Tag Archives: #amblogging

10 Steps to Turn Chaos to Calmness (Part 2)

19 Mar

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged March 19, 2022

March 18, 2022

You read the first three steps. And now your life still needs a little more nudging. We all do. And God provides what we need, what we long for, and what we anticipate.

These next three steps will lift you to a place where you can taste His peace and relish in His goodness.

(As a reminder, the first three steps were: (1) Make God a priority, (2) Set a time and place for you and Him alone, and (3) consider the rewards. Please see the March 4 post to read about these steps in their entirety.)

  1. Choose, not the good, but the best.

Guilt bombards the heart when we fail to follow through with our commitments to be still in His presence. And other times, a different guilt pops up when we leave certain household chores undone.

What is the answer? Two sisters give us a hint and set the example. Martha chose to get busy; Mary chose to be calm. Martha chose what was good. Mary chose what was better.

Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:40-42)

  1. Plan ahead when you’re away from home.

Some people always like to plan. And detailed schedules can become more intricate when families go on vacation.

When the boys were young, I didn’t mind all that planning because I also relished the time away. But sometimes restlessness nagged. Our boys misbehaved and impatience won, even frustration visited from time to time.

That’s when I learned that taking vacation from the daily routine can’t mean taking vacation from those rich moments in the Lord’s presence.

Instead of neglecting this special time, I made my own plan to find my own moments of spiritual delight.

I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. (Psalm 119:16)

  1. Stop to listen.

Sometimes as Moms, we have a sixth sense. We can sense when our kids are up to something. When they’re hiding something. Or upset. They don’t have to say a word. We know, we just do.

But even when we know, life happens. It’s way too busy, so we forget the vital part and that is to listen. Oh yes, we listen, but often it’s with cell in hand, checking posts, lured by social media, or texting messages. Our minds are on the task, our heart is partly with our kids, and our attentiveness to what they’re saying is reduced to nearly zero.

The task is challenging because in order to listen, really listen, we need to sacrifice—stop the activity. Put away the phone. Make eye contact. And lean toward the person. This is the best way to convey they’re important.

And when it comes to listening to God, the same approach is needed. To put all else aside, turn all our heart toward Him and listen—to His whisper, to His guidance, to His instruction.

I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. (Psalm 119:58-59)

Let’s Pray

Father, how often I’ve been distracted by the world when emptiness aches in me. Thank You for providing what I need to fill the void, and bring me secure, lasting peace. I praise You, Lord. In Jesus’ name.

What distracts you from receiving God’s peace?

Janet

______________________________________

I invite you to dance with me—celebrating one of my books, “Contagious Courage: A 30-Day Journey to Overcoming Stress and Anxiety.” Get your copy HERE and tell your friends, too.

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.

Let’s connect:

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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Our Trip to Spain-Part 1

16 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

That terrible 9/11/2001 attack had shaken our nation, and we started trying to look at how this event was going to affect our lives.  One of our immediate concerns was that six months earlier, DiVoran and I had signed up for (and paid for) a two-week all-inclusive trip to southern Spain; to begin on 9/19/2001.  We had been looking forward to and planning for that trip with anticipation for the past six months.  Now what were we going to do?  All the airlines were shut down, and who knew for how long!  Would our trip be cancelled?  Would we be able to go?  Should we go?  Question after question ran through our minds.  So, after much prayer and consideration, we received our assurance in the scriptures; ‘…He will order His angels to protect and guard you.’  Luke 4:10b (New Living Translation).

We decided right then and there, that IF our tour was still a go, and IF the airlines started flying again, and IF we could get seats, we wouldn’t let this terrible event ruin our plans.  WE WOULD GO!

Photo Credit: https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/cancellations/

Day 1

By some miracle, it wasn’t long before things began to calm down.  We contacted our tour company and were assured that our tour to Spain was still on, and that they were looking forward to seeing us there as scheduled.  The airlines started flying again, and since many people were “Never going to fly again!” we had no problem confirming our itinerary on the designated airlines, and even on the scheduled date.  Of course, the atmosphere at the airports in Orlando, Atlanta, Paris, and Malaga, as well as on all the airplanes was very tense, but everyone tried to force a smile and were very courteous to us.

Photo Credit: https://flyawaysimulation.com/delta-airlines-l1011-tristar/

Other than short layovers in Atlanta and Paris, we made all of our Delta and Air France connections, as scheduled, without any problems.  Looking back on those flights, I must admit the service was excellent.  The food on each of the flights was wonderful (no peanuts or pretzels), the flight attendants couldn’t do enough for us, and we had plenty of room to stretch out and sleep if we wanted to, as the flights were only about half-full (No they didn’t go so far as upgrading us to first class).

Photo Credit: https://www.inflightfeed.com/delta-airlines/

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 64 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

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

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The Seamstresses in my House-Part 2

13 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Last time I mentioned my first sewing experience.  I would like to quote myself from a previous posting about that:

All those yards and yards of fabric would eventually be made into a Fiesta Dress, or Squaw Dress, as some called it.  Three tiers, each one “longer” than the one above it.  Those dresses could be made from just about any fabric and color combination.  I remember a royal blue fabric with nothing but copper trim – one of my favorites.  I remember a winter dress made from blue corduroy – no trim needed.  I remember one made from fabric that looked like bandana design – no trim needed on that one, either.

 I remember one that was made in light cotton – white – with red and red-and-white trim.  It was great – until I washed it the first time – and the red ran like crazy!!  So my Aunt Jessie took the dress (blouse and skirt) and dyed them beige.  For some reason, the red didn’t show where it had run, and really looked rather classy with the red trim.  Another favorite of mine.  Oh, so many dresses.

And the skirts were not left “pouffy” like they might be today

Credit Pixabay

but  they were hand-pleated after being soaked in starch!  And to keep the pleats in, we rolled the skirt into itself and stuffed it into a nylon stocking.  Jessie’s dogs LOVED to get at those to fight with them!  

One might ask how we “pleated” the skirts.  It was a process, for sure.  The seam that joined the skirt together was done in a “basting stitch” – or a very long stitch.  It was easily removed, which we did before washing.  Of course we washed the skirt as usual.  Then we dipped it into a starch solution, and while wet with starch, we would attach it to a large board by the waistband to the top of the board with old-fashioned clothes pins. 

The board we used was pressboard (similar to peg board 

Credit: Home Depot

but without the holes), about 1/4 inch thick, and about four (4) feet by six (6) feet.  One side was painted white, where we laid the skirt.

Credit:Home Depot

 We would – literally – hand pleat the top row of the skirt.  Then we would stretch a long strip of cloth across the seam of that tier, and anchor it on each side of the board with another clothes pin.  Then we would repeat the pleating process on the tier below that, and then repeat it with the lowest and longest tier.  We would than stand the board upright at an angle, so the excess moisture and starch could drain off the fabric and board. Since New Mexico is such a dry humidity state, we had no fear that the skirt would mildew – and they never did!  When dry, the joining seam would be baste-stitched again, and the skirt was ready to wear.  As mentioned in the previous paragraph, we would roll the skirt together, and stuff it into an old nylon stocking to keep the pleats in.

Most of my fiesta dresses were out of light-weight cotton, with only a few exceptions.  The one I remember the most was the blue corduroy – only worn in winter.  I remember the blue with copper trim was a heavier weight cotton, as was the chartreuse with purple trim.

DiVoran stated:  

Granny made one for me. It was red voile (lightweight cotton) with silver trim. I did find a place to wear it when we moved to Florida. I wore it to square-dancing with several crinoline (stand-out) underskirts.

And that brings me to say that all those skirts were worn with crinoline petticoats under them, to make them “stand out.”

~~~~~~~~~~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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Our Trip to Spain-Prolog

9 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when terror struck the United States on September 11, 2001?  I’m sure you do.  That’s not the kind of event a person easily forgets.  As it happened, my wife, Divoran and I were in the middle of a wonderful family get-together at one of our favorite places in Central Florida; DeLeon Springs State Park. 

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Our family had been visiting the campground since the late 1960s, before it was a state park.  We loved camping there and knew the original owners well.  One of the unique things about this campground was its rustic Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant, where you can cook your own breakfast on the hot-plate in the middle of your table.  This particular day our son, and his family, as well as our daughter, and her husband had joined us for a special family breakfast together.

Photo Credit: https://www.floridarambler.com/ponce-de-leon-state-park/

We could not have been having a more wonderful family time, when the terrible news came filtering into the restaurant over the airways.  I remember how deathly quiet it became, as all the airplanes in this country were grounded.   You might remember how everything seemed to be on hold, as if the country was holding its breath, to see what would happen next.  We finished our breakfast in stunned silence, not really able to grasp the enormity of the attack.  It wasn’t until we got home, later that day, that we were able to see the news reports of just what all had happened.  It was only then that we began to understand how devastating the event had been, and finally the impact began to sink in.  We could have never understood, at the time, just how much this event would change our lives, and the lives of most people the world over, forever.

Photo Credit: https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2001-sep-11-attack/

—–To Be Continued—–

Did you know that Bill and his wife DiVoran loved DeLeon Springs so much that DiVoran wrote a trilogy set there-Onisha

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 64 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

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

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Have a Nice Day

7 Mar

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Morning

Waking up, starting day,

Work a bit then some play.

Ticking clock, bathing cat,

Sounds, zounds, where’s my hat?

Listen close to everything 

You can hear the church bells ring.

Night

When it’s time to go to sleep

From the covers I will peep.

Soft white blankets warm my feet.

I am dreaming what to eat.

Stars twinkle through the night.

Waiting for the morning light. 

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-Let’s Eat Part 2!

27 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I guess what I’m about to write about includes food, so the “Let’s Eat” is still a good title.  You see, I didn’t grow up drinking wine or beer or any hard alcoholic drinks, even with my meals.  So I have never “acquired” the taste for any of it.

And, as a matter of fact, when I was teaching aerobics, I was appalled at the horrible sweat odor oozing from the pours of women who had been drinking beer.  Blech!  That would NOT have encouraged me to drink beer in any form!  So I haven’t.

I must admit, that I have tried – many times – to accompany my evening meal with a glass of wine.  And I just can’t do it.  The taste turns me off.  When I have mentioned this to friends, the usual response is “oh, you just haven’t found the right wine yet!”  And so, when we were in Heidelberg, by invitation I went to a “wine tasting party” in an apartment near where we lived.  After sampling several different wines, I finally found a wine that I thought I could enjoy, and so purchased a bottle to take home with me.  Days later, when I opened the bottle to enjoy with my meal – I found that, once again, it turned me off.  So that bottle of wine was used later in my cooking.

Photo Credit:Pixabay

And that brings me to another topic of wine.  Many years ago I was given the recipe for making French Onion Soup.  A friend had made it for a meal, and I was quite taken with it.  Her husband had been a soldier in Vietnam, and had eaten French Onion Soup in a restaurant in Saigon.  He told her it was the best French Onion Soup he had even eaten!  And he had her try every recipe for it that she could find, and then tweak it until it tasted like what he had tasted in Saigon.  This was the recipe I was given.

Credit Google Search and Sharon Uzell-Meek

Well, that recipe called for “cooking sherry.”  Being a good non-drinking Baptist girl, I thought that I should use the “cooking sherry” instead of regular sherry.  When I tried it in the soup, I found it to be quite distasteful!  And as someone once told me – “If it isn’t good enough to drink, it isn’t good enough to cook with!”  And I have to agree. 

So from that point on, I have been cooking with regular wine.  The alcohol is burned off by the heat, and the flavor is left in the food.  I find it enhances the flavor of the food deliciously. 

And I still don’t like the taste of wine!

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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From Dreaded to Delightful

24 Feb

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Since January I have been ignoring a date on my calendar. February 23, 2022. For months my time has revolved around caring for my husband. Taking him to doctors, finding a specialist, sending medical reports, coordinating appointments and managing the “arranging” of life. I didn’t feel I had time for February 23rd and truth be told, I was a bit afraid.

At my annual checkup with a specialist in January, the doctor suggested I undergo a diagnostic procedure, as a precaution. My initial thought was I don’t have time for this. Then I remembered that a cousin close to my age had died from a cancer my doctor was concerned about. I agreed to the test but pushed it until late February . I was just too busy.

The day before the procedure I was feeling all grumpy. In the past when my husband or I had to go to this particular diagnostic center, it seemed an appointment time was merely a suggestion. My procedure required nothing to eat or drink after midnight and I don’t do well without food and morning coffee.

Photo Credit-My husband taken at The Ark Encounter

Mid-afternoon the center called and asked if they could move my time to 7 am. Along with not doing well with the hangries. I am not an early morning person. I would have to wake up at 5:30 am.

Ark Encounter

Just as I was about to say no way, sanity hit me. 7 am would make me one of the first cases. No hours wait because they were running behind schedule. I could give up sleep for that perk.

From the time I woke, February 23rd turned from dreaded too delightful. I woke before my alarm and spent some time reading scripture and meditating on it. That always makes my day better. My daughter drove me to the diagnostic center in a nearby town. Traffic was light and we even had green lights at most of the traffic signals.

Once at the center, the staff was friendly and on time. Even the IV line went in smoothly. Not a bit of bruising either. The procedure went well and no signs of cancer were found. Hallelujah! And get this, next to the diagnostic center was a Dunkin Donuts and I really like their coffee.

After my coffee fix, I told my daughter I felt wide awake and let’s run her errands and have some fun. Our first stop was a discount store we had been wanting to visit and look for bargain books. We found some bargains but didn’t buy a single book.

Then it was back in the car to drive to another town to pick up a ship to store order. My original cup of coffee was history and we were both wanting more and as luck would have it, there was a coffee cafe, Bold Cup Coffee a few stores away from where the ship to store item was picked up.

Photo Credit:https://www.avenueviera.com/Bold-Cup-Coffee/

I think it may have been new as neither of us had seen it before, We decided to give it a try and I am glad we did. We asked the barista what drink was her favorite. She recommended her families special brew, a Peruvian cafe con Leche. It was really good.

I think the caffeine was holding off the post-procedure sleepiness and I was ready for the next errand on my daughter’s list. So back on the road to yet another town to have her car serviced, washed, vacuumed and fill the gas tank. Oh, and the car dealership had free coffee, a brand named Jittery Joe. I had to try it but it didn’t come close to the flavor of the previous coffees.

With the errands complete we began to think about lunch. We didn’t see any place interesting along the interstate as we drove home so I decided we should splurge and dine at our local and famous seafood restaurant, Dixie Crossroads.

Photo Credit https://dixiecrossroads.com

There was a twenty minute wait and the day was so beautiful, with a gentle breeze, we decided to wait outside. The restaurant has a small pond loaded with fish and turtles. The turtles were taking advantage of the beautiful day to get some sun.

My dreaded day became a delightful day shared with one of my favorite people.

I have become addicted to local roast. Who needs big chains? Well, except I really did enjoy my cup of Dunkin Donuts. Tomorrow we plan to try out a local coffee roaster close to our home. Can’t wait!

PS: Once we were home, I began to feel the effects of my morning anesthesia.I changed in Pjs and enjoyed a two hour nap!

Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with over flowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life,

Philippians 4:6 The Passion Translation

I'm a winner

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

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2021 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Thank You

21 Feb

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Jesus, Holy Spirit, come 

Into my life today.

Fill me with your presence

Show my feet your way.

Fill me with your light

As you brighten up my day

You will stay within me always

Loving all the way. 

You are oh so welcome

Keep me in your sight

When I do a wrong

You help to set it right. 

I know that you do love me

And want all for my best

I always come to ask you

For my peace and for my rest

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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Finding True Love to Ease the Loneliness

19 Feb

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged February 19, 2022

February 18, 2022

I want to cry out “Help, I’m married to a man made of stone. I wish just once, on Valentine’s Day, he would display a little romance.”

Is romance what she really wanted? Here is the definition: Romance is the expressive and pleasurable feeling from an emotional attraction towards another person associated with love. (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance)

Who wants romance associated with love? We want true love, complete and everlasting. Let’s be real. From the beginning we women have been fooled by the longing for romance and mixed it up with love.

The woman at the well mentioned in the Bible has no name, possibly because she bears the name of most women today.

She’s hungry for acceptance, for fulfillment, wholeness, nurturing and lasting commitment. But many Valentine’s Days go by and the emptiness still aches.

Here are seven ways to find true love, the sincere kind of love that goes beyond Valentine’s Day’s fancy dinners and red roses.

  1. Remember that what you want is not the feeling romance brings, but the love that commitment holds.
  2. Resist the Hollywood kind of love and choose instead the forever kind of love from the Holy One.
  3. Refrain from believing the lies that romance fills the emptiness.
  4. Realize the Lover of your soul waits for you.
  5. Receive the never-ending love Jesus offers you.
  6. Revive the passion of love for Him who loved you first.
  7. Reject Satan’s lies that lure you to relationships empty of love.

The woman standing beside the well missed all of the above. She longed for the human kind of love to soothe her lonely nights. Thus, her thirst was constant. Jesus knew. He answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water” (John 4:13-14).

Let’s Pray

Father how often we keep reaching out to the world for satisfaction, and cling to another human being to find true love. I choose to drink the water that will keep my heart hydrated not only on Valentine’s Day, but every moment where loneliness tries to come in. In Jesus’s name, amen

  • What is your heart thirsty for?
  • Who loves you with an everlasting love?
  • Have you found true love yet?

Janet

I invite you to dance with me—celebrating one of my books, “Contagious Courage: A 30-Day Journey to Overcoming Stress and Anxiety.” Get your copy HERE and tell your friends, too.

______________________________________

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.

Let’s connect:

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

From the blog

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What Am I Looking For?

16 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Have you ever gone looking for something, only to realize when you get to the room, you have to stop and ask yourself, “What am I here for?”   The other day I was reading a book at my dining room table and wanted to underline and highlight a paragraph.  I got up and headed for our studio to get a straight-edge and a highlighter.  As I passed thru the kitchen, I happened to notice the clock on the stove read 9:43.  When I got to the studio, I had to stop and ask myself, “What am I here for?”  I couldn’t, for the life of me, remember what I had come to the studio for.  I had to return to the dining room to find out what I needed.  As soon as I saw the book on the table, I remembered what I needed.  Sound familiar?  This sort of thing seems to be happening to me and my wife more often these days.  

it: https://www.kissclipart.com/man-question/

A friend of mine told me about this time when he went up stairs to get something, and by the time he got to the top of the stairs, he had forgotten what he was after.  He had to go back down the stairs to the room where he had been working, before he remembered what he needed.  Then he had to go back up the stairs to get what he had originally started for.  That caused him to have to make two roundtrips to finally get what he was after.  Sound familiar?  He tells me this sort of thing is happening to him and his wife more often these days too.

Image Credit: https://www.123rf.com/clipart-vector/climbing_stairs/

So, what is going on?  It seems like everyone I talk to these days (young or older) is having these same kinds of problems.  Then someone suggested that it is that we have so much more to think about these days that our minds are cluttered.  Someone else thought it was because we have stored so much ‘stuff’ in our brains that it takes time for our brains to sift thru all that ‘stuff’ to remember what we are looking for.  It’s my opinion that we get distracted with so much that’s going on around us, that we forget what it is we want to remember.

Image Credit: https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/cluttered/

Take for instance my example mentioned above.  By looking at the clock on my stove, as I passed thru the kitchen, it might have caused me to think of something I was planning to do later that morning and wondering if I was going to have time to do that thing before lunch.  My brain starts analyzing that question, and I might remember I need a special tool to complete that task, and there goes my memory of what I was headed to the studio to get.  And of course, there may be any number of distractions like that before I get to the studio.  It seems like it might be a matter of concentration for me.  If I can only keep my mind on the task at hand and not let it be distracted by fleeting thoughts, sights, or sounds, I might be better off and remember the initial thing.  So, what do you think?  Do you have any thoughts or opinions on the subject?  Come on, everyone has an opinion. Right?

Image Credit: https://www.123rf.com/clipart/focus_concentration/

We won’t even talk about forgetting names and places.  That’s for another time and a whole nother blog.  Have a great day and remember what you are there for.  If I remembered all I wanted to say, then this is…

—– The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 64 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

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

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