This week a friend gave us two bags of just picked grapefruit from a tree in his yard. There is nothing better than fresh delicious, sweet Ruby Red grapefruit. When we leave for a few months, I miss the wonderful fresh fruit available here year round.
these are delicious as they look
There are 3 seasons here in S Texas in the winter - 1) when did you get here? 2) where are we going to eat to? 3) when are you leaving? We are now in the third season - although the second one seems to be ongoing. The hottest conversation in the hall is "when did you say you were leaving?" - then the answer is immediately forgotten. In October I begin to get a bit lonely for the Winter friends to return but by now I am ready for them to go back home so some of the peace and calmness of the park gets back to normal. We love having them here - lots of friends and some new faces, something going on all the time but lots of traffic and activity always.
We finally took our long awaited trip to South Padre Island with friends with a stop at the San Bonito bakery which everyone seems to be talking about. (Did you know that San Bonito was the home of Freddy Fender and that he is buried there?) Lots and lots of baked goods - the Mexican style - not as sweet as the American ones. A piece of anise bread, cookies for us, and a coconut donut for me - Apple something for Fred as well as a cinnamon roll for him
cookies anyone?
how to choose?
many more choices
even spices in bags at very reasonable prices
We continued our travel in to South Padre Island to the visitors center, where many folks were admiring the sand castles, asking for information on tours, sights to see, deep sea fishing trips, dolphin watch, etc. There was also a great display of South Padre in earlier times.
the newest indoor amazing sand castle display
check out these swimming suits - a far cry from today's styles
a family outing at the beach - my father always wore a suit, tie, and hat when going somewhere, but never at the beach
looks a lot different today - with SUV's, trucks, boom boxes, and of course, phones
did you ever go fishing dressed like this?
the 4 year old outdoor display
We also went to the birding center and walked the boardwalk enjoying the weather and observing many birds and wonders of nature. I will post those pictures next week so that hopefully can pictures every week. No trip is complete without a stop at Dirty Al's for shrimp - fresh from the gulf.
God has so blessed Caring 💕's Ministry this past year. Produce is a bit down for the Friday delivery to the colonias, but God has provided through the generosity and contributions of others. This week we had cherry tomatoes regular tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, tortillas, onions, cucumbers, Brussels sprouts, croutons pears, peppers, croissants, kolaches, bottled tea, and pudding dessert mix to name just a few things we were able to provide the families with.
heirloom tomatoes ready to deliver
beautiful ripe tomatoes
kolaches bagged and ready
We attended church this morning with Pastor Jim Maxson (who with his wife teach our Tuesday Bible study). His sermon about how religion needs salvation is so much in line with our Monday night Bible study, as well as the things that happen in the world today. What is religion?-- it is a system of beliefs about God or gods, and a system of faith and worship. Countless religions have their own beliefs, methods, and characteristics, and methods. Even in a specific religion such as Christianity, there are different beliefs or doctrines, everyone thinks their religion is the only one. Religion without salvation is possible - but beware of those who say they are Christians but are not. Fake Christians love to been seen by others as they seem to portray their righteousness - they are hypocrites who want to be seen by others as being pure and holy - remember the Pharisees??? A survey has shown that 50% of those who attend church are not saved - they go to church, say the prayers, do the works but they are not saved. We have to surrender totally to God - take up the cross and follow Jesus. Do you know what the main theme is that runs through Christianity -- it is love. Love your neighbors as yourself, Jesus is love, God so loved the world - it is there throughout the Bible. Through Jesus' salvation we are saved from the horrors of hell, and are guaranteed eternity with Him.
I was criticized this last week for praying for a situation that I felt needed prayer - and was told not to pray for that situation as it was under control and did not need my prayers. Guess what - I am going to continue to pray in Christian love.
Practice Christian love this week - shake the hand of a veteran, take a meal to homeless begging on the street, help an older person load groceries into their car, be nice to your spouse - I am sure you can think of hundreds of more ways to show love.
No comments:
Post a Comment