Bible Memory Verses 2025

We are at the end of another year and it is time for me to share the Bible verses that I memorized through my church involvement this year. Once again I developed tunes to help me memorize these verses every month. 

[Click here to hear the verses from 2024.]

My favorite tune from this year is the one for June that I made to go with Ecclesiastes 12:10-14. I like it the best because it has a place at the end where you have to change registers. It is a fun little section to sing.

My least favorite tunes are from April and October. I just couldn't come up with nice melodies. The tunes worked to get me to memorize the verses, but they were disjointed and I didn't care for them too much.

My favorite verses from this year are from August: Romans 4:1-5. Justification by faith. So sweet to my ears! "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Amen!

 Maybe my tunes can help others. Keep in mind I have never had any voice lessons. I may  slip off key, miss high notes, not use the right projection techniques, etc.... Also, I only had a cell phone to record these with in my garage. So there's that.

January/February 2025

Matthew 5:1-11

[1] And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
[2] And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
[3] Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[4] Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
[5] Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
[6] Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
[7] Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
[8] Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
[9] Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
[10] Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[11] Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

March 2025

Matthew 5:12-16

[12] Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

[13] Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

April 2025

John 6:25-29

25] And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

[26] Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

[27] Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

[28] Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

[29] Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

May 2025

Psalm 119:19-24

[9] Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

[10] With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
[11] Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
[12] Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
[13] With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

June 2025

Ecc. 12:10-14

[10] The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

[11] The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

[12] And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

[13] Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

[14] For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

July 2025

Titus 1:7-11

[7] For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

[8] But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;

[9] Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

[10] For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

[11] Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

August 2025

Romas 4:1-5

[1] What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

[2] For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

[3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

[4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

[5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

September 2025

Genesis 50:17-22

[17] So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

[18] And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

[19] And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

[20] But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

[21] Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

October 2025

Proverbs 11:27-31

[27] He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

[28] He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

[29] He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

[30] The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

[31] Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

November 2025

Philippians 3:17-21

[17] Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

[18] (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

[19] Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

[20] For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

[21] Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

December 2025

Proverbs 25:9:13

[9] Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:

[10] Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.

[11] A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

[12] As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

[13] As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.

Over The Edge Of The World | Book Review

 

Title: Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe 

Author: Laurence Bergreen 

Copyright: in 2003

Pages: 458 pages in it's paperback form. I listened to the audio version which is 15 hours long.

Books Read this year: #14

 The Age of Discovery was a very exciting time. I have been fascinated with the subject for roughly a year.* Laurence Bergreen does an amazing job making a lot of relatively tedious information engaging and relatable. That being said, I am not sure that I would have made it through this read if it had not been an audio book. It would have taken me too long and I probably would have given up.

 Over the Edge of the World chronicles the voyage of the Armada de Molucca captained by Ferdinand Magellan; Spain's bid on a route to the spice islands. I know you may be thinking, "Wasn't Columbus's voyage Spain's bid on a route to the Spice Islands?" Yes, you would be correct. But, once Columbus's discovery of land was proven to be a previously unknown continent Spain still wanted a slice of the spice trade profits.

 Enter Ferdinand Magellan. He was sure he could find an easy route to the Spice Islands and the wealth that they guaranteed. His native country, Portugal, rebuffed his proposals of navigation. He turned his back on Portugal, swore allegiance to Spain and persuaded the crown of Spain to commission him to find a westerly route to the lucrative Spice Islands.

 The Armada de Molucca comprised of 5 vessels; Trinidad, San Antonio, Victoria, Conceptión, and Santiago, set off on their voyage of discovery on September 20, 1519. Almost exactly 3 years later on September 6, 1522 only one of the ships, the Victoria, limped back to port with a skeletal crew of 18 men having gone clear around the globe. The first vessel to accomplish this feat.

Favorite Character: My favorite character is Antonio Pigafeta. Pigafeta's journals provided so much information about what happened during the voyage. He was also much of an anthropologist. He really devoted a lot of effort to learning about native people. He studied their languages and made little dictionaries of translation. He documented many customs that will satisfy any morbid curiosity you might have. Truly, things that will make your skin crawl.

I like knowing about people of the past so I really appreciate Pigafeta's records. They are especially valuable regarding peoples who didn't have any written language. Some of Pigafeta's writings are the only record for languages that have since gone extinct.

I would love to read a book solely devoted to Antonio Pigateta. In a similar vein as the book I read about Georg Steller by Ann Arnold. I may figure out how to contact her and give her the suggestion.

What I learned: I learned about the Treaty of Tordesillas which had a big impact on where Spanish and Portuguese trading and colonies were set up. The verdict of the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the globe into halves so that Spain could have rights to a portion and Portugal could have rights to a portion. 

 I learned that Magellan's explorers named the region of Patagonia. Pigafeta spent many hours with the captured Patagonian Giant learning his language. Magellan's crew were the first Europeans to contact the Patagonian people. Sadly, the captured Patagonian got sick and died before the ships had crossed the Pacific.

What I Liked: I thought it was funny that once the crew of the Armada de Molucca made it around the world they found that they had lost a day. It was Wednesday with them and Thursday with the rest of the world because they had sailed west and lost a day.

What I Didn't Care For: I didn't like all the gory details. From all the torture and gruesome punishment carried out aboard ship to the mutilating carnal practices of the Philippines it was a little too much gore for me. On the other hand I do like to know the truth and not have history washed of that which makes me uncomfortable. Barbaric customs can be found in all cultures. 

Conclusion: Magellan was daring. He was a strict disciplinarian. He was distant and hard to get to know. He was an amazing navigator. The feats that his ships and crew accomplished were nearly impossible. He pushed his ships and men to the limit. I wish he hadn't met his demise in the battle with Lapu Lapu. I wish after all the labor of crossing the Atlantic, suffering through winter, navigating the straights, and crossing the Pacific that he had gotten to see the pay off of reaching the Moluccas. As much as they hated him, his crew really needed him. His discipline and decisiveness would have saved them from some of the pit falls they fell into when they were without his guiding (albeit heavy) hand.

*Readers of my blog will remember the Nutmeg documentary, the Alaska's first naturalist book, and the Viking book. My family will know about my love for all things Northwest Passage this summer. And homeschool studies have had us travel through the Age of Discovery period on our way through The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer twice.

James Herriot's Animal Stories | Book Review

Title: James Herriot's Animal Stories 

Author: James Herriot

Pages: 144

Copyright: 1997

Books Read This Year: #13

This is a short little book. It is a compilation of selections from James Herriot's other books. I have listen to most or all of All Creatures Great And Small, All Things Bright And Beautiful, and All Things Wise And Wonderful in the past, so, most of the selections were ones that I remembered. James was a veterinarian in the countryside of Great Britain during the time that most farms still had horses but the tractor had taken over the bulk of the work.

What I enjoyed: I liked the way he recalls his experiences and describes them for the reader. He has a way of bringing the reader along to his farm calls, where he treats sick animals, solves for mystery symptoms, and delivers lots of baby lambs, calves, and foals. You can feel the cold cobblestone at his back and smell the musty hay almost like you are there with him. Most of the stories are really heart warming. The birthing ones get a little messy but then again most veterinarian work causes one to get ones hands dirty. Someday I would like to write a creative nonfiction book about my own life. Reading books like this help me get an idea of what makes a story come to life.

What I learned: I learned that 'James Herriot' is a pseudonym. I learned this because the guy who wrote the introduction is Jim Wright and he describes himself as the author's son. Jim Wright followed in his father's footsteps and became a veterinarian, too. It made admire Herriot/Wright even more. He must have been the good kind of father to have his son want to follow in his footsteps.

What I didn't care for: There is a fair amount of social drinking. Mr. Herriot is always sharing a glass of some kind of alcoholic beverage with his clients, whether the farmer invites him in after a case or he stops at the pub with the local country folks. That part grates on me, being the teetotaling Baptist that I am.

Would I Recommend? It depends on who you are. If I know you like animals, yes, I would recommend. If I know you are going to judge me for recommending a book that has drinking in it, no, I would not recommend. 

Do you like James Herriot's writings? I know there has been a well done TV series based on James Herriot's books. I have never watched it. I am not sure that I want to. Whenever there is a movie based on a book I tend think watching the movie ruins the story, but I wonder what you think. Have you or would you watch the series?

Nature | November 2025

 Here are my nature photos from November. I don't have many pictures of insects this month. I have very many pictures of Autumn leaf colors. Right before November was over we had a big snow storm and I have some pictures of the snow. 

 My favorite picture must be the Cypress cones. (I would like confirmation that they are indeed cypress cones. Cypress is not a tree that I have learned how to identify.) I had so much fun with those cones. The pieces of the cone break off and inside are little pockets of amber sap sealed in small cells. When the membrane is broken the perfume is intoxicating. I sat on the ground breaking open sap sacks and smelling them for a good 15 minutes. The scent is so refreshing and head clearing. It's piney and resinous and clean. It reminded me of Frankincense essential oil.

Anyway, here are the pictures. Do you have a favorite?

My camera is not doing justice to these beautiful colors. You had to be there to see it!

I saw this beetle at the park.

This close up picture of a Burning Bush is my second favorite.

My favorite picture.

I have a story to go with this picture:
I found this green bug and thinking that our pet jumping spider could eat it I put it in our terrarium.

The spider didn't eat it. Many days later I caught a fly to feed the spider. A few moments after I had put the fly in the terrarium I saw that this green bug had stolen it! I was quite unhappy with this green bug. Do you know how hard I had worked to catch that fly alive for the spider?

Pumpkin Bars Recipe

 

My mom found this recipe when I was a tween. It was a go-to recipe when we needed something for a 4-h meeting snack. These bars are so moist and delicious. The flavors are so balanced and inviting. I will eat a whole pan by myself if I don't have anyone to help me eat it.

Pumpkin Bars

2 c. Sugar 

1 c. Vegetable Oil 

4 Eggs 

2 c. Pumpkin Puree 

2 c. Flour

2 tsp. Baking Powder 

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. Ginger 

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg 

1/4 tsp. Cloves

Grease 11"×15"  jellyroll pan.

Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Spread in pan and bake at 350° F. for 25-30 minutes. Frost when cool.

Frosting:

8oz. Cream Cheese, softened
6 TBS. Butter, softened 
1 tsp. Vanilla Flavor 
3 c. Powdered sugar 
Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and powder sugar and mix thoroughly.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

 

After all the pumpkins were processed I had 2 quarts of pumpkin seeds. If I only have a few seeds, I toss them with oil and salt and roast them. With this many seeds the effort of boiling them in salt water is worth the trouble. 

Step 1. Boil the seeds for 10 minutes in salt water: 1 TBS. of salt per cup of water. 

Step 2. Dry seeds well on a towel.

Step 3 +4.

Toss with a small amount of oil and roast in a single layer at 350° for 20ish minutes stirring a few times.

Allow to cool a few minutes before digging in. 

As you can see everyone here has been enjoying the bounty!

Pumpkin Madness!

These pumpkins are a big blessing from Thanksgiving week. I have been admiring a neighbor's decorative pumpkins on their porch all fall. On Thanksgiving I wrote a Happy Thanksgiving note and politely mentioned that if they didn't have any plans for their pumpkins after the harvest season I would enjoy cooking them. Of course, I offered to bring them a pie or pumpkin bars in return.

Our neighbor messaged me replying that she would be happy to give me the pumpkins and would be glad that they wouldn't go to waste. I was so excited!

The next morning I used our wagon to transport the pumpkins home. I think there were 9 pumpkins total. It took me two trips.

Then I set to cutting them open and scooping out the seeds. 

My preferred method for processing pumpkin is to cut them in half, place the halves face down on a baking sheet and roast in the oven and 350°F. for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until soft. I don't add any water to the pan or foil or anything. Just pumpkin halves face down on a pan for an hour, give or take. Do use a baking sheet with sides because the pumpkin will release a fair amount of water. 

Once the pumpkin is soft I let it cool until it is cool enough to handle. Then I scoop out all the flesh and scrape the skin clean. I puree the pulp in a blender. Then package the pureed pumpkin into labeled bags and freeze them.

I couldn't get them all cooked in one day so I had to fill my fridge with pumpkin halves for a couple days. The smell was unexpectedly poignant. I had not been aware that raw pumpkin smelled spicy. The scent is faint enough that I have never noticed it with just a few pumpkins but it adds up the more pumpkins you have cut open. The best way to describe the spicy smell is like pickles fermented in a crock. Crazy, I know! 

I had so many different varieties of pumpkin to experiment with with; blue, orange, white and squatty. I wanted to keep the flesh separated and taste test them and judge the texture and flavor. Blue pumpkin is my all time favorite. The white pumpkin was my least favorite.

Here is how I would describe the different varieties:

Blue: Very Good! The flesh is dense and creamy in texture and the flavor is sweet and nutty. 

White: (white) Uck! The flesh was quite loose and watery in texture and the flavor was very vegetal and earthy.

Jack-o'-lantern: Good. The flesh was loose and watery in texture and the flavor was typical grocery store pumpkin flavor; a little perfume-y and a little squash-y.

Cinderella Style: Quite Good. The flesh held together and blended smoothly and the flavor was pumpkin forward with barely a hint of the spiciness.

Tan: Quite Good! The flesh was open and and loose in texture and the flavor was typical pumpkin with very strong floral notes.

I have over 40 pounds of pumpkin in my freezer now.  We will be eating a lot of pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin oatmeal, and pumpkin pie in the future.

In the upcoming posts I hope to share my delicious Pumpkin Bar recipe (it comes from my mom) and how I roast all the seeds.

Do you have a favorite way to eat pumpkin?

Stitches | November

 We are already at the end of November and here is my sewing project report.

I altered this skirt to fit my daughter by adding an elastic waist band.

This skirt used to be a miniskirt for 10/12 year olds with a side zipper closer. I used the zipper opening to make a concealed pocket.

This is what my pocket looks like from the inside.

This is what the pocket looks like in use.

This month I finished the blue pinafore that I was working on back in April. HERE is the blog post about April Stitches.

I made this needle book for a spur of the moment gift exchange on Thanksgiving day. I started it Sunday and finished it Monday.

I wanted to my design on the front to look like wheat stalks. I got this far and realized that the lazy daisy stitches would look more like grains if they were turned around. So I picked all the lazy daisy stitches out and restitched them in the opposite direction.

I gave the needle book 4 pages; one for needles, one for pins, one for safety pins, and one that I turned into a pocket for a needle threader tool.