Random Memories of Germany

6 Dec

Wiesbaden-Part 3

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

It has been said Germans are known for beer and cuckoo clocks.  The American version of that is that, after being in Germany, Americans return stateside with either a baby or a cuckoo clock!  Well, we had the baby, but she was on-the-way before we even got to Germany!!  In any case, there was a store in downtown Wiesbaden that had the world’s largest cuckoo clock as it’s store front!  Here is a picture of that store front.  I really enjoyed wandering around that store.  But I did NOT want to come home with a cuckoo clock – and I didn’t!

We thoroughly enjoyed Christmas time in Wiesbaden.  Here are some pictures of downtown at night.  These were taken in 1968, so I don’t know if or what Wiesbaden does for decoration in 2020.  We enjoyed the city streets.  But we really enjoyed the “fairy tale” kiosks set up along the main street – Wilhelmstrasse.  These are just a few of the ones we saw.

Hansel & Gretel

There were several main streets in Wiesbaden, Rheinstrasse was one of them.  Ringstrasse was another.  Here are a few pictures of those streets.

Rheinstrasse looking toward Hainerberg

Rheinstrasse looking toward Ringstrasse and the Ringkirche

You can see the Ring Kirche at the end of Rheinstrasse heading up toward Ringstrasse.

We especially enjoyed seeing the churches along the way.  Here is the Marktkirche (Market Church).

The Marktkirche – as it was when we were there

There was a spa/park near downtown called the Kurpark.  Here is the Kurhaus, which was a casino at the time we were there.

Here is the fountain within the park.

It is a beautiful park, with some “Roman” touches to it.  In researching Wiesbaden, I found that Wiesbaden was indeed, occupied by the Romans in around the 370’s A.D.  WOW!

In April of 1968, Fred and I made a trip to Holland – my first visit there!  We left Karen with some church friends, and set out to enjoy ourselves!  We took in Amsterdam and all its sights.  We enjoyed an open-air market there. 

We stopped in Leiden to see the Treslong Experimental Gardens.  So well done.

We took in Haarlem with its magnificent cathedral.

The Bell Tower of the St. Bavo Church Credit Google search and Wikipedia

The pipe organ inside there has the distinction of having been played by G.F. Händel in 1740 and 1750, and in 1766 then ten-year-old Mozart!  WOW!!  Later, when we made the trip with my Mother, someone was actually playing the organ – and I was quite enthralled!  Beautiful! 

The organ pipes in the church of St. Bavo

~~~~~~~~~~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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Thanksgiving 2020

3 Dec

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I hope you enjoyed yours as well. Since my mom’s passing in 2001 Thanksgiving has been bittersweet often accompanied by outbursts of tears as I worked in the kitchen. This year there were no tears.

Our daughter flew up from Florida Thanksgiving morning to be with us for the weekend. After picking her up at the airport, we drove for an hour and a half to a friend’s home to enjoy Thanksgiving together. Bringing in the side dishes I had spent two days preparing, reminded me of Thanksgivings past when my siblings and their families arrived laden with food.

The men were in charge of frying the turkey while the women enjoyed the comfortable conversation of old friends and shared memories. Quite a switch from the past where the men watched television and the women labored in the kitchen!

We spent the night with our friends as our home is a two hour drive away. Our husbands retired to the “man cave” while the ladies talked and shared laughter.

Monday arrived and our daughter’s short visit was over. She was booked on a 10 pm flight and the weather forecast was predicting snow so we decided to secure a room at a hotel near the airport. We are Florda drivers and not at all competent to drive over snowy mountains late at night. Plus canceling a late night flight was not unheard of from the small airport. Our daughter packed overnight clothes and her special memory foam gel pillow should the flight be cancelled.

Her flight was delayed by an hour but at least it did depart. She had left her pillow in the trunk of our car rather than have us haul it into the hotel unnecessarily. The following morning was very cold…18 F degrees when we went out to put our luggage in the car trunk. I reached in to move the pillow and my fingers couldn’t grasp it. The pillow was frozen!

We did a little bit of shopping before heading home. There were only patches of melting snow in the city so we decided to pick up some fried chicken and picnic on the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way home. We were a bit anxious about the parkway being open but were pleased to see the entrance to the parkway was open….except that less than half a mile away the barricades were up.

We didn’t see any snow but someone took this picture near Maggie Valley.

Photo credit Smoky Mountain News

We arrived home with sweet memories tucked in our minds and hearts. Tucked along side these memories is also sorrow for family and friends who have experienced the death of loved ones this year.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 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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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 6

2 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 6 Monday 

9/14/2020

Let me tell you about the hotel I stayed in last night.  The Broker Inn was built as a private hotel in the mid-1900s to serve the elite in the Boulder, CO area.  It has since changed hands several times and has finally ended up being operated by the Choice Hotels chain, which is how I happened to stay there.  Most of the hotel’s interior still retains a good bit of its original decor, especially in the lobby area.  It is beautifully arranged to portray an early Victorian atmosphere with rich dark woods, thick carpets, and lots of stained glass.  

Leaving Boulder this morning I headed 15 miles southeast on US-36 to visit the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum located in the North Midway Park area.  This museum displays artifacts and memorabilia related mainly to local veterans, from all branches of the service, dating from the Civil War to the present.  The museum also has a small library containing some 2500+ military/history books and veteran related videos.

It was only a few blocks to the where I visited the Broomfield Depot Museum located in the Zongs Spur Park area of town.  This museum is housed in the original 1909 C&S Railroad depot and displays local railroad artifacts and memorabilia about to city and county growth as they are related to the railroad’s influence in the late 1800s.

Next it was only a 5 mile drive north on US-287 to visit the Miners Museum located in Lafayette, CO.  The small house was originally built in the 1890s for miners working in the Gladstone Mine just north of Lafayette.  After the mine shut down the house was moved to its present location and later turned into the Miners Museum.  Historical mining artifacts tell the story of the pioneering heritage of this town and the surrounding area during that time.

It was another 6 miles northeast on CO-7 & County Line Road to where I was able to visited the Spirit of Flight Center located adjacent to the Erie Municipal Airport in Eire, CO.  The Flight Center was closed but their website tells me that this organization restores unique civilian and military aircraft to help educate the public and future generations with regard to the evolution of civil and military aviation.

Next I headed east 15 miles on CO-52 to visit the Fort Lupton Museum located just east of the South Platte River in Fort Lupton, CO.  The museum is housed in the old 1929 city library building, and displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the history and heritage of Fort Lupton and the surrounding area dating from the 1800s.

I wanted to visit the Vintage Flying Museum located just east of Fort Lupton, but they were closed.  Their WWI vintage flying machines are some of the only remaining examples of what the LaFayette Escadrille flew against the Germans during the “War to End All Wars.”

Instead, I headed north 10 miles on US-85 to visit the Fort Vasquez.  This historic site was built by Louis Vasquez & Andrew Sublette in 1835, and served as a trading post for fur traders, Native American tribes, and mountain men.  Abandoned in the mid-1840s, the fort was restored in the 1930s by a WPA project and finally became a museum since 1958.

Now I headed north another 20 miles on US-85 to visit the Colorado Model Train Museum located in Greeley, CO.  This museum consists of over 500 locomotives pulling trains thru 80+ (scale) miles of train track.  The tracks wind thru hundreds of miniature scenes, making up the 5,500 sq. ft. layout.  The large building also houses a full-sized restored 1919 C&S caboose which is open to guests for their inspection.

Now it was another 10 miles north on US-85 to visit the Lee Maxwell Washing Machine Museum located in Eaton, CO.   This is one of the most unusual museums I have visited recently.  The museum displays 1400+ (Guinness Record) restored (running if applicable) various types and styles of vintage washing machines from the U.S., the UK, Europe, and Australia dating from 1865.

It was another 45 miles to Cheyenne, WY where I found a Chick-fil-a.  I selected one of their grilled chicken strips dinners for my gourmet meal in my motel tonight.  I recorded the day’s activities and by then I was really ready for some rest after this day’s journey.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Sacred Rhythms, Arranging our Lives for Spiritual Transformation

30 Nov

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Word for Word, November 23, 2020

“One can begin one’s (spiritual) quest by attending to the desires of the heart, both personal and communal. The Spirit is revealed in our genuine hopes for ourselves and for the world. How brightly burns the flame of desire for a love affair with God, other people, the world? Do we know that to desire and seek God is a choice that is always available to us? “

Elizabeth Dreyer as quoted in Spiritual Rhythms, by Ruth Haley Barton

“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

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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Random Memories of Germany

29 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Wiesbaden Part 2

There were so many things about Wiesbaden that we enjoyed.  We actually loved living “on the economy” and among the German people.  They are a generous and loving people.  They were kind to us. 

The German people were generally kind about our feeble attempts to speak their language, and were appreciative that we made the effort to speak German.  We heard of many funny mistakes.  For instance, the gentleman who was a Baptist missionary – and friend of ours – told of the time he went into a store, wanting to purchase some grape juice (traubensaft).  When he told the store clerk what he wanted, the clerk looked at him, and tried VERY hard not to laugh, but it finally got away from him.  Wiping his eyes, he told the missionary that he didn’t have any of that – as he had asked for pigeon juice (taubensaft)!!  The words are only one letter different.

The church where we met were “partners” with a German Baptist Church – we shared the space.  And later – just as we were leaving Germany to head stateside, the churches jointly built a new building for both congregations to meet.  The English-speaking Baptist church there held its 25th anniversary during the time we returned to Germany (1980-1983), and we were able to attend that meeting – in that “new” church building.  It was an amazing time.

The “new” church building

Herman Stout speaking – the first American pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church.

All former pastors were in attendance except for the pastor while we were there.

We enjoyed taking short day or half-day trips around the area.  One of our favorite places to drive to was Konigstein, and the area from there was the Feldberg (field mountain).  Here is a picture of the Feldberg at Easter time, 1969.

On the Feldberg

We enjoyed shopping in the German stores, and just walking in downtown Wiesbaden.  One of our favorite department stores was Hertie.  As I remember, when our church congregation decided to purchase flatware for the church kitchen, we purchased it from there.

Downtown Wiesbaden – Hertie department store – Christmas 1968

In another post, I mentioned that the American housing where we lived for the final two years we were in Wiesbaden, always had a contest to see who could decorate the best.  Here is our apartment’s contribution in Christmas 1968, and Christmas 1969.

Our apartment is top left – 1968

1969

And here is a picture of the apartment building across from ours – the entire one side of the building went together to put together this Christmas “tree” in lights.  Fun.

~~~~~~~~~~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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15 Reasons Why We Must Never Fear

28 Nov

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

REBLOGGED November 27, 2020

November 27, 2020

“We had the worst Thanksgiving,” my friend said. “My uncle became so irate at the news, he hurled his shoe at the TV and cracked the screen.”

Whoa! What’s happening in our homes today? Parents are tense, kids aren’t happy. And just about everyone is fed up. We’re over the chaos.

But what’s truly taking place is a false mindset courtesy of the enemy of our souls. He served a turkey stuffed with lies. And silly us, we ate it.

Questions to Ask

But before we get emotional indigestion, let’s ask these questions: Who said evil can win? Who said those who are Christ followers should ever feel weak, accept fear or allow anxiety to come in? Who said God is distant and deaf to our cries? Who said that? You know the answer—the father of lies.

To counter them, we push down Satan’s lies in the garbage disposal of life and serve a new dish to delight our soul–God’s victory.

David did that when he faced an army of enemies. Fear could have eaten him for lunch. But in Psalm 37 he acknowledges the wicked who surround him. He recognizes the evil at work. He speaks of the destiny of the wicked and the direction of the righteous. And he illustrates how to put it all in perspective.

But please note that David’s new perspective has no room for wimpy notions, self-pity episodes, or doubt. Instead, He becomes empowered by God’s truth.

Make these 15 Declarations Against Fear

That’s why this Thanksgiving season we have more reasons to be grateful. In the pandemic of discouragement God expects us to do the same as David–with courage oozing from our pores, we declare these fifteen steps to let fear know who’s boss.

  1. Even when we watch the news, we toss anxiety out the window because God says: “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.”
  2. We never stop being generous and kind, expecting He will meet our desires. We make sure to…. “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
  3. Do not worry if your voice is not heard. God will take care of that. Instead, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
  4. When we long for relief from all this yesterday, we become restless. But God has a plan and He says: “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
  5. Let others swim in the river of destructive anger. Instead, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil.”
  6. God has His judgment ready. And for us, He has a promise: “For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.”
  7. Peace is soon to arrive. God’s divine strategy is at work: “A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.”
  8. No matter what seems to be against us, we count on God’s victory. He gives us a clue here: “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.”
  9. When we feel drained, we focus on God’s mighty strength to defend us: “The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.”
  10. Praise God for what you do have because “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.”
  11. Make sure to be blameless from lashing out insults and accusations because “The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.”
  12. We don’t worry about our enemies because “the wicked will perish: The LORD’s enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish-vanish like smoke.”
  13. We can expect blessings when we give. “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off.”
  14. Resist the world’s pattern, follow God’s ways instead because “If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.”
  15. Danger may seem to be drawing near, but God has the last Word: “The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives; but the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

No matter what we face, fear has no power. Conversely, God is the one who has the power to restore, to heal, to turn things around and to hand us victory on the platter of His faithfulness.

Let’s Pray

Father, when this world seems to be falling apart and Satan attacks more fiercely, your power is what I count on. Your victory is what I anticipate. And Your hand at work is what keeps me going each day with no fear, with hope, but with joy and deep, deep peace. In Jesus name.

How was your fear conquered 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

Happy Thanksgiving 2020

26 Nov

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Happy Thanksgiving friends! However you are celebrating, may your day be blessed with sweet memories of past celebrations as you make new memories today.

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 5B

25 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 5 Sunday – Continued 

9/13/2020 

From Breckenridge it was another 35 miles northeast on I-70 where I visited the Georgetown Loop Railroad, located near Clear Creek in Georgetown, CO.  This unique railroad offers visitors a spectacular trip on a vintage steam engine train, that travels some 4-½ miles over a corkscrew route of horseshoe curves, steep grades (4%) and the 95’ high Devil’s Gate trestle over the Clear Creek Gorge.  All that distance, and you only travel the 2.0 miles (as the crow flies) from Georgetown to Silver Plume.  This is a trip to be remembered!

After this thrilling experience, I headed another 15 miles northeast on I-70 to visit the Argo Gold Mine & Mill located in Idaho Springs, CO.  Built in 1893, the gold mill and processing facility is located just north of Clear Creek and provides visitors with tours of the gold tunnel (mine) and the equipment to try their luck at panning for gold.  There are indoor and outdoor museum displays, including examples of gold mining, milling, and processing equipment used during the late 1800s.

Now it was just another 25 miles east on I-70 to check out the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave located in Golden, CO.  I had visited Buffalo Bill’s birthplace and homestead in LeClaire, Iowa a couple of years ago, during another road trip, and now here I was visiting his gravesite (In Lookout Mountain Park). This museum chronicles the life and times of William F. Cody with artifacts and memorabilia dating from his birth (1846) to his death (1917).

On my way to meet my niece, Karen and her husband, Brian for dinner, I stopped at the Colorado Railroad Museum to see what they had to offer.  As it turned out, the museum was hosting an open house (family day), and I choose not to elbow my way thru the crowd of parents and their kids.  I took a few photos of their rolling stock outside and headed for the restaurant.

I met Brian and Karen at Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant there in Golden where we enjoyed a delicious meal and a delightful (but short) family visit.  Their training schedule gave them the afternoon off, so we had plenty of time to catch up on things.  The last time I had seen them was in 2019, when they helped me on another of my road trips.  They had picked me up at the Chicago airport, and we had lunch.  Then they took me to pick up my rental car.

I almost gave up trying to find and photograph the James F. Bailey Assay Office Museum located at the east edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park, near Gold Hill, and just west of Boulder, Co.  This historic structure served as the Wall Street assay office for the Gold Extraction Mining Co. during the hard-rock mining years between the late 1880s and early 1900s.  The museum exhibits the tools and equipment used to determine the value of ore samples.

After my ordeal with multiple stops for road construction and the winding mountain roads to get to the Assay Office, I headed for my motel.  On the way, I swung past the Shelby American Collection, located just a few miles northeast in Boulder, CO.  This museum consists of a fantastic collection of some 40+ donated mid-century race cars that represent the evolution of the Shelby Mustang, Cobra, and Ford GT as created by Carroll Shelby and others.  WOW! 

The motel was a welcome sight when I finally got there.  I was ready to stop, eat, and rest after this busy day.  Of course there was nothing worth watching on TV, so I just recorded my day’s activities, had a snack of a few salted in-the-shell pistachios and went to bed.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Starfish

23 Nov

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Painting by DIVoran

May the Lord of peace

Himself give you peace

At all times in every way. 

The Lord be with you all. 

2 Thessalonians 3:16

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.”

Thanksgiving 2020

22 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Thanksgiving 2020.  Well, we have to think seriously about what we have to be thankful for, don’t we?  

It’s certainly been a year of turmoil – but we are still alive!  I am thankful.

It’s been a year of uncertainty – but God is still on His throne and in control!  I am thankful.

It’s been a year of so many “hiding out” – but I/we have not done that.  I am thankful.  

Have you ever heard of Dr. David Jeremiah?  He is pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, California. (www.DavidJeremiah.org)   He has a TV program called Turning Point.  I’ve not listened to his radio program, but I suspect it’s called Turning Point, as well.  He preaches God’s word, and we are blest every time we watch his TV program.  His organization publishes a monthly magazine and devotional guide called Turning Points.  The November 2020 issue interested me,

and as I was thumbing through the scripture and comments, I came to November 26.  What Dr. Jeremiah wrote really touched my heart, and I would like to share some of what he wrote:

“In the most general terms, the way to give thanks was expanded from the Old Testament to the New.  In the Old Testament, God was normally thanked “for” things – His works, attributes, and blessings (Psalm 106).  While that focus is maintained in the New Testament, it is expanded to giving thanks “in” all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  That is, in all circumstances.  We can do that because we know God causes “all things” to work together for our good (Romans 8:28)” [used by permission]

So how ‘bout it – do you give thanks to God “in” all things?  In every circumstance you find yourself?  How about if you lost your job during the pandemic?  Something in there to be thankful for?  How about if, during this year of lockdown, you find yourself developing an illness?

Way back, 20 years ago, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I tried very hard to not feel “WHY ME????” 

It helped me to see others who were worse off than I was.  There is always someone worse off than I am!  Okay, I had cancer; okay, I had a breast removed.  My mentor had both breasts removed!  She eventually died from a cancer they couldn’t totally remove with surgery.  

And so, I began to think of the “good” things in cancer:

1) yes, I had a breast removed, but I live in the age when they no longer remove the chest wall, and I can do everything normal with that arm.

2) God has used me to help other women who are going through the same thing, and are discouraged or frightened.  He has allowed me to be His instrument in many, many ways.

3) God used my cancer to bring me and my husband closer together than we had been.  Fred was my cheering squad – he even changed my drain tubes following surgery!

4)  God brought me closer to Him than I ever have been.  My church family has lifted me up time and time again.  Following my diagnosis, my first surgery wasn’t for another month, since it was a slow-growing cancer.  We had a trip planned and paid for, that we couldn’t miss.  When we returned home, there must have been 50 cards waiting in the mail for me – all from members of our church family.  And each one gave me encouragement – and all gave their favorite scripture – none of them the same.  God’s word is FULL of encouragement.

So yes, it’s been a time of confusion, but God is still on His throne, I am still alive in this world, and…

I AM THANKFUL!

May your Thanksgiving be a blessed one.

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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