God is Good

29 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

The other day I was working on a blog for the website we support (www.oldthingsrnew.com).  I had some relaxing instrumental guitar music, from YouTube, playing softly in the background.  As I was typing along, suddenly the music went off.  I didn’t pay any attention to it at the time, as there are sometimes small breaks between songs.  But then when my attention was drawn away from my blog by the silence, I clicked on the music icon to get it started again, but nothing happened.  Then a message appeared in the middle of the screen that said i had no internet connection.  Well shucks!  There went my music.  That happens now and then when AT&T is doing something that interrupts the internet signal.  So I just went on with my blog work and forgot about it for a while.

After a while, I remembered a phone call I needed to make and got up to make the call.  But no!  There was no dial tone.  I walked over and turned on the TV.  Yep, no signal there either.  Well, this had lasted a while, so I guessed AT&T was taking longer than usual today.  I would give them a couple of hours before I called in a trouble report.  I hated the thought of having to go thru the hassle of talking to their computerized answer machine that thought it was smarter than I was, and wouldn’t let me talk to a real person.  I went back to my blog and forgot about the loss of my music for another hour or so.  The next thing I knew it was time for lunch, and then a quick power nap.  After my nap DiVoran said we needed to run to the store for something important (I can’t remember what it was).  So we got ready, got in the car, and headed to the store.  As we headed down our street, we passed an AT&T service truck parked a few houses down the block.  I stopped and backed up to ask the technician if he knew what AT&T might be doing to the internet and how long it would take.

I quickly told him my internet interruption story and asked him what he thought might be going on.  He asked me where our house was, and I indicated that it was, just down the block.  He said he had just finished an installation at the house next to ours, and he would come take a look at our situation.  We were thrilled that he was going to take the time to check out the problem, and didn’t just tell us to call in a trouble report.  I showed him the power-pole that we shared with our neighbor.  He said “Yep, that is the house I just finished working on.  He went up the power-pole and inspected the work he had done there.  When he knocked on the door, he asked me to try the internet music.  It worked.  Then I checked the TV and the phone, and they all were working perfectly.  

Then he told me that he had found the problem at one of the power-pole connections.  He was very happy to have found the problem before we had called in a trouble report, as I’m sure it would have been discovered that it was his mistake, and there might have been repercussions for him.  I was thankful that I had not had to go thru the nightmare of having to wait (sometimes days) for a technician to have time to come (from where ever they come) to fix the problem.

Now my question for you is, who had that AT&T service truck in that location at that particular time?  I don’t believe in coincidences.  I believe my loving God had that truck in that very location, at that very time, so that He could help the AT&T technician avoid any repercussions, and He could make us happy at the same time.  Now if that isn’t a case of God being good to His children, I don’t know what is.  Thank you Lord.

—–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

Tags: ,

Three Abalone Shells

27 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

This morning, I was on the back porch doing a gentle exercise when our handy-man George*came to mulch some flower beds in the back yard. He walked up to the porch screen and stood looking at the shelf that goes around the inside of the porch.

 “While I’m thinking about it, would you consider giving me one of them abalone shells?” he said, “I see you’d have two more left.” 

While it sounded like a reasonable request, my heart sank. Suddenly I knew I couldn’t give up even one of my beautiful abalone shells. Some time ago, I gave George a few unusual rocks my rockhound parents had found. I believe in giving things to most people who ask, but the force of sadness that hit me shocked me. Another factor in my feeling of guilt was that George works under several handicaps to make our yard look trimmed and beautiful.  He can’t read or write, and he has no nose because smoking and cancer took it. He’s getting a new one someday, or so the doctors say. He has an ex-wife, and two grown daughters and he does his best to help look after them

George voiced understanding about my sentimentality; still, I felt selfish. But then, I thought about all the hard work Dad put into climbing down into the cold water of the Pacific Ocean to pry abalone off the rocks with a crowbar. Then I thought about my brother’s son, who one day went out for abalones with some good buddies, got caught in a riptide and drowned. These three shells are beautiful, and they remind me of my father and my nephew in a subtle way, and for some reason, they give me peace. 

  But when I told Bill my dilemma, he informed me that all George told him he wanted to saw up the shell and possibly make jewelry from it.   Well, I’ll tell you that was one time when I was glad about saying no.  It was a blessed time when the enemy had to flee from me. Here’s how you tell the difference between a thought from God or an idea planted by the devil. If it comes from fear and condemnation, it’s the devil. If it’s God talking, we feel convicted, healed, and cleansed. 

We’re helping a bit to pass out free food from ranches and farms. As bad as I had momentarily felt about refusing George the abalone shell, I now knew that we had a big box of mixed fruits and vegetables to give him from the farms that donate them. Food is better than empty shells or jewelry any day. But that’s another story altogether. 

*Name changed

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.”

Tags: ,

Random Memories of Germany-The Bakery

26 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

The symbol for a bakery in Germany – the pretzel – 1982

I’ve mentioned in previous musings about the Bakery that was just around the corner from the housing area where we lived.  I made many trips just to visit that bakery (Bäckerei in German).  I have many fond memories of going into that store and “speaking” with the lady who owned it.  I spoke a little German…she spoke a little English, and so we were able to communicate fairly well with each other.  She was a delightful lady.

One thing I enjoyed the most about her was the way she treated her customers.  For instance, the first year we were in Heidelberg, Fred’s parents came to visit (which they did each year we were there).  Wanting to show them all the wonderful things about Heidelberg, we took them to the bakery.  I introduced them to the owner.  I told her that they really loved to eat raisin bread (Rosinenbrot), and she produced a loaf.  We ate off that loaf for a few days.  But the really fun thing is that every following year, when Fred’s parents visited, and we went to that bakery, she remembered them – greeting them with smiles and handshakes – and presenting a loaf of raisin bread.  She remembered not only the couple, but what they enjoyed eating!  Great lady!

I remember going in there one day in the Spring, and she had set out samples of an onion tart she had made.  Onions grew abundantly in the area, and she made the best of it.  It was a delicious taste – but I can’t remember whether or not I purchased an entire “pie” to take home.  I probably did, because I knew Fred would enjoy it.

Another memory of the bakery – as mentioned in other posts, I had started teaching aerobic dancing while in Heidelberg.  My partner and I had set up a contest among our students, to make a design that depicted our logo.  We had several entries, and chose one top winner,

The winner of our logo

 and one runner-up.  As it happened, I went from one of my classes, still wearing my aerobic outfit, to the bakery before heading home.  The owner of the bakery asked about the shirt (Heidelberg Aerobic Dancing) and I tried to tell her it was an exercise class, but made use of “dance” instead of just exercises.  And so I told her it was “tance…aber….gymnastic” (dance…but…gymnastics).  She seemed to get the idea.  I just hoped I had said it right!

 One of the best memories of the bakery, was what I did for Fred’s birthday, the last one before we left Germany.  I had frequently purchased just slices of her famous cream pie (like a cream cheese pie, lemony flavor and mildly sweet), and other goodies.  One day I was in there, when someone ordered a Black Forest Cake for a birthday.  That gave me the idea for Fred’s birthday.  I was able to order and purchase a small Black Forest Cake (about 8″ diameter), and asked her to write “Fred” on it.  She didn’t understand “Fred” so I said “Frederic.”  She then said “Fritz?” which is the German nickname for Frederick.  I said “nein” and said “Fred.”  A little disgusted with me, she handed me the paper and pen and said “here!”  So I wrote “Fred” out for her, and we were both happy.  Fred was more than surprised, and pleased.  It was a delicious cake!!

When my BFF, Sue, came for a two-week visit, we squired her all around Heidelberg and Germany.  She and I went on a bus tour to Holland – that is a memory for another post.  But one of the things I did with her, was to take her to my favorite bakery!  I spoke to the owner in my halting German, asking for whatever it was I wanted.  After I had finished, Sue said, “Wow, Judy, I never heard anything like that.”  In reply, I said, “believe me… that’s like NOTHING She’s ever heard before either!”  And the lady just laughed.  So she probably knew more English than she let on.  But that’s okay, we got along famously with what we each knew.

One of the things I miss most about Germany, and Heidelberg in particular, is that bakery.  

~~~~~~~~~~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.

Tags: , ,

Testing

25 Jul

My Take

Onisha Ellis

Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, our Fall road trip is a go. Testing out using the Mobil WP app. Great verse from my morning reading.

Catbird

20 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Pixabay

I’m glad I never set out to learn bird calls. It would take a long time to learn them all. But, I do recognize most of the trillers that come to our yard. One time I heard a sound like a kitten mewing. I looked around and saw a catbird on a branch, and on that day, I made two discoveries.

1. A catbird was named catbird because it mews like a kitten.

2. The catbird wears a handsome pair of russet-colored feather shorts beneath his tail. 

Speaking of the calls of birds, have you ever read The Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter published in 1909? One of the things I love in the book is that the heroine, Elnora, could play the sounds of the swamp on her violin. Wouldn’t that be something beautiful to hear? 

A catbird can sing the songs of many other kinds of birds, as can mockingbirds and others. Catbirds practice each new sound and then blend it into a concert of all the sounds he knows. I have only heard mockingbirds do that, but that’s enough to know it is a precious gift from God. 

As I study birds and writers, I become aware that many living creatures have gifts from God to share with the world.  The Holy Bible tells us that God’s people are blessed with gifts as well.  Our personal gifts can be wisdom, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discernment, languages, interpretations, and many other things. The same breath of God produces all the gifts, just as it creates the sounds of birds. There is one gift, however that outshines all the rest and that is the gift of Love. 1 Corinthians 13.  What a joy that is!

Here are some of the sounds

And

Here’s the love

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.”

Tags: , ,

Random Memories of Germany-Part 7

19 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

While we did most of our shopping – whether clothing or groceries – at the military facilities while in Germany,

Credit Google Search and Military One Source

 there were times when we enjoyed shopping on the German economy.  I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the Germans were adamant about closing early on Saturdays (usually 5:00 p.m.) and either not opening on Sundays, or having shortened hours.  I appreciated that.  

I remember that I had learned to make the German Springerle Christmas cookies from Fred’s mother.  She also gave me a Military Wives Cookbook that had a great recipe for those cookies in it.  But I really didn’t have any of the “forms” until we went to Heidelberg.  I must have had some type of forms – perhaps Fred’s mother gave me hers, I just don’t remember – because I did make those cookies each Christmas.  

When I went into a German store to see if they had the forms, I had a rather difficult time telling the sales ladies just what I wanted.  I thought I had the proper pronunciation for the forms, but I think one lady finally realized what I was asking for – in my halting German!  She brought out a few forms, and they were exactly what I wanted!  Just what I was looking for!

In another situation, down the road from our housing area was a type of “mall” that we frequented.  It was called Famila.  Some called it Familia, but it was the same place.  It had everything from grocery stores to yarn shops, movie theaters to shoe stores.  You get the picture – just like one of our shopping malls in the U.S.  It was all indoor, like most of the malls in this country, so it was a nice place to walk and window-shop, no matter what the weather.

There was one event that really surprised us while we were there.  The girls and I were outside our building one day, when we saw a HUGE number of bicycles coming furiously down Römerstrasse – the main street outside our housing area.  There were probably a couple of hundred cyclists in the group.  It could have even been the Tour de France, but in Germany.  We were amazed – all those bicycles at once!  But what took us by surprise was that ALL the cars – from both directions – just……STOPPED!  No one told them to stop, they just stopped on their own, and pulled over to the curb.  It was the race going by, which was fascinating by itself.  And, after the last bicycle had cleared the area, the traffic started up again.  Amazing!

Credit Google Search and Velo News

~~~~~~~~~~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.

Tags: , ,

How to see God’s way out of our troubles.

18 Jul

REBLOGGED July 18, 2020

July 10, 2020

“So, I was with some friends preaching in South Africa,” a preacher said, “when a blind woman who sat at the front came up for prayer.

The preacher told her Jesus loved her and wanted to heal her blindness. He then placed his hands on her head and prayed. In that instant, her eyesight was restored.

Who could doubt God still performs miracles? Blind see again, lame walk again, cancer ends, emotions become healthy.

But what happens to those, like me—whom God didn’t heal? What could be the reason?

Whether physically or spiritually blind, we all have asked that same question. How often, in our desperate, aching heart we ask: why, when, and how?

Why, why, why…

As we try to understand, we wonder: Why would He allow us to enter such dark times, endure so much hardship and face so many painful moments? 

We take those questions to bed. They rumble in our minds during sleepless nights. Nothing makes sense. What went wrong? We lead lives that, by most standards would be considered good. We attended church every Sunday. And drawing strength from nowhere, we come up with activities to keep our kids busy. We silently endure the lay-offs. And we fret because the bank account mirrors our nearly-empty pantry and fridge.

But we’re full of questions like these:

  1. Why is God so far, distant and seemingly uninterested in the unfortunate state of our country and the world?

He is not only interested, but He’s involved. He hears our longing; He knows our questions and He has the answer: “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

We can endure because He’s close. We can move forward because He keeps us from crushing into despair. And we wait in anticipation because He understands our broken heart.

  1. What about our broken plans? How can we bring back what we had before?

God sees our plans shattered to pieces before us. That’s why He reminds us of His own plans Those plans are to prosper us, not to harm us. They are to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

  1. What will happen tomorrow, or next week or next year?

In spite of the anxiety that blinds us from seeing a new horizon, His restoring power is at work to bring a new beginning:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).

The streams of reassurance open the way to new horizons. In the desert of pain, He makes the way for healing and in the wasteland of grief He brings the warmth of His comfort.

  1. Where is He when we’re drowning in fear because of unexpected adversity? And where is He when we’re crossing through the fire of hopelessness?

He knows the precise place of our needs. He knows the spot where we hurt. And He is aware of the intensity of our suffering. And to it all, He whispers: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

There is hope.

Blindness, disease, heartache or financial hardship may invade our lives, but we’ll never drown in despair. And when the fire of fear draws near, it will never burn because He’s in the midst of our weakness. He’s at the moment we stumble, when anxiety visits, and even when danger lurks, He’s present with His protection.

He was present in that church in South Africa where Jesus chose to heal the blind woman. God didn’t heal my blindness, but He gave me 20/20 vision to see His hand at work. The same hand that is holding you, your situation, your silent loneliness, your pain and your heartache.

All He asks is for you to fix the eyes of your heart on Him. That’s when hope is born. Faith grows. And courage stands. The kind of courage that defeats all evil. The size of courage to simply believe. Believe that God will see you out of your troubles.

Let’s Pray

Father. Thank You for healing my unbelieving heart. Thank You for giving me eyes to see who You are, what You promise and how You guide.

What blinds you from seeing His hand at work?

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.

July 10, 2020

“So, I was with some friends preaching in South Africa,” a preacher said, “when a blind woman who sat at the front came up for prayer.

The preacher told her Jesus loved her and wanted to heal her blindness. He then placed his hands on her head and prayed. In that instant, her eyesight was restored.

Who could doubt God still performs miracles? Blind see again, lame walk again, cancer ends, emotions become healthy.

But what happens to those, like me—whom God didn’t heal? What could be the reason?

Whether physically or spiritually blind, we all have asked that same question. How often, in our desperate, aching heart we ask: why, when, and how?

Why, why, why…

As we try to understand, we wonder: Why would He allow us to enter such dark times, endure so much hardship and face so many painful moments? 

We take those questions to bed. They rumble in our minds during sleepless nights. Nothing makes sense. What went wrong? We lead lives that, by most standards would be considered good. We attended church every Sunday. And drawing strength from nowhere, we come up with activities to keep our kids busy. We silently endure the lay-offs. And we fret because the bank account mirrors our nearly-empty pantry and fridge.

But we’re full of questions like these:

  1. Why is God so far, distant and seemingly uninterested in the unfortunate state of our country and the world?

He is not only interested, but He’s involved. He hears our longing; He knows our questions and He has the answer: “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

We can endure because He’s close. We can move forward because He keeps us from crushing into despair. And we wait in anticipation because He understands our broken heart.

  1. What about our broken plans? How can we bring back what we had before?

God sees our plans shattered to pieces before us. That’s why He reminds us of His own plans Those plans are to prosper us, not to harm us. They are to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

  1. What will happen tomorrow, or next week or next year?

In spite of the anxiety that blinds us from seeing a new horizon, His restoring power is at work to bring a new beginning:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).

The streams of reassurance open the way to new horizons. In the desert of pain, He makes the way for healing and in the wasteland of grief He brings the warmth of His comfort.

  1. Where is He when we’re drowning in fear because of unexpected adversity? And where is He when we’re crossing through the fire of hopelessness?

He knows the precise place of our needs. He knows the spot where we hurt. And He is aware of the intensity of our suffering. And to it all, He whispers: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

There is hope.

Blindness, disease, heartache or financial hardship may invade our lives, but we’ll never drown in despair. And when the fire of fear draws near, it will never burn because He’s in the midst of our weakness. He’s at the moment we stumble, when anxiety visits, and even when danger lurks, He’s present with His protection.

He was present in that church in South Africa where Jesus chose to heal the blind woman. God didn’t heal my blindness, but He gave me 20/20 vision to see His hand at work. The same hand that is holding you, your situation, your silent loneliness, your pain and your heartache.

All He asks is for you to fix the eyes of your heart on Him. That’s when hope is born. Faith grows. And courage stands. The kind of courage that defeats all evil. The size of courage to simply believe. Believe that God will see you out of your troubles.

Let’s Pray

Father. Thank You for healing my unbelieving heart. Thank You for giving me eyes to see who You are, what You promise and how You guide.

What blinds you from seeing His hand at work?

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

Tags: ,

Carolina Wren

13 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo provided by Pixabay

While shy of people, Carolina Wrens seem to like being where people are. If your home is in the suburbs and close to woods and shrubs, you may have the honor of hosting them when they nest in springtime. 

When you hear a sweet clear call that insists you stop, look, and listen, you may be entertaining a Carolina Wren. One of our neighbors had a hanging planter on her front porch with a Carolina Wren nest in it. She greeted the family coming and going and could look out the big plate glass window to keep an eye on them.

We had a Carolina Wren family at our house, too. Our pair decided they liked our back yard. As you know, our yard adjoins a Diceranda refuge, so they didn’t have to go far to find items for the nest. For some reason, we had placed a small plastic table under the kitchen window. It had a plant in a terracotta pot in it. We kept seeing the Carolina Wrens when we looked out the window, but we didn’t know they were building a nest that would be so close to the ground.  We started in right away to worry about cats, snakes, hawks, and any other dangers for the babies we could think of. 

The mother and father worked together on the nest. It looked like a woven bowl with a big enough opening for the eggs and could accommodate parent-sitter taking his or her turn. The one that wasn’t sitting searched for food and brought it home.

 I read that the Carolina Wren eats caterpillars, moths, and roaches, along with other delicacies. For a treat, sometimes they catch a lizard or frog. They get plenty of protein, but they also consume plant material such as fruits and seeds from various wild plants. I don’t think they ever get any chocolate, poor things. Oh well, it’s probably not suitable for baby birds anyhow.

The one thing that surprised me most after seeing three tiny babies was that that the parents not only flew in with something in their beaks, but they flew out that way too.  We talked it over and decided that we probably knew what it was. It looked like a tiny white capsule. What do you think it was? Here’s a hint, it’s something we all have to clean up.

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.”

Tags: , , ,

Random Memories of Germany-Part 6

12 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Fred and I tried to be good Americans – not the “ugly” Americans that are portrayed so often.  To do so, we took German language lessons before we left the States, and studied some after we arrived in Germany.

I remember taking classes after we settled in our apartment in Heidelberg. 

Part of Mark Twain Village – across the courtyard from our building

One of the last days of classes, we had to partner up with another student, go downtown Heidelberg, stop a German on the street and ask questions/directions in German and get an answer from them.  That was a rather intimidating thought to me, but my partner and I did it.  We would stop someone on the street with “Entschuldigen (Excuse me).  While we then began our questions, the person we stopped usually had a stern look on their face, which nearly made me stop.  However!….as soon as the question was asked, their face cleared, and they answered our questions eagerly and with friendliness.  It never felt like we had interrupted their day.  That was amazing to me!    

Heidelberg Castle, gate and town from the Neckar River

I mentioned in previous posts that we were occasionally mistaken as German by the Germans (i.e., please see my post of March 20, 2016 – The Cruise of a Lifetime, Part 6 continued).  That was always fun.  And that brings me to a time when we were walking from our apartment on Römerstrasse to our church, when a car pulled up beside us and stopped.  In German the people in the car asked for directions to Leimen – a town just a few miles south of Heidelberg.  Well I did my usual “ich habe nur ein bischen Deutch” (I only know a little German),and as I turned to Fred to ask about how far it was, someone in the backseat spoke up with “I speak English.”  But then, being good Americans, I still answered in my best German – that it was straight ahead perhaps 10 kilometers (geradeaus vielleicht zehn kilometers).  They thanked us – in German, with smiles on their faces – and off they went.  

Römerstrasse – the street near our apartment building – where we walked

While in Heidelberg, I found a set of china/porcelain that I wanted.  It is made by Goebel, the same company that makes Hummel figurines and plates.

The pattern I liked is called “Burgund.” 

There was a store in Heidelberg that carried the entire pattern, and I purchased my set from them.  When I got home with it, and compared what I had to what I had paid for, I realized that they hadn’t charged me for 12 saucers.

Again, wanting to be good Americans, I went back to the store with the receipt to explain.  Well, between my halting German and their halting English, it took some doing to make them understand that I had under-paid them!  They thought I was saying I had over-paid for something!  When it was finally clear that I was in the wrong – and was there to make payment – they were astounded!  And as a thank-you, they gave me a set of salt and pepper shakers in that pattern!!

 WOW!  It really does pay to be nice!  I just wanted them to know that not all Americans are “ugly” Americans.

~~~~~~~~~~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.

Tags: , , ,

Life During Covid-19 Part 18- Dealing with my anger.

11 Jul

Together

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I have a mental exercise for you. Think of someone in government you despise. I chose government since we tend to have strong feelings these days, but you can choose anyone. What is the first adjective that pops into your mind to describe them? My most frequent word is idiot.

In me, an anger reaction quickly follows the adjective. This is not good. Allowing my mind to simmer and at time sauté in anger leads to more anger and a total loss of peace.

Philippians 4:8 has long been my

go-to verse to restore my mind.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 

But what happens if I can’t think of a single good thing about the person or situation? That is where I have been with the rioting and violence. Then something extraordinary happened.

My heart changed and my prayer changed.

Instead of scrolling past fiery news posts on Facebook, I began to stop and place a hand over the picture and simply ask God that His love for the people to flow into my heart for them.

Am I 100% perfect at this? No way. I’m not 100% perfect at anything, But God is and I am counting on him!

For King and Country have a song out titled, Together. It’s another of the songs with the voices recorded remotely. I am sharing two videos. The first is the back story of the video, the second, the actual performance. I always enjoy back stories, but if they are not your thing, skip to the second one

“Filmed in quarantine in our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. ‘TOGETHER’ with Kirk Franklin + Tori Kelly. So grateful to all 2000 of you who lent us your stories and voices to make this music video possible.”

Since local churches shut down, I have been listening to various churches across the country. The July 5, 2020 message at a church in our Florida town was titled The Destruction of Discouragement. One of the speakers one line points was

“Where your brain dwells, it swells.”

If you are interested, here is the LINK for the message.

Tags: , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →