How to Overcome This Hot Summer of Loneliness

22 Aug

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

August 21, 2020

Reblogged August 22, 2020

In the midst of chaos and even when crowded by unhappy people, the loneliness presses in. And As we pour out what burdens our heart, God listens, He observes and He repeats His promises.

These verses were sent to me years ago from an unknown author. And today they may echo what you feel in your heart. If so, the promises that follow will silence doubt and lift you up.

The Cry…

Lord, sometimes my days seem like an endless echo of distant drums

Tormenting my soul and whispering sounds of sorrow.

My hours pass like homeless beggars, aimlessly shuffling to and from searching for shelter.

I thirst for company, for comfort, for words to quench my parched soul.

Minutes drag and mock me with more sounds of loneliness like sips of bitter poison.

And the tomorrow’s laugh at what my destiny holds.

Will time creep by until I reach the end?

And though people all around crowd in on me still loneliness juts through like weeds in an empty and abandoned field.

But this morning, after a black sleepless night, a stranger visited me—

A glimpse of light from the horizon as if the sun rose within me.

Your Words Lord, the same ones that had been lost in the web of confusion broke free to brush against my soul.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. 

God’s promises for you:

Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you,for you will answer me. (Psalm 86:3)

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. (Isaiah 54:14)

Prayer:

Father, I praise You for your attentive listening to my cries. I praise You because You give me the answer, the soothing my heart needs and the comfort my soul longs for. In Jesus’ name.

Has loneliness robbed your joy? Or has His love restored your soul?

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.

 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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I Love to Travel Part 2

19 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

So now, this is an example of how I plan one of my road trips.   I select a specific Aviation museum, from the Guide Book to visit.  I preferably like it to be in an area of the country where I haven’t been before.  Using the guide book, I research the other Aviation museums in the states surrounding the target museum.  Then I use Wikipedia (“Museums in Colorado”) to find all the different types of museums in the states surrounding the target state, that interest me.  I locate the museums, using MapQuest, to establish a route, in those states, and that becomes my itinerary.  I find a major city, nearest my route, with the best airline rate, and my itinerary starts there.  I usually fly Southwest Airlines because I can fly free with my Reward Miles.

My direction of travel does not depend on moving clockwise or counterclockwise, as long as the big two-week itinerary circle brings me back to the same airport.  That way I can pick-up and return my rental car at the same location without any addition drop-off charges.  Rental car costs, gas, food, and museum admissions are usually my only our-of-pocket expenses I have (unless there are tour fees or special tickets. etc.) for one of these two-week trips.  I have my own Accident Insurance, but I’m not always sure my Auto Insurance will cover everything on the rental car, so I usually purchase Travel Insurance that covers anything that could happen to me or the rental car on the trip.

I figure a day’s travel miles (as close as possible) where my itinerary will place me at a location where I can get good motel rates (larger cities generally have more motels to choose from, and their rates are usually lower).  I make advanced motel reservations (usually free with credit card points), so I don’t have to do that on the road.  All of this planning can sometimes take me weeks to arrange, but once it’s all arranged, and I have conformations for everything, I’m ready to go.  

I like to print out a copy of all my conformation notices for airline, rental car, and motels.  Then I make a copy of the description of each museum, which includes name, address, and phone number (days & hours of operation).  I arrange the museum sheets in the order I have decided on for my itinerary, so I will have them at hand in the car as I go.  That way, all I have to do is plug-in the address on my Garmin (Greta), and off I go.  This also gives me a record of everything I might need in case Greta or I get lost, or any other type of problem I might run into.  Sometimes Greta, will take me to the wrong address, or not be able to locate the address.  If that happens, I can refer to the information sheet, for the place I’m heading, and call to ask for directions.  Those sorts of things have happened more than once on my trips in the past.

At the end of each day’s travels, while relaxing at the motel, I record the hi-lights of the day’s activities on my cell phone and email it to my computer at home.  When I get home I use the emails and the internet to thoroughly research each museum for any special or historical data I can find.  It’s amazing how much more interesting my blogs can become with that expanded information.  I arrange the museum’s information in sequence, for that day, and that becomes a short blog (500-700 words).  Then I post one blog per week on the “Old Things R New” website.  This allows others to enjoy my trips (vicariously) if they like that sort of thing, and maybe learn a little something new at the same time.  Writing up these blogs also allows me to re-live the fun memories of the trip again.

I hope you have enjoyed this quick look at the reason “I Love to Travel” and how I go about choosing, researching, arranging, and reporting a two-week “Bucket List” road trip.  These trips are so relaxing, enjoyable and freeing for me.  I can really recommend travel.  Just getting away from the every-day mundane things of life, and hitting the road to somewhere.  It doesn’t have to be a BIG trip.  Just get out and go.  We have a big country out there, and there is a large variety of very interesting and beautiful places and things to see.  So enjoy it.  If you are ever interested in some of the places and things I’ve encountered on my past trips, you can find my travel blogs at www.oldthingsrnew.com. Enter the Title & Part # (if any) of the blog you would like to read in the search box, at the top of the opening screen.  Press “Search” and that should take you to the blog you are looking for (by Bill Lites).  I wish each and every one of you Happy Traveling and enjoyable reading.

Bill

—–The End—–

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.

Bill

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

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Treats and Feets

17 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Treats and Feets

By Thea

Scribe: DiVoran

One thing I do for fun is begging for treats. They are better than my regular food. I must start letting Mama know what time it is. I feel in my bones that it’s time for treats. I grab the side of her computer chair with my claws to remind her. She says, “Just a minute,” and gently brushes me away. “No, it’s not time.” She says. I lie down close to the chair, hoping she won’t roll over my tail when she shoves off. Sometimes I start to meow pleadingly, but she doesn’t like too much of that. She says it breaks her thinking, but I never broke anything in my life.

After a very long time, she gets up and walks to the kitchen. I run ahead, then stop and look back with my round, yellow eyes.  Mama sprinkles the treats on a soft, red throw, and I hunt for each one in its soft folds. Mama tells me that when I first came, she started giving me treats at seven P.M., but now I get them at four-thirty, cause I know that’s when I’m supposed to. 

After I eat my treats, we play with a soft fat string on a wand. The mouse came off, but a knot is elegant.  I run after it once and roll down and catch it. I hold it to my pretty white tummy with all sixteen claws. When I want Mama to wave the wand again, I let go. I play lying down Here’s a picture of my feet, aren’t they beautiful?  

Music for cats.

Mama is reading this book from the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. It’s a good book. She got it at the public library. 

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.”

Random Memories of Germany-Our Favorite Castles

16 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

As I mentioned last time, we visited quite a few castles while in Germany – and some in other countries.  But I think our favorites were the ones built by Ludwig II – named “Mad King Ludwig” by many.  But he was a great castle-builder!

King Ludwig II of Bavaria

I want to preface this post with a statement that a lot of what information and pictures I am presenting is from pamphlets we purchased when we toured Neuschwanstein all those years ago.  Some are our own observations and pictures, but some of the more “technical” information is gleaned from those pamphlets, and a few items from Wikipedia and Google search.  So…..

King Ludwig II of Bavaria, is the king who built these three castles.  Neuschwanstein was the first built, (1869-1886) taking 17 years to complete, and was not completely finished at his death in 1886.  Linderhof only took four years to build (1876-1878).  And the final castle, Herrenchiemsee, was eight years in the building, 1878-1886.  It was not completed at the time of Ludwig’s death in 1886, under mysterious circumstances.

I think the most impressive of all Ludwig’s castles, is Neuschwanstein Castle (New Swan Castle), in Bavaria – at least to me.  We visited it many times during the six years we lived in Germany.  We were fortunate, during our first tour of duty (1967-1970) that when we toured the castle, we were allowed to enter places that are now off-limits to tourists.

1968 – from the walking path

1982 – walking up to the castle

1982 – an interesting view of the castle

I have researched the information on the castle, but have not found any mention of what we were told when we first visited – that it was built as a “soldier’s castle.”  I have seen instances of it being called a “Knight’s Castle” so that might mean the same thing.  It is a bit austere compared to Linderhof (see my previous post of August 9, 2020), but I found it fascinating!  Lots of wood and marble, much more space than Linderhof.

Not having lived in a really cold climate, I was amazed at the heating system there. As early as 1884, the castle was centrally heated by warm air from the cellar and the ground floor.  Hot air flowed through air-shafts to the rooms of the upper stories.  Near the kitchen were four big stoves for heating the entire castle, but they were in use only in autumn and spring.  Therefore, in each room there was a tiled stove, used for heating the rooms.  Beautifully done.

The kitchen was quite modern for that time.  Besides hot and cold running water, a grill and fully automatic turning spits for game and poultry.  Rising hot air in the chimney turned a turbine in a broad tube above the spit, and this movement operated the spit over a gear (an invention by Leonardo da Vinci).  Amazing

The Kitchen

There was hot and cold running water throughout the castle.  It was supplied by a source emerging 600 feet above the castle, so that its natural pressure is sufficient to supply the whole castle – even its uppermost rooms, with water.

~~~~~~~~~~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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I Love to Travel Part 1

12 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

I guess I must have gotten my “Travel Genes” from my father as he was on the road a lot, for his work, when I was growing up.  Then as a teenager I worried my parents when i made several long trips on my motorcycle.  When I joined the U.S. Navy they took me all over the world, and by the time I got out, I was hooked on travel.  After DiVoran and I were married, and I was going to college in California, it didn’t bother me a bit to travel across the “Great American Desert” to visit my parents living in Albuquerque, or to drive to northern California to visit DiVoran’s parents in Livermore.

After I finished college we moved to Florida for my work on the Apollo Manned Space program.  Over the years I ended up working for several of the major aerospace companies, and traveled quite a lot for my jobs.  I retired from the Manned Space program in 1996, after 35-years, as what I called myself, “An Aerospace Nomad.”  I had been shuffled around various areas of the country during all that time and I was ready for a change.  I was working for Lockheed (LSOC), in Florida, when NASA decided to change their Space Shuttle processing contractor.  I was going to have to change who I was working for again, and that was the last straw for me.  I was just 58 years-old when I retired.  I felt like the “Aerospace Hassle” had made an old man of me before my time.  I was ready for a rest from the fast pace and constant pressure of the NASA schedulers.

I’m sure my first year of retirement was like a lot of men, wondering if I could adjust to all that time with nothing in particular to do.  I also wondered if I would be called back to the job like many men I knew were.  If that happened, what would I do?  I would just have to wait and see how I felt about that, if and when I was called back.  As it turned out, I was able to adjust fairly well.  It took a while to take care of all the repairs around the house, but I managed.  A couple of years later I started volunteering, one morning a week, to help at the Car Care Ministry at our church.

A year or so after that, a friend talked me into volunteering, as a Tour Guide, at the Warbird Air Museum here in Titusville one morning a week (that wasn’t hard).  I am interested in all kinds of airplanes, and this allows me to keep up with the warbird community as well as the on-going evolution of the aviation industry.  I love the time and the comradery I get to spent with the friends I have made over the years at both of these weekly volunteer occasions.

Then in 2012, in addition to the volunteer work, I took up a new hobby – travel (one of my favorite things to do) and blog writing.  While browsing thru the gift shop at our Warbird Air Museum, one volunteer day, I happened upon a book titled “GUIDE TO OVER 900 AIRCRAFT MUSEUMS.”  This guide book covers museums in the U.S. and Canada.  I thought, “WOW!  This is just what I need to help me find museums to visit.”  As you might have guessed, I have developed a love of going to museums.  All kinds of museums.  Airplane Museums, Auto Museum, Train Museums, Maritime Museums, or any other kinds of museums I happen to come across.

Using that guide book, I have established a method for my travel plans.  I usually try to make one (two week) trip in the spring and one (two week) trip in the fall of each year.  Note: My 2020 trips have been interrupted by shoulder replacement surgery and Covis-19.  I have had to postpone this summer’s trip twice (from July to September) because of travel restrictions, but I am determined to get at least one two-week trip in before the end of the year.

—– 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.

Bill

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

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Doing What Comes Naturally

10 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

The Sangre de Cristos 

From the time they were six years old, my parents, Ivan and Dora Bowers were friends. Both of them attended the only schools in town. Both became nature lovers throughout their childhood.

Dora grew up on the outskirts of Canon City (Canyon City) Colorado on an apple farm with a meadow, a vegetable garden, a few milk cows, and of course, apples. They churned butter and made cabbage slaw, which was the pro-biotic of the era. Dora remembered walking out to the pasture twice a day to herd in their three cows and milk them. She had a mother, a father, a brother, and the sister that she had begged God for when she was eleven years old. During the Great Depression, her family took in their extended family whenever they were out of work.

Pixabay

When they were in high school, Ivan worked at the auto garage next door to his Mother and Dad’s Beauty Shop and learned welding and car repair. He fished and hunted with his dad and younger brother. Fishing became for him a lifelong passion, and after he retired, he bought a shrimp boat in Northern California and caught shrimp to take to market. 

When Ivan got back from being in the infantry in WW 2, he and Dora bought Min’s Café in Westcliffe, Colorado. It took about ten minutes to get out of town, walking in any direction. Old silver mines on the prairie appealed to my brother and his friends, but since we were forbidden to enter them, he didn’t let me tag along. We rode our horses up into the mountains as a game guide. We also rode them on the prairie, but we were forbidden to gallop because there were too many prairie dog holes where the horses could break their legs. At night we lay in our beds listening to the coyotes’ howls.  When Dora and Ivan bought the old train depot and renovated it, they found many rabbit families under the boardwalk. Rabbits were a curse in those days because they were overabundant and ate every kind of vegetation in sight, so the rabbits had to go. 

Mountain Stream

Mother loved wildflowers, and whenever we went into the mountains while Dad and my brother fished, she and I walked around the meadows looking for them. We were thrilled when small animals such as rabbits, Pica, and Whistle Pigs came into sight. We were not thrilled when our dog Brownie got porcupine quills in his nose from sticking it where it didn’t belong. Dad had to remove them with pliers when we got home. And any little animals running around in the rocks, such as the Pica and Marmoset (Whistle Pig), thrilled us. My great grandmother and grandmother taught  Dora the names of wildflowers and herbs, and also how to use home-remedies. I’ve enjoyed checking some out and learning new ones. When we drove up to Hermit Lake, Dad taught us how to fish, and Mother taught us the names of wildflowers. I especially recall the name, fringed gentian. 

I recall one trip in which we were sitting down to a supper of rainbow trout and hand-picked dandelion greens when light snowflakes began to fall. We grabbed our food and hurried to the four-person tent and finished supper in the light of the lantern.  After we ate, we wiggled into our sleeping bags in our clothes and went fast asleep. We were afraid of nothing. Who would be frightened in such a beautiful place with parents who loved us and would protect us with their lives? And oh, yes, Dad being a mountain kind of man and former infantry sharpshooter went nowhere without a gun. He also taught us to shoot, but although my brother followed up with that, I never did. In the morning, I took the bar of soap and went down to the fast-flowing creek. Wouldn’t you know it, the soap slipped out of my hands and went bobbing down the creek. Who knows where it ended up? Mother’s nature training came in handy then. She taught us how to use sand to wash our hands and the metal pots and pans we cooked with. 

I didn’t care to fish, even though the browns and rainbow trout Dad caught were delicious the way he cooked them. I was intro reading and always had a book with me, so in the morning, I left the pole dad baited for me, hanging over the bank and into the water. I probably took a little snooze along with the reading. Anyhow when I went back to the bank, I was excited because a keeper fish hung from my line.  Later on, I found out Dad had put it on there to surprise me and probably to encourage me to like fishing more. 

When dad got his Piper Cub, he named it Dinty Moore. We flew over the 14,000-foot mountains to see our grandparents in Canon City, and I remember making noises like an airplane to amuse myself. Ivan asked Dora to ask me to stop because he couldn’t hear the state of the engine over the wind in the wings and my humming. I quit immediately.

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- Our Favorite Castles

9 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

LINDERHOF

1968 – on our trip to Bavaria

We visited quite a few castles while in Germany – and some in other countries.  But I think our favorites were the ones built by Ludwig II – named “Mad King Ludwig” by many.  Mad he may have been, but boy did he know how to build castles!

While Linderhof may have been the smallest of the castles he built, it seemed to me to be the most ornate, and actually somewhat gaudy to me.  Mind you, it is really gorgeous, and has many, many precious things in it, but the word opulent comes to mind when I think of it.

Credit Google Search – an example of gold used

However, we thoroughly enjoyed touring it, and were grateful for the opportunities we had to visit it.  We always made sure to take visitors to see it with us.

Of course, we found the gold statue in the middle of the pool to be fascinating.  She sits demurely most of the time, but when it is time for the fountain to geyser, she is in the middle of the geyser.  

1968 – on our trip to Bavaria

And there is a most interesting thing about that geyser – it is completely natural!  There is nothing mechanical or technical about it.  You see, the castle itself sits at the bottom of a hill, with a cascade carved in the hill behind it, that the water flows over.  The water goes down the cascade, under the castle itself, and gravity pressure makes the geyser shoot up at least 80 feet in the air.  It is amazing!  Ludwig placed his bedroom at that point in the castle to get the cool breeze coming down the hill and with the water to cool his room.  Smart man, hmm?

1968 – the cascade is behind the castle

1982 – the Cascade behind the castle

There is a LOT of gold overlay within the castle.  He also had a lot of Meissen porcelain in various arrangements.  Apparently Meissen porcelain was his favorite.  It is quite ornate and beautiful.

1982 – Meissen porcelain chandelier

Ludwig had a fascination with swans and peacocks.  He had a Moorish Kiosk built on Linderhof grounds that had three peacocks surrounding a divan within.  This kiosk was originally designed for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1876.

Credit Google Search and Wikipedia

We also found fascinating that in the dining room, the table disappears into the floor, going to the kitchen below where it was loaded with food and sent back to the dining room. The advantage of this technology was that the King did not have to see his servants.

Credit Google Search – The dining room

The Kings bed chamber was quite something to see – there is a giant sized bed for a large-than-life King.  Ludwig liked ornate drapes in his bedroom.

Credit Google Search – the King’s bedroom

Ludwig and composer Richard Wagner were friends, and Ludwig built a grotto (a cave) for the performance of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen.”  It’s sometimes call “The Blue Grotto” or “Neptune’s Grotto.”

Credit Google Search and Augsburger Allegemeine

~~~~~~~~~~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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Five ways to break through any crisis

8 Aug

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Pere Eckles

Reblogged August 8, 2020

August 7, 2020

“I’m so sick of this,” a friend said behind her mask, “can’t wait for this to be over.”

We can all relate, can’t we?

And to add to the frustration, many say this will get worse before it gets better. That’s not the news we want. Then again, there’s so much we don’t want, expect or deserve.

Though we may not deserve it, those under the heavy pressure of stress are divided in two groups.

Two Groups

The first group spends way too much time taking in the news. And ever so subtly, they’ve become addicted to social media. As a result, they invite fear, worry and anxiety to bed with them.

The second group lives in triumph. No matter how heavy gloom becomes, they know how to break it away.

This concrete driveway with shattered pieces is not the result of a jack hammer at work. What caused this broken cement are roots. That’s right, those of a large tree close to the driveway.

And when our own emotional cement weighs heavy upon us, the way to break through is by the force of God’s Word. His Word that has become deeply rooted in our hearts.

The stronger the root, the more power it has. And when crisis strikes, His Word, deeply planted in our heart breaks through any stronghold.

  1. Troubles increase, making us vulnerable, unprotected and when nothing seems constant or trustworthy, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1-3)
  2. When we’re attacked by disturbing news day by day, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
  3. Should nightfall catch us in tears, God whispers: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
  4. We may feel broken and worn out, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)
  5. We have a promise that overcomes our problems, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 5:16)

No matter what we see painted as despair. No matter what we hear about dark prognosis. No matter how many masks we need to go through, all is temporary.

That’s because the unseen is what sustains us–God’s grace that holds us up. His love that sets us free. His hand that brings down walls. And when fear digs in deep, He echoes: My Word is your power and my joy is your strength.

Let’s Pray

Father, I confess the heaviness is often too much to carry, too difficult to bear. Yet I know Your strength is enough and the Word rooted in my heart breaks through the cement of doubt. In Jesus name.

What is weighing heavy on you these days?

Janet

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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.

This uplifting message comes to you from JC Empowerment Ministries. JC Empowerment is dedicated to bringing the light of God’s Word into dark places. The ministry survives only through donations from readers like you. Please consider partnering with us through your tax-deductible support. CLICK HERE to learn more.

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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Life During Covid 19 Part 19

7 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

After last weeks adventure in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, this week was taken up with routine chores and doctor visits.(ugh) The highlight was a short visit with friends in Anderson, SC.

The mornings on the porch continue to be a delight, especially when a cool breeze adds a hint of chill to the air. So different from a Florida August morning. Tomorrow a friend from Florida will be arriving and I look forward to sharing my porch time with her.

Life during Covid here in the North Carolina mountains is easier on my nerves, than when we were in Florida. We are close enough to Georgia to do the majority of our shopping there and for the most part, the state is open. Fortunately, north east Georgia is a good distance from hot spots like Atlanta. It’s nice to see people going on with their lives.

Bummer, I seem to have misplaced my more comfortable mask. (I hate them) I hope I didn’t drop it somewhere and become one of those people I complain about who throw their mask on the ground.

I made a discovery, quite by accident, this week that I am tickled with. I read on my iPad using the Kindle app. Out of curiosity I highlighted a passage and tapped the share option. To my delight, the app created a graphic of the passage complete with sourcing information.

This is one I “clipped” from a book by my former pastor, Peter Lord in Titusville, Fl

I think this is going to be an outstanding tool for sharing on social media. For my author friends, you can choose a favorite passage from one of your works and instantly create a sharable graphic.

By the way, Peter’s book, Hearing God: An Easy -to-Follow, Step-by-Step Guide for Two-Way Communication with God is available on Amazon. I recommend it.

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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Our Chicken Little Experience

5 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

It was sometime around 2008 and our son, Billy, and his family lived on 5-acres in rural Orange City, where they had started keeping chickens for the eggs.  Every once in a while they would get overstocked with eggs, and we would be the lucky recipients.    Billy had gone to great lengths to protect his chickens with a nesting shelter and a chicken coop, but over the years his flock had been diminished by foxes and the occasional bobcat.

At the time of this story he only had two of the Road Island Red chickens left.  They wanted to go on vacation, but he was afraid that if he let the chickens run free, a fox was sure to get them.  So he asked DiVoran and me if we would keep them for the 2-weeks they would be gone.  He assured us that they were well-mannered and would be no trouble.  We said, “Sure” since our backyard was fenced and backed onto a wildlife area (no neighbors to bother).  Billy brought over a nice “portable” coop for the chickens to sleep in, and we set it up over papers, with food and water on our screened back porch. Every morning we would let them out into our backyard, with food and water, and they pretty much took care of themselves.  They did a dandy job of free “Pest Control” in our back-yard.  We were glad for that, but I’m not sure how happy the birds were about it.

Now this is the amazing part of the story.  Every evening around dusk, the two chickens would let us know it was time for them to go to bed.  They would jump up on our kitchen window sill and peck on the window.  I kid you not!  Just so you would believe me when I told you this story, I took this picture of them on our kitchen window sill looking in.

DiVoran and I took turns going out and picking them up off the window sill, and carrying them in and putting them in their coop.  They didn’t seem to mind being picked up or handled.  They didn’t try to struggle or fly away.  They would just let us pick them up and carry them to their coop.  We would give them more food and water, and place a blanket over the coop.  They were quiet and happy all night. 

We enjoyed watching them scratch around the yard as if it was a new area to investigate every day.  We also had a good time each day looking for the day’s cache of eggs.  It was like a daily Easter Egg Hunt.  It was quite a challenge since they never seemed to lay them in the same place two days in a row.  It was a fun short-term experience, but DiVoran and I both agree we wouldn’t want to do it as a living or even as a hobby.

–—-The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 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.

 

Bill

 

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

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