Tag Archives: #amblogging

Believers Shine Like Lights in the World

16 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Philippians 2: 12

My beloved ones, just like you’ve always listened to everything I’ve taught you in the past, I’m asking you now to keep following my instructions as though I were right there with you. Now, you must continue to manifest this new life as you live in the holy awe of God—which brings you trembling into his presence.

Photo Credit:Pixabay

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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Let’s Eat-Spaghetti-Part 2

15 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Credit ChurchArt.com

Last time I wrote about my favorite spaghetti recipe that I use all the time.  But that’s the home-made version. We do, upon occasion, eat out at an Italian restaurant, and usually get their spaghetti.  There aren’t too many Italian dishes that I care for, spaghetti and lasagna being the main exceptions.

We have some friends that we join in a meal once a month.  When we started out on that journey with them, we were eating at Olive Garden each month.

Credit Google Search and Olive Garden website/assests.friendseat.com

 Perusing the menu, I just didn’t find anything other than the spaghetti or lasagna that I really wanted to eat.  And the spaghetti usually won out. 

Credit Google search and Olive Garden website/a.mktgcdn.com

However, I kept thinking that it was a LOT of noodles and not nearly as much meat sauce as I would like.  Then the husband of the couple ordered the spaghetti, but with a side dish of extra meat sauce – and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.  Yes, I pay extra for the extra meat sauce, but it makes just enough sauce to counter the noodles.  But we like my recipe better.

Many, many years ago, when Fred was still Active Duty Air Force, he made a trip down to Orlando for one of his business trips.  He told me about this neat place, called Disney Village Marketplace* that his group went to.

Credit Google Search, Disney website/www.huitt.zollars.com

They stayed in a hotel near to Disney Village, that had a spaghetti eatery in its restaurant.  So when we came down as a family for a Disney visit, we went to that eatery, and were pleased with the spaghetti.  I have no idea whether or not it is still in business.  But we still like my recipe better.

Also many years ago, there was a chain of Italian restaurants called The Spaghetti Warehouse.  Seems like we found one and had an enjoyable meal there – but I don’t remember just where it was.  I Googled the name, and there is only one listed – in Columbus, Ohio.

Our Sunday School class likes to get together for a Christmas meal each year, and one year we went to a recommended-Italian restaurant called Il Pescatore.

Credit Google Search; Il Pescatore website/cdn.usa.restaurants.info

It’s a quaint eatery, and the food is quite authentic.  Good salad and good spaghetti.  But we still like my recipe better.

We’ve eaten at Maggiano’s Little Italy on International Drive in Orlando several times and have enjoyed the food.  They have so many good Italian dishes there, but the spaghetti is top-notch.  And we still like my recipe better.

When we lived in Heidelberg, West Germany, our church called a man to be our pastor.  He and his family arrived in December, 1981.  We had planned to have their family come to our apartment and meet us, when we learned that Greg (pastor) had injured his back and was essentially bed-ridden.  I had made a large pot of my spaghetti for supper, so I just put a lid on the pot, went to the neighborhood bakery and got a loaf of bread, and we took it all up the hill to their apartment!  It traveled well, and re-heated easily.  And all that to say that their son saw our daughter and an attraction was started.  They’ve now been married for nearly 38 years!  All because of spaghetti!  Mine’s the best!!

*P.S.  Disney Village Marketplace became Downtown Disney and is now Disney Springs

Credit Google Search and Disney Spring website/disneyworld.disney.go.com/afterhours

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~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 and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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What to do When Feeling Trapped.

14 Sep

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged from Janet Perez Eckles.com

I pulled away from my computer and turned to hubby. “Listen to this story,” I said.

A baby camel looked up to his mother, “Mommy, why do we have these long eyelashes, these big hooves, and a hump on our back?”

She turned to him. “God made us that way for a very special reason,” she explained. “Our large feet are to keep us from sinking into the sand.”

“Why the big eyelashes?” he asked.

“It’s to protect our eyes from the sand.”

“Why the big humps?”

“That is to store fat and have enough energy to go long distances in the hot desert!”

“I see!” The baby camel stretched his neck and looked up at his mother. “The large feet are to keep us from sinking into the sand, the long eyelashes are to keep the sand out of our eyes, and the humps are to store energy to travel…then what are we doing in this cage in the middle of a zoo?”

I have asked the same question. Like the camel, I had all I needed to enjoy life. I had desires, dreams, and prepared my wings to fly high to success. But instead, I found myself in a cage of grief and heartache. Pitiful really, and definitely not the place I thought I belonged. At the age of 30, my eyesight closed in completely. I lost my joy, my purpose, and my freedom. Bars of gloom and desperation surrounded me.

Inside that cage, I longed for days gone by. Days when I could see. Days when life still held promises for tomorrow.

Have you ever been there? Have you known that longing?

If you have, like He did with me, God might be whispering this powerful truth right into your soul:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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 43:18)

When looking forward, we see the freedom from past longings. When we choose to see outside our cage, we see His hand calling. And when we choose to use what God gave us, we can live in the richness of today.

Let’s Pray

Father, I need your reminder each moment of each day that you created me for much more than what I see within my cage. Thank you for showing me the way to the freedom you offer, fresh with your promises.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What has you trapped these days?

Bonus article on today’s topic.

Janet 

Celebrate with me! My new release, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy won the 2023 Memoir of the Year Golden Scroll Award.

Your copy waits for you HERE.

Let’s Stay in Touch

You and I are only a click away. You can use this CONTACT FORM to leave your prayer request, make a comment, ask a question, or invite me to speak to your group. Or simply reply to this email.

I also invite you to visit my WEBSITE. You’ll find more inspirational blogs along with my story, books, and videos.

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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Hope in Our Differences

13 Sep

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged from Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

Since the beginning of time, Satan has attempted to mimic and corrupt all that God has created. The current age is not the first time there has been anger & division over differences. Satan mislead Adam and Eve to question to instructions God had given them about eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan didn’t even have to exert much effort to convince them God wouldn’t strike them dead immediately if they ate the fruit. God’s words to Adam’s about this tree were, “for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17).

As the population of the world grew, so did differences among the people. Many fell away from faith in God and worshipped idols made of wood or stone. They looked to the sun, moon, and stars to be their gods. These differences caused wars and the more powerful any one group became, the more differences they found amongst themselves. Throughout history, people have placed a greater value on a group of people that possesses financial wealth while looking down upon, mocking, and oppressing those who labor. Without those workers, though, who would provide the goods and services the wealthy need for survival?

Jesus, on the other hand, came to earth, still fully God but taking on human form and mingling with the lowest people in society. They were looking for the Messiah, but the religious scholars were only talking about one. The 12 men Jesus taught on an intimate level were a diverse group. A tax collector, some fishermen, a zealot, and who knows for sure what the others were. A tax collector was considered a traitor to his own people and yet Jesus called him to follow! The 12 learned from each other, they grew to rely on each other, and their differences strengthened them.

We don’t all have to share the same politics, the same opinions on world affairs. In the end, those topics don’t have long-lasting importance. The only topic that warrants serious discussion is faith. Faith is the root of all differences of opinion. Christians are called intolerant because we believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. Every person has the choice whether they believe that and want to follow Jesus. Nobody is forcing the decision. Those who follow Jesus are called to share this truth, to make people aware, and to encourage others to believe, but Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14).

Next time you find yourself in a heated conversation, stop to think about how important that topic is. Is there any benefit in arguing? Can you find a way to respect the differences in your opinions? Look at the people around you as more than their opinions on a handful of explosive topics. Get to know the things that truly make up their character: their hopes, and dreams, their heartaches, and their triumphs. Learn from them and recognize that without our differences, we wouldn’t have scientific discoveries, great writing, astonishing food combinations, or transformative music.

God created us each of to be unique. Why would we want to all be the same?

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Grasping Miracles: A Brush with Death and Divine Intervention

12 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

It happened a week ago Wednesday and I am still trying to grasp it. Rationally we all know that our lives can change in an instant, whether due to a phone call with bad news, a diagnosis or an accident. But to see it happening is another thing altogether.

Our daughter visited with us Labor Day through Wednesday. We basically chilled, drank coffee and watched movies. We did throw in a couple of trips to town with lunch out. She had spent the preceding Friday, Saturday and Sunday on a high school friends weekend to celebrate their turning 50. We, meaning me, were thrilled to care for her dog, Ollie. He missed her terribly and it made me sad. I confess to giving him some extra treats to cheer him up.

Sad Ollie

Wednesday our daughter wanted to get an early start on her drive home and we almost had her car loaded when disaster struck.

My husband had placed an ice chest on a stair-climbing cart and began to move down the first step. He was having a little trouble getting the cart to roll. I saw him pull up on the cart and then the cart was tumbling down the stairs with my husband following.

Before I could grasp what happened, my husband was lying flat on his back in the yard. He fell forward, so he must have flipped at some point to land on his back.

Our daughter and I ran to him not sure what we would find. He didn’t hit his head or any place on his body during the fall. His only complaint was that his shoulder hurt.

Now let me tell you the miraculous part. There is no way his body could have traveled this far without bouncing on the stairs. I had to use the panoramic setting to take this picture. The flower pot on the porch marks where the fall began and the flower pot in the yard is where he landed.

Surely he was carried by an angelic being.

He was able to walk on his own into the house and we talked for a few minutes. Gradually he began to find it a bit difficult to take a deep breathe followed by severe pain. Our daughter volunteered to drive us to the ER. I was so glad she was with me.

It took a hefty dose of pain medicine to reduce his discomfort. After head to pelvis CT scans, the doctor gave us the great news that nothing was broken. However his lower lung was severely bruised.

The doctor confided that he had been expecting multiple broken ribs and an air transport to a larger hospital.

Although he has been diligent using the incentive spirometer and deep breathing, he felt congested today. A cautionary trip to a clinic showed no fluid/pneumonia and in fact revealed that the bruising was receding.

Every time I look out the front door I am amazed and thankful that this incident didn’t result in a life changing event. I give God the glory.

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’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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The Authority of Jesus

9 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Philippians 2:10

The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence!

Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name in the heavenly realm, the earthly realm, and the demonic realm. And every tongue will proclaim in every language: Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh, bring glory and honor to God, his Father!

Photo Credit:Pixabay

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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Let’s Eat-Spaghetti

8 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Credit ChurchArt.com

Spaghetti is a true Italian dish…I think.  I know that pizza is not, although we associate it with Italian foods. And while, when we think of “spaghetti” we think of the whole dish – noodles, sauce, meatballs (perhaps), and cheese – spaghetti is actually just the noodles.  There are so many varieties of sauces that go over the noodles, that we have just come to call it all “spaghetti” and think we know what we mean.

I actually do not remember my Mother making spaghetti.  Perhaps she did, but I don’t remember it.  Consequently, after Fred and I married and moved from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Fort Worth, Texas, I found a spaghetti recipe on the label of the Crisco can.  With some adjustments, I’ve been using that same recipe ever since.  And I/we like it better than another spaghetti we’ve eaten.  I’m afraid that’s pride talking….

Photo by Judy Wills

I started out making it exactly as the recipe calls for – with one exception.  It says to brown the hamburger meat in Crisco.  Well THAT doesn’t make any sense!  I mean, I’m browning the meat to get the fat OUT…why would I brown it in fat to begin with?  So I just browned the meat without the Crisco.  I add chopped onions as the meat is browning.  The recipe called for canned mushrooms – stems and pieces.  I finally realized that I like sliced button mushrooms better, so that’s what I use now.  

Photo credit Judy Wills

It calls for one 8-oz can of tomato sauce.  I found that to be too “juicy” or runny, so I’ve changed that to one 8-oz can of tomato paste.  Okay…that’s MUCH better.

Photo credit Judy Wills

In recent years I have added diced tomatoes, rather than whole tomatoes that I had to cut up. 

Photo credit Judy WIlls

Lazy, I know, but it’s easier. I learned that just a little bit of sugar cuts the “acid” in the tomatoes, so I’ve been adding about one tablespoon of sugar to my sauce.  

But the final “adjustment” I’ve made to that recipe is…wine.  I started out using cooking wine.  I then discovered that it has a lot of salt in it, so I started using regular wine instead.  As Fred likes to say – if it’s not good enough drink…it’s not good enough to cook with.  And that’s funny coming from him…since neither of us drink wine!  I have never developed the taste for it…just don’t like the taste at all on my tongue.  However, in foods, the alcohol is cooked out and just the taste of the wine to enhance the flavor is left – and it’s GREAT!

I get a lot of teasing from my daughters about that wine.  I started by measuring it very carefully into the spaghetti sauce – six (6) tablespoons per batch.  Now I just pour it into the bowl of my wooden stirring spoon, flip the spoon to empty it into the sauce, then flip it back – all the while pouring, never stopping!  The girls really kid me about that!  But it really makes the sauce delightful.

So that’s my spaghetti sauce – and it’s really our favorite.  I now make a double batch each time I make it, spoon it into Corning Ware dishes into serving sizes for Fred and me, and freeze it.  It usually makes about six servings for the two of us.  I can just whip it out of the freezer and microwave it to heat while I’m cooking the noodles – and we have our meal..And that reminds me – I have gotten to where we like Angel Hair pasta rather than  regular spaghetti noodles.  At one point in time I used Vermicelli noodles, but find we like the Angle Hair even better.

Photo by Judy Wills

How about my readers?  Anyone have a favorite spaghetti recipe?

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 and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Love, the Motivation of our Lives

2 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

1 Corinthians 12:2

If I were to speak eloquently in earth’s many languages and the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clangy cymbal.

And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the great gift of faith that could move mountains but never learned to love, I would gain nothing of value.

Clangy cymbal

Photo Credit:Pixabay

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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Let’s Eat-Pot Roast

1 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Photo credit Google search and Sugar Spun Run

Anyone have a good pot roast recipe?  I can’t seem to make a good one for anything.  

My Mother used to make such a good pot roast…nearly every Sunday she would make one in her pressure cooker.  It was melt-in-your-mouth tender and tasty.  My Dad used to tease her that it was “no good…it just falls off the bone!”  But I never learned her technique for making a good pot roast.  I have a pressure cooker – I’ve tried several different cuts of meat – all to no avail! 

 My roasts are either dry or tough.  The only time I’ve made a decent pot roast was when I purchased one of those Rōmertopf clay pots that must be soaked in water for a while before using – lid included.  But I found it so much work that I didn’t think it was worth the effort.

Photo credit Google search and Rōmertopf

One of my Aunts made a great pot roast.  She always cooked it in her electric skillet, and she always used a chuck roast cut of meat.  She would coat it in flour then sear the meat in the skillet before covering it and cooking in slowly.  Yummmm!  Even trying it in my electric skillet, it still didn’t work for me.

Photo Credit Google Search and Presto

So I gave up on trying to cook my own pot roast.

However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like to eat a good pot roast!  When Fred and I would go to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, we always tried to eat at the Liberty Tree Tavern.  They had the best pot roast!  Slow roasted, they claimed, and it was delicious!  However, we haven’t found it there recently, much to our distress.  So we eat at other places now.

Photo Credit Disney Food Blog

Surprisingly enough, we have found a good pot roast at our local Culver’s.  Now Culver’s is essentially a hamburger joint – and their hamburgers are REALLY good – but they serve other meat dishes as well.  They have a good Reuben sandwich, but they also have a pot roast – either a dinner plate, or as a sandwich.  I would not have thought an eatery like that would have a good pot roast, but they do.  Fred and I frequently get the dinner and share it – it’s a lot of food!  And it comes with two side dishes, as well.

Credit Culver’s website

And recently we ate at our local Cracker Barrel, and found that they have created a new dish – Shepherd’s Pie with their signature Hash Brown Casserole on top.  It comes in a skillet, and is quite tasty.  While most Shepherd’s Pies that I have eaten are made with hamburger meat, this one is made with their pot roast!  Big chunks of the roast, along with onions, carrots, green peas, mashed potatoes as a bottom “crust” with the hash brown casserole on top, and melted cheese topper.  A dollop of sour cream tops it all.  Really good!  Rather than sharing it with Fred (which we will do next time), I ate half of it and brought the remainder home for my supper meal!  A footnote here – our daughter reminded me that a “true” Shepherd’s Pie is made with mutton.  After all – shepherds shepherd sheep, right?  I think I’ll stick with the pot roast!

Photo Credit Cracker Barrel website

I don’t know too many people who make their own pot roast these days.  I just wish I could make a good one.  Oh well, I’ll just have to enjoy the ones I’ve mentioned above.

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 and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Hope in Praise

31 Aug

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged from Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

The words we feed into our brains have tremendous power. When we listen to words spoken in anger, filled with venom and hate, we begin to feel angry ourselves. Even if we just have the television or radio on in the background, without paying attention to what is on or being said, the same sense of anxiousness and anger rises within us. Conversely, if positive, kind words are being spoken in gentle tones, the emotional temperature of a room will cool.

I probably had a subconscious awareness long before I consciously noticed the change in myself. In high school, I was in the marching band and I made a Friday night mix tape I would listen to before football games to get me excited for the night and the show we would perform during halftime. In college, I used music to help me study, recalling specific songs that played as I prepared for a test helped me remember the information I needed.

In my late 20s, I went through a troubled period where I was listening to a lot of songs full of angst and anger, but I also discovered a new Christian radio station that I would occasionally tune into. It took several years, but as I listened to Christian music more often, I noticed I didn’t enjoy the other music as much. I could physically feel my body and emotions change when I listened to those songs I had found so comforting before.

In the Psalms alone, praise to God is mentioned over 150 times. Shifting our focus from the troubles of the world to the greatness of God, the Creator of all things, brings a positive change to our state of mind. For a period I suffered from migraines and often even the medicine didn’t help dull the pain, but if I played praise music, I noticed the pain would fade away. I quickly uploaded all my favorite Christian groups to my iTunes library and created playlists to have the songs that spoke to me the most in one place.

Don’t ask me what my favorite song or group is. That changes depending on the season I find myself in. The group that has been part of my collection since I first found that Christian radio station is Casting Crowns. It’s hard to believe they recently celebrated twenty years together as a band. I still remember the first time I heard “Who Am I?” as I drove into work. It feels like only months rather than years. The very first Christian musician that seemed to see right into my heart, though, was Al Denson. I discovered him at a youth conference when I was in junior high school and played his first cassette tape, Stand Up, so much it finally fell apart. Fortunately, I had found a way to record it on my computer because that album was never made into a CD.

God created us to be in relationship with Him and to sing His praise. When your mind and heart are filled with the words of encouragement God has for us every day, it becomes difficult to harbor anger. Whether I’m stuck in traffic or feeling overwhelmed by a difficult decision, I only have to turn on the local Christian station Z88.3, choose one of my Pandora playlists, or pop in one of the CDs I still carry in my car, and I enter the presence of God. Singing to Him reminds me that He is still in control and has a plan for my life. That brings hope like nothing else.

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad on their king. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to Him with timbres and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; He crowns the humble with victory. Psalm 149:1-4

I’ve started curating songs on Spotify to share with others. Whether you need encouragement or want to sing praise for how great the Lord is, you can find links to both playlists on my resources

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