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Earthquake

2 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

                                                    

I don’t remember there being much said about earthquakes in New Mexico as I was growing up.  Many other parts of our country – and the world – had earthquakes, but not New Mexico.  It used to fascinate me how the earth would “shift” and rub against another part of earth and produce such a thing. I never thought I would be involved in an earthquake, myself.  But it did happen.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a very big quake, but it was definitely enough to shake me up just a bit.

Fred and I were living in San Jose, California at the time, probably sometime in 1966, where Fred was acquiring his degree in Meteorology from San Jose State College, in preparation for his military service.  Fred’s dad was Command Chaplain for the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) (headquartered in Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio) at that time.  One of his duties was to visit the chaplains and the inspect the working of their respective chapels within AFLC.  One of those was in Sacramento, California.  So, when he came to visit that AF base, he brought Fred’s mother with him, so they could visit with us as well.

Kitty and Charles Wills 1980

Kitty and Charles Wills

We drove from San Jose to Sacramento and settled down in a hotel room.  Fred’s mother and I stayed in the hotel room and visited, while Fred and his dad visited the base chapel.  I was sitting on the bed in our room – knitting a sweater as I remember – and all of a sudden, the bed began to move!  It was an up-and-down movement, and nothing strong enough to toss me off the bed or anything, but definite movement!!

The movement didn’t last very long, but we were both going “what was THAT??!!”  Turns out, it WAS a mild earthquake.

I doubt that we were on the big fault line that will “someday” break California in half and dump it into the ocean, but it certainly gave us pause.

It certainly also gave me reason to know that I am prepared – ready – to meet my death, if it is in God’s timing for me to join Him.  I’ve tried my best to rely upon Him each and every day since then, to be ready for whatever He calls me to do.

My God is such a GOOD God!  And I love him.

One of my favorite scripture passages:

 1 Chronicles 29: 10-11

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.”

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Whisper to My Soul

1 Mar

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

“Now what Lord?” I asked when, at thirty-one, I lost my sight to an incurable retinal disease. Initially, I sunk into a dark well of self-pity. And as bitterness and anger dribbled into my soul, the murky water of defeat threatened to drown me.

But years later, when Jesus tapped my heart, He opened my eyes to see beyond my physical darkness. I learned to operate a computer equipped with a voice synthesizer. And my fingers began to dance on the keyboard stringing words of triumph and hope.

But the journey was spotted with chuckholes and hurdles. The biggest bump was how to creatively turn the feelings in my heart into words that would touch my readers.

Then one day, I sat with a heart full of insights and ideas, but my fingers froze. Then, I leaned back and said, “Lord, whisper wisdom into my soul, order into my mind and diligence into my skill.”

When He answered, I widened my spiritual eyes to see that it wasn’t me who worked those phrases together, but it was Him who directed my writing, my inspirations and my stories.

His Word became my spiritual white cane guiding me through my writing journey. Now when I sit before my computer, I take a deep breath and say, “Thank you Lord, that your instructions seep into my soul; then they spill onto my keyboard.”

It’s rewarding for me to say, “I wrote this.” But it’s enlightening to assert, “I heard His whisper.”

His Way

Janet Perez Eckles,

Grateful for the privilege of inspiring you…

My website in English

En Español

My story (video)

Inspirational video  just for you.

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Let it Go

28 Feb

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

What is it that’s bothering you?
Something you should have done,
but failed to do?

Or-

You forgave someone
when they didn’t seem to care?
Perhaps of the pain you felt at the time
they were totally unaware.

If we harbor our resentments,
we can cause an internal traffic jam.
Be kind to yourself and “let it go”-
Say “That’s just not who I am”.

Don’t be like the old man with bended head,
carrying a bag of feathers that he thinks is lead.
Take it to the Lord in prayer-
He is faithful, and He does care.

“I will be your helper, says the Lord, even He who takes up your cause”. Isaiah 41:4

“I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4

 

It's hard to be happy

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The Snow Bird Shuffle

26 Feb

Our friend, Patricia Franklin is back to share a story about Snow Birds and if you live in Florida or Arizona, they aren’t people from up north!~Enjoy,  Onisha.

A Few Thoughts

Patricia Franklin

I don’t know what the bird’s official name is, but I have always called them snow birds. They show up outdoors in the winter when everything and everyone else runs for cover from the snow and cold.   Late December or early January they show up to spend the winter near our birdfeeder. They are hearty little fellows and very striking against the white snow with their dark heads and back, buff colored bellies and black little “snow boots.” They are about the size of a sparrow and join the little red headed finches and sparrows at the feeder.

I watch the little snow birds trying to find  food while the snow is coming down and covering everything in sight.  The snow piles up on the bird feeder.  When the other birds run for cover,  the little snow birds come soaring in, land on the feeder and start shuffling their little feet back and forth and dig up the seed that is buried in the snow.  They are doing their little dance which I call the “snow bird shuffle.”  They are so flamboyant  and enthusiastic it lifts our mood and carries us on through the dark bleak days of winter into the light of spring.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Nuthatch

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Parking Lot Excitement

26 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

The other day I made a trip to my favorite giant retail store to replenish a few food items and recharge the gift card I use to buy gas.  As I pulled into the parking lot to look for a parking space, I noticed a Fire truck idling off to the side.  I often see emergency vehicles of all types at this store, since many of our community’s senior citizens frequent it.  I found a parking space, went in and quickly picked up the few things I needed, recharged my gift card, and headed back to my car.  As I was pulling out of my parking space, I noticed what appeared to be quite a bit of smoke coming from under a car in the next row of parking spaces.  The way the wind was blowing, it looked like it was coming out from under the back of the car.  I thought,  “I wonder if that guy knows how bad his car needs an overhaul?  That car sure burns a lot of oil.”

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The closer I got, the thicker the smoke coming from the car got.  Then the wind shifted slightly, and now I could see the smoke coming from under the car was also boiling out from under the hood and not the tailpipe.  I saw a lady standing behind the car, waving her hands franticly, and looking in all directions for help.  I whipped around a line of cars waiting for traffic to move, and headed for the fire truck.  As I pulled up alongside the fire truck, I saw one of the firemen coming around from the back of the vehicle and I waved him over to notify him of the fire.  He told me he had just seen the smoke, and was on the way to investigate the situation.  Before I could turn my car around and leave the parking lot, the fire truck was rolling up to the smoking car with its siren blaring.  I didn’t have time to hang around to see how long it took the fire department to get the fire out, but I’m sure it wasn’t long.

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 I thought to myself as I drove home, “If you have to have an automobile fire in a retailer’s parking lot, how lucky can you be to have the Fire Department already there, and ready to come to your rescue?”

 

           

 

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Hey Cuz

23 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

                                                    

As I’ve said before, my Father was one of 13 children.  So there were lots and lots of aunts, uncles and cousins.  Whenever we would head to Louisiana for a summer visit, we would “disperse” – my parents would stay in Grandmother’s house, my brother stayed with one boy cousin, and I would stay with a girl cousin.  Lots of fun memories with those outings.

One of those cousins, Milton, is the one my brother stayed with most of the time.  They were fairly close in age, and just seemed to hit it off.  I’m sure Bill could tell of some great times they had together.

Cousin Milton

Cousin Milton

So it was a bit surprising to find Milton and his wife at the seminary, when Fred and I landed there for Fred’s study.  While not terribly close – he was several years ahead of Fred – we still managed to get together with them a few times. Time went on – many years, in fact.  We knew that Milton and his wife had gone to the mission field as “music missionaries” to Taiwan.

Milton
Milton with parents Ray and Estelle Lites

And then we found ourselves in Orlando, and I became the church secretary for our church.  Our pastor asked at one point, that I look up the missionaries that were having their birthday each week, and publish their names and birth date, so our congregation could pray for them.  We had heard from so many missionaries that they felt especially blessed on their birthdays, since they knew people across the USA were praying for them on that day.

In the process of looking for those missionary’s names, I suddenly remember – Hey! I have a cousin who is/was a missionary!  Milton!  So I researched his name, and low-and-behold, he was on furlough from the mission field!  He had gone from Taiwan to the seminary in Columbia to teach.  So I found his e-mail address and sent off a message – “do you remember me?  Your cousin?”   He wrote back right away, and we re-established our connection after 30 years!   Amazing!

But that’s not the end of the story.  This same pastor loved to have a “Missions Conference” at our church each year.  We would have missionaries from the international field, the USA field, the Florida field, and the Orange County field come and speak to us on different Sundays.  After I had re-established connection with Milton, I asked the pastor if he would like Milton to come as the international missionary speaker one year.  He agreed, and I contacted Milton again.  He came that time, spoke in the worship services, and stayed a few days with us.  We even had Bill and DiVoran meet us for a meal, so we could connect again as a family.  It was such fun!

Milton and his wife went back to the mission field, but to Shanghai.  While we continued to e-mail each other, we had to be very careful in the wording of our messages.  We couldn’t talk about church  God.  As a matter of fact, once Milton mentioned that they had about five people “go swimming” for the first time that week.  We understood that to mean they had been baptized!  And when I had been diagnosed with cancer, and I wrote that information to him, he wrote back that he had “talked to Daddy, and everything is going to be okay!”  Daddy being God.

Milton has retired now, but we are on facebook with each other, and continue to be in touch.  I love the ways God has brought us back into each other’s lives.

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The Secret of Good Friendships

22 Feb

I ate moldy bread, stepped on snakes and almost swallowed a bug…

Yes, friends, I lead a pitiful life. When you can’t see, life can get pretty crazy.

Through the years, I’ve posted on each of the above incidents. But I also posted about the time I stepped on a beautiful rose. I’m talking about my friend. I had related details of my misunderstanding of her motives, of my own blind view of her words and the one-sided perception of the relationship. I confess: I stepped on a rose. The rose whose beauty was overshadowed by my judgment and my unfair and skewed assessment.

In the complexity of relationships, the true friends are simple in their genuine love. They’re those who are trampled upon, yet forgive. They are hurt, yet still love. They’re accused, yet they still serve.

Could it be that Jesus wants us to avoid pain when He says,

Father, keep me in line when I’m too quick to jump into conclusions. Grant me a heart to value the treasures you place before me. Hold me accountable to appreciate what is valuable in life. In Jesus’ name, amen

  • What has you feeling regretful lately?
  •  How can God’s wisdom keep you from heartache?
  •  What keeps you from admitting your mistakes?

His Way

Janet Perez Eckles,

Grateful for the privilege of inspiring you…

My website in English

En Español

My story (video)

Inspirational video  just for you.

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Where Are They Now

20 Feb

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

A young man walking through a cemetery came across this epitaph written on a tombstone:

“Pause, stranger, when you pass me by-
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be-
Prepare yourself to follow me.”

His reply: “To follow you, I’m not content-
Until I know which way you went!”

If you want to follow someone,
follow Christ, my friend.
He will lead you into paths of righteousness,
and His mercy has no end.

What we think about heaven
determines how we live today.
We can easily be led away from God’s purposes-
if we do not steadfastly pursue His way.

When things go wrong, as they often do-
How do you respond-
Do you pray it through?

It may depend on your expectancy,
Did you implore the Lord
your need to see?

Patience, dear friend,
the Lord knows our needs before we even ask Him.
He will supply those needs no matter how stark or grim.”

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for
the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:11-13

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Our Trip to the UK~Part 12

19 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

 

We rode the train as much as we could, when going into London, to avoid the traffic and the parking problems.  We did all the tourist things like visiting the Tower of London, examining the Crown Jewels, and touring Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, where DiVoran did a comedy number with Charlie Chapman, sang a song with Pavarotti, and met Queen Victoria.

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 The original Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, after the Norman Conquest of England and was a constant symbol of the oppression inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite.  The Tower went through several phases of expansion, during the 12th and 13th centuries, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I.  When we visited the Tower, we were impressed with the guards and their special uniforms.

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I wanted to take a ride on the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) to France, just for the ride, but we didn’t have enough time to cram that into our busy schedule of things to do.  Coming back from our London adventures one evening, we couldn’t get a seat in the “No Smoking” car of the last train going to Crawley, and had to spend the hour-long trip breathing the second-hand smoke from what seemed like every person in that closed train car.   The smoke was so thick, you could almost cut it with a knife.  Did you remember, it was also freezing cold outside, and we couldn’t open the train car windows?  Well, we both almost died from smoke inhalation before the train arrived at our destination in Crawley.

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Remember the couple we met at Dove Cottage (Part 7) who invited us to their home for tea?  Well, we rode the train to Canterbury and had a delightful time with them over tea and crumpets.  Professor Wainright had taught at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and was now retired (having been made redundant).  He and Mrs. Wainright were now enjoying traveling and meeting tourists from many countries like us.  He expressed the attitude of many of those we had met in Britain on our trip when he said, “We want you to know how much we appreciate all you “Yanks” did by coming over and helping us fight the Germans during WWII.

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The next day it was time to turn in the rental car, and join the hundreds of people at Gatwick airport trying to find our way to the Delta ticket counter, the Duty Free store, and finally to our departure gate.   Outside the terminal, we saw a couple British WWII Veterans, dressed in all their finery and ribbons, passing out poppies to passersby.  What a heart-rending sight that was!  DiVoran and I, along with most everyone walking by, wanted to give them a donation to help whatever cause they were supporting.

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The flight back to the U.S. seemed to take a lot longer than it did coming over; I guess because of the Jet Stream headwinds we encountered.  Delta treated us to wonderful meals, a movie and everything we needed for that trip, except a bed.  I always find it hard to sleep on those long flights, even when they turn off all the lights and I fall asleep during the movie.  We changed planes again in Atlanta, did the Customs routine, and then we were finally landing in Orlando, Florida, where our daughter Charlene and her husband Ron picked us up.  Another 45-minute trip to Titusville, and we couldn’t wait to see our “Home Sweet Home” with our wonderful beds.

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So ends the adventures of “Our Trip to the UK”or at least as much as I can remember.  I would have to take the 5th if you asked me if this was all there was, or if that was exactly how it happened, but these were some of the most memorable parts of the trip, and  DiVoran and I loved every minute of it. 

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—–The End—–

 

 

 

 

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Optical Illusion

16 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

 

 

I’ve always been fascinated by optical illusions.  Not that I can always “pick them apart” and figure them out, but I try.  There are several that I really enjoy.  Here is one of them.

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Can you see the THREE faces in there?  Look again – there really are three.

1.  The young girl is facing away from you.

2.  The old woman is in the middle – her eye is the young girl’s ear, and her nose is the young girl’s chin – with a “wart” on it (the young girl’s nose).

3.   The man’s eye is also the young girl’s ear, and his mustache is the young girl’s fur collar, with his long nose coming down over his mustache.

The hat fits all three.  Such fun!

And then there’s the one with the elephant.  Does this beastie have three or four legs?  Perhaps five legs?

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And then there’s the one with the faces in the vase.

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One of my favorite artists, other than my sister-in-law, DiVoran, is Bev Doolittle.  She paints a lot of outdoor scenes, but there are usually “hidden” faces or things within her paintings.  One of the best examples is below.  How many hidden faces can you find?

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But one of my all-time favorite illusions is a painting in the rotunda of the American Adventure at EPCOT.  If you are ever there – either waiting for the Voices Of Liberty to sing, or the American Adventure show – then check out the painting of the airplane on the wall.  Start at the left side of the painting, then move toward the opposite wall – toward the right side of the painting.  The airplane moves with you!!  Absolutely amazing!  (Sorry – I don’t have a copy of that picture to insert here)  How did the artist do that?  Whenever we are in that place, and we usually strike up a conversation with the people around us, we always point out that painting to them.  They are amazed, as well.

Some people are so talented, and I’m so glad that God made us all with different skills.  These kinds of things really delight me.  I feel like God just gives them to us to lift our hearts and let us laugh a little bit.

The American Adventure

 

To see more of the American Adventure artwork and history click HERE

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