Author Archives: Ellen

FFF ~ Memorial Day Weekend

Time to think about our favorites from this past week. Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in this great exercise.

 

Canada celebrated Queen Victoria Day last weekend and we in the U.S.A. are getting ready for our Memorial Day Weekend. This is a time to reflect and remember those who have served our country in the past and who are serving our country now. I’m an American who is proud of what our country stands for and proud of the men and women who have courageously fought to keep us safe and free. My parents are legal immigrants who have become citizens of the U.S.A. Dear’s father, uncles and grandfather served in the military. Now I’ll get on to my favorites from this past week.

1. Spending extended time with my children. Before the Sounders game on Saturday Dear, Katie, Josh, Laura and I had brunch together and then Josh, Laura and I headed to the game. It was great to be together.

2. On Tuesday Katie had a minor medical emergency which ended up being a time we were able to spend 6 hours together. We went to the doctor, had a nice lunch and shopped. Things worked out well for her and it was encouraging to her for me to be there to support her.

3. Dear and I met some good friends for a meal together and it was nice catching up on our lives.

4. Our middle son Dan called this week and he was ready to talk and it was comforting for me hearing about the details of his life right now.

5. We are plugging away with the details of our garage sale on Saturday. I’m thankful that things have come together and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. In the midst of all the sorting and planning I was able to get some red, white and blue decorations up for our house to get in the spirit of this long weekend.

To all of you in the U.S.A. a very Happy Memorial Day weekend to you. If you know a veteran or someone serving our country give them a hug from me…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

 

Yard Art ~ Peaceful and Bazaar…

Well I just couldn’t resist posting some more yard art with Mary at Work of the Poet. Thanks Mary for hosting this…

 

 

Hope you are all having a great week and looking forward to a long weekend here in the U.S.A. We will be remembering those who have and are serving our country. God bless all who have served and are serving our country and insured our freedoms over the years!!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

A Little Sleep, A Little Slumber…

Why is it that some lessons have to be learned over and over again. You would think in my many years I’d learn that moaning about a task, over thinking a task, avoiding a task is not the way to success and peace. We decided months ago that we would have a garage sale on Memorial weekend. We’ve set things aside for those months leading up to Saturday. So today I moaned and groaned and avoided the task of organizing the stuff. And then I reflected on my laziness and put on my grubbies and headed out to the shop.

 

All these bags and boxes of stuff started out looking like this but within a couple hours things started to look real organized.

 

I had to chide myself again that it’s better to put one foot in front of the other and get moving and do something instead of sitting on my duff moaning and complaining about the job.

Proverbs 24:30-34 (Contemporary English Version)

30I once walked by the field

and the vineyard

of a lazy fool.

31Thorns and weeds

were everywhere,

and the stone wall

had fallen down.

32When I saw this,

it taught me a lesson:

33Sleep a little. Doze a little.

Fold your hands

and twiddle your thumbs.

34Suddenly poverty hits you

and everything is gone!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

I Would Rather…

…be thinking about celebrating like this…

 

…then getting all our crap stuff ready for our garage sale on Saturday! We have the stuff all piled in the shop and I’m suppose to get out there and organize it onto tables to pull out bright and early Saturday morning. It’s hard to get motivated with the steady rain that is falling today.  So if you don’t see me come up for air until Monday you’ll know what’s ailing me….garagesaleitis.  I have a re-post ready for Memorial Day weekend but I don’t anticipate much more happening here.

Hope all is well with all of you…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

The Rhodora ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Rhodora

On being asked, Whence is the flower?

In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,
To please the desert and the sluggish brook.
The purple petals, fallen in the pool,
Made the black water with their beauty gay;
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool,
And court the flower that cheapens his array.
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I never thought to ask, I never knew:
But, in my simple ignorance, suppose
The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ruby Tuesday ~ Pears

 

My pears are just beginning to grow and at this stage they are a nice ruby color. They will end up being green with some golden added in but for today they are just right for Ruby Tuesday.

Please visit Mary at Work of the Poet who is the hostess for this weekly meme.

For those of you who wonder why a meme for Tuesday starts on Monday, it’s because most of these memes are international and somewhere out there it’s Tuesday already!

Blue Monday ~ Armed Forces Day with the Sounders…

It’s time to visit Sally at Smiling Sally and show your blue!

 

At the Sounders game on Saturday the men and women of the Armed Forces were honored! It was a privilege to give them a standing ovation.

The game started at noon so we met up at Voulas Offshore Cafe for some brunch before the game. Guy Fiere had recently made a visit here so it was more crowded then usual.

I decided on the Pinata Benedict and it filled me up for the whole day!

Hope you all have a great week. It’s hard to believe May is almost over.

Happy Victoria Day to all my Canadian friends!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

The Power of the Holy Ghost ~ Hymn

 

The Power of the Holy Ghost

Come, Spirit, come in mighty power,
As on the blessèd day of old
When fell the pentecostal shower
That gathered thousands to the fold.

Refrain

Nothing but the power of the Holy Ghost
Can sanctify and keep through a Savior’s love,
And light within our souls the flame
That burns on the altar of Heav’n above.

O for a mighty rushing wind
To fill this consecrated place,
That sinners lost might seek and find
The gate of hope, the door of grace.

Refrain

O for a power that heals the heart,
That takes away the dross of sin,
That we may, like the world, depart,
And let the King of Glory in.

Refrain

Dear Savior, from Thy throne on high
Now grant the power for which we call,
Till shouts of rapture fill the sky,
And Thou, O Lord, art all in all.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is a Christian holy day commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Jesus Christ. It is also known as Whitsunday, or Whit Sunday.

Acts 2:1-21 (New Living Translation)

1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and women alike—
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.’

Round Robin Photo Challenge ~ Statues

It’s time again for the Round Robin Photo Challenge! The theme is Statues. Please visit the Round Robin Blog to see more entries.

Hello Fellow Robins! Looking forward to seeing your statues today.

I decided to go with this copy of Michelangelo’s David in it’s Goliath proportions!

I took these shots at the Forest Lawn in Glendale, California. That’s my daughter Katie standing next to David to give you some perspective.

 

Have you ever read the story of David and Goliath? This giant of a man and the Philistines were taunting the Israelites and challenged them to send someone out of the nation of Israel to fight Goliath and if they could kill him the Philistines would be their servants. If not the Israelites would have to serve them. Every one in the Israelite army was afraid to face this giant but David a shepherd boy was really upset that this giant would taunt David’s God and he decided to go up against Goliath.

1 Samuel 17: 4, 41-51 (New Living Translation)

Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!

Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him,  sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy.  “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.  “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!  And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.  Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.  Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ A Few Of My Favorite Things…

A time to reflect on the past week and consider your favorites. Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story who is our hostess for Friday’s Fave Five.

 

1. We had a family taco night last Friday to celebrate my nephew Caleb visiting from California.

2. On Sunday before church Dear painted our guest room. He gets up real early. Then after church we re-decorated the room and we are thoroughly enjoying it! This is also the room where my computer lives most of the time. One of the great things about the changes in the room is the fact that the desk with my computer on it faces a window now and I get to see birds on the bushes outside the window.

3. These Irises have made me smile all week and they only cost $3.99.

 

4. Seeing the first ducklings of the season in our neighborhood. This mama duck and her little ones were crossing the street.

 

5. Last but not least, being a part of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog. I’m enjoying getting to know my Canadian friends more and more. Head over to the blog on Friday and see the ingredients I put together for my Mexican Rice Bowl…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.