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Seeking Peace-Eating Fried Chicken

2 May

My mother made the best fried chicken. She didn’t do anything fancy, flour, salt and pepper. Then she cooked it slow in a big cast iron skillet covered with a lid. The secret to her chicken was the oil she used…bacon grease. If you haven’t had fried chicken cooked in bacon grease, you missed out on some good eating.

As the chicken approached being done, she turned up the heat to give it a nice crisp skin without all the heavy batter coating.

Before we began eating Keto, Friday was pizza night. I have tried several pizza crust recipes to continue the tradition but I am not good at it, so we switched to Friday Fried Chicken night. It is not a great Keto choice but it keeps my husband happy and willing to eat on plan the rest of the week. And as a plus for me, a supper with no meal planning!

Two weeks ago as we were digging into the chicken, I watched as my husband speared a chicken breast and resentment welled inside me.

Why does he assume he should get first choice?

My oldest brother always was given the choice piece and as the youngest, I got a leg. This was not the first time this memory of my childhood rose up. I chastised myself for feeling petty again.

Silently I vowed this resentment has to stop.

I confessed my resentment of my brother and my husband to God and asked him to remove it from my heart and mind. The following Fried Chicken Friday I waited for my husband to choose his piece, then watched as he moved it to his plate.

I felt resentment free!

One single incident of long buried resentment doesn’t seem like much, I know.

Why would I be concerned about an ancient deed? In my case, that ancient deed triggered resentment and holding on to past injustices was a crack used to turn a simple family meal into a banquet of simmering anger.

Love: Love can flow more freely when I release past hurts, no matter how trivial they seem.

Joy: I chose with joy to eat a chicken thigh this week.

Peace: The past two weeks God has been recalling memories of myself as a child. It’s kind of like He is dusting and cleaning up my past. Making it shine.

I'm a winnerAfter my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2019 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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Bombshell

1 May

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

My email inboxes (yes, I have several emails for different purposes) seem to be stuffed with headlines that begin with New Bombshell Report . Often two or three inboxes will have the same headline from the same sender. HOW do they get my multiple addresses?

For a time, I would open one or two, thinking it was something newsworthy. Turns out, the newsworthy part is the sender is asking for money to prevent whatever catastrophic event they are predicting.

I am weary, you could even say shell-shocked from the daily assaults.

Unsubscribing doesn’t work. I attempted to unsubscribe to a site and now I get multiple emails per day informing me the email was undeliverable. Per..Day…For Months

I do have a positive bombshell to share. My visit to eye doctor was a smashing success! My pressures are normal and I can say adios to the Florida heat and hello North Carolina mountains! Except…now it is almost Mother’s Day and I feel guilty about leaving my daughter and missing the Mother’s brunch at church. So maybe change my adios Florida to adios mas tarde.

This morning I read John 10:10 in the Amplified Bible.

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”

I’m not letting the thief steal or kill my joy!

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How Precious

30 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Our guest pastor this week titled his sermon, Who Am I? He referenced Psalm 139:13-17. His message encouraged us to see ourselves as much loved unique beings.  I have read this passage often, but this time, verse 17 caught my attention.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!


13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Morning High Jinks

26 Apr

I mentioned our rascally squirrels in a previous post this week. They are devilishly clever. They seem to know exactly how many steps one can take out the back door before they need to run.

Last night, I put batteries in my camera (husband wisely insists that batteries not be left in the camera) and decided to try to capture a few shots.

Sure enough, as I sipped my morning coffee, I saw not one but three squirrels. One was on the feeder, one on the bird bath and one on the ground. I didn’t capture the one on the ground as he scampered when he saw me.

I wish the pictures were more clear but it is hard to hold the camera steady and focus. The one on the bird bath was getting ready to dash into the trees and was followed by the feeder thief who made like a fire fighter and slid down the pole!

He didn’t go far though. There were still seeds to eat! He parked in one of the aloe plants we are are rooting and continued eating. Pretty clever to rake some seeds into the pot! Even with his thieving ways, he is cute.

I usually post a Seeking Peace blog on Fridays but the one I am working on still has work to be done…in me. I will give you a hint. It involves fried chicken. Yum.

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Cute and Cunning

24 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I have mixed feelings about squirrels. Their impish personalities are charming and I am certain they enjoy showing off. Often I wish for a camera handy to catch one as it drinks from the bird bath. On the other hand, they are greedy creatures and can clean out a bird feeder in record time. Sometimes they pair up. One climbs the feeder pole and rakes out the seeds to its partner in crime on the ground.

Photo credit Pixabay

Today was the second and final laser treatment of my eye. At the surgical center, the people “up next” sit in a small alcove where the tech administers eye drops. The wait to be treated can take an hour or more and the patients tend to chat. Today’s group was quite chatty. The man sitting next to me wore woven deer hide boots. After he left, conversation turned to shoes, specifically, sneakers. Five out of five preferred Sketchers. We could have done a television ad!

I have a check up next week to see how my pressure responded to the treatment and then we can head to Western North Carolina or as we call it, “God’s Country.”

Brother-in- law, Ron at Cullasaja Falls

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Bacon on the Hoof

23 Apr

On the Porch
Onisha Ellis

Following a low carb high fat way of eating makes me see pictures in a whole different light. I snickered when I saw this photo. It shouted bacon and chicken thighs!

When God Takes Charge

20 Apr

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight Janet Perez Eckles

    Reblogged April 20, 2019 Self-pity haunted me at night when I first faced the anguish of my 19-year-old son Joe’s death. My world turned upside down with heartache. I sunk in desperation, wondering how I could ever face my tomorrows dragging the heavy chain of sorrow. Would I ever be able to laugh again? Would peace come back? Would God have mercy and fill the void of his absence?

Questions and more questions filled my shattered heart.

But one day, that same broken heart received a glimpse of hope, a ray of comfort and a breakthrough of truth in Christ. He also dragged the cross. He bled his pain. Without complaint, sorrow scraped his heart too. And then nailed on the wood, he tasted the bitterness of betrayal mixed with the hardship of injustice. Why did He not fight? Beg for freedom from the cross? Or curse His fate? The answer echoes through humanity. Because He knew glory awaited Him. He was certain eternity was His. And He counted on heaven.

Jesus knew God’s plan.

God had taken charge. He had a plan. His plan was to make the way for our deepest pain to be nailed on the cross. Each drop of blood He shed washed our sins clean. And through Jesus, God took control by defeating the enemy so we wouldn’t have to. As I faced the other side of sorrow, I embraced that truth. With the celebration of the resurrection of hope, and the rebirth of my joy, came a new beginning—my own Easter Sunday. And while wearing the new outfit of healing, of joy and renewed gusto, I got busy creating a new joy-filled life. That was my life that also was resurrected. Not for my own satisfaction. Not for my comfort. But to be the banner telling the world what God had done, for others to see what happens when we nail our sorrow to the cross and allow God to take charge.

How about you?

Have you reached your own Easter of triumph for others to see? Whether sorrow or serenity, we’re subtly creating a legacy, weaving memories, and painting strokes on our own portrait. And for the Easters to come, the portrait will display the life we lived, the values we held and the conviction that danced in our heart when we answered: No matter what the answer, there is no cross of pain that can hold us down; no suffering that can hold us back because Jesus is alive. And with passionate Love He declares, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Let’s Pray

Father, I thank you for the triumph. And I pray your everlasting love nourishes my desires, goals and dreams. I ask for wisdom to let you take charge so I may leave a legacy that honors you and resonates with my children’s children. In Jesus’ name, amen. Do you have the courage to let God take charge? Janet ______________________________________ Did you know I wrote a book filled with words of encouragement, uplifting thoughts and illustrations of real-life triumph to empower you? Its title, Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life. You can get it HERE. CLICK HERE for a one-minute inspirational video. Looking for a speaker for your upcoming event? A great speaker makes the difference between a so-so event and one that shines with impact. I invite you to view one of my two-minute videos HERE. Please share: Feel free to share Janet’s posts with your friends.   Source https://janetperezeckles.com/blog/when-god-takes-charge.html  
Janet Eckles Perez
Some say she should be the last person to be dancing. Her life is summarized in this 3-minute video: http://bit.ly/1a8wGJR Janet Perez Eckles’ story of triumph is marked by her work as an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host, personal success coach and master interpreter. Although blind since 31, her passion is to help you see the best of life. www.janetperezeckles.com

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No One Else

18 Apr

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

I have a follow up visit with my eye doctor today. I’m feeling a little anxious and a little hopeful. My eye feels much better. While I am thankful the procedure is available, I am praying I won’t need to repeat it.

Featured

16 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Pixabay and Unsplash are my favorite sites for free photos. Lately, Pixabay has been winning over Unsplash because instead of typing in a subject to browse, I have been stopping to browse the pictures Pixabay features on their first page. In this way, I have found some stunning photos as well as humorous ones. Here is one I found today.

It struck me that this is how I tend to approach God. I “type” in my requests for the day without looking to Him for what he had already chosen to show me.

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Look for this friend to end your loneliness

13 Apr

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles


Reblogged April 13, 2019

Why in the world am I so slow in eating? I asked myself all the time. My college friends got tired of waiting for me. Today, my friends get restless as they wait beyond the time they finished their own meal.

But God sent me a loving friend who sits, chats and never complains as I eat my last bite.

We all need friends like that, especially when we’re at the table of sorrow. Have you ever been there, trying to digest the pain of the moment with no friends around? Fighting self-pity, we look up and see the mountain tops where others walk. We observe the joy that fills others’ lives and we wonder, when is it our turn?

And when we ask that, our circumstance looks worse.

We long for that someone to come. We desire the company of that special someone. The person God will send who will stay with us to the end.

Is there such a person? While we look and look, and no answers come, the pain deepens. Secretly, we keep hoping to have someone around to mend our broken heart. To hold us when the silence of the night is deafening. But reality barges in—friends are too busy with their own lives. They can’t be with us or around us.

“But God — it is he who will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you, so don’t be afraid or downhearted” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

His Promise

His promise is that He goes ahead of us, paving the way, preparing the outcome and putting all the pieces together.

In expectation for that to happen, can we believe He’s telling us not to give up; not to give in to discouragement? Is He speaking to us when He says, “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end” (Psalm 48:14).

Till the end. Not only while we read inspirational messages. Or only while we’re in prayer, or seated in a church pew, but when, in the privacy of our disappointment, sad moments invade our heart. When our tears soak our pillow. That’s when, though we may be unaware, every minute, every second the friend of all friends—Jesus’ hands are around our pain, His voice whispering into our cries and His promise echoing through our emptiness.

Let’s Pray

Father, I confess of my impatience in the waiting. Grant me the peace I need to expect the best from You, my best friend, to focus on the blessing and to take each step in anticipation of great things to come. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What friend can you count on till the end?

Janet

______________________________________

Did you know I wrote a book filled with words of encouragement, uplifting thoughts and illustrations of real-life triumph to empower you? Its title, Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life. You can get it HERE.

CLICK HERE for a one-minute inspirational video.

Looking for a speaker for your upcoming event? A great speaker makes the difference between a so-so event and one that shines with impact. I invite you to view one of my two-minute videos HERE.

Please share: Feel free to share Janet’s posts with your friends.

Janet Eckles Perez

Janet Perez Eckles’ story of triumph is marked by her work as an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host, personal success coach and master interpreter. Although blind since 31, her passion is to help you see the best of life.Some say she should be the last person to be dancing. Her life is summarized in this 3-minute video: http://bit.ly/1a8wGJR

www.janetperezeckles.com

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