James 1: 5-8 ~
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
For more Word Filled Wednesday visit Amydeanne at The 160 Acre Woods.
The Farmers Market in Old Town Camarillo, California
F is for fruit. We have fields of strawberries in our town and strawberry stands where we can buy them all during the week fresh from the fields when they are in season.
F is for flowers the more unusual and flamboyant
and some more fragrant flowers
We bought purple cauliflower, artichokes, brussel sprouts, and limes. (Nothing starting with F) but all very fresh and flavorful. The artichokes were wonderful. My husband likes to have his with mayonnaise and I love mine with Ranch Dressing. Yum! I made a cauliflower soup that was blended with onion and garlic. (strange to eat purple soup). It was very good.
This is a strawberry field near my home. This made me want to sing “Strawberry Fields Forever”
This is a strawberry stand in my town that sells fresh berries from the adjoining field. So luscious, sweet and juicy!
For more ABC Wednesday photos go visit Mrs. Nesbitt all the way in the UK!
For more WW click here.
This week’s Fun Monday is easy, Mariposa is hosting and asking TWO things –
First (1) Please share with us how the NAME of your BLOG was made? I can’t wait to hear interesting funny stories!
This is a photo of my brother starting my blog. He’s sitting in front of his laptop excited that so far it’s all working. Now understand that I hadn’t started blogging yet so I still had a lot to learn about taking good pictures for posting.
When my brother told me he was going to start a blog for me I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle the technology. He convinced me everything would be ok. We then started brain storming about what I should name it. We came up with a few fun names but the way I came up with my keeper is…
a. I’m generally a very happy person.
b. I’m also someone who wonders about a lot of things and have a deep need to know.
So as we were discussing point a and b my husband came up with The Happy Wonderer.
As far as the purpose of my blog I chose “to Honor and Encourage”. I’m an encourager to people around me and I wanted that reflected in the relationships I’d develop on my blog. It is very important to me to Honor Jesus Christ who I consider to be my King. I want my words and posts to be things that will encourage people and be something that won’t reflect poorly on my King. My blog was born on March 3, 2007 so I am very close to my first bloggy birthday!
(2) Please share with us (in words or photo, though a combination of both will be a bonus!) your favorite/ most common dish!
Oh boy, I love food! I also love to enjoy people around a table with good food. So what to show? I’m going with a favorite dinner, lunch and breakfast!
A typical dinner is some protein with a couple veggies items. This is a easy dinner that we enjoy. Some great bbq’d Rib Eye Steaks, sauteed mushrooms with caramelized onions, and a green salad with tomatoes and cucumber. Now to go with this my hubby will make me one of my favorite drinks, a Kensington Dream. It’s a drink he copied after watching a bartender in South Kensington (England) make it for me. Update: A few of you wondererd what is in this drink. There is brandy, creme de cassis, juice of half a lemon, amaretto, shaken together and then you top it off with champagne! They don’t call it a dream for nothing, cuz you’ll soon be dreamin after you drink it 🙂
For lunch I am always ready for Mexican Food with lots of good salsa and cilantro! This happens to be a meal at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in town, El Tecolote. We are having an Open Tamale, chips, salsa, and guacamole.
Most mornings I have my high fiber cereal with a banana and large cup of black coffee. In the summer I add more fruit that is in season.
For more Fun Monday visit Mariposa who is hosting this week.
This was taken at the City Hall in the City of Ventura. This is Fray Junipero Serra who founded the Mission San Buenaventura. If you are interested in seeing more photos from the Mission he founded click here. The sky was clear and blue on this Saturday.
This great looking tree was kitty corner from the Statue and I liked how the sky looked through the branches.
This is the tree. I’ll need to do some research to see what kind of tree it is.
For more Sky Watch Photos click here.
1. Do you read or study best in silence or in a place with background noise? Why?
I read and study best with quiet. I think this is the way I learned to study over the years. I find noise, TV, people talking loudly too distracting for me.
2. If you were to write a book about your life, what would it be called?
I’m thinking this might be an ok title, The Journey from East Los Angeles.
My first response was The Good the Bad and the Ugly.
3. (This question is a deep one…I know it should be a bonus, but I already have a few bonus questions chosen for this week) Why do you think divorce is so prevalent?
For the oversimplified answer I’m going to say that selfishness is at the bottom of this. Also we don’t believe that marriage is truly a covenant sealed by God but instead a contract to break when things go bad.
4. What’s the best way to resist peer pressure?
I think you need to be at peace with God and who He has created you to be. Then you need to recognize the gifts He has given you and be content in using them.
5. What is the most serious illness or injury you ever faced?
When I was in college a week before my finals during Spring Quarter I came down with Scarlet Fever. I had to stay in bed flat on my back for over a week. I’ve never felt my throat burn and hurt as much as during this time. I had to take incompletes in all my courses and make up the finals just before Fall quarter. Needless to say I didn’t do really well on these finals.
Bonus Questions
6. When was the last time you felt like you had a laugh with God?
When I catch myself doing something I just commended myself for not doing. I always laugh at how easy it is to get caught in the act of being a sinner.
7. What do you say to someone who is going through a tragic or hard time?
I don’t say “I know what you’re going through”. It’s ok to cry with them with no words. I do say that I will pray for you and better yet pray over them right then and there. When I do pray I really try to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide these prayers so I don’t say something from the flesh that isn’t helpful. I say I’m coming over to sit with you, answer the phone for you, make dinner for you, clean the house for you (sensitivity to the person is important as some people wouldn’t want you barging in). Another practical expression of kindness in hard situations is to go to the store and take some groceries over.
Now if you’d like to read more Know and Tell head over to To Know Him.
Week 6 – February 20 – 26. Wildflower Art – Share art made by you or someone else that features wildflowers.
I bought these two pieces at Goodwill a while back. I really was drawn to the Old Fashioned look. They are on a wall in the livingroom at my house in Washington.
On President’s Day I drove up to Ventura to do some thrift store shopping and I took a side trip to the Mission by the Sea. Here are 13 or more Photos from the mission. There are 21 California Missions and this Mission was the 9th Mission founded.
The founding of San Buenaventura Mission was foreshadowed well over two centuries ago on the Spanish isle of Mallorca, when a devout Franciscan priest, who was a brilliant scholar and professor of theology, earnestly prayed that he might be permitted to forsake his comfortable circumstances to take up the Lord’s work among the aborigines in the New World. The hoped-for answer to his prayers came on Palm Sunday, March 30, 1749.
Thirty-three years and one day later the zealous priest, Fray Junipero Serra- who had been subjected to painful sufferings and several brushes with death during his missionary ministry – raised the Cross at “la playa de la canal de Santa Barbara” (the beach of the Santa Barbara Channel) on Easter Morning, March 31, 1782. Assisted by Padre Pedro Benito Cambon, he celebrated a High Mass, preached on the Resurrection, and dedicated a Mission to San Buenaventura (St. Bonaventure). It had been planned as the third in the chain of twenty-one Missions founded by Padre Serra but was destined to be the ninth and last founded during his lifetime, and one of six he personally dedicated.
The Department of the Interior certified this Mission as a Historic Building and gave it permanent reference in the Library of Congress.
The front door to the Mission Chapel and Fray Junipero Serra
An antique confessional and other artifacts in the mission museum
The mission grounds and side door to the chapel
Inside the chapel
More photos from the grounds…
The Wooden Bell
San Buenaventura was the only mission to have wooden bells…
For more Thursday Thirteen click here.
ht: Information from Mission Brochure
For more ABC Wednesday photos head over to Mrs. Nesbitt.
