Zap It!

15 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Last week I wrote about creating a video to do list for my husband. I did it in part as a joke and in part as an experiment. The joke and the experiment were a success. My husband saw the humor and I confirmed my observation that his memory is stimulated visually.

Speaking of visually, I had an A-Ha moment this week while sipping my morning coffee on the porch.

I am not a fan of bees who buzz me. I know they are necessary for pollination so I generally try to be tolerant, but tolerance has its limit. Each day it seems one particular bee has it in for me. One morning I spent claiming Dominion over the bee but the next day it returned. Something had to be done or I would have to abandon my porch time.

On our trip to Anderson, South Carolina last week, my husband bought an electronic bug zapper.

It uses batteries to power it. There is a small button you press when you swing the racket and it emits a low voltage zing that crackles and sparks if you connect with the bug.

The first time I connected with the bee it not only crackled and sparked it sparked twice. It scared me so much I almost dropped the racket!

I searched the porch floor for the bee, but couldn’t find it. I decided the swing of the racket must have propelled it off the porch. I settled back into my chair to enjoy the morning.

Before I could finish my coffee, I heard the drone of the bee again. He was back! The zapper must have only stunned it. The bee did seem to be moving slower, so the next time it drew close I swatted it again. And that was the end of the bee…until the next day.

The bug zapper and the bee seem to be a parallel to the battle for my mind and there is always a battle as the world continually bombards me with worry, fear, anger, you name it.

I am learning to reach for the greatest zapper of all time, the Word of God and His precious Holy Spirit. Yes, like the bee, the thoughts return, but as I practice daily rejecting (swatting) them, my response becomes more automatic and often I am prompted to pray God’s will over a situation and ask for blessings over those who anger or hurt me. And sometimes, I simply swat and move on.

I am not sure if the Gif below loaded and preview isn’t working. Grr….

https://giphy.com/gifs/esvKhsEPlxvFFbGDQ5/html5

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Breckenridge 4

13 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Mabel Morgan 16 years old

From last week’s post:

“Even though Dora Bell wrote to the O’Shea address every week, she never got an answer. She was as worried about Mabel as she could possibly be, but she and Mr. Hunter had no idea where to begin looking for her. They started saving small amounts of cash so they could leave the mountain in case they ever found out where she was. “

It was two years before a letter came to the Breckenridge post office and the postmistress walked it over to the hotel where Dora Bell was cleaning a room. The letter written in a shaky hand had a Chicago postmark. Here’s what it said:

“I am in Shekakgo. I work at a bar on skid row, but I can’t make enough muny to come home.” Luv, May Bell.” There was no return address. 

As quickly as she could Dora Bell sold the cabin she had lived in for a quarter of a century to a newly arrived prospector. With Dora Bell leaving town, her long-time friend, Mr. Hunter had no reason to stay. Dora Bell grateful for the help and protection of Mr. Hunter packed up, and they caught the train to Chicago.

When they got there they went into every bar on skid row to inquire about Mabel, they met a gypsy-dressed woman who claimed to be a fortune-teller. She demanded money then told them where they could find Mabel. Later, they wondered whether she might have seen Mabel around and had taken advantage of them.

They went where she told them to go and ran into Mabel sitting in an alley under a stair-well with a baby in a box beside her. Mr. O’Shea had not turned out to be a gentleman Dora Bell had thought he was after all.  

Somehow they all got jobs and managed to care for the baby until they had enough money to return to Colorado. They lived for a while in Pueblo across from the gasworks. Young Mabel met one of the young men who worked there and after a time of courtship, Mabel and Roger married.

When Roger got a promotion to manage the gasworks in Canon City, they all moved there. A family conference decided that Dora Bell and Daddy Hunter would take Don, the baby boy born in Chicago and rear him as their own child.

Roger and Mabel started their family with Smithy, then they had a girl and named her Dora Jane. Later Mabel had another child and she was named Julia May Bedell.  

Roger Bedell, Vera Morgan, Dora Jane Bedell (4) Mabel Bedell, and Dora Bell Hunter

Author, Poet and Artist

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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On the Street Where You Live-Part 2

11 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Our little house in Albuquerque had three bedrooms and one bath. 

It had some neat features, too.  Such as the “corner” shelves in the hallway, right opposite my brother’s bedroom.  Mother had some knick-knacks there, as well as the telephone.  She kept a large basket there, where we placed the daily newspapers when we were finished with them. 

1959 – Judy on the phone – oh to be that thin again! Notice the dial telephone, and the newspaper basket on the floor

Back in those days (1950’s) we only had one telephone, and early on, it was a party-line!  I remember when we were given a phone number with letters and numbers, i.e. CHapel X-XXXX (no area code then).  You had to hunt for the CH on the number pad and dial that before the numbers. The powers-that-be finally realized that it was easier just to give the numbers, so the letters went away.

Another neat feature of that house was in the living room.  On the North wall was the fireplace.  The fireplace was bracketed on each side by a low glass-fronted bookcase, and a narrow window centered above each bookcase.

1952 – Judy in front of the fireplace with bookcases and windows. Must have been Christmas time with all those cards

1960 – A good picture of the fireplace, bookcase and window. We surprised Daddy in this picture. The mirror over the mantle now hangs above the mantle in our daughter’s house

The tops of the bookcases and the fireplace mantle provided space for some interesting things…such as my fish bowl – when I had guppies.  The mantle was the place for mom’s collection of cups and saucers.  What was funny about that was that our cat, Boots, would jump up there and walk among the cups and saucers – and not once did he knock over anything!  And he was a BIG cat!  With lots of fur!  Amazing.

1959 – Boots with Trixie, Aunt Jessie’s pug

I’ve mentioned in other posts that we had a door from the kitchen to the back yard that also led to the detached garage.  It had a screen door, and a doorbell.  When the doorbell was pushed, it gave a very different sound than the front doorbell.  So we always knew just which door we should answer.  

1948 – Daddy with Bill and me-The back door

There was storage space at the end of the bedroom hallway that held quite a bit of stuff.  There was a large door that opened to shelves.  Mother kept sheets and towels there, as I remember.  And under that door were drawers.  That was basically the storage for the entire house. But we didn’t have as much “stuff” then as we do now, so it was quite sufficient for us.

1952 – Judy and new doll in front of the storage cabinet and drawers

When approaching the house from the street, the doorbell was on the outside of the screen door.  And then you entered a screened-in porch before you approached the front door to the house.  In summer Bill or I would put up cots on the porch and sleep out there.  The windows in the living room looked to the East, so we were treated to the “purple mountains” every evening when the sun was setting.  I really miss that view.

This picture also shows the large East windows, where we could see the mountains.

The doorways from the living room led one way to the hallways that went to the bedrooms and bathroom.  Leading the other way entered into the dining room and the kitchen.  They were doorways, but open and curved at the top. See the curved-top doorway behind Bill.

1952 – The Lites Family

The dining room was a slender room.  The table and chairs were pushed up against one wall (the one with windows), and the buffet was pushed up against the opposite wall.  At the kitchen end of the room was matching tall sideboard.  Whenever we ate at that table, we had to pull it out from the wall, and squeeze by it to get anything from the kitchen.  I guess the word today would be “cozy.”

1956 – must be Thanksgiving dinner.

L-R: DiVoran, Bill, Judy, DiVoran’s brother David, Daddy ready to carve at the end, Granny, Dora DiVoran’s mother, Mom.

The kitchen was interesting – one wall was cabinets (which my mother painted pink at one time) and a window.  The sink and under cabinets were there, as well.  The stove was on one side, with the refrigerator on the other.  There was a table and four chairs in there where we usually ate our meals.  Daddy traveled a lot, so frequently it was just Mom, Bill and myself.  It was tight, but it worked.

1959 – Granny holding Trixie. Boots looking for a treat. Notice the pink cabinets, stove to the left.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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When He whispers to your soul

10 Aug

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged August 10, 2019

I settled in the seat beside my son, Jeff.   We waited with anticipation in the large theatre. The movie, “Son of God” was about to begin. This is the life! I thought, grinning like a kid with a super cool toy. Nothing like this has ever been available before…and there I was, about to try it for myself.

I slipped on the headphones. And as the movie began, so did the narration. This new gadget for the blind to hear the description of the action and silent scenes made me, well, giddy with joy.

Whenever there was no dialogue, the narration of the action whispered in my ear. And this chica enjoyed the featured movie like never before.

Whose narration are you listening to?

How about you? I know, unlike me, you have eyes to see. But I betcha you have listened to your own narration describing the scenery of your world —the things you did wrong, where you failed, what hurts, and what isn’t working in your life.

But what if we allowed God to whisper instead? He would relate His mighty strength when we’re weak. His mercy when we fail. His nurturing when we feel lost. His comfort when loneliness eats our peace. And even times when we feel unworthy, He would describe the portrait of us which He painted with His love.

The narration is sweet, the reassurance soothing. And the whisper to the soul sufficient to carry us through.

If we listen, really listen, His voice is gentle, yet carries the greatness of His power: “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:20-21).

Let’s Pray

Father, in those episodes of affliction, of restlessness and insecurity the whisper of your voice lifts my fear, dries my tears, and brushes calmness into my days. In the name of Jesus, I thank you. Amen.

Whose voice will you listen to today?

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

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

Seeking Peace-In the Everyday

9 Aug

My husband asked what I planned to do today. “I’m not sure, just piddling around,” I answered. I needed to put a clean cloth on the dining table and I wanted to spend some time working on new tweets for Rebekah Lyn Books.

I usually work on my computer at the dining alcove table so I decided to change the tablecloth first. I knew that staring at a task undone would annoy me.

I enjoy choosing a fresh tablecloth and had one in mind as I opened the drawer, a cheerful one with splashes of blues and flowers. But lying on top was a vintage tablecloth that had belonged to my mom. For years I didn’t use it because it is about 2 inches shorter than my table, then one day I said, what the heck. Each time I use it now, I am reminded of delicious meals and interesting conversation around the table. For me, the the tablecloth represents love.

I spread the cloth and began to choose what other items to add. Yesterday my husband brought in a yellow gladiola and I had placed it in a tall hot pink vase, enjoying the vibrant colors. I definitely wanted to enjoy it on the table.

When I turned 50 my family threw me a surprise birthday party. I received a flower pot in the shape of a VW van with flowers and peace symbols on it. I was a child of the Flower Power generation. I can’t remember if it was a gift or a decoration. For decades it has been simply a decoration on a shelf. A pleasant memory.

This year I decided to put it to use as it was intended, a flower pot. In Florida, I loved a plant called pink splash or polka dot plant as some are also green and white.. The plant was hard to grow as it does not flourish in the heat and I killed them summer after summer. The first time I grew them In North Carolina, I was shocked at how rapidly they grew and how large. Definitely not a small house plant.

For my flower power pot, I planted cuttings from the ones by my front door and they rooted immediately. Then I waited a week until they were healthy enough to trim. I didn’t want leggy plants.

The final object on my memory table, that’s what I began to call it as I wrote this piece, is a hot pad my daughter gave me as a souvenir from her Ireland trip. On our family trips each summer, I would purchase a hot pad with a picture of the place we visited as my souvenir memory. So this item touches memories past and present.

If you have been reading her blogs detailing the trip, you know how appropriate the umbrella is!

After all this chatter, here is the picture of my memory table. It is certainly not decorator quality, but it makes me smile and soothes my heart.

Often the slow times in our day can lead us to focus on the negative and we end up dissatisfied and angry. To guard against this, I find it helpful to remember the excellent advice of Phlippians 4:8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

OOPS! I forgot the most important thing I needed to do this day. Make my husband a Keto peanut butter pie for his birthday tomorrow. He has lost 68 pounds!

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There Are Memories and Then There is Memory

8 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

We didn’t have any adventures this past week to write about but we do have a nice memory stored up. Speaking of memory.

I have a question for the ladies. Does your husband seem to have memory loss when it comes to working on his “Honey-Do” list?

Image by Greg Montani from Pixabay

Mine has an incredible capacity to remember almost every movie he has seen, right down to the actors names. The same for You Tube videos. But he can’t seem to remember his “honey-do” list.

I have been trying out some apps by Adobe Spark and Adobe Video allows one to easily make short videos. While playing around with it, I experienced an A-HA moment. I would make a video for my husband!

The video is 45 seconds long. It incorporates a video list, my voice reading it, a guitar soundtrack and a humorous photo. I could have made it shorter, but I wanted to throw multiple options at his memory bank. I chose guitar music as he finds it to be relaxing.

And it worked! Without him knowing what I was up to, I casually asked him what he would like to accomplish this week, then I secretly created a list of 10 items. Monday I sent the video to his phone and he has already completed 9 of them. So ladies, download Adobe Spark Video ASAP and start creating!

My honey-do list this week included getting estimates from tree services to have a dead pine tree removed. It blew over in a rain storm a few weeks ago and was caught in the branches of another tree. I called yesterday and this morning, a very nice young man who owns the business came out and took the tree down. I think it took him 30 minutes. The tree trimming business has changed since we last had a tree removed. They have cool equipment!

Speaking of cool, I am looking forward to fall. Fall in the mountains of Western North Carolina is magical, with pleasant daytime temperatures and crisp evenings. It is my favorite time to explore new places outdoors or revisit favorites like the Heintooga Ridge Road, a one way drive through the woods off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Before the bridge was put in, one drove over a concrete pad to ford the water. Our children spent many happy times playing in the cold water and eating a picnic lunch on the bank.

Once the bridge was built, we moved our picnic to the Heintooga picnic area which is at the beginning of the one way drive.

Heintooga Picnic Area has 41 picnic sites, each with a table and charcoal grill. Magnificent trees surround the picnic area and the higher elevation provides opportunities to see birds that live high up in the mountains.
About half of the picnic tables were handmade of stone by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930’s. They made the seats from split logs. More than 80 years later, these tables still provide a nice place to picnic.

MySmokyguide.com

If any of my readers feel inspired to create your own to do list videos, I would love to hear if they were successful. You could even do this with your children!

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.

Breckenridge Part 3

5 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Story by Dora Bowers and DiVoran Bowers Lites

Mabel never went back to school after she came out of her typhoid fever quarantine. She had lost all her hair because of the disease, but when it came back it was dark and luxurious for a while. Later on, it turned prematurely white.

When Mabel was sixteen Dora Bell made the acquaintance of an older man who was from Chicago and who stayed at the hotel where they worked. He stood at 5’9”, and had reached perhaps fifty years old. He weighed 175 pounds. He was well fixed and well-dressed in a worsted-suit and a snappy Bowler-derby hat. He wore a clean shirt every day, washed by the laundress at the hotel. Big words flowed from his mouth and Dora Bell admired how well educated he was. 

One day Mr. O’Shea introduced the idea that Mabel should go back to Chicago with him so she could get educated and make something of herself. Although hesitant, Dora Bell had to agree that there was nothing for her 16 year old daughter in the small mining town except ignorance and drudgery. Dora Bell decided to trust Mr. O’Shea. 

Picture by Amazon

Picture by Pixar

Mabel was thrilled and excited at the prospect of going. She had a lovely new dress and a pretty bonnet to protect her sensitive skin from freckles and tanning. Mr. O’Shea provided her with a coat to keep her warm during the long train journey. 

Picture by Pixar

Dora Bell was alone on the mountainside now. But she did have a long-time friend to talk things over with. She had met Mr. Hunter when she nursed his wife who eventually died from typhoid fever. Mr. Hunter did everything he could to repay Dora Bell for her compassion and nursing skills. They were able to talk about their sorrows with each other, and he wanted to do what he could to help Dora Bell find Mabel. 

Even though Dora Bell wrote to the O’Shea address every week, she never got an answer. She was as worried about Mabel as she could possibly be, but she and Mr. Hunter had no idea where to begin looking for her. They started saving small amounts of cash so they could leave the mountain in case they ever found out where she was. 

Author, Poet and Artist

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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On the Street Where You Live

4 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Now that’s a familiar tune, isn’t it?  One of my favorites from My Fair Lady.  Fred suggested that I write about the places we’ve lived, and I thought it to be a good idea,  since a lot of these “memories” I write about are for our descendants.  So here we go.

To start with myself, I was born in Dallas, Texas.  For some reason, I can remember the address of that house quite well – it just seems to resonate with my brain.  I’ve never been back to Dallas to see that house, although I’ve looked it up on Zillow.  Looks like it has been well taken care of by all those who have owned the house.  They even have a swimming pool in the back yard! Wow!  In that Texas heat, they probably need it.  I have some pictures of the house – front, back, and the bedrooms Bill and I had, but I have no memory of it.

Judy in front of our house

My brother, Bill

Backyard, Bill, Judy and Aunt Jessie

Now there’s a house I remember!  Daddy went to Albuquerque before we did (Mom, Bill and I) and purchased the house.

We lived in it the entire time I was growing up, and Mom lived in it after Daddy died, and until she and my step-dad moved into an apartment in their later years. It was a neat little house with three bedrooms and one bath.  Oh how we ALL wished for more than one bathroom!!  Daddy kept threatening to add another one as we were growing up!  But he never did.  

According to Zillow, it has 1,065 square feet of living space.  Considering the houses Fred and I have lived in, in the past 30 years, that is really small.  But it didn’t seem small to us – it was just right.  It was built in 1940, and we purchased it in 1945.  The lot size is 6,251 square feet.  The front yard was not huge, but the back yard was much larger. 

While a bit of a double exposure, it shows the size of the front yard. Mother talking with our neighbor, Leon, and granddaughter, Charlene

Our backyard.  Smokey, Bill & DiVoran’s dog

One addition they did make was a patio between the house and the detached garage. It had a roof over it, and because it was facing West and the sun was there in the evenings, they had a long roll-down shade on that West side.  We had many meals out on that patio.  It actually attached to the garage, which was nice.  Mom and Dad set up a picnic table with bench seats, for our meals.  A couple of lounge chairs and we were set.

A birthday meal on the patio – Mom, Aunt Lillie and Granny

On the patio – Judy with Boots, DiVoran with Smokey under her chair

Part of the patio – Our cat, Boots, liked to sleep in the flowerbed

The detached garage was neat.  It consisted of three rooms – a storage room, the laundry room with washer (never did get a dryer – we had clothes lines for that) with a small space heater, and later a large standing freezer, and the last room was for the car.  There was a full-width shelf above the car space that was always full of Mom and Dad’s “stuff.”  

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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So, what’s another disaster?

3 Aug

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged August 3, 2019

When will I learn? You’d think by now, aware of the limitations of my blindness, I’d be careful, really careful with the experiments and projects my young granddaughter and I do.

“It’s a disaster,” she groaned.

She was right. I had placed the hot iron on the paper covering the group of beads she creatively arranged on a pegboard.  The iron was too hot? I pressed too hard? Or missed one step in the instructions?

Don’t know. But after I lifted the iron, part of the melted beads had spread on the carpet, burning a baseball-size spot. Gulp.

Lesson Learned

After we dried her tears of disappointment, I took a deep breath, and then wisdom trickled in.

I knelt on the carpet and once the rug had cooled, I gently rubbed the palm of her hand on the scorched spot. “Feel this? This will help us remember that when we mess up, it’s not a failure if the mess-ups teach us a lesson.”

“What lesson?

“To read instructions more carefully.”

How many disasters have you have in life? Broken relationships, financial troubles, bad decisions, failed careers.

And the mess is there. They formed a rough spot in our heart, difficult to clean up.  Heartache and   regret melted in areas where they shouldn’t.

What if we didn’t consider them failures?

Instead, those very events can become God’s powerful reminder that He still restores. Because of Him, we may stumble, but will never fall. Relationships end, but His love still remains vibrant. Finances crumble, but He still provides. Careers end, but He gives new beginnings. Illness wants to shake away our peace, but His hand stops the fear.

When embracing the lesson, life smiles again as we repeat “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:7-8).

Let’s Pray

Father, how often the failures, mistakes or calamities of life had threatened to shake me. But now, because you’re near me, peace still sings in my soul. And I know each broken area is the lesson that teaches me to wait in expectation for something new, something better, something richer and something worthy of your praise. In Jesus’s name, amen.

  • What has failed in your life lately?
  • Where do you find the lesson?
  • How will you allow God to turn it to good?
  • Which of your problems can be turned to a blessing for you?

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

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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It Can’t be August

1 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Can you believe it is Thursday already? This week is flying. Over the weekend I went down the rabbit hole of ancestry research. Sunday night, Ancestry.com and its enticing green leaf tips kept me enthralled until after 3 am. I couldn’t seem to stop clicking just one more hint. Of course, once I decided to step away from the computer, it took me an hour to fall asleep.

Ancestry green leaf for tips.

My husband and I had been talking about driving through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and into Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to do some shopping. Monday morning, after 4 hours of sleep, I checked the week’s weather forecast and Monday was the only day with no prediction of rain. Sigh…Coffee to the rescue!

The weather was beautiful, sunny with a light cool breeze and we enjoyed the drive, taking advantage of the time to work on finishing the latest Baldacci audio book.

By the time we drove through Cherokee, NC and passed Newfound Gap on the North Carolina/Tennessee border, we were ready for lunch at one of our favorite picnic areas, Chimney Top. Stopping for a relaxing picnic is probably my favorite part of the drive.

Who says you can’t eat Keto on a picnic?

The restrooms are modern but housed in beautiful rustic stone buildings.

Recently videos have made the rounds of tourist getting too close to animals in the National Parks. One set of parents even ran and left their child to be tossed by a bison. There are signs everywhere warning people to keep their distance. This sign was on the inside door of the toilet stall. Unless one is blind, you can’t miss them.

Our first stop in Pigeon Forge was the Corning Revere Clearance center. It is one of my favorite stores. I love bargains and yes, I have a thing for kitchen stuff, think SnapWare. To my utter dismay, the store was empty..closed..gone. We even drove around to the front of the store, hoping for a “we’ve moved” sign. I pulled out my phone to find the location of the two other stores in the area, but the internet wasn’t loading so I moved to plan B. I would ask at a clothing shop in the same shopping center, it was the second store on my list.

In the clothing store the sales lady asked if I needed help and I asked if she knew where the Corning store had moved. The store didn’t move, it was closed along with every store in all 50 states! The company moved all of their business online. I fear this is going to be a snowballing trend in retail.

I found a bargain on a pair of jeans in the clothing store and then we moved on to my husband’s shopping spots-three discount tool stores, a camping outlet and his all time favorite, Smoky Mountain Knife Works. This place is huge! I didn’t take a picture as one would not do it justice. Here is a fun, short video from You Tube.

After all the shopping we began to think about supper. Pigeon Forge is pure tourist and loaded with restaurants but my taste buds had been salivating since we passed a Publix supermarket on the way to the knife store. Publix makes the best fried chicken. I went inside to buy a box while my husband set us up at a bistro table outside. We had everything needed except forks, but who needs forks for fried chicken?

After supper it was time to head back over the mountains. We were hoping the elk that hang out in the evening near the visitor information center at Oconaluftee would be near the road. They were reintroduced into the park several years ago and it has been successful. Often there are quite a few, but this time only 4 or 5. I took several shots of them. Photo bomb warning…..

By the time we arrived home, both of us were tired, but happy tired. Tuesday sped by after I got a sleepy, late start. Wednesday we met friends for breakfast and then I opened my computer and logged on to Ancestory and the rest is history! Pun intended. I’m now trying to figure out how my ancestors went from being part of King Henry VIII’s court to tenant farmers in North Carolina!

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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