On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
God is the Light and I long to be a moon that reflects him.
Archive by Author
Three not-so-secret ways to overcome loneliness
8 DecWalking by Faith, Not by Sight
Janet Peres Eckles
Reblogged December 7, 2018
How can it happen? Whether we’re in a crowd or in the darkness of a silent room the battle to overcome loneliness begins.
I was stunned.
CNN reported yesterday that among thousands of entries, my hometown, La Paz, Bolivia, where I was born and spent my childhood was named the No. 1 wonder of the world.
But let me share a native’s point of view. In La Paz, being the highest capital in the world because of its altitude, visitors can become deathly ill due to the decreased amount of oxygen.
On the other hand, on a sunny day, the vibrant shade of sky blue that canopies over the city is breathtaking.
La Paz is built inside a sort of moon crater. Houses of all kinds dot the mountains that surround the city. And at night, a visitor may seem as if he were inside a gigantic Christmas tree. The lights that splash all the way to the mountain tops seem to blend with the stars in the sky, creating a unique splendor.
But how sad. That closeness is a contrast to the distance we feel from God when loneliness attacks. When we feel abandoned, we can’t help but imagine God to be distant and abstract. We believe the lie that repeats we have no one. God has forgotten us. And we have no way to overcome loneliness.
Here are three not-so-secret ways to wipe out these lies:
- In the silence, in the still of the moment God is present because His Word says that “…neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).
- If we’re in God’s company, we have already conquered the army—fear, anxiety and depression that equip loneliness. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).
- Embracing God’s promise ushers hope that tomorrow new things will come about. He promised: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
Let’s Pray
Father, while in the wasteland of loneliness or the desert of despair I declare that tomorrow you will bring about new ways, new paths and new open doors. I wait in anticipation for the loneliness that burdens my days to turn to the peace that comes from you. The reassurance that your promises carry. And I will be filled with the joy that doesn’t flow from others but from you. I count on the power of your love. In Jesus’s name, amen.
- Have you experienced loneliness lately?
- What brings about your loneliness?
- How will you receive God’s comfort to overcome loneliness today?
Janet
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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.
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.
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Fun in the Whirlwind
6 DecOn the Porch
Onisha Ellis
This week is shaping into a whirlwind of a week. My daughter, Rebekah, is the coordinator for a community outreach and fundraising event at our church this weekend and I volunteered to be her chief helper and errand runner. The event, Gateway to Christmas will feature a Christmas Tree Walk. We will have 25 freshly cut Christmas trees delivered on Saturday. Each tree has been sponsored and will be decorated, then auctioned at the event. Today we went to the church and sorted the items donated by local businesses for raffling and assessed the supplies we have for the children’s activities.
Rebekah counting boxes of stickers
It was also decision day on whether to continue with the plans for the event to be held outdoors or moved inside. You know how the weather forecast seems to change daily and sometimes hourly? Well not this week. Thunder showers have been in our forecast for a week! The tension was high as Rebekah struggled with the decision but she put on her thinking cap and found a compromise solution.
Rebekah’s long time friend is a professional photographer and volunteered to shoot green screen photos during the event. He drove over from Orlando today to scout out the location and while he was here, he took some photos like the ones above. He also took photos of some of the raffle items so that we can share them on the church Facebook page. The fundraising component of the event is to raise money to replace the roof of our gym that was damaged in Hurricane Irma last year. The gym houses our totally free to use fitness center. Currently, approximately 100 people from the community exercise there.
This is one of my favorite. Rebekah won the bear when she was visiting us in North Carolina a few weeks ago.
It’s never too early to start thinking about beach days and tightening those abs!
The event is certainly a lot of work, but a lot of fun too. A lot of people are volunteering their time and resources. To take a line from one of my Children’s Christmas program, Angels, Lambs, Ladybugs, and Fireflies “When everyone works together a lot can be accomplished.”
After 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.
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How long do I wait for God’s answer?
1 DecWalking by Faith, Not by Sight
Janet Perez Eckles
Reblogged November December 1, 2018
It grows and grows, doesn’t it? The love for our grandkids, that is. It brings out the silly side in us. And also creates the loveliest of memories.
Back when my granddaughter was 18 months old, our family spent the weekend in a condo on the beach.
She had woken up from her afternoon nap and was letting us know.
I volunteered to get her.
Bad move. Although the condo was lovely, I was unfamiliar with the layout of the rooms.
So, I did what any blind Nana does. I followed the sound of her voice as my guide.
When I reached her crib, I scooped her up. “Nana is here.”
I kissed her cheek, rocked her a bit to calm her down. Then with her in my arms, I proceeded to make my way out of the room. I took a few steps to my right. I ran into the bed. I stepped to the left only to find a wall with a window. Holding her in one arm, with the other I reached out to “feel” my way out. Although I was going around in circles, I was determined to get out on my own. But my efforts were futile.
“Hey, sweet thing,” I whispered into her little ear, “you get us out of this room.”
You’ve got to trust…
I put her down on the floor. I took her by her tiny hand. Trusting her, I followed her and with ease, she led me out.
We do the same in life. Our own stubborn nature takes over. Blindly, we go around and around, groping for answers. Looking for the solution. We try to “feel” the way out of painful situations. And when no results appear, we still count on our futile efforts.
What if, instead, stretching out our hand toward Him, we allowed God to take it? Once secure, we can declare out loud the words in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
Here’s what we need.
We need His lamp to know what the next step will be. And we count on his light to guide us in the dark room of adversity. We follow His wisdom to take us from heartache to healing.
And unlike my granddaughter who didn’t ask me to trust her, God is asking us to trust in Him. But the trust can’t be a wimpy kind of trust, or half-hearted, superficial.
Instead the Bible instructs: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Are you heading in a crooked path of frustration? God knows. He’s aware of our human blindness that keeps us from seeing what only He can. And He offers the answer to guide us on a direct path. And when pure trust overflows, peace comes back, security reigns and our heart becomes still.
Let’s Pray
Father, how often I lived frustrated by going in circles. But now I know that trusting in You is the direct way to answers and the only way to freedom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Whose hand are you holding on to for guidance?
Janet
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Christmas is almost here.
Does your list include someone who needs encouragement? Someone who needs a gift for their broken heart? Or a book with engaging scripture-rich content to lift them up? I wrote Simply Salsa with them in mind. Here’s what a reader wrote:
My life was paralyzed with pain. My pastor, my friends or my family couldn’t get me out that horrible place of depression. Even reading the Bible didn’t comfort me. But a friend gave me a copy of Simply Salsa; I read the first chapter and began to sob. You wrote the book for me. For the first time I found hope. I finished the book and now my family says it’s nice to have our Sandy back. Sandy M
You can read more 5-star reviews on Amazon when you place your order HERE.
______________________________________
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/encouragement/how-long-do-i-wait-for-gods-answer.html
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.
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Today I Choose to Remember God
30 NovOn the Porch
Onisha Ellis
This is from the Jesus Always. I read from the Jesus Calling app and love that it allows me to share their branded content.
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Edisto Island Get Away- The End
29 NovOn the Porch
Onisha Ellis
As Hurricane Michael made its way ashore in the Florida panhandle, we followed its projected path on the television. According to the forecast we would begin experiencing tropical force winds during the night. By the time we were ready to retire for the evening, the winds had begun to pick up. At some point during the night, I think around 3 am the electricity went off. I lay there waiting for the emergency power to come on. Nothing happened. Surely a resort would have back up generators! Apparently not. As I went back to sleep, I wondered how long the condo would remain cool without air-conditioning. To my surprise, my room remained cool to the point it felt as though the air-conditioning was on.
We arose around 7:30 am and I looked around hopefully to see if the electricity was back on. It wasn’t. Which meant no coffee. As we shared our experiences during the night, it became clear that husband and I fared the best. Our room remained cool and we didn’t hear the wind howling. Not so for our daughter whose room faced the exterior walkway. The winds roared down the walkway and shook the windows. She ended up sleeping on the floor, just in case the windows blew out.
I was a trifle miffed that the resort did not reach out to any of the guests before or after the storm. There were no updates on the power outage or suggestions of what to do about check out. We were due to check out this morning. Were we supposed to venture out into the storm to avoid being charged for another day?
Around 9 am as we sat around, trying to figure out what to do, the electricity came on. Our first thought was COFFEE! Once we all had cups we gathered around the television to learn the status of the storm. Even with the restored power, still no phone call from the resort and they were not answering their phones.
We decided that if the bridge to the mainland was closed, the news would be reporting it. Gradually we began to see a few cars on the road outside our window. Rebekah and Pam were heading south to Florida and should be fine once they were off the island. Husband and I were kind of stuck. If we decided to abandon our plans and head back to our home in Western North Carolina, we would be crossing the path of the hurricane. If we continued with our plans, we would be driving north with tropical storm force winds. Having spent over 50 years in Florida, we had plenty of experience with tropical storms, so we felt confident that we should continue with our plans to spend two nights at a hotel on the North Carolina coast.
The previous evening, in between rain, we had loaded the majority of our luggage in our cars. This morning, we waited for a lull in the rain, then made a dash for our cars. We followed Rebekah and Pam’s car and were pleased to see that the bridge was open and the winds were not bad at all. Soon after, they turned south and we headed north.
Photo credit edistoscenicbyway.org
I’m glad we didn’t allow the less than ideal weather spoil our visit to Edisto Island. My favorite comment to my husband when we are meeting friends for a meal out and he isn’t fond of the restaurant is “it’s the fellowship, not the food.” In this case, it was the fellowship, not the weather and the fellowship was worth every rain drop.
For photos of Edisto Island visit edistoscenicbyway.org
Previous installments
After 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.
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Five questions to see if you’re a people pleaser
24 NovWalking by Faith, Not by Sight
Janet Perez Eckles
Reblogged November 24, 2018
Last week I sat across the examining bed where my 90-year-old Mom waited for the doctor.
After a complete check-up, the nurse came in with a device to measure her eye pressure. A simple procedure that took seconds.
But the results nearly knocked me off my chair.
“Hmmm,” the nurse said, “the pressure in one eye is 54.”
Fifty-four? The normal range is between 15 to 20.
I pulled out my cell and requested transportation to her ophthalmologist.
Hours later, my Mom sat in his examining chair. “Chin here and forehead on the bar please,” he said. “The eye pressure is perfectly fine.”
What happened?
The nurse at the previous doctor’s office used the incorrect devise, unreliable and pitifully inaccurate.
How many times have we done the same—use the wrong measuring device? Often, we look to the world to measure our sense of worth. We look to our job to bring fulfillment. We hope that pleasing our family will bring satisfaction. And we trust that pleasing our spouse will bring happiness.
Unaware, we use each of these as the device to measure our sense of contentment and fulfillment.
Why do we do it?
Because we want something in return. We hope the outcome will fill our need for validation.
But do we find it? Hardly. In fact, rather than gratification, disappointment comes instead.
What went wrong? Did we choose to please others before pleasing God?
I invite you to take the test.
Do you fall in these categories?
- With the best intentions dancing in your heart, do you put your trust in others? Careful because…“This is what the LORD says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength. And whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; He will not see prosperity when it comes’” (Jeremiah 17:5-6).
- Does the validation and approval from those around you increase your self-confidence? “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44).
- Are you fearful others will criticize or judge you? “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
- Are you a people pleaser—eager to do what others want and expect? “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43).
- Is pleasing God part of your daily plan? Do you share in Paul’s self-reflection: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10)
Pleasing God first brings the ultimate pleasure for the heart. Serving others is the sacrifice that brings joy with no expectations in return.
Let’s Pray
Father, thank you for the wisdom to choose to please You above all. Guard my attitude from wanting to seek validation from others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Whom do you long to please these days?
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/faith-in-god/five-questions-to-see-if-youre-a-people-pleaser.html
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What Thanksgiving Meant To Me This Year
23 NovOn the Porch
Onisha Ellis
What did Thanksgiving mean to me this year? It meant I made it through a year of deep, personal pain and am far stronger in my faith The brief moments of dipping into past memories, were nostalgic rather than tragic. I took joy working in the kitchen, side by side with my daughter to prepare our Thanksgiving meal. It was a soul satisfying day. My life and relationships don’t have to be perfect for me to experience hope and joy.
Romans 15:13-May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
To all my friends on Facebook who shared pictures of their families , thank you for including me in your celebrations. I enjoyed them all. To my friends who shared pictures of food……well that is a different story! Just kidding.
I made my first cheesecake this year. Low carb pumpkin. It was amazing.
The recipe is from Cooking Keto with Kristi on You Tube. If you want to try it, click the show more button to get the recipe.
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Go Through His Gates and Give Thanks!
22 NovOn the Porch
Onisha Ellis
I decided to share a different version of Psalm 100. This is from The Voice. Psalm 100 is one of my favorites.
4 Go through His gates, giving thanks
walk through His courts, giving praise.
Offer Him your gratitude and praise His holy name.
5 Because the Eternal is good,
His loyal love and mercy will never end,
and His truth will last throughout all generations.
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Old Things R New 