Serendipity

20 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy

                                                     

I just LOVE the serendipity times that happen in my life!  They provide such fun – even though I really didn’t have anything to do with the event.   I remember when we were living in San Antonio, Texas.  Our church was in downtown San Antonio.  Frequently, when the morning church service was over, we would walk the few blocks down to the famous River Walk, and have lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

English: Casa Rio restaurant along the shores ...

English: Casa Rio restaurant along the shores of the San Antonio River Walk. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One time, while Fred’s parents were visiting us, we took them down to the River Walk, since it is such a tourist attraction for the city.  We usually would walk down one side of the river, then cross over and walk back on the other side, giving us a full view of what was on each side.  While we were walking that one day, we happened upon a small wedding being held across from us, on one of the large flat rocks.  Just the bride, groom, minister, and two witnesses.  But after the “kiss” everyone who had stopped to witness the event clapped and cheered.

Another serendipity happened just recently at Downtown Disney.  Fred and I like to go fairly early, to catch the cool of the day.  We park in the “middle” then walk to the end and back, just to see everything and get some exercise.  This one particular day, as we were about to head over the bridge to West Side, we saw a young man walk quickly to a young lady walking just ahead of us.  In one swift motion – with her saying “what are you doing here?” – he was down on one knee, ring box open, and asking her to marry him!  She was screaming and squealing at the same time.  And then he was placing the ring on her finger, and they were hugging and kissing, and we were all cheering!  Then we realized we were hearing a small plane overhead.  As we looked up, we saw the plane with a banner trailing……”(name) will you marry me?”  The plane with the banner flew around and around for about five minutes, causing quite a stir among the guests.

As we were finishing our “walk,” and approaching the same area on our return trip, we saw about 25 people all lined up for a picture – the couple’s families.  They were all in on the proposal.

As Fred said – there goes the money for the honeymoon!

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Your’re Music Is Annoying

17 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Onisha

While strolling through my twitter timeline on Wednesday I came across this tweet from someone I don’t know. “How to Communicate your Displeasure with Neighbours using Wi-Fi”.  Intrigued, I followed the link (If you don’t click this link you won’t get my point.)

After I finished snickering I began to think of how this could be used in a positive way. My first thought for use in my life was Christian outreach. What if I named my network Micah 6:8? Would anyone be curious enough to look it up? How about a weekly encouraging word?

Sadly, my second thought was how could this be used for marketing? Now my mind was working overtime and I found myself giggling. If you don’t feel the need to be anonymous the possibilities are endless. I could title my network OldThingsRNew.wordpress. If you are an author you could try posting your book links, novel lines or announce “another 5 star review!”

Moving beyond marketing I imagined a whole neighborhood getting involved in a mini-flash fiction.

Carrie slowly opened the door

            Drat! It’s that weirdo down the street

            I let him in once.

You can see my quirky mind has taken off on it’s own tangent. I would try to be more normal but it’s not nearly as much fun.

 

            

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U.S. Space Walk of Fame

16 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

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As two of the many workers on America’s Apollo moon landing program, Ron Spangler and Bill Lites were looking forward to attending the ground breaking ceremony for the Apollo monument at the U.S. Space Walk of Fame.  When completed, the U.S. Space Walk of Fame will honor the men and women who have been part of the U.S. Manned Space programs, from the first Mercury launch to the last Space Shuttle launch.

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The ceremony took place in Titusville, Florida on July 16,1999 exactly 30 years to the second of the launch of the mighty Apollo/Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center.  This was the rocket that carried the Apollo 11 spacecraft, and the first men from Earth, to a landing on the moon.  The Apollo monument was the third in a series of four planned monuments making up the U.S. Space Walk of Fame.  Astronauts Wally Schirra and Gene Cernan were among the honored guests, and more than 300 attendees were on hand to commemorate this special event.  As part of the ceremony, a bronze bust of President John F. Kennedy, who originally challenged our nation to what became the Apollo Lunar Landing program, was unveiled.

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The first of America’s Manned Space vehicles was the one-man Mercury capsule that carried a succession of American astronauts on missions into Earth orbit to prove man could live and work in space.

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Next in the progression of space vehicles was the two-man Gemini capsule that carried additional American astronauts into Earth orbit where they practiced space vehicle maneuvering. This involved rendezvous and docking procedures with various target vehicles.  In addition, space walks were performed to test space suit design and function.

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The Apollo project used the mighty Saturn V launch vehicle to carry American astronauts in the three-man Apollo space capsule and the two-man Lunar Landing vehicle to the moon, where Neil Armstrong and Buss Aldrin were the first humans from earth to set foot on the moon.

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The Space Shuttle was America’s 7-man reusable space plane that was used to assemble and serviced the International Space Station, and perform many other important manned space missions.  This was truly an International venture.

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The Hubble Space Telescope along with countless military and scientific satellites were placed in Earth orbit using the Space Shuttle Orbiter.

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So it was that Bill and Tom were there with the many others, that day, who came to the U.S. Space Walk of Fame ceremony to represent the nearly 300,000 dedicated men and women employed by NASA and a variety of contractors from all over America, who toiled to make the United States Manned Space Program a reality for the world to see and appreciate.  What a great feeling of satisfaction and pride each of those workers deserves to have, as a memory, for the rest of their lives.

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Hope

14 Jan

My Take

DiVoran Lites

DiVoran Lites

When I walked past Jim’s house, yesterday, he was standing in the driveway with his beautiful collie, Maggie, and his son’s pit bull, Ace.

When asked how he was, Jim replied, “Now that I have given up all hope, I feel fine.” He was joking, but the statement had meaning, too.

Jim (somewhere in the 45 to 50 age range) and Maggie are living at the poverty level because, Jim, a tile man, stopped getting contracts after the last national money crash.

He hoped to continue looking after his mother and eking out her social security check for both of them, and Maggie. He was doing a good, loving, job, too, but somehow, someone deemed Jim’s care inadequate, so his old mother was taken to another town and placed in a nursing home, and of course, the check went with her.

Jim’s house is going up for sale this month for back mortgage payments. Someone else got his mother’s house. His plans are dashed and his hope is gone. He gets odd jobs, no job too hard, and sometimes neighbors hire him to remodel their bathrooms. He thinks about trying to get to Texas to find work, but again—he has no money, and no transportation and he’d have to leave Maggie with his elderly aunt, who helps him the best she can.

As we stood in Jim’s front yard, he began to tell me the fascinating history of pit-bulls, then he, Maggie, and Ace gave me a delightful show: football runs, keep away, tug-of-war, and leaping. It was a Sea-World worthy demonstration in my opinion and brought tears to my eyes. He said Ace looks scary, but Maggie is the mean one. Maggie is mean?!?! It wasn’t her that loved footballs so much she ate five of them. (That’s why they have a plush toy now. It doesn’t taste as good as footballs.)

But yes, Maggie is the matriarch and when necessary she takes command. Ace shoved Maggie down once and it made her so mad she bared her teeth and snarled. He was so contrite; he lowered his head and followed her into the house with his tail between his legs.

But now, I was wondering, how could Jim be so carefree as to entertain a passing neighbor and enjoy his dogs so much when hope was gone?

It’s all about hope, actually. You see Jim has apparently decided to give up on his own plans and trust God’s.

That reminds me of something our pastor’s wife said Sunday: When something we hoped for doesn’t turn out as we planned, we can become heartsick, but if it’s God’s plan it works out for Him and for us. Doors close and doors open. Maybe it was God’s plan for Jim to look after his mother for a while and then it was His plan for things to change for both of them. God does surprisingly serendipitous things when we trust Him. I’ll be interested to hear what happens next to Jim and Maggie.

Proverbs 13:12, Romans 8:28, I Thessalonians 5:18

 

dog 1dog 2

 

 

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THAT CHICKEN BONE

13 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Judy

                                                     

I’m sure that many new parents have had this experience – but it was new to us.

When our oldest daughter, Karen, was just a little thing, we were living in Wiesbaden, West Germany.  She was finally old enough – developed enough – to be eating solid foods, and our foods – no more baby food.

I remember the first time she was given a piece of chicken to eat.  I had made fried chicken for supper that evening, and I had given Karen a drumstick to eat.  Fred and I were eating and conversing, as we usually did, not really paying much attention to Karen.

All of a sudden, I looked over at her in her high chair, and…..she was waving that chicken bone this way and that.  It was completely stripped of everything edible!  She had eaten the fried skin, the meat, the tendons and ligaments – that was the barest drumstick I had ever seen!  It was naked!  While I was nearly gagging at the thought of all she had eaten, she was happy as a lark!  It’s a good thing that bone was thick, or I’m convinced she would have tried to eat the bone as well!

While we can laugh about it now, I’m convinced that I paid a LOT more attention to what and how she ate after that experience.  She didn’t suffer any severe consequences from her encounter with that chicken bone, but I made sure to cut the meat off the bone and give it to her the next time.

 

                 

 

 

 

 

Romans 8:28

 

 

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Worst Friend Ever

10 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Onisha

Ten days ago I was sure I was the worst best friend ever. My precious friend, Marie was scheduled for a lumpectomy in South Carolina and I wanted to be with her. We were winding up our time in North Carolina and were heading back to Florida in a few days. Our daughter, Rebekah had flown up for Christmas and we were all driving home together.

Shortly after my friend told me about the surgery, I made up my mind that I was not going back to Florida. We could fly our daughter home. I went so far as finding a flight that would leave North Carolina on the same day she would have left anyway. It was a do-able price. I texted our friend, Pam who blesses us by doing the “airport run” whenever Rebekah flies and she was available. Next I ran our upcoming appointments through my mind. Would I be missing anything important? Quickly I moved my hair appointment off the list then moved on to an eye appointment. I had a cornea transplant in October and was still on the monthly check-up schedule. Due to the holidays I was already two weeks late, so what were two more? As my hand hovered over the buy now button, the very soft voice of the Holy Spirit asked, “have you prayed about this?” Of course I hadn’t, I was reacting with emotion. Reluctantly I moved my finger away from the button.

“Lord,” I prayed, “you know how very much I want to be with my dear friend and I know she wants me to be with her. I don’t know why I shouldn’t be there but I am giving it up to you. Please give me your peace about this and could you do it by morning, there are only two flights left for Rebekah.”.

The next morning, as I prayed the answer was go home, no explanation. “Lord,” I thought, “you must have something very special planned for Marie, someone who can meet her needs far better than I could.”

My eye appointment was the same day as Marie’s surgery. I chatted with the technician as I went through the preliminary tests. We talked about having the flu and how badly it sapped one’s energy. She left me to wait for the doctor and I spent the time wondering if my vision in the transplant eye seemed fuzzy or was it just my imagination.

The first words from my doctor’s mouth after hello, was “I hear you had flu. Did you increase the steroid drops?”

I hadn’t even thought about increasing the drops or calling the eye doctor. It turns out I am having a rejection episode due to my immune system’s response to the flu. Thankfully, it appears I am in early rejection and with increased doses of steroid drops total rejection may be avoided.  Like pieces of a puzzle snapping together I understood God’s answer. Once again I am in awe of how intimately God knows and cares for his children.

Isaiah 49:14-16

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My Beloved – Part 2

9 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

DiVoran & I became good friends, and when the foursome broke up, Bud went on to girls of another persuasion and the next thing I knew DiVoran & I were going steady.

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We went the movies, went to church, went roller skating , and cruised Albuquerque’s Central Avenue my restored 1940 Chevy coupe.  This evolved into our getting engaged.

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I joined the U.S. Navy when I was 18 and went on a 6-month cruise of the Mediterranean on the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea.  We wrote letters to each other every day and signed them “All my love…”   After I returned to the U.S. I was transferred to the Fleet Repair ship USS Hector that was stationed at the San Diego Naval Base.

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When family friends from San Diego stopped in Albuquerque during their vacation to visit my parents, they offered to take DiVoran home with them to see me.  That was when we decided to get married.  Our fathers were both on trips for their jobs, so our mothers came to San Diego for the wedding.  DiVoran was 18 and I was 19.

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The car I owned at that time was a highly modified ’32 Ford coupe, and DiVoran hated riding in it because there was only one bucket seat for the driver and the rest of the interior floor was a sheet of plywood that she had to sit on.   Not long after we were married, I traded my “Pride & Joy” wheels for a nice ’50 Mercury sedan that DiVoran could drive.

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We lived in San Diego for 6 months until I left on the USS Hector for 8 months duty in Japan.  DiVoran went back to Albuquerque to wait for me and complete beauty school.

beauty school

By the time I was discharged from the U.S. Navy, I had finally seen the need for more than a high school diploma to make a decent living.  We moved to Los Angeles for me to attend Northrop University.  DiVoran worked full time with the Magic Mirror chain of beauty salons, and I worked part time servicing airplanes at LAX to help pay for my education.  DiVoran said it was the best investment she ever made.

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We lived and worked in L.A. for 8 years where our two children, Renie and Billy,  were born.  We moved to Titusville, Florida in 1965 with the Apollo Manned Space Program.  I worked that program and various other missile programs, through the years, as an Ordnance Engineer until my retirement.

 

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DiVoran and I live in the same house we bought new in 1965 and plan to live here together forever.  We are both happy as clams with our favorite past times, R/C model airplanes for me and novel writing and painting for DiVoran.  Our children and their families both live in Central Florida, which makes it great for us to be able to see them and our Grandchildren often.

 

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As a side note, DiVoran and I both learned to type in that high school typing class, and that is one of the things that is helping us write these weekly blogs.

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The story of “My Beloved” and me will never end.  However, that’s all for now folks.

Proverbs 5:18

 

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Calendar Choices

7 Jan

My Take

DiVoran Lites

DiVoran Lites

The calendars in the bookstores are on sale now, but we bought ours before Christmas. It may not have been the smartest shopping choice, but one year we waited for the sale and the ones we wanted were all gone.

We bought the Audubon Engagement Calendar with a nature photograph every week. We also got, Live, Love, Dream which has helpful quotation and has pages small enough to glue into my journal every day. I’m crazy about journals and about helpful quotations.

Audubon calendar buyers get a free page a day calendar for 2013, and I chose a Bible version. Sometimes my friends like a Bible verse on Face Book. Besides, as helpful as the helpful quotations may be they can’t deliver the dimension scriptures can.

A long time ago our pastor suggested we try writing out Bible verses as if God was talking directly to us. Almost any verse will bring the Holy Spirit up close and personal. Sometimes I keep on writing in my journal after I finish with the verse. I’m surprised when I go back and read it again, Hey that sounds like God and not like me. It’s so cool!

Here’s a sample:

My Dear Child, I love you. You are unique and special to me. Here is something I deeply desire for you to have: May Christ, through your faith, actually dwell—settle down, abide, make His permanent home—in your heart. May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. Ephesians 3:17 (Amplified Bible)

The Message uses the phrase: “the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.” What does your version say? Try it, you’ll like it.

calendars

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JANET AND THE OPTOMETRIST

6 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy

                                                     

We have always felt that it was most important for us to teach our girls to read.  After all, if you can’t read, you can’t do math problems.  It has been such an important part of our lives and training that both our girls were able to read while still in pre-kindergarten.

 Back in the 1970’s, the big method for teaching children to read was phonetically – sound out the letters of the word and you will be able to make the word your own.  That may still be a method of teaching children to read – I don’t know.

Because Fred and I both wear glasses/contact lenses, we were concerned that our girls might need eye correction fairly early in their lives.  So we had them tested by the AF Base’s optometrist upon several occasions.

Our youngest daughter, Janet, was in second grade, when we had her tested at one point in time.  The technician started with the smallest “line” to read.  No response from Janet.  He moved it up to the next line – no response.  Wringing of hands by Janet at this point.  He moved it up another line – no response.  Severe wringing of hands by Janet.  But no response.

 

EYE CHART

 

Finally, Fred leaned toward her and said – “it doesn’t make a word.”  She had been trying to phonetically make those letters into a word – and she couldn’t do it!  Well – I doubt if WE could have made it into a word, either!

The technician had told her to “read” the line, and that was exactly what she was trying to do – read that line of letters!

She did learn to read – and she didn’t need too much eye correction.  Thank goodness!

 

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Lord Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise

3 Jan

Those of you who have been  following Bill’s travel adventures, we are offering up praises that his heart attack was mild and he is doing very well- Onisha

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Onisha

 

 

Last week I wrote of the plans I had made for Christmas and how they hadn’t worked out. I am hoping 2013 will be a bit more cooperative.  My parents often prefaced their plans with “ the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.” As a child, I thought this sounded silly but now I understand that in a humorous way they were lifting their plans up to God.

This week we will be leaving the chilly weather and heading to the sunshine in Florida. We live a rather migratory life, visiting between our children. When I am in Florida I am very content. I love spending time with life long friends and of course being with our daughter. When it is time to return to the “hills,” I am sad and not sure I really want to go.  Once our car gets a few miles up the interstate my heart begins to race with trills of anticipation, excited to see our son and his family and all the things we love about our living in the country. All too soon it’s time to close up the house and head back to Florida and once again I am sad and not sure I want to go.

Does this make me fickle? I don’t think so. I prefer to think of myself as content. In Philippians 4:11 Paul speaks of being content in his circumstances. Admittedly he is referring more to finances, but I am still claiming the contentment!

 

Philippians 4:11-13

 

11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.

 

 

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