And Z is for…

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Our last Weekly Memory Verse: Z is for…
“Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements, O Lord. For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.” -Psalm 97:8

Hymn of the Week: “Children of the Heavenly Father” (Carolina Sandell Berg)

Children of the heavenly Father safely in His bosom gather;
Nestling bird nor star in heaven such a refuge e’re was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish; In His holy courts they flourish.
From all evil evil things He spares them; In His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth, and their sorrows all He knoweth.

Though He giveth or He taketh, God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.

Friday’s Factoid 29

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Here is the last installment of our Zodiac rhyme. Once again it’s just me, the teacher, as the boys were far too busy SOCIALIZING this morning to get any school-work done (Hmmm, that might be worthy of it’s own post). To see the previous 2 installments click here and here.

Next comes charging the TAURUS bull,
Breathing wrath and powerful,
Vengeful gaze from horned head,
He comes to judge the quick and dead.
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Two twins united in starry form,
GEMINI breeds the perfect storm,
Of Princely Judge come to rule,
And suffering servant with warrior’s tool.
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CANCER represents a fold,
A circling-in, a safe stronghold,
When all God’s people shall be gathered in,
To rest securely in our shepherds pen.
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As written in the Good Book’s end,
The Lion of Judah returns again.
LEO destroys the dreaded snake,
Then ascends on high His throne to take.
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Snorkel Under the Stars

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Just past the condo complex we live in is one of the most popular snorkeling spots on the Big Island. On any given day the beach there will be packed with hundreds of people getting there first glimpses of sea turtles, eels, crabs and a hundred kinds of brightly colored tropical fish. All our boys have learned to snorkel there and every time they go they see something different. Lately though, they’ve figured out that the dark hours of the night are not just for sleeping and stargazing, they are for snorkeling, too. But for these starlit snorkel outings they head the opposite direction to another spot where the manta rays are known to congregate. These giant creatures have a “wing” span of 6-20 feet and feed on the plankton attracted by the spotlights of the snorkelers. For a small fortune you can pay to be taken out on a boat equipped with spotlights and snorkel gear right out to where the mantas are. Or if you are super adventurous, you can swim from shore through the dark (and Mom’s quite certain, shark infested) waters which is of course, the method my dear husband and our two oldest boys prefer. Last week, Joel came back from his first manta swim all excited because not only was there a big one circling all around him but the “water was full of twinkling lights,” too. No, the stars hadn’t fallen into the sea. He had just encountered a host of tiny, bioluminescent creatures. How awesome that our God chooses even the darkness of night to reveal his splendor, not just through the vastness of space but even to the depths of the sea. As this week’s memory verse beautifully states, “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them.” -Nehemiah 9:6

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