last Load George Cole 1865 The Veteran in a New Field Winslow Homer 1865 Harvest Scene in the Delaware Valley George Inness 1867 Corn Stooks in a Mountainous River Landscape Sidney Richard Percy 1861? Harvest Edmund George Warren c. 1870s "he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." John 4:36

Sandra Jean Schmuck | PERSON of the week

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On June 10, 1959, "Sandy" Schmuck was born Sandra Jean Greene in Warren, Michigan to Wyatt F. and Bessie M. Greene. She moved to Pensacola, Florida in 1977 and graduated from Pensacola Christian College in 1980. Two years later, she married Ronald Michael Schmuck. They had three children. Sandy Schmuck taught for many years at Pensacola Christian Academy and through the A Beka Academy homeschool program. After a battle with cancer, she passed away on October 6, 2011 at the age of 52. As part of the A Beka Academy homeschooling program, I had Mrs. Schmuck for 8th grade, 9th grade, and 11th grade English classes. She was one of my favorite teachers, and impacted my life by encouraging me both academically and spiritually. Mrs. Schmuck was an encourager. She depended on God despite her struggles. The poem below the video is an excerpt from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life." Longfellow was Mrs. Schmuck's favorite poet, and we memorized the selecti...

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring | CHORALE of the week

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According to Wikipedia, " Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from the 10th and last movement of the cantata Herz und Mund unt Tat und Leben , BWV 147 ("Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life"), composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1716 and 1723." The basic melody for this chorale was written by Johann Schop. Johann Sebastian Bach harmonized and orchestrated it. The words below are not the original words Bach used. Written by the poet Robert Bridges, they are the most commonly-heard English words associated with this piece. Jesu, joy of man's desiring, Holy wisdom, love most bright; Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring Soar to uncreated light. Word of God, our flesh that fashioned, With the fire of life impassioned, Striving still to truth unknown, Soaring, dying round Thy throne. Through the way were hope is guiding, Hark, what peaceful music rings; Where the flock, in Thee confiding, Drinking of ...

“All Lights Burning Bright” | SONG of the week

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Lead vocal: David Francey Guitar: Craig Werth Bouzouki: Craig Werth Fiddle: Geoff Somers Percussion: Shane Simpson Backing vocals: The Boys Brigade Irregulars Album: Right of Passage Album year: 2007 We were standing the last watch At the close of the day— Three days on the water Out from Thunder Bay. 'Cross Superior, Huron, And into St. Clair, On a bright day in summer I found myself there. Dead calm on the water As blue as the sky, And we waved from the water As we slowly passed by. We entered Lake Erie. It was late in the day. You could see that storm coming  From a mile away. We had all lights burning bright, All lights burning bright. That storm overtook us, And it fell like the night, And the Point and the Island, They passed out of sight. But we sailed on rock steady, Set course through the storm, As the sky fell upon us And the wind drove us on. We had all lights burning bright, All lights burning bright. And I thought to...

Psalm 98:1 | VERSE of the week

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"O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things" _______________________________________________________ It's been five years since the first "of the week" was published! The journey continues . . .

Isaiah 40 | BIBLE PASSAGE of the week

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Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it . The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for e...

“South Georgia” | SONG of the week

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Composer: Adam Young Album: The Endurance Year: 2016 Click here to learn more about the album or to download it. "In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his crew sailed for the Antarctic in the vessel Endurance. Not long into their voyage, they encountered polar pack ice and progress slowed to a stop. The Endurance was within 200 miles of her destination when the ship became beset, and as the wind compressed the ice in the Weddell Sea against land, the Endurance was slowly crushed to death and the men forced to abandon her. How Shackleton managed to reach South Georgia and arrange for the rescue of his crew remains one of the greatest survival stories of all time. The incredible resilience of the crew of the Endurance, and of Shackleton himself, is one of my favorite historical accounts because it serves as a reminder to us all: when things look bleakest, not all is lost." - Adam Young " thus we went along, and thus we returned." Ernest Shackleton