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Road Trip~ Alabama to Arkansa

19 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

September 8, 2017 Day 2

 

Hurricane Irma continued to confuse the heck out of those in her path. Our daughter had offers of homes to share, should she decide to evacuate but like the storm, she couldn’t make up her mind.

Leaving Florence, Alabama (after getting a half-dozen of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for the road) we continued on US highway 72 .The road was for the most part, four lanes with a good distance between towns and light traffic. We marveled at the blessing of this laid back travel. Even though I had multiple books downloaded, should we become bored with the road or each other, I had yet to play one. After 46 years of marriage, we still found things to talk about.

Our back roads adventure ended in Memphis, Tennessee where we had decided to travel the rest of our westward journey on Interstate 40. Once we navigated through the city of Elvis, the interstate was not horrible.  We decided to stop at the Arkansas welcome center for a bathroom break. While I was browsing their brochures the hostess asked if we were evacuating from Hurricane Irma. I explained that we were on a planned vacation and was surprised to learn that the welcome center was seeing a lot of evacuees. This did not ease my “mother” heart.

Later,we enjoyed a late lunch at a rest stop. I had bought two pecks of apples before our trip and ate one everyday at lunch. We hauled those apples over 5,000 miles!

 

 

We arrived at our hotel in Fort Smith, Arkansas, tired and hungry. One of my goals on this trip was to not eat in chain restaurants but Denny’s was nearby and an Original Grand Slam sounded good. I was too tired to work at chewing!

 

 

When I made our travel plans, I scheduled in a rest day, every third day, so we spent two night in Fort Smith. My hope was to explore the nearby Adirondack mountains but hubby was exhausted and needed a rest. When we were going up to our room the first night we spoke with an older couple in the elevator. They were from Jacksonville, Florida and fleeing Hurricane Irma. They appeared dispirited and weary. My heart broke for them.  On our rest day, we visited the local shopping area and saw the couple again. I hope that meant they had decided to end their evacuation.

 

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Caregiver Guilt: Confessions of a Walking Glue Stick 

14 Oct

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

 

His Way

 

Reblogged 10/13/17

Continuing on in our special October filled with guest bloggers, I invite you to enjoy a writing from Dr. Linda Cobourn. It will stir your heart, bring fresh inspiration to your day.

October 13, 2017

Forgiveness is a sticky subject. Letting go is a difficult thing. And forgiving oneself seems nearly impossible. But Linda gives a fresh perspective of the pain of self-condemnation compared to the freedom that forgiveness brings.

“I’m rubber, you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.”

My father-in-law blamed me. It was unreasonable, hurled out of frustration while we stood in the trauma unit, waiting to see if my husband would survive. I was thirty miles away in a graduate class when the driver of the pick-up truck broadsided Ron’s Taurus, but the reproach stayed with me for seventeen years.

I’m a walking glue stick.

Guilt is a common emotion for those who find themselves in the position of caregiver. The 2015 State of Caregiving Report noted that 81% of spousal caregivers feel guilty, making guilt the #1 emotional trap. We think we should do it all without complaint and we become frustrated with ourselves because we can’t. We self-punish for simply being human.  I beat myself up for an accident I did not cause, questioning every decision I made concerning my husband’s care. Yes, I agreed to the emergency surgery and it damaged his heart. My fault. Yes, I let him be put into the rehab unit where his slippers were misplaced and he caught pneumonia. My fault.   I even had occasional thoughts that it might have been better if Ron had not survived the accident.

That thought stuck on with Gorilla Glue.

But God is a solvent to even the strongest of adhesives. I began to search the Scriptures for a way to dislodge my self-reproach. One day, I wa

 

Source: Caregiver Guilt: Confessions of a Walking Glue Stick ~ Janet Perez Eckles

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What is your expectancy?

13 Oct

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

 

author of Window Wonders

 

 

God will prepare everything for our perfect
happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dogs
being there, I believe they will be there.

Billy Graham

 

Corky and Angel are my little feline friends,
A gift from my Lord above.
They are my constant companions.
They fill my heart with love.

 

Family and friends are a gift from above.
God knows how important it is to love.
To love and be loved is our basic need
On this one fact we are all agreed.

 

Thank you, dear Lord, for your tender care.
I see you in people I meet everywhere.
One fact I have come to accept as true.
“Lord, I owe my life, my dreams to you.

 

You have blessed me with three great children
that I love and wish the best for.
Lord, thank you for your promises.
You are the one we all adore.”

 

 

 

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Road Trip~ Florence, Alabama

12 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

September 7, 2017 as Hurricane Irma churned her way across the Caribbean and the Atlantic ocean, we left our home in Western North Carolina for a three-week road trip. Irma was having a hard time deciding on a track and I was having a hard time hitting the road not knowing how my family in Florida would fare.  From North Carolina, I could get to them in ten or twelve hours but each day we traveled west extended that time. We lifted them up in prayer and began our journey.

We decided to minimize our time spent on interstates for the first two legs of our trip. Day one began with a scenic drive on US Hwy 76 through Hiawassee, Blairsville, Blue Ridge and Ellijay, Georgia. Beautiful area!

Have you ever been driving, or in my case, riding down the road and see a place flash by and wish you had stopped to investigate?  That is what happened to me after we entered Tennessee on US Hwy 72. I saw a sign that I thought read Lodge Factory. I began mumbling about the sign, wondering if it could be the real Lodge Cast Iron factory, and not one of the factory stores one sees in outlet malls. I must have been mumbling louder than I thought as my husband asked if I had wanted to stop there. I admitted that I did and he found a turn around and back we went.

 

 

The ladies working in the store were friendly and helpful and the best part is they seemed to genuinely enjoy working there. I told them I was hoping to buy some of their factory “seconds” and I was directed to a fairly large section. Of course, I found some pieces I needed. Just between you and me, a couple of them will end up under the Christmas tree.

Back in the car, we headed toward Scottsboro, Alabama, home of Unclaimed Baggage. My daughter had told me about it and it became a must do on my adventure list. The company purchases unclaimed baggage from airlines as well as freight that is unclaimed. They assess it, then decide whether to donate or sell it. If they decide to sell, the items are cleaned and sanitized before being placed on the shopping floor. It was a fascinating place, and of course my mind wondered about the stories behind the items.  I found the numerous racks of clothing to be overwhelming but enjoyed shopping in the smaller last call area and purchased an amazing stainless vacuum water bottle for $2.00. It was my daily companion on our trip.

 

A welcoming front porch
Husband looking for the perfect coat

We ended our first day in Florence, Alabama.  My husband loves pizza and I love Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We took it as a good omen for our trip that Cici’s Pizza and Krispy Kreme were in the same shopping area near our hotel. Pizza for supper and KK  the next morning.

 

 

 

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Somewhere

6 Oct

From the Heart

Louise GIbson

 

 

Somewhere there is a place for me.
A place I have a need to be.
A new plateau, a goal to meet.
Purpose, direction, without defeat.

 

Oh, God, give me strength to greet each day
with a cheerful countenance. Don’t let me sway.
Please let me focus on the issues of life
that bring joy to others to relieve their strife.

 

To have victory over the enemy called Fear-
the energy and stamina to persevere.

 

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Postpone Your Procrastination

22 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

 

author of Window Wonders

 

 

 

Our days are so uncertain,
we don’t know what tomorrow will hold.
Today is the tomorrow that we
thought about yesterday.
How did your plans unfold?

Have you ever wished you could have yesterday back?
Or a tiny piece to re-live?
Are there things unsaid that you wish had been spoken.
or things held back – still to give?

Lord, help us to do our best each day.
It needn’t be worthy of praise.
A warm smile, or an offer to help
never fails to brighten our days.

 

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Some Days We Soar

21 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

Some days we soar, other times we are simply hanging on. Then there are the days when we can barely lift our feet off the ground. But ALWAYS Jesus is loving on us.

 

Photo taken at Pagosa Springs Color Fest

 

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America’s North Country Trip~ Part 3

20 Sep

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

 

 

Day 3 (Sunday)

 

This morning I headed north on I-29 and west SR-34 to visit the Historic Prairie Village located in Madison, SD. This is a reconstruction of a turn-of-the-century South Dakota village, with some 40 antique-filled buildings, located on 120 acres. The buildings were rescued from the surrounding area and maintained as museum pieces. The village was too spread-out for me to walk around the whole area so I asked the lady, where I bought my ticket, if I could drive slowly thru the area and take photos. She agreed, and that allowed me to see the entire village from the comfort of my car.

 

 

Now I continued north on US-81, across the border, to visit Bonanzaville USA, sponsored by the Cass County Historical Society and located in West Fargo, ND. This museum consists of some 47 buildings moved from the surrounding area and placed to form a frontier town. Situated on 12 acres, the homes and buildings are furnished with period items. I was overwhelmed by literally hundreds of thousands of artifacts that make up the museum’s collection. There are displays of antique horse-drawn vehicles, firefighting vehicles, medical and dental equipment, law enforcement items, a telephone exchange and a small newspaper office. There are also buildings filled with antique aircraft and automobiles.

 

 

Several years ago I watched the movie “Fargo” and was not prepared for the difference between what I saw in that movie and what I experienced of Fargo today. The movie was filmed in the winter with snow everywhere and people bundled up in heavy clothes. Today in Fargo the temperature was 94 degrees (it felt like 104) and I was looking for places to cool off. The air conditioned portion of the Bonanzaville Museum wasn’t cool enough in my opinion, and most of the “Frontier Town” was outside and open to the hot air of the day.

 

 

On today’s segment of this trip I had traveled a lot of miles (275+), and was looking forward to visiting the Fargo Air Museum to cool off. However, Greta

(my Garmin) was having issues with locating the address, and by the time I finally found the museum it was closed. So I headed for the motel there in town, where I knew I could get a shower and crank down the A/C. After cooling down, I went looking for a place to eat dinner. I finally found a Denny’s restaurant where I enjoyed one of their delicious Ground Turkey Meatloaf dinners, which came with green beans, potatoes & gravy and a home-made biscuit with honey for dessert.

 

 

—–To Be Continued——

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How do we receive God’s reward?

16 Sep

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

His Way

 

 

 

How demanding life can be! You know what I mean, right? We follow that same routine—trying to catch our breath as we rush through the day, meeting everyone’s needs. Where is the reward?

My answer came through my brother and his wife Lois who were our house guests for a few days.

One evening I knocked at the door of our guest room.

“Come in,” Lois said.

I walked in and felt the ironing board. “What are you ironing?”

“The table runners we bought.”

“You don’t have to.” I protested, “You did more than enough: cleaned, rearranged, shopped and even painted a table for me.”

“I don’t mind,” she said.

She didn’t mind because that’s what she does. Anything she tackles is done quietly, with no expectation. She helps in a silence that screams kindness and pure love.

Why can’t I be that way? Secretly, I look for recognition or at least a faint sign of appreciation.

Can you identify? You just wiped the kitchen counter and cleaned the floor for the umpteenth time. But no applause from anyone.

You did the third load of laundry. No one noticed. Paid the bills with stress cramping your stomach, and no appreciation there either.

And while at work, the extra load of tasks is completed, but the boss gives no recognition. You even smile at the cashier at the store but it goes unnoticed.

Sigh! Do we just keep on giving and giving? Is there any hint of satisfaction or return for our efforts?

God has the answer:

“Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So, when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)

Father, in the secret of my heart I want to be recognized and I look for rewards. Change my heart and grant me humility to do all in the quietness of love. May my actions be for your eyes only. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What reward can you expect from the Lord today?

Janet

Video sneak peek: https://youtu.be/UeRRk9hjH5Idoing

 

Source: How do we receive God’s reward? ~ Janet Perez Eckles

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What Matters to You

15 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

 

author of Window Wonders

 

 

 

Compassion and love are what matters
Reach out to a needy soul.
There is such a hunger for recognition
Make communication your goal.

 

People need people.
Listen with your heart to this plea.
“I don’t want to walk alone.”
There is such comfort in company.

 

Every day is a blessing
that comes from our Lord above.
Walk with a grateful spirit.
Do all things in the spirit of love.

 

I recognize that bad things happen,
Most of which we cannot comprehend.
But then, we are not made to understand it.
Try to be an optimist to the end.

 

When you accept the things you cannot change
You will dwell on things worthwhile.
Put on a happy face –
You are never fully dressed until you smile.

 

Food for Thought:
“When God pushes you to the edge, trust Him fully,
because only two things can happen.
Either He will catch you when you fall
or He will teach you how to fly.” Unknown

 

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