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Kitchen Table Hierarchy

7 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

Three Christmas celebrations and one birthday just about left me partied out. I did have enjoy  making some new snacks and eating them, of course. Then, just as I thought my party schedule was blank, we decided to attend a post-Christmas family party in eastern North Carolina. ( We had barely arrived in Florida from our home in western North Carolina)

 Christmas in Florida was depressingly warm at eighty-six degrees, and I do dislike heat, so I am sure the chance to escape to some cooler temps factored in our decision.

We had dinner at one of the local restaurants then headed to our uncles house for some serious gabbing. We are a talking bunch of people when we get together. My mother was one of twelve children. That means I have a lot of cousins.

When my mom and most of her other siblings were alive, they congregated around a kitchen table teasing and laughing while my generation spread out, chasing our children or catching up with everyone. This past Fall, I noticed that it was my generation now hanging out at the table. We have ascended a step on the ladder of life.

As a rule we don’t designate first cousin, second cousin etc. We are cousins…period, but for picture purposes, we tried to separate the cousins into first, second etc. The picture is of  second cousins, although there is a first cousin in there, but she fits in better with the “youngsters.” (There are a LOT more cousins, but they were not able to attend)

Cousins

I am so proud of each one of these cousins and love them dearly. One day they will be the ones sitting at the table while their children race around keeping up with the kids. When the time comes for my generation to ascend the final step of life’s ladder, I know the family will be in good hands.

This is one of the songs my mom and dad loved to sing. Many of the artists in this video are gone now.

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Invisible GIfts

24 Dec

wreath02 skinny

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

I haven’t written a blog since Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I am blessed with amazing and faithful friends who have a blog ready every week. They even “blog ahead” when they are on vacation or know they have a busy time coming up.  Divoran, Bill, Louise, Janet and Judy, I appreciate and admire you more than you can imagine. You are  invisible gifts underneath my Christmas tree.

Yesterday, tornados slashed a path of destruction across the Southeast, leaving homes in ruin and lives were lost. I am adding safety and protection as an invisible gift under the tree.

ws_Green_Christmas_Tree_320x480
SAFETY
FAITHFUL
christmas-gifts-object-talk

At Christmas people say “it is not the gift, it is the thought behind it” or “It’s not the presents under the tree but the people around it.” For me it is the invisible gifts that last far longer than the newest tech gadget (although I love new tech) or a piece of shiny jewelry, that stays with me. I treasure growing up in a family that loved the Savior. My parents are a precious invisible gift.Mom-and-Dad-copyI could ramble on and list more gifts, but it is Christmas Eve and I would rather here from you. When you think of invisible gifts, what are you thankful for.

PS: Our sweet poet, Louise Gibson is not doing well. We would appreciate prayers for her and her family as they care for her.

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Thanks Giving

26 Nov

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

I would like to wish all of our readers a blessed Thanksgiving filled with love, laughter and joy.

In Janet’s blog this week she included a recipe for Thanks Giving. A few weeks ago, DiVoran created a photo that she titled, A Fresh Journal Page. I joined them together. I plan to  incorporate this recipe into my life this holiday season. Will you join me?

A Thanks Giving Recipe

Every day I am thankful for my friends and fellow bloggers on Old Things Are New!

Love you!

Old Things R New Family

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Success and Burdens

22 Oct

On the Porch
Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

We were blessed to have a visit from my aunt and cousin recently. We did a whole lot of eating and a whole lot of talking. One evening we even went to the performing arts center to see Jeanne Robertson. She is one of my favorite comediennes and all of her material is clean and funny. I first saw her at a Women of Faith conference and have watched many of her clips on You Tube. If you have the chance, catch her tour. I know she will be in Florida in April. This is a clip of my favorite story.

On Monday my cousin and I went on a final jaunt around town. We did a little shopping, ate some Chinese food and scoped out the new location of a doctor’s office. Of course we got a bit turned around and that was a good thing. There is this mystery store in town that I have been looking for. I call it a mystery because I had heard about it but could not remember where it was located. As we wandered around, my cousin pointed to a store and asked what kind of store is that? I looked and yelled, I want to go there! She whipped the car around in the middle of the street and right into a parking place. I was impressed. It takes my husband a little longer to react, which is why I haven’t made it into the store. We walked across the street only to discover the shop was not open any longer…BUT it was still an operational facility AND the owner offered us a tour. (Yea!) The business is Appalachian Harvest  according to their website:

“Owners, Kim and Kevin Baldwin, founded Appalachian Harvest in 1998. “Our gourmet condiments are still made in small batches, hand stirred and hand poured, just like grandma made”. No artificial colors or preservatives are used, letting the natural flavors come through. Appalachian Harvest adds a unique ingredient to all of their products, love!

These products have been featured in Taste of the South magazine, and were used for catering the 2005 Superbowl in Detroit, Michigan. Appalachian Harvest adds a unique ingredient to all of their products, love! “

The kitchen set up reminded me of my grandmother’s and that is probably why I am drawn to what I call “working kitchens.” Big pots attract me like a bear to a picnic cooler in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I want to see what is inside and sneak a taste. Kevin, who gave us the tour offered us a jar of their Hot Pepper Jelly with Cherries so I didn’t have to push down my urge to go all bear on him.

Pour pepper jelly over a bar of cream cheese to make a delicious and easy party treat.

Pour pepper jelly over a bar of cream cheese to make a delicious and easy party treat.

The best part of the tour was hearing their success story. Their newest client, William-Sonoma will be selling Appalachian Harvest Cherry Pie Filing this year. That is big for a husband and wife run company.  The quart jar we were shown was a thing of red cherry  beauty and the ingredient list showed basic ingredients, just like you use if you canned it yourself.

Here is my final thought for this week. Do you ever feel like things are falling apart around you and you need to prop them up? I do. I like to be a fixer, and then I become stressed when I can’t fix a problem. I am taking up a burden God does not ask me to carry. He wants to carry them for me!

I love this song from my childhood. When I hear the song in my mind, I am taken to a happy place and hear my parents voices singing it.

Come Unto Me

Hear the blessed Savior calling the oppressed,
“Oh, ye heavy-laden, come to Me and rest;
Come, no longer tarry, I your load will bear,
Bring Me every burden, bring Me every care.”

  • Refrain:
    Come unto Me, I will give you rest;
    Take My yoke upon you, hear Me and be blest;
    I am meek and lowly, come and trust My might;
    Come, My yoke is easy, and My burden’s light
  • Are you disappointed, wand’ring here and there,
    Dragging chains of doubt and loaded down with care?
    Do unholy feelings struggle in your breast?
    Bring your case to Jesus—He will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

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Snakes, Doves and Renting Crowds.

10 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

All week I have been strolling through my brain cells, in search of a topic to blog about and came up with zilch. This morning as I embarked on my walk around the world, reading blogs and searching twitter, I came across this post:

Rent a crowd

I had heard that some of the recent protest events had used paid protestors but even though I am always looking for an easy way to make money, I couldn’t see myself as a  paid protestor.  This post indicated some politicians had used paid cheering sections. I can cheer! After all, I once cheered for Disney World when they filmed their Christmas Parade. Then I read the part about scripted answers to questions from the press. I marked that one off too. I’m still looking for a way to make easy money so if anyone needs to hire a crowd to open a new Cold Stone, Brusters or Marble Slab ice cream store, I am available. Ditto for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. If Dippin’ Dots is hiring, I will work in exchange for the dots as I love those cold BBs of ice cream and they are too expensive for me.

Dippin dots

Remember when people would say “a picture is worth a thousand words”? If you saw a picture of someone’s action, then you took it as truth. Now with Photoshop and video editing one is wise to consider carefully what we see, hear and read before accepting it as truth. Our Father knew about this and gave us wise counsel in Matthew 10:16

Matthew 10-16

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Electronic Flu

3 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

Are you retired and feeling burned out? I couldn’t ever imagine feeling that way while I was still  working. Yet that is exactly what happened to me. Each week I spend hours online, being social and learning everything I can about marketing novels. I enjoy doing it, but even a good thing can become overdone. I was certainly overdone.

Fortunately God knows my needs before I do and we were offered the opportunity to cruise  at a very low rate. As time drew closer I went through my eReader selecting books I wanted to read and put them in a collection. By the time I finished, I had forty books for my one week cruise, maybe a bit over optimistic.

On a hot Saturday in August the three of us boarded  the ship and made our first big decision.  We were going to skip the welcome aboard show and spend the time on the upper deck, hoping to see a sunset. (We have cruised many times but have seen very few sunsets, due to dinner and show schedules.)

Well worth missing the show.

Well worth missing the show.

That set the tone for the rest of our vacation. “No Schedules, No Plans” Formal night? Who needs it? We chose alternative dining and had the chance to enjoy talking with the servers and the grilled steak in that venue is way better than the steak in the dining room. I do have to add an addendum here. Rebekah did have a schedule as she had a deadline to meet with her fabulous editor, Clive S Johnson.

DSCN0968

Rebekah working to make her deadline.

 By the end of the cruise, we had attended one afternoon show and one movie in the theater. We even skipped all the dining rooms one night and opted for room service.

The best part was being completely unplugged. Instead of internet, I opted for good old-fashioned reading pleasure.

 I had planned to download more books to my device when I went ashore to an internet cafe, but we didn’t bother getting off the ship except for a shore excursion in Jamaica. I didn’t come close to reading forty novels, but five is not too shabby.

The Books

Amelia’s Story by D.G. Torrens

I have been wanting to read this books for ages. The author experienced abuse that no child should ever have to endure from a mother. Yet the story showed me a young girl of great courage and spirit. I am looking forward to reading the sequel which I believe will pick up around age eighteen.

Think by Valerie Howard

After reading Amelia’s Story, I chose Think for my next read and it was a perfect choice after the emotion of Torrens’ novel.  While Amelia  was an outspoken heroine, Nicole, the main character of Think is just the opposite. She is stressed to the max trying to say the right thing and stuffing down her emotions. That is until she meets an odd man at the pharmacy.

Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula by Elise Stokes

This is book one of the Cassidy Jones series. It falls into the Young Adult genre and for several years I put off reading it because I thought it was a kid book. Wrong. YA books are awesome. I read this one out-of-order as I read the fourth book Cassidy Jones and the Luminous first. After reading it, I knew I had to have the whole series.  Cassidy is involved in a lab accident that causes her DNA to mutate. The mutation led to her having supercharged senses and they scared her. I don’t read superhero books but this series is special and readers of any age will enjoy the books. I hope book five will be coming  out in the near future.

Army of the Worn Soles by Scott Bury

Scott is a member of a writing Face Book group, Art Knows No Bounds which I am a member of. We hosted his cover reveal on Rebekah Lyn Books  and I knew as soon as I heard the story behind the book, that I had to read it. For a history fan, the first sentence of the blurb hooked me.

“A Canadian is drafted into the Soviet Red Army in 1941, just in time to be thrown against Nazi Germany’s invasion in Operation Barbarossa.”

The novel is a based on facts Scott gathered from conversations with his father-in-law over a number of years. A popular author I read calls books like this one, “Faction.” It is a fascinating look into the life of an unwilling soldier in the Red Army. It does have strong language, but appropriate in a war setting.

Murder for Glacier Blue by Diane Rapp

This book is part of the author’s High Seas Mysteries series. All the stories are set on cruise ships, so a perfect read! I have read other books in the series and it was fun to reunite with Kayla and Steven, especially since this is their wedding cruise. Of course Kayla and Steven always fall into a mystery and a murder and this book is no exception. I have to confess I am still reading this one. I am feel like I am on the cruise with them and loving the scenery. I am almost to the wedding part and I can’t wait to see how that turns out. Will the horrid ex be a problem, will anyone else die?

. Before the cruise I felt used up. I think I was suffering from “electronic flu.” I believe it is quite common in today’s world. Employers are now considering allowing employees to use their electronic devices while working, thereby enabling the spread of the flu. Is there a cure? Yes, find a quiet place and read a good book!

My next read is Burnt Secrets by Barbara Martin. I planned to read it on the cruise but I  hadn’t downloaded it to my device. It is set in the Smoky Mountains (My favorite place) and I am sure it will be a good read.

Random photos

I worked hard today.
Tea at Good Hope Plantation, Jamaica
Murders scare me
Our version of afternoon tea.
You can’t ake me leave.

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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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Can you connect my puzzle?

9 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

UPDATE 7/16/2015

After posting this, I began working with Earl of Earls Help Desk.  He was able to rejoin the links and make the website play nice and I am extremely grateful.

Our book website Rebekah Lyn Books is shedding! That is right, it is shedding it’s links and I have no idea how to fix this. I joined a Facebook group for WordPress but have been too intimidated to post a question. At the tiniest mention of the word code my brain begins to swim and twists.

I have been inwardly beating myself up about this but today, as I sat down to challenge the beast, I remembered something. Everyone has things they don’t do well. If I can embrace that God created us to be unique parts of the Body of Christ, then I need to embrace my inadequacies as well. I am deciding to see them as a part of the puzzle that is me, that needs to be connected. I am going to post on the Word Press page and if anyone of our readers here  have advice to share, I will gratefully receive it. Rebekah Lyn Books is a self hosted site running WP 4.2.2 The theme is Magazine Child and it has Genesis (not sure what that means)

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

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I’m so messy

11 Jun

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

I need to just come out and say this. I… am…messy. I have been a messy from my earliest memories of childhood playing with sweet Ruthie who had bouncy white blonde curls and never got her hands dirty, while we played in the dirt.

Even today, if you are brave enough to have lunch or dinner with me, be prepared to watch food fall from my fork and onto my clothes. I just can’t help it. Another fun place to be near me is in the kitchen. I can’t seem to cook without making the kitchen look like a FEMA claim. The floor get so littered I keep this handy battery powered broom to scoop up the debris. A disclaimer here, in case I bring a covered dish to your house, I am messy in the kitchen but I make sure that everything starts out clean and as germ free as I can make it.

I have struggled with this in my housewifely skills as well. Clutter, clutter everywhere. If anyone can tell me how to keep a house with no “secret” sitting room look permanently tidy, please share your wisdom! I am to the point where I am tired of losing the clutter battle and ready to wave the white flag of surrender.

As I finished typing the previous paragraph, Jeremiah 31:3 was running through my brain.

God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will.

    Expect love, love, and more love!

 That is The Message version. I know being messy doesn’t equate to being brought out of the wilderness as the verse is referring to, but it delights my heart anyway. And to add a divine touch, as I looked out the upper window in my messy living room, I saw a beautiful, brilliant red cardinal on a tree limb; more magnificent than any I have seen in my yard.

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The Secret Contest

7 May

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

This week I have been running a secret contest, so secret even my fellow bloggers weren’t informed. I debated myself about the prize, would it be a novel or a gift card? I decided to wait and see who won. Winner

And the winner is………..Linda Covella!

Linda is an author and blogger and her prize is an Amazon gift card. Being an author, I imagine she has a huge To Be Read list. Be sure to visit her blog  and consider subscribing.

A little history of this blog

January 13, 2012 I did a crazy thing and I wrote my first blog post. I had no idea what I was doing. I started it because my daughter, Rebekah had just published her first novel and I was trying to find a way to be supportive. Here is the link to my first post. After that post, I knew I needed help and appealed to my long time friend, DiVoran Lites, who kindly agreed to become a blogger. And as the saying goes…..And so it began.

 

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