Friday’s Feast ~My 2nd ~ September 21st, 2007

Appetizer
What is your favorite type of art?

I enjoy the Impressionists like Monet…

Soup
When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it?

My family was celebrating my niece’s birthday Saturday Sept. 15th at a wondeful restaurant in San Marino, California and my sister Lana picked up the tab for all of us.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you?

I am probably a 6 in the world of emotions. I’ve become more comfortable showing my emotions as I’ve grown older. I’ll take a hanky with me especially at church because it seems this is where my tears flow easier. Oh and after I’ve had a glass of wine I cry easier, too. 🙂

Main Course
Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails?

Probably only about 15 minutes top…

Dessert
To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat?

We like to keep the house on the cooler side especially at night. In California we like it at 72 degrees for air conditioning and 68 degrees for heat but we turn off the heat at night…

To see more Friday Feasts go here

Thankful Thursday ~ Psalm 145: 1-10

  I am thankful for our great God the King and I’ll joyfully sing my praise to Him…

Psalm 145: 1-10 ~

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.

To see more Thankful Thursday Posts go to Sting My Heart.

Holiness ~ J.C. Ryle ~ 1877

Well I’m behind others who are reading Holiness by J.C. Ryle in the blog world but that way I can glean from the book and their reviews and hopefully comprehend the book better. The full text of Ryle’s original work on Holiness is included in J. I. Packer’s book Faithfulness and Holiness. Here’s a quote from the book that I wanted to share from chapter 2 on Sin…

“In the next place, a right view of sin is one of the best antidotes to the overstrained theories of Perfection, of which we hear so much in these times. I shall say but little about this, and in saying it I trust I shall not give offence. If those who press on us perfection mean nothing more than an all-round consistency, and a careful attention to all the graces which make up the Christian character, reason would that we should not only bear with them, but agree with them entirely. By all means let us aim high. But if men really mean to tell us that here in this world a believer can attain to entire freedom from sin, live for years in unbroken and uninterrupted communion with God, and feel for months together not so much as one evil thought, I must honestly say that such an opinion appears to me very unscriptural. – I go even further. I say that the opinion is very dangerous to him that holds it, and very likely to depress, discourage, and keep back inquirers after salvation. I cannot find the slightest warrant in God’s Word for expecting such perfection as this while we are in the body. …Christ alone is without sin; and that all we, the rest, though baptized and born again in Christ, offend in many things;

…we do not love God so much as we are bound to do, with all our hearts, mind, and power; we do not fear God so much as we ought to do; we do not pray to God but with many and great imperfections. We give, forgive, believe, live, and hope imperfectly; we speak, think, and do imperfectly; we fight against the devil, the world, and the flesh imperfectly. Let us, therefore, not be ashamed to confess plainly our state of imperfections.”

James 5:16 ~ “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

I John 1:8-10 ~ “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

I am imperfect and I prove it many times a day but thanks be to God that He keeps leading me forward and He continues His work of sanctification on me.

WFMW ~ Motivation to Get Going…

You can call this motivation to get going or an antidote to mild depression…

Step away from your computer and go find one of these in your house…

Now set it for 15 minutes. Walk to the sink and wash any dishes that might be dirty and do any general clean-up until the buzzer or bell goes off.

I guarantee you that you will be amazed at what you can get done in a mere 15 minutes. I think you’ll feel better about yourself and your house. Once you get into this you can try doing it once every hour. You might even consider increasing the time to 30 minutes. Once you get to the 30 minute activity time try going out and walking…

This always amazes me and works for me. I hope it will work for you too! Now head over to Rocks in my Dryer to see more tips.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Carpenteria ~ Sunday Drive

After church on Sunday Dear and I took a drive up the coast to the little beach side town of Carpenteria. After we got there we got a great tip on a Mom and Pop run restaurant where we had a wonderful breakfast with thick bacon and bisquits and gravy. If you are ever in Carpenteria we recommend The Worker Bee Cafe. The wife is the waitress and the husband is the cook who we saw come out of the kitchen to make sure he got someone’s order right. We walked along Linden Ave. and browsed through Magpie Antiques, Homestead Antiques, Hollyhock Cottage, and a candy shop called Robitaille’s Fine Candy. We saw some great old houses and the Historic Methodist Church (now Capinteria Valley Baptist) which was built in 1888.

A LOL side note: In order to post these collages with my minimal space on this blog presentation I have to narrow down the photo. When people are in the photos like myself above you get contorted and narrowed also. So my disclaimer is that I’m not that tall, do not have those longer legs, and am not that thin at present 🙂

Carpenteria is home to the largest known Torrey Pine in existence. Torrey Pines naturally occur in just two locations: Santa Rosa Island in the Santa Barbara Channel, and along the coast near La Jolla in San Diego County. Collected in 1888 as a seedling on Santa Rosa Island, Judge Ward planted it on the grounds of his home (Wardholme). This Torrey Pine thrived and reached beyond its 40 to 60ft. height. In 1988 it measured 128 feet tall, 121 feet wide at the crown, and 20 feet in circumference at four feet off the ground. It was an amazing tree to see. We drove over to the Carpenteria Cemetary where majestic towering oaks remain from the ancient oak forest which originally blanketed the Valley. We drove over to the Carpenteria Cemetary before we headed home and saw some great headstones and majestic Oak trees.

This was one of the most interesting headstones we saw. Dr. Samuel Austin Moffett and Mrs. Lucia Fish Moffett were buried on this site. They were moved to the campus of the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary in Seoul, Korea on April 20, 2006. Dr. Moffett was a pioneer missionary to Korea. He founded and served as the first President of the Seminary from 1903 to 1924.

Thanks for coming along with us to Carpenteria not to be confused with Carpeteria…

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

In Other Words Tuesday ~ Crown of Roses?

 Iris at Sting My Heart has chosen the following quote for “In Other Words Tuesday“.

 “They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?”
~ Martin Luther ~

 

The New Testament does not paint a rosy picture for the Christian life on this Earth. Instead it assures us that if we follow Christ wholeheartedly we will face trials and persecutions. Because we are identified with Christ we will receive much of the same bad treatment and rejection He received.

II Timothy 3:12 ~  Indeed, all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

I Peter 4:12 ~ Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

And here’s the one that I’ve been chewing on these last few days…

James 1:2-4 ~ Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have it full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

The trials are inevitable. How will I react?  How should I behave in the midst of these trials? Will I choose joy trusting in Almighty God and His plans and purposes? I hope so. I want to experience steadfastness. I want to rejoice and be glad when Christ’s glory is revealed. I choose to trust that God will teach me in and during my trials to react and behave in a way that let’s steadfastness have its full effect bringing me homeward towards perfection and completeness, lacking nothing. I don’t want a crown of roses now, I want a crown of life when I get to heaven so I can cast it at Jesus’ feet…

To see more thoughts on this quote click on Sting My Heart.

Welcome to My Neighborhood! ~

Welcome to My Neighborhood!

Kathleen Marie thought it would be nice to see where everyone is from, where they live, learn more about her blogging neighbors, her friends and acquaintances.

So, since she can’t jump in her car, hop on a train or plane and visit you all, although she would sure like to, she thought it was time for a “bloggy” visit to your neighborhood! Let’s have a chat along the yard fence, have coffee or tea at your local hangout, visit your park or favorite attraction. The skies the limit!

Head over to The Open Window to join the fun.

The day set for this this neighborly visit around Bloggityville is Monday September 17th. On that day everyone will share their favorite things about their neighborhood. This should give us all plenty of time to get those photos, stories and/or slide shows ready. Just sign the linky at her site so we know who’s participating.

~~~

If you are participating I’ll be by on Monday September 17th to see your neighborhoods!

Today I have 3 collages to share with photos from my newest neighborhood in Southern California and my favorite neighborhood and the place I call home in the Seattle area. Please come along and welcome to my neighborhoods!

 

Our condo in Camarillo is a one bedroom. Even though it’s small we still can entertain a crowd. Living in the Southern California area affords us the opportunity to see extended family and close friends from our early married years. The Complex we are in is brand new and has a lot of nice extras.

 

Palm trees are the norm around here and dusty trails. We are at the northern base of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. We are 8 miles from the Pacific Ocean. (Pt. Mugu) We are in a highly agricultural area where we can find fresh produce stands at nearby farms. The Hispanic culture is prevalent in this area with Mexican Restaurants galore. (kind of like Starbuck’s in Seattle!) Speaking of food In-N-Out is just an exit up the freeway from us. California Grill is one of our favorite local restaurants. (bottom middle photo). The new library in town is the top right photo.

 

Here, have an In-N-Out Burger on me…

Now I’ll show you a little bit of my favorite place to live, the Seattle area…

 

The things I miss when I’m living in Southern California are my house, the space I have inside and outside, Fred Meyer Food and Department store, the distinct four seasons, the big fluffy sky, the huge trees everywhere, the downtown area on the water, my library and most of all my children and my best friends. I am thankful that I get to take trips back and spend holidays and other special occasions there.

I thank God for His goodness to us in blessing us with beautiful places to live where we can enjoy His creation and people we can have fellowship with wherever we find ourselves.  Have a wonderful week!

Thank you for coming to my neighborhoods today. To see more neighborhoods around the USA and beyond click on over to The Open Window.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Another Happy Birthday at Julienne

Michelle of A Simple Sweet Life is having a birthday today.

 Happy Birthday Michelle!

Michelle, ma belle
These are words that go together well
My Michelle

Michelle, ma belle
Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
tres bien ensemble

(sorry couldn’t help myself)

Ryan and my niece Michelle

Jackson my Grand Nephew

Nieces Debbee and Melissa

Sister Lana G! and her husband Steve

 Sister Kathy and Ryan

Ellen, SIL Kelly, niece Debbee

Dear was with us too but my photo didn’t turn out but Michelle’s did so you can see Dear and me over there.

We drive, we eat, we laugh, we celebrate, Lana pays!!

We are blessed indeed. Thank you Lord!

ht: Michelle lyrics by the Beatles

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

O Christ, Who Hast Prepared A Place ~ Jean B. de Santeuil

 John 14: 1-6 ~ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

O Christ, Who Hast Prepared A Place

O Christ, who hast prepared a place
For us around Thy throne of grace,
We pray Thee, lift our hearts above,
And draw them with the cords of love.

Source of all good, Thou, gracious Lord,
Art our exceeding great reward;
How transient is our present pain,
How boundless our eternal gain!

With open face and joyful heart,
We then shall see Thee as Thou art:
Our love shall never cease to glow,
Our praise shall never cease to flow.

Thy never-failing grace to prove,
A surety of Thine endless love,
Send down Thy Holy Ghost, to be
The raiser of our souls to Thee.

Words: Jean B. de San­teüil, in the Par­is Bre­vi­a­ry, 1686, p. 503 (No­bis, Olym­po red­di­tus); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John Chandler, Hymns of the Prim­i­tive Church, 1837, p. 86.

ht: cyberhymnal