Archive by Author

Evaluation

18 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

 

 

At the end of my days, how will God evaluate
the time spent with my fellow man?
Will I have satisfied the commission
of our Lord’s ultimate plan?

 

Will I have loved my neighbor
as well as myself?
Will my “Must do” list be completed,
or still found on the shelf?

 

Did I abandon the longings,
the dreams, the vision?
Did I give in to circumstance,
the need for decision?

 

The still small voice of the Spirit
breaks through.
“My child, stop fretting.
I’m not through with you.”

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Flying Legends Airshow~Part 4

16 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Flying Legends

 

 Day 4 – Saturday July 4th

Since I had inspected the breakfast room the evening before, and saw that it was going to be a “Cold, help yourself to cereal and toast” setup (and the choices really didn’t look that appetizing), I elected to skip breakfast that morning and just have one of my granola bars instead.

1

That got me off to an earlier start for the day than I had expected, which put me at the Jet Age Museum in Gloucester 30 minutes before they opened. One of the docents saw me pull into the carpark and came out to inform me that they couldn’t let me wonder around the outside static display aircraft or into the museum until 10:00. I told him that was no problem, that I would just wait in the car until they opened. The next thing I knew, here came that same guy carrying a tray containing a cup of hot coffee (with sugar & cream) and a croissant, just for me. I thought, “This is the best service I’ve ever had at any museum anywhere in the world.”

2

I was the only visitor at their museum that early, and all the folks there couldn’t do enough for me. It was a small museum but they had the front section of a Vulcan bomber on display, as part of their museum tour, and they escorted me into and around the cockpit and navigation/weapons stations. I discovered that for as big as that plane is, the crew stations are very confined. I did however, manage to squeeze into the pilot’s seat for a photo op.

3

Next it was on north to try to catch the Baginton Air Pagant which was being put on at the Baginton Airport. As it turned out, Greta got confused with all the road construction in the immediate area and couldn’t find the entrance to the airport. So, I had to settle for visiting the Midland Air Museum, which was located right there adjacent to the airport runway, and was one of the museums on my list. And, I was able to see a few of the airshow flyovers from that vantage point.

4

 

The Coventry Transport Museum was an absolutely marvelous collection of beautifully restored British made bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles and trucks, from the earliest days of motorized transportation to the present. The museum took up a whole city block (not as big as a city block in the U.S.) and exhibited displays on four levels of the building.

5

The Cold War Jet Collection located at the Bruntingthrope Aerodrome in Leicestershire was closed, but I was able to take a few pictures of their outside static displayed aircraft through the fence. Bruntingthrope Aerodrome is where the world’s last airworthy Avro Vulcan bomber (XH558) was restored to flight condition in 2007. This beautiful airplane will be grounded for safety concerns after the 2015 airshow season.

6

The Bruntingthrope Aerodrome is also the home of the world’s last airworthy de Havilland Comet 4C (XS235), which is kept flight certified by the Aerodrome volunteers there.

7

 

Greta couldn’t find the National Motorcycle Museum in Bickenhill, so I called it a day and headed for the Quality Inn Hotel in Birmingham for the evening.

8

When I got to Birmingham, Greta took me to the correct street number, but one block to the north of the actual location. I re-entered the address and she took me right back to the same place. I finally asked a man on the street if he could tell me where the Quality Inn Hotel was, and he said, “It’s just right around the corner on the next street over.”   That happened more than once on this trip. The rooms at the Quality Inn were very nice, but were accessed by a maze of up and down stairways that gave my knees a real workout, even without my suitcase.  I had to ask the clerk to move me to another room which was accessed by fewer stairs. He was glad to do that for me, and my knees were glad too.

9

 

—–To Be Continued—–

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The Tablecloth

13 Sep

I am enjoying selecting posts to share while Judy is on break. I love tablecloths and I especially like crocheted ones~Onisha

Sunday Memories

 Judy Wills

JUDY

I love to crochet.  I mean I REALLY LOVE to crochet!

I remember my grandmother crocheting, and my mother, and I loved the “granny square” afghan they made with those multi-colored squares surrounded by black.  But I actually taught myself to crochet.  I took lessons to learn to knit, but nothing fit!  Even if I made a sample gauge, the finished product never fit!  But give me a crochet hook and I was good to go!

I made several “twin” outfits for our daughters that they loved to wear.  I made baby “capes” with hoods for new babies.  I taught international women to crochet, as part of their English Language learning process at our church.  In later years, my favorite thing to crochet was an afghan – shell stitch.  I could do that and watch TV both at the same time.  Didn’t realize they would now call it “multi-tasking.”

My husband is one of four children.  Each married and had two children of their own (one broke mold and had a third child).  When all our children were young, we drew names (families) for giving Christmas presents to each other’s families.  The year we moved from Texas to Florida, it was our turn to give to my husband’s brother and his family.  His wife and I had become good friends and shared many passions.  One was crocheting!  She was a whiz at crochet.  She could whip out a sweater in no time!  But she used large hooks and thick yarn.  I racked my brain for something to give her.  I knew that anything I made (sewed/crocheted), she could do as well or better.  And then I had an idea!  She would never take the time to crochet a tablecloth for herself, using the thin cotton thread needed for that project.  She had a lovely antique pedestal table with a round top.  Perfect!

So I began my project, knowing it would take a while to complete.  I had a pattern for a pin wheel motif that was just right.

I worked and worked on it, taking it with me everywhere.  On our move that summer, we stopped by their house in Indiana for a few days.  After a while, I ran out of things to work on, and drug out the thread and hook.  When she asked me what I was working on, I told her it was her Christmas present.  She was absolutely overjoyed!

From that point on, it became a labor of love for me…..knowing she would enjoy that adornment for her table…..knowing I made it just for her…..and hopefully enjoying the workmanship that went into it.

I don’t know whether or not she still has that tablecloth, but I made one for myself and enjoy using it.  It looks quite different from a pin wheel when put together, but I like the looks of it, even now.

What do you think?

Romans 8:28

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What to do when standing before the judge. | Janet Perez Eckles

12 Sep

My hands were sweaty, my heartbeat fast and I sat stiff on that courtroom chair nearly two decades ago. My first days as a court interpreter were grueling. They were brutal and the stress almost defeated me. “Mrs. Eckles, approach the bench,” the judge said during one of the sessions. I froze, swallowed hard and headed toward him. I trembled. Judges judge you, exert punishment, and sometimes might even dictate your destiny. To my shock, rather than reprimand, his words were ones of affirmation and praise about my job as an interpreter. They didn’t hold condemnation or harshness. I hope you don’t do what I did when approaching God’s divine bench. When Christ lives in us, His words ring different than what we expect. Rather than scolding, He gives reassurance. Rather than punishment, He extends mercy. Rather than condemnation, He gives us forgiveness. While the world becomes a grueling place to live, He gives His word to speak to our soul:

Source: What to do when standing before the judge. | Janet Perez Eckles

 

 

What’s Been Happening

There was a loud buzz on a recent Monday afternoon in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Orlando. About 1,500 attendees were exiting with suitcase in hand and expectations in their heart. The John Maxwell speaker/coaching training just ended. And His team, no doubt, equipped these folks with knowledge, strategies, information, methods, and tons of inspiration.

Way, way inside of me is a burning desire to attend such training. And when I asked God about that, He said, “In my timing and in my way.”

Don’t you just love it when God gives you the answer? Sometimes He says “no,” sometimes He says, “yes,” and sometimes He says, “not yet.”

So my challenge to you is to ask you: what do you do while you wait for His answer?

Here’s to the joy that fills your heart while in the waiting room of faith.

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Looking Up

11 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

 

Life presents many challenges from birth to the grave,
But lift your thoughts to God above
He promises to save.

 

God fashioned us in our mother’s womb,
so I am certain He had a plan.
We were designed in His own image
to serve our fellow man.

 

When I was a child, I thought as a child-
striving always to please.
It took a lot of challenges
to set my heart at ease.

 

My heartfelt wish, as I was growing up
was to be a caring soul.
I desired all humanity
to make loving others their goal.

I know it is unrealistic
to expect Heaven here on earth-
But wouldn’t it be wonderful
if every soul felt its worth?

 

Reach out and “touch someone”-
A word of encouragement, or a smile will do.
Your kindness will be rewarded-
It will all come back to you.

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Snakes, Doves and Renting Crowds.

10 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

All week I have been strolling through my brain cells, in search of a topic to blog about and came up with zilch. This morning as I embarked on my walk around the world, reading blogs and searching twitter, I came across this post:

Rent a crowd

I had heard that some of the recent protest events had used paid protestors but even though I am always looking for an easy way to make money, I couldn’t see myself as a  paid protestor.  This post indicated some politicians had used paid cheering sections. I can cheer! After all, I once cheered for Disney World when they filmed their Christmas Parade. Then I read the part about scripted answers to questions from the press. I marked that one off too. I’m still looking for a way to make easy money so if anyone needs to hire a crowd to open a new Cold Stone, Brusters or Marble Slab ice cream store, I am available. Ditto for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. If Dippin’ Dots is hiring, I will work in exchange for the dots as I love those cold BBs of ice cream and they are too expensive for me.

Dippin dots

Remember when people would say “a picture is worth a thousand words”? If you saw a picture of someone’s action, then you took it as truth. Now with Photoshop and video editing one is wise to consider carefully what we see, hear and read before accepting it as truth. Our Father knew about this and gave us wise counsel in Matthew 10:16

Matthew 10-16

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Flying Legends Airshow ~Part 3

9 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Flying Legends

3 – Friday July 3rd

My first English breakfast with hot tea the next morning was great! A fried egg, Canadian bacon, grilled sausage links, grilled tomato, mushrooms and navy beans, served with toast and jam.   It looked like a lumberjack’s breakfast to me, but I ate the whole thing.

1

As I was leaving, my host said, “You go on out to your car with those things, and I’ll catch you up with your suitcase.” I love how the English phrase things. I discovered the airplanes in the Cornwall Aviation Heritage Museum located in Newquay had been moved to a new location. This coupled with the fact that I could not find any indication that there were any real ships to see at the Mayflower Maritime Museum in Plymouth, helped me decide to by-pass those two museums. That reduced my travel by 125 miles for the day! What was I thinking?

2

I headed north to Yeovilton to visit the Fleet Air Arm Museum. DiVoran and I had visited this museum in 1991 during our trip to England, Scotland and Wales. At that time it was a small museum with most of its few airplanes on display outside. But I did remember that they had one of the Concord prototype aircraft in their collection, which we were allowed to walk thru. It was filled with the original test and recording equipment.

3

Since then they have expanded their museum with a huge new hanger, and with more restored RNAS airplanes. Of course, the Concord prototype is now their centerpiece and I was able to walk thru it again.

4

Now I headed for Bath to have afternoon tea at the famous Pump Room and Roman Baths. This was one of the most memorable stops DiVoran and I had made during our 1991 trip, and I wanted to experience that special sensation again. However, Greta was not cooperating that afternoon, and she took me on a wild goose chase for almost an hour, all over the area surrounding Bath. Finally, after taking a Stress Gummy and asking directions a couple of times, I found a carpark within walking distance of the Pump Room. I spent a delightful hour relaxing over pot of Earl Gray tea and their famous Bath Buns with Strawberry Jam. This fabulous experience was enhanced by a wonderful three-piece ensemble playing classical music.

5

I did not take the time to go through the Roman Baths, since DiVoran and I had explored them in great detail when we were last there. I did however, take a drink of the “Special Healing Water” available there in the Pump Room. It had noticeably less of a sulfur taste and smell than I remembered. I asked the attendant about that, and he said that it was thought the sulfur deposits that the water ran through were being eroded away, reducing the sulfur taste and smell. There you are, Bob’s your uncle!

6

Since I had wasted so much time running around the countryside, following Greta’s misguided directions, and with the extra time I had spent at the Pump Room, I decided to just head for Bristol and try to find the Well Cottage B&B before it got dark. The B&B was very nice and instructions on the door of my room informed me that the hostess retired at 9:00 pm. I couldn’t see how that could possibly affect me. Not, that is, until after I had taken a shower, and discovered I had somehow locked myself out of my room (yep, it was after 9:00). I was so glad I had put my pants and tee shirt on. I knocked a couple of times on the door I thought was the hostess’s door, and got no answer. I was really stuck! Then another guest came out, saw my plight, and told me she could have her husband call the hostess on the phone, and request that she come let me into my room. Boy was I ever embarrassed! But when the hostess came and unlocked my door, she told me it was OK, and not to worry about it. Whew, what a relief that was!

7

—–To be Continued—–

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Fair Babies

8 Sep

Our friend, Patricial Franklin is sharing today. Welcome back, Patricia!

Fair Babies

Patricia Franklin

I’m working the Pro-Life booth at the Fair. It is a lot of fun, and the children and adults love the baby dolls on display. Don’t know if you have ever seen them, but they are soft replicas of 12 weeks and up of what babies in the womb look and feel like. They feel the same, weigh the same, etc.  The kids love to hold them.  Last year a family came by — first the Dad came strolling by with two seven year old girls.  He walked on and the girls stopped to hold the babies.  The mother came up struggling with a baby stroller in the crowd, saw the girls, stopped, and shouted: “PUT THE BABIES DOWN AND BACK AWAY!! I looked at her and started to back away myself. The girls giggled, put the babies down and ran to catch up with their Dad. The exhausted mother stopped for a minute and told us the baby in the strollers was the first one she’d had in seven years and it was hard work. She said “And now I have to try to explain THIS to my girls!! Meaning pro-life. Then she stopped, relaxed, we both smiled and I said, ‘I’m sure you will do just fine.” I have thought about that so many times this year, and every time I have to smile… especially at her words … BACK AWAY, which is usually what you hear in the movies as a fierce warning.

I have never had a bad experience. Sometimes a few people will try to start an argument, but it just kind of dies on their lips and they either walk away, or we have a pleasant conversation about babies. Most people are very friendly and talkative and will often tell you the story of their lives. It used to be that people would walk by and try to ignore us, or they would act embarrassed. But something was very different last year. So many people stopped and talked to us. Many had never seen the replicas before, and I was surprised at this. Some came up and picked the dolls up and cradled them like they were alive. I was surprised by many young men who came by. One, who had on a ragged shirt and wore an earring said, “Oh, I love these! I want one of the babies!” He did not fit the stereotype of what you would expect by the way he was dressed. He was with some other young people. He got one from us, and several of his friends came back and bought some of the little 12 week replicas. They were apparently students and very pro-life. This would give them some help talking to their opposing students.

I have helped in the library at the Catholic School for years.  It is only one day a week.  We basically just check books in and out…. and read to the kindergarteners.  It keeps me in touch with the younger generation.

It is amazing how you get the feeling of people’s reactions even before they speak to you. Last year a young lady came and stood across the aisle from us for a long time, looking at our booth. Whenever I tried to catch her eye, she would look the other way. I got the feeling she would like some information, but did not want to talk to us. So I gave my attention to someone who came by. While I was busy, she came over to the end of the counter and picked up a brochure and walked off with it. My thought and prayer was instinctively “I hope you will save the baby.” I was almost certain that she or someone she knew was pregnant and did not know what to do about it.

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The Concert

6 Sep

Judy is still on break and I am sharing this one from the archives, September of 2012.  Enjoy~ Onisha

Sunday Memories

 Judy Wills

JUDY

 

I always remember there being a piano in the house.  Mother would sometimes sit down and play her favorite hymns from memory, with embellishments.  Occasionally we four would gather around the piano and sing along – Mom playing, Daddy on bass, brother on tenor, me on soprano.  Fond memories.

I started taking piano lessons the day I started first grade, and continued until I graduated from high school.  Now you might have thought that I was some kind of whiz on that instrument – and you would be dead wrong!  Talent?  Yes, I think God gave me some talent.  But not the GIFT.  I always have to have that piece of sheet music in front of my face, or I can’t play anything.

As time went on, I honed my talent, and became fairly accomplished.  My usual fare was church pianist, and occasionally the organist.

Our new Minister of Music wanted to do something new and different – so he organized six of us pianists and we began preparing for a six-piano concert!  One of the local piano stores had a room full of Clavinovas (digital/electronic pianos), and allowed us to practice at the store.

Close to time for the concert, and the pianos were moved to the church.  Up on the stage they went, and our practice time was closer to home.  We played two or three pieces all together – different parts of the song, like an orchestra.  Then we each played a duet with one of the other pianists, then a solo.  We were each to introduce ourselves to the audience and tell something about ourselves – just to get acquainted.

Friday night came – and the first concert.  The sanctuary was nearly full!  And then it became a labor of love – for the instrument and for our God who gave us all the talent to use for His Glory!  A labor of love, but such fun, as well.  My sister-in-law said, “WOW that was Great!!  What a glorious thing to hear SIX pianos played by six talented musicians all at one time!  I can sense God’s hand in this concert and in these musicians.”

I like to think that all those piano lessons have paid off.  I may not have the gift, but what talent I have, I use for God’s Glory.

Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things!

His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.

 

Psalm 98:1

 

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Latch on to Love

4 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

When we let go of the negative
we can latch on to the positive,
and that positive emotion is love.
Love is like a healing balm.
Open your heart to receive it.
It comes from our Lord above.

Accept what you cannot change.
The circumstances wouldn’t have been different
by anything you could have done.
Love is forever.
With love battles are won.

Love shows up in so many ways.
It brings comfort and strength when we feel weak.
Hate doesn’t take you where love does.
It is the peace of God that we seek.

Everything you want is on the other side of fear.
Fear is the killer of dreams.
Rise above your circumstances, don’t stay under them.
Nothing is as bad as it seems.

Painting by DiVoran Lites

Painting by DiVoran Lites

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