Archive by Author

What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love

14 Aug

From the Heart

Louise GIbson

Louise Gibson

Have you ever asked yourself
“Who do I love, and why?”
Wouldn’t you amaze yourself
if you sincerely tried to reply?

“Do I truly love my neighbor
as well as I love myself?
Should I continue my endeavor
to “touch someone”-
or “put it on the shelf”?
“Just continue, dear Lord, to prod me
if I hesitate too long…
Put my priorities in order, please,
Remind me of this song.”

Composer:  Burt Bacharach

“What the world needs now is love. sweet love,

It’s the only thing there’s too little of.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love,

No, not just for some,

But for everyone.

Lord, we don’t need another meadow;

There are corn fields and wheat fields enough to grow.

There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine-

Oh, listen if you want to know.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love.

It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love-

No, not just for some, but for everyone.”

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You Can’t Outgive God~Part 2

12 Aug

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Cross Plane

 One of the people Marcia made friends with during her time in Italy was Erika, a 26-year-old single Italian office worker who had agreed to be Marcia’s Italian teacher. When construction on the “Magic” was finished, Marcia and Erika were among the DCL Team members who worked their way across the Atlantic on the ship making it ready for its first Disney cruise from Port Canaveral, FL. Upon completion of that “Shakedown Cruise,” Erika went back to Italy and Marcia went back to work with WDI here in Florida. DiVoran and Marcia reconnected and it wasn’t long before she asked us to join her, as her guest, for another “Employee Day” at Disney World’s Epcot Center. It was a wonderful day, and we loved every minute of it

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When the DCL crew was assembled in 1998 to support the building of the second DCL ship “Wonder” in Italy, Marcia was part of that group from the start. About six months after she got to Italy and settled in, she invited us to come to Italy for a visit and to stay with her for part of our trip. In February of 1999 DiVoran and I took our “Italian Vacation Trip of a Lifetime.” Most days were hazy (with some heavy fog) and very cold (30F – 40F) but we just bundled up and enjoyed the adventure.

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Marcia introduced us to Erika and many of her other Italian friends, who received us into their circle as if we were family. “Any friend of Marcia is a friend of ours.” We stayed with Marcia in her apartment in the small town of Mogliano Veneto and she and Erika were our very own personal traveling companions, tour guides, and interpreters, which made our visit to Italy the best and most wonderfully memorable trip it could have been. One of the funniest things was the day (early in our stay) when Erika confided in us, out of Marcia’s hearing, that it was her opinion that Marcia really had limited language skills and she would appreciate it if we didn’t tell anyone that she was Marcia’s Italian teacher. We kept her secret. Our special tour guides showed us all the beautiful and interesting sites as we visited places like Venice, Padua, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Murano, Burano and the beautiful little mountain village of Asolo.

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Just to give you an idea of how many of our days went, I remember it was cold and foggy the morning the four of us hurried to Venice to catch the train to Florence. There were so many wonderful things to see, that upon arrival in Florence, Erika and DiVoran took off one way and Marcia and I went another. There is not time enough to tell you about the beauty of that city and the vast historic art treasures housed in their museums and cathedrals.

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But…as the story goes, sometime during their stroll around that beautiful city of Florence and its marvelous museums, DiVoran told Erika she would like a warmer pair of gloves, to wear over the thin leather ones she had. So, Erika took her into a glove shop and asked to see gloves.

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The very proper clerk behind the counter showed them several styles and colors. DiVoran picked a pair she thought she would like, and the clerk propped her elbow on a wooden stand made for that purpose. He carefully smoothed one beautiful bright red glove and then the other on her hands, and buttoned the small round buttons at her wrists. DiVoran liked them so much that she asked Erika to help her use her credit card to pay for them. DiVoran has always loved those gloves, but to this day I don’t think she has ever asked anyone how much they cost.

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   —–To Be Continued—–

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Growing Up~Part 1

9 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                                 

Frequently, when I’m trying to find something to write about, I will go back through my pictures and find something that teases my interest. I did that recently, and discovered that I have some really delightful pictures of myself and my brother as we were growing up. Therefore, I would like to share those wonderful memories with you all. Here’s the first installment.

Billy and I were both born in Dallas, Texas.

Billy Lites
Judy Lites (later Wills) bBeing held by her Mother

And by-the-way – we called him “Billy” until he was about 14 years old when he decided he wanted to be called “Bill.” But for this purpose, he will be Billy.   He is about 3½ years older than I am, and while we had our ups and downs that most siblings have, we are overjoyed to be living within an hour of each other now. We really like each other much more now that we are adults!

Since we have Google and other browsers at our fingertips now, I looked up our old house in Dallas, and was pleased to see that the latest owners have really kept up the house – including adding an in-ground swimming pool in the back yard! So I guess the neighborhood has not gone downhill as I feared it might! Here’s a picture of our Mother with Billy and me in front of our house. Billy is 4½ years old, and I am one year old.

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You can see by this picture of the neighborhood that Billy, by the age of about six months or so, was already into trucks and such.

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Those of you who enjoy really old cars, will get a kick out of the cars in this photo and others to follow. These pictures were taken in the late 1930’s-to-early 1940’s. Enjoy! Here are a few other pictures of him….with a model airplane – see, he really DID start at an early age loving airplanes.

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Remember his post about having that toy parachute (August 27, 2014)? Here is a picture of him with it.

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And do you remember my post about the furniture that our grandfather made out of empty spools of thread (October 26, 2012)?   Here is a good picture of Billy with the child’s chair Grandpa made.

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We don’t have those chairs anymore, but we do have other furniture he made for the family. Our mother had some, and her sister, our Aunt Jessie, had some, and now Bill and I each have some of that furniture, to remember a man who was so creative.

Here’s a picture of Billy and a second cousin, Jimmy Mac. Billy was only two years old.

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And here’s another picture of the two of them – with me in the mix – when they were three years older.

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And here’s a good picture of our Mother and Father, with Billy, when he was two years old.

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And this one is of the four generations – Billy, our Mother, her Mother (our Granny), and Granny’s father.

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Neat, neat, neat. I just LOVE these old pictures!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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Three steps to fulfill your desires | Janet Perez Eckles

8 Aug

A hot summer afternoon in Orlando is perfect for a cold smoothie. I blend strawberries, bananas, pineapple, a touch of honey and almond milk. I place a glass full before my grands.

Seated at the kitchen table, they wiggle in anticipation. After the first sip, they echo, “Hmmm…it’s yummylicious. Thank you, Nana.”

Then with no warning, my granddaughter said words that nearly made me giggle with delight.

“Nana,” she said, “you don’t look old like you’re 60. You look like you’re 40 or 48.”

I pulled my shoulders back, lifted my head and gave a huge grin. “Thank you so much sweet thing.”

In an instant, a flood of plans filled my mind—got to try harder to keep wrinkles away and make sure to color the gray.

Than I had a thought and my vanity melted into the smoothie of reality. A seven-year-old child has no clue about how age should be reflected in a person.

But I accepted her comment because of that thing we all have. That thing we tuck way deep inside. That thing called “desire.” We all have the desire to look better, get thinner, stay younger, become healthier, get richer. We long to be significant in some way, to be successful, to have meaning and to live with purpose.

via Three steps to fulfill your desires | Janet Perez Eckles.

 

I enjoy receiving Janet’s email each Wednesday. Along with her blog she shares a short update. I especially enjoyed this weeks:

What’s Been Happening

On the way back home to Orlando this past Sunday, I sat at the window seat, waiting for the plane to take off. Moments later, a giggling little girl sat beside me in the middle seat. Her daddy sat to her left in the aisle seat. I turned to her, “Do you want to sit by the window?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“I appreciate this,” her daddy said as I gathered my stuff and changed seats.

The little girl ooh’ed and aah’ed at all she saw out that window. The four-year-old commented about her delight of watching the plane take off, the clouds, the city underneath, the lakes and the scenery only a child would find fascinating.

But what fascinates me is that the little, insignificant things we do in life are the ones that mean the most to others.

In my upcoming trips, I’ll try to find more ways to bring a little happiness to others.

 

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You Matter

7 Aug

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

What keeps your heart beating-
What keeps your lungs filled with air?
Appreciate every breath you take.
Let God know how much you care.

Every day is a gift from above.
Every day is an opportunity to share.
Reach out to help someone in need.
The needs are everywhere.

Happiness is an inside job.
It stems from a grateful heart.
Lord, you keep on blessing and blessing.
You are our life, not something set apart.

My friend, you matter far more than you know.
Your smile, your attitude, a kind word,
can set another’s heart aglow.

Lord, if any little word of mine
can help another soul,
help me find that little word
to reach its needed goal.

Happiness is an inside job.It stems from-3

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The Trouble with Church Music

6 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

Just mention church music in a group and you will see a variety of responses ranging from a shrug to a terrified shiver. Our enemy is having the time of his life ripping churches apart using this beautiful gift from God. If this were a game show, on the one side you have those who love hymns pitted against those who insist on a praise band with contemporary music. In the end, Satan is the only winner.

I have been mulling this for some time and decided to add my thoughts to the conversation.

Everyone in a congregation is a not singer. I once loved to sing, but my vocal cords no longer make a pleasant sound. A long singing session bores me. There I said it. Feel free to label me shallow.

Singing the same chorus over and over does not make me feel more spiritual. Do you remember the Beatles hit song, Hey Jude? It has three minutes of interesting material and the rest is just repetition.

Older persons in the church may be wearing hearing aides to better understand the pastor’s message and the feedback from praise bands going full blast creates misery for them. (I don’t wear one….yet. But my time is coming.)

Younger members live in a fast-paced world and find the slower tempo of hymns b-o-r-i-n-g.

So what can be done to use music in the church the way it should be, to unify the body of Christ in praise of their Savior?

Consider shortening the song portion or breaking it up throughout the service. Experiment until you find the amount of time that fits your congregation.

Become more creative in how we sing. I love Chris Tomlin’s Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone. By mixing the beauty of a hymn with a more contemporary sound, he created a moving and inspiring piece of music. I love it when the song director flows the music from one song to another telling the story of what Christ did for you and I  

Sometimes the praise band at our church would begin a song, but then the instruments were silenced and the incredible sound of voices praising God was so beautiful, I would stop attempting to sing and listen to the pure sounds of the congregation’s voices. I think if those with hearing devices knew they could expect something like this each week, it would give them a time to look forward to, rather than dreading the whole singing portion.

One of our larger local churches tried to solve the dilemma by having two services based on music choice. The obstacle to this was who has to get up early? The young people like to sleep in and the older folks take awhile to get moving in the mornings. My husband and I had to declare Saturday a day of rest and refrain from any heavy physical labor so that we could get our achy bodies to cooperate on Sunday morning!

This past weekend, I heard of a creative solution to the music issue. A largish church in Georgia holds two services simultaneously in separate buildings. One service begins with hymns and the other contemporary. The pastor preaches one sermon in “the flesh” (couldn’t resist that) and he is viewed on a screen in the other building. He rotates each week so that a group has him up close and personal twice per month.

It seems like months of thinking on this would have generated more ideas .My grandfather belonged to the Primitive Baptist and they don’t use any instruments at all. Maybe they are on to something. I’m sure you have some thoughts. How about sharing what your church has successfully done or ideas you have?

 

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You Can’t Outgive God~Part 1

5 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

DiVoran met our friend Marcia in 1987 at the first Christian Writer’s Conference hosted by Park Avenue Baptist Church (PAB) here in Titusville. Marcia was one of the invited conference speakers, and she was holding classes on “Script Writing.” It was a difficult time for Marcia as she had used up all the family resources caring for her husband who had just died of M.S. after an extended illness. She had arrived in Florida to attend the Writer’s Conference with all her belongings in a very old van, which she was also living in. As she and DiVoran talked about writing subjects, Marcia happened to ask where she could find a laundromat. DiVoran offered to take the few things she needed washed home and do them for her. This small act of kindness on DiVoran’s part was the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship.

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After the Writer’s Conference, Marcia decided to stay in Florida and got a job with a small Central Florida town newspaper. That job allowed her to spend a lot of her spare time writing and selling dinner theater mysteries. For a place to live she took up house sitting. This caused her to do a lot of living out of boxes, but she liked getting paid for a place to stay instead of having to pay rent. In 1988 we invited Marcia to stay with us while she and DiVoran attended the next Christian Writers conference at PAB.

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DiVoran and Marcia saw each other at several more Writers’ Conferences after that, and their friendship continued to grow. Then one day we got a call from Marcia inviting us to come visit her in the town where she was working and house sitting. She showed us around her newspaper office and took us to a collectibles museum. What a grand time that was. In 1995 Marcia invited our family to go with her to the Annual Renaissance Festival in Sarasota, Florida. We camped at the Myakka River State Park and our whole family had a wonderful time at the festival with Marcia and visiting the many places of interest around that area.

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The next thing we knew, Marcia had a job with Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) here in Florida. Her job was as an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager. Then in 1998 Marcia invited us to join her for the “Employee Day” at the new Disney Animal Kingdom Park. A wonderful time was had by all as we explored that wonderfully creative new Disney theme park. Marcia moved up in her job responsibilities at WDI and with her innovative ideas she became a real asset to the company.

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As it happened, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) had begun construction on their first cruise ship “Magic” in Italy sometime in 1996. It wasn’t long after that huge construction project got under way, according to Marcia, that the DCL office there in Italy began having a lot of trouble with the Italian office staff being able to understanding the DCL paperwork systems. Marcia was selected to be sent to Italy to help organize the Italian DCL office and coordinate the many various needs that the DCL office had to deal with on a daily basis. It wasn’t long before she became the unofficial office manager and the Italian DCL office began to run a lot smoother after that. 

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Go West Chapter One~Ellie

3 Aug

I was having fun with my cousins from Georgia over the weekend and didn’t have a chance to  collaborate with DiVoran on her regular Monday post. So I thought it would be fun to share with you what else she has been up to. As well as blogging and poetry, DiVoran is also an author of Christian fiction. She has been writing a serial  western romacne novel and a new chapter is posted each week on Rebekah Lyn Books. PLUS she creates orginal art work for each chapter! If you like this excerpt be sure to read the other chapters~Onisha

Go West

By DiVoran Lites

Chapter One

Ellie

Elizabeth Morgan, riding backward, looked out the train window at a sign that said, Clifton. It was here she hoped to find a plan and purpose for her life. As she stood, she studied the Victorian-style train station with several men milling on the boardwalk. They wore ragged clothes, battered hats, and down-at-the-heel boots. For a moment, she tried to imagine them dressed in well-fitting woolen suits with homburgs or fedoras on their heads. Then shaking her head, she gave it up. All the imagining in the world would not make this burg into downtown Chicago, and that was fine with her. She needed a new life, maybe she’d find it here.

Smoothing kiss curls over each cheek, she straightened her narrow-brimmed cloche. As she reached toward the shelf for her tapestry carpet bag, an arm went over her head and carefully lifted it down. She looked up at a tall man with silver-blond hair and gray eyes that were the kind that turned blue on a sunny day. He now held the carpetbag in one hand and a deep brown Boss of the Prairie Stetson in the other. She didn’t know yet who he was, but she knew from working in her grandparents’ department store back home, that he had good taste in hats. His frayed khaki shirt, however, looked as if it were part of a uniform from the Great War.

via Go West Chapter One~Ellie.

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Granny~Part 4

2 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                                    

 

In my previous musing, I spoke about my Granny’s gift of sewing. She was a master at it. And all on her old Singer treadle sewing machine.

 

Back in those days, we girls wore either hoops under our full skirts, or lots and LOTS of crinolines, to make our skirts “stand out.” Some of the things that Granny made for me fell in the category of very full – probably a full circle – skirt made from heavy felt. I loved them all. I remember a fuschia skirt,

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a turquoise skirt,

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and especially a red skirt that was made for a 1955 Christmas parade in which I took part. I was in Junior High School then (equivalent to Middle School these days). It was named Jefferson Junior High School, and our colors were red and white. Here’s a picture of a bunch of us girls in our red and white, spelling out “Jefferson.”

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Granny also made a taffeta dress for me for Easter in 1955. My, I was such a young thing then!

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Granny had a bit of a green thumb – which she did NOT pass along to me! Her favorite was the African Violet, and she had many small pots of them in the kitchen corner window. She had a real knack of caring for them, and enjoyed all the different colors of the plants she had.

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Occasionally Granny would travel back to Texas for a visit with her sisters (Loa and Lillie).

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Since Aunt Jessie was the working one in the family, Granny went alone. Here is a picture of her at the original Albuquerque airport.

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Notice the Pueblo Indian architecture (adobe) as well as the vigas protruding from the building (horizontal roof beams made of logs, usually protruding from the side of the house). We had those on our house, as well, although I think ours were more decorative than useful. When we were children-into-teens, we would go out to the airport, sit on the stone wall and watch the airplanes come and go. The original landing strip was also used by Kirtland AFB, so we got to see quite a few airplanes. And it was spectacular at night! That was also a great place to watch the July 4th fireworks!

I also mentioned Granny’s great sense of humor. Here is an example from DiVoran – my wonderful sister-in-law (love), and published author:

I recall one thing Granny said that tickled my funny bone. We were all in the kitchen washing and drying dishes, except Jessie. I had just put a plate I had dried quickly in the cupboard and Granny reached up and touched it, then she said, “Hmm, feels like it sweated during the night.”

Another thing, I asked my mother why she thought Jessie didn’t help with the dishes like all the other women did. I don’t think Mother’s answer held much water. She said it was because Jessie worked every day just like the men did and that exempted her. At the time, I bought it, but thinking back, who else worked their forty a week? Your mom and mine.

I loved my Granny, and memories of her still delight me.

 

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~

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It’s the Voice You Don’t Want to Hear

31 Jul

From the Heart
Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

The spiritual world is like a classroom.
Love?, or Fear?
Which voice are you going to listen to?
Which voice do you want to hear?

Our spirit is the part of us
that is drawn to hope-It will not give in to despair.
It is the life of us.
God’s promise is always there.

What is the difference between others betraying us
and us betraying ourself?
When your own choices harm you-
you are betraying yourself.

That is why we hold the Lord’s prayer
deep in our heart.
Begin your day with our Savior.
He promises never to leave or forsake us.
From your heart He will never depart.

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