Tag Archives: #amblogging

You Are the Answer to Someone’s Prayer

15 Aug

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

 

 

Someone prayed for a miracle-

Maybe that miracle is YOU.

A task, difficult for one-

Is so much easier with two!

 

Open the door of your heart-

Don’t you hear the cry?

“Will someone please help me?

I have no other measure to try.”

 

Reach out with compassion-

One day that plea may be yours.

God has created us in His own image.

We are the blessed who endures.

 

Some people can be difficult to love,

and so we don’t even try to care.

But God says, “Love them as I have loved you.

You’ll bring me glory as My love you share.”

 

“For we are His workmanship. created in

Christ Jesus for good works,

which God has prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10

helping_hands1

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

A Bean Canning Fiasco

14 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

This week started well. I was busy with #MondayBlogs (if you are on Twitter check this out on Monday) and Mike went out to pick the green beans on our extremely tall green bean bushes, more like trees. As an aside, we learned from this and will NOT use ten foot poles again. Monday Blogs tend to make me anxious, so many blogs and tweets, so little time, so I took a break and helped Mike string and snap our unexpectedly large picking. We had a grand time sitting on the back porch, rocking, snapping and talking. By the time we finished I decided it was too late to can them and popped them into the refrigerator to work on the next morning.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tuesday morning, I cleaned my kitchen making sure I had plenty of room to wash the beans and then began the canning process. I was expecting around eight pints but by the end of nine pints I had a lot of beans left. No worries. I decided to  start the others in the pressure canner then jar up the rest in quarts. I had five quarts!

I can outside using a Coleman stove and my husband set it all up for me. In my haste, I neglected to look at the pressure gauge. It was new last year so I assumed it was fine. We waited for the canner to vent, put the jiggler on and sat down to wait for it to work it’s magic.  I was dreaming of bragging about my beautiful green beans.  All was good until my husband said, why is the pressure gauge on fifteen? I, of course, suggested he had the flame turned up too high. After much “fiddling” we decided the pressure gauge was bad.

I was distraught? No, frustrated is a better word. I called the Macon County Agricultural Extension Office for advice. ( Surely there is an acronym for that?) and was told that Debbie the canning girl was not in, call tomorrow. Tomorrow? I had two canners of beans NOW. In the end, I cooled the pints(and myself) and put them in the refrigerator. I  froze the quarts. (That is a long  tale too traumatic to speak of at this time)

I am happy to say, that Wednesday, my husband was able to tinker with the gauge and zero it out and the MCAEC ^^^^ confirmed it was now accurate. I didn’t trust it though, so I pulled out one of my mother’s old canners with a weighted jiggler and finally canned the beans. The next time we pick, I think we may just eat them all week and share with whomever will take them!

9 pints

I totally forgot to tell you about Gus. We call him the best porch dog ever. He belongs to the neighbors but comes to visit while they work. He was with us the whole time, faithfully offering his head for a pat and ears to scratch.

photo 2

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

My Western Trip Part~15

13 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

 Heading back west from Meteor Crater, I passed signs for roads leading to some of the most unique sounding towns, such as Two Guns and Twin Arrows. Then a little ways farther down the road, I passed a man carrying a cross with wheels on the long end. What a sight that was. It reminded me of Arthur Blessitt, who carried a cross from the west coast to the east coast of the U.S. back in the late 1960s. When I got to Williams, AZ I took another little side trip, north on S.R. 64 to Valle, AZ to visit the Planes of Fame Air Museum. This museum has a couple of the planes that are special to me, one being General Douglas MacArthur’s Lockheed C-121A Constellation (N422NA) that he named “Bataan.” The other is a Pacific Air Lines Martin 4-0-4 (N636X) that I worked on at the Los Angeles International Airport in 1958-1960s while I was attending Northrop University.

1

Next door to the POF Air Museum is the Grand Canyon Valle Airport, which has a very nice collection of vintage aircraft and vehicles. Their movie and airline famous1929 5-AT-C Ford Tri-motor (N414H) is painted in the colors of Scenic Airways (predecessor to Grand Canyon Airlines), and among its many other awards, won the National Aviation Heritage Invitational (NAHI) Howard Hughes Trophy at the 2012 Reno Air Races.

2

           

Then I headed west on I-40 again, this time toward Las Vegas, my beginning and ending destination for this trip. I passed thru Ash Fork and Seligman before stopping at the Airport in Kingman, AZ to visit the Kingman Army Airfield Museum. But again, they were closed that day, so I continued on into Kingman to visit the Powerhouse Route 66 Museum and the Kingman Railroad Museum.

3

                       

Since time was beginning to get a little tight, I didn’t spend a lot of time in those two museums, but got back on the road for Las Vegas. I made it into town in time to visit the National Atomic Testing Museum, which documents the history of U.S. nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), which was originally called The Nevada Proving Grounds. The NTS is located in the desert only 65 miles north of Las Vegas, and has been the location for 928 nuclear tests of all types and sizes, since the first detonation on January 27, 1951. This includes above-ground, underground and atmospheric tests.

4

I began the next morning by turning in the rental car (3356 miles), and then it was stand in line for baggage check-in, Security checks, and wait for my Southwest flight back to the “Green” of Orlando, FL and home. We had made arrangements for my sister Judy and her husband Fred to meet DiVoran and me at Sonny’s BBQ for dinner upon my arrival, so we had a great dinner of Baby Back Ribs, with all the trimmings. Then it was onto S.R. 528 and east to Titusville for a good night’s sleep in my own bed. Boy did that feel good! I really enjoyed this trip, and am looking forward to the next one, but DiVoran says I will need to cut back a little on that one. I hope you have enjoyed reading about “My Western Trip” as much as I have enjoyed writing about it.

5

                                   

 

—–The End—–

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Book Barn of Beulah Colorado

12 Aug

Sometimes a letter or email turns into a great blog. Today’s post is one of those.-Onisha

 

Loved this letter from my friend, Patricia Franklin, who lives in Colorado. I thought you’d like it too, so we got permission to share. It’s a book lover’s joy-DiVoran
Hi DiVoran,
Just had to tell you about our  Sunday afternoon drive today.  We drove up to the little  mountain town of Beulah in the foothills of the Wet Mountains. It has one main street that is about two blocks long with a coffee shop and a general store. We went into the general store and went to the lower level which is a little antique store. We wandered beulah General Storethrough there looking at all the things I remember as a child, and also hoping to find a couple of items to replace some that we broke, but still were using up until that time. Ha!  Not finding anything, we had a nice conversation with the owner.
We were also looking for an old book for a friend of ours.  She did not have it, but told us to go to the Book Barn, which was just this side of the Coffee Shop. She said “People leave their used books there and the proceeds go to the school… hard backs 50 cents and paperbacks are 25 cents. You just put the money in the knothole.”  I was intrigued by that comment and we drove on up the street to the Coffee Shop .
There were a couple old gents sitting out front of the Coffee Shop.  We stopped and asked them where the Book Barn was.  One of them said, “It is right behind you.”  I looked at a little old shed behind me by the side of the road and said “Is that it?”  He said, “That’s it.”  … and something to the effect of “You might not both fit in there at the same time.”  We backed our car up and parked right beside the colorful little shed that had the door wide open.  We both got out of the car and walked into the 6′ x 8′ shed. No one was in attendance. All sides were lined with bookshelves to the ceiling, which were filled with books of all kinds… not in any particular order, with boxes of books on the floor.  Being the book lover that I am, we both looked through the books, having  to squeeze past each other in the aisle.  We did not find the book we were looking for.  I saw some great books, but I have so many right now, that I did not get any, although I wanted to just to put the money in the old knothole by the side of the door.  I immediately thought of you and said to myself “DiVoran would love this little Book Barn.”  So I had to tell you about it as soon as I got home.
Need to get dinner on!
   Love, P
The book they were looking for was Colorado Wildflowers, Volumn 2, The Mountain flowers by Guennel. It is on the Internet, but it’s beyond the price the friend can pay. If you have a copy you don’t want or need let us know and we’ll see that they get it.
DiVoran

Tags: , , , , , , ,

I Say Tomahto…You Say

10 Aug

 

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

I’ve done a number of things in my lifetime, some enjoyable, some not so much. But God has been good to me, and I have had more of the enjoyable ones.One of the fun things is to be able to travel the world. Well, I’ve not been to Asia, but going to Europe was wonderful. I’ve been as a “tourist,” and I also have lived there. I certainly never dreamed that I would live in another country – and I’m sure my mother never thought I would, either. She commented once that I had really “adjusted” well to military life – all that moving around, especially since I grew up in one town and house.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And so it is that I enjoy hearing European accents in those around me. Fred and I enjoy hearing all the different languages and accents of those we pass while we are doing our thing at Disney. We can tell what season it is by what languages we are hearing.

We’ve known several military couples where the husband was American, and the wife was British, or German, or…..   One especially comes to mind. We were living in Panama City, Florida, on Tyndall AFB.

As a member of the Officers Wives Club, I had chosen to work in the Thrift Shop on Base. It was a fun thing to do and I was able to meet lots of people. The customers were not limited to officers – it was open to everyone. The proceeds went toward scholarships for the high schoolers. So it was a bit of a win-win situation.

One of the wives who worked along side with me was British. She was a quirky, fun person to be around. One thing she told us once has stuck with me all these years. Her children were rather young (elementary school age, I believe) at the time. In her son’s class was a young girl named Kirsten. Linda had a hard time remembering how to pronounce her name, and her son fussed at her. He kept saying, “Mom, it’s KIRsten…KIRsten….not KRIsten!” Her response was, “Well, you know I grew up in another country, and I sometimes have a hard time pronouncing your American names. For instance, I say tomahto and you say (she pointed to him)…. (and he said) tomato. I say bahth and you say (she again pointed to him)….(and with a cheeky grin he said) (wait for it…………) shower!”

 

We’ve had a good laugh over that one through the years.

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

What Good Would I Be?      

8 Aug

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

I am not like you, nor are you like me.

But God created both of us

to serve in our own capacity.

 

I can’t wish for your talents,

for they were given to you.

When God created the universe,

He knew exactly what we should do.

 

“But as God has distributed to each one,

so let him walk.”     1 Corinthians 7:17

 

For example:  In Argentina, everyone is required

by law to spend two years in military service.

One fellow showed up at the induction center

objecting, “What good would I be?  I have

no arms!”

 They put him in the army anyway. At basic

training camp the commanding officer said,

“See that fellow up there on the hill pumping water?

Go tell him when the pail is full.  He’s blind!”

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Busy,Fun and Throw Back Thursday

7 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

Onisha Ellis

This past week was fun and busy. My aunt and cousin came to visit. We ate a lot of food and especially dessert! My aunt is a great cook and I try to learn something from her whenever we are together. My cousin is a talented crafter. I shamelessly took advantage of her to get some bows made for Christmas. In addition, she learned how to make those ruffled scarves that are so popular and she made two of them for me. Don’t tell Rebekah, but they are for her.

photo photo 1

The last Sunday they were with us, I suggested a Sunday afternoon drive. Does anyone remember doing that back in the 1950’s? We had a delicious buffet lunch in Franklin at The Boiler Room, then loaded up in Mike’s truck and headed for the hills.

We decided to take one of our favorite quiet drives, Balsam Mountain road off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a one-way drive through natural forest. It does not have spectacular vistas but it is perfect if you want the whole woods experience without snakes and bugs. Just before the entrance to the drive is a fantastic picnic area. Fantastic if you like a quiet picnic in what looks like an enchanted forest. The tables are big stones set on stones with logs for benches. We loved it. Next we left the picnic area and began the drive.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Time to wrap up this post. We are going to a picnic tonight by the creek of someone at church. Since today is Throw Back Thursday I will add  that  thirty or so years ago, I was busy with another creek bank. My friend Sharon and i worked with the children in our church on a musical, “Down by the Creek Bank” My favorite line from the play is “aren’t the stars pretty?”. I’m not sure I can stay awake long enough to view the stars tonight!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My Western Trip Part~14

6 Aug

A Slice of Life

By Bill Lites

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

 

The next day, before leaving the Phoenix area, I tried the Wingspan Air Museum again, but they weren’t open until late in the morning, so I located the Arizona Model Aviators field in Usery Park, near Apache Junction, AZ to see if anyone was flying, but not that morning.   It had been 96-98 degrees in Tucson the three days I was there, and 87-89 degrees in Phoenix, so I was in shorts and a tee shirt as I headed for Flagstaff, AZ to check out a couple museums there. It wasn’t that long of a drive, so I didn’t even get out of the car until I stopped for some lunch on the outskirts of Flagstaff. I hadn’t noticed the gradual climb out of the desert, but I sure did when I stepped out of the car. Wow! What a shock! It was only 46 degrees and the wind was blowing. I almost froze before I could get into the restaurant where it was warm. I had forgotten that the elevation in Flagstaff was almost 7000 feet and what a difference that makes in the daily temperature. After I checked into the motel and changed into jeans and a long sleeved shirt and jacket, I went in search of the Museum of Northern Arizona, located just north of the city. The museum’s exhibits relate mainly to the anthropology, biology, geology, and fine art of the unique cultures of the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, and other Native American tribes that live on what’s called the Colorado Plateau.

1

                       

Next, and just down the road a few miles, I visited the Pioneer Museum, which was originally built in 1908 as a hospital and served as such until 1938. The exhibits at this the museum reflect the history of Flagstaff and northern Arizona including the local history of ranching, logging, transportation and life in Pioneer Flagstaff. Festivals and events are also held on the museum grounds including the annual Wool and Fiber Festival, the Folk Festival and the Heritage Festival. That evening I took the advice of our friends Jim and Charlene to try the Chile Rellenos at La Fonda Mexican Restaurant, and was I glad. They prepare Chile Rellenos like no other restaurant I have ever eaten at, and they were delicious. Their Tacos and Enchiladas were also excellent.

2

                                   

The next morning, since I was in the area, I took a side trip to see the Meteor Crater, and it was well worth the time. That’s a really big hole in the ground. The Arizona crater is 3,900 feet in diameter and 570 feet deep, and the rim of the crater rises 148 feet above the surrounding plain. Scientists have estimated that a nickel-iron meteorite about 165 feet across impacted the earth at a speed of around 28,600 mph. It is also believed that about half of the meteorite’s bulk (150,000 tons) was vaporized during its descent before it hit the ground, with an impact energy estimated at between 10 & 20 megatons. And, just think, there are another 184  confirmed impact craters that have been discovered around the world, and listed in the Earth Impact Database. I would say, our planet home (Earth) has been banged around pretty good over the centuries. I guess Earth would look much like our Moon if it weren’t for our own protective atmosphere.

3

                                   

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Meet My Blogger Friends and a Chance to Win a Prize

5 Aug

My daughter Rebekah Lyn’s  new release Jessie is traveling around the blogosphere visiting with some of our friends. I thought it would be fun to re-blog some of them here. Be sure to click the blog title to visit their blog and tell them Onisha sent you!

Blog Tour Graphic copy

 

July 22, 2014 Shanna Hatfield’s Blog

Shanna was the first stop. She shared an excerpt. Be sure to click above to read the whole post.

A-OK

Chapter 3

May 5, 1961

The call of a blue jay screeched through the open window, jarring Jessie from a dream. He rolled onto his side, rubbed his eyes, and pushed up on his elbow to look out the window. The sun hadn’t risen above the orange trees yet so he guessed it was about six. Spotting the offender on a limb not forty feet from the window, he wished he had his shotgun nearby.

“Jessie, you awake?” Ricky whispered from the upper bunk.

“Yeah,” Jessie muttered, pushing the thin sheet back and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Ricky dropped down from the bunk above, his eyes glittering.

 

July 22, 2014 Stop Two Faith Blum, Writings, Ramblings and Reflections

Faith was kind enough to read and review Jessie! Visit her site to read the whole review.

My Review

When I first signed up to be part of the blog tour for Jessie, I was thinking that the book would be a nice, easy read with some good historical information about the time Jessie lived in and that would be that. Boy was I shocked to find out just what kind of book it was. Rebekah Lyn took her book and made each and every character seem truly alive. I wanted to meet all four of the Cole boys just so I could actually see them in person. I wanted to take Mr. Cole by the scruff of his neck and tell him to shape up and fast before he completely lost all respectability

 

July 27, 2014 Third Stop Author Brooke Williams Blog

Brooke is a new friend we met through DiVoran Lites. She interviewed Rebekah. I liked this question and answer! She is in the middle of her own blog tour so visit her site and learn more about her.

We’d love to hear a few quirky facts about you they don’t usually come up in interviews. 

I am mildly obsessed with my garden, particularly my lemon tree. I visit the back window several times a day just to look out and admire it. I enjoy watching birds visit my feeder, but I don’t want them getting close to me. I had a bad experience in an aviary years ago that has made me skittish when birds get too close. I have a particular path I follow when shopping at Target and get anxious if we stray off that path.

August 1, 2014 Fourth Stop Sara B. Gauldin’s Blog Segbwrites

This stop almost didn’t happen! I forgot to send  the information to Sara and she graciously forgave me and posted it anyway. Be sure to visit her blog!

The tea sounds like it was a great success. Aside from writing do you have any future plans and will tea be a part of them?

Yes they are! The dream I have for my future is moving to the mountains of North Carolina, which I love, and opening my own tea shop and bakery. I would run my tea shop from April to November and spend all winter writing,-bringing together the two things I love most and seems to take me back to those days of watching Aunt Virginia in the kitchen, pouring out her heart to make others happy.

August 5, 2014 Fifth Stop Annie Douglass Lima’s Blog

Rebekah finds writing a conversation far easier than an interview so she chose to create an “off the record”  conversation among the Cole brothers. There is a hint  in the interview of a problem one of the brothers will experience. If you have read Jessie, comment below  and be entered to win, a lovely bracelet we are making.

Afternoon with the Cole Boys

Max, Ricky, and Sam snaked through the underbrush, arriving at their fort ten minutes after the final school bell rang. “How long you think Jessie is gonna keep going to these tutoring sessions?” Ricky asked.
“Until he’s caught up and his grades improve,” Sam replied.

“It was more fun when he didn’t care about school and we could all hang out together. I miss going hunting or fishing anytime we wanted,” Ricky said.

 

We have more stops coming up ! I will post them next Tuesday. If you  visit the blogs and   leave this  comment “Onisha Sent Me” you will be entered to win a digital AUTHOGRAPHED copy of Jessie!!

If you would like to enter for a bigger prize, take a chance on our rafflecopter giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Some really cool stuff in this bag!

Some really cool stuff in this bag!

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Art of Living the Bible

4 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistAt one time in history it was essential that educated people knew and understood the Bible, especially writers. It is still necessary for Christian writers because we are teachers whether we think of ourselves that way or not.

We can get anything from the Bible we want. If we’re militant, the military is there. If we regularly stress with too much work, we can find more work and pressure in the Bible. If we’re tired of driving our lives in the fast lane, we can find peace on almost every page of the Bible. It’s all in how we perceive it.

In addition, we can find various ways, to read the Bible. Seminary students must study the Bible as a textbook, a history book, a literature book, and a language book, but as open-minded writers, we are free to read it any way we want, especially if we ask the Spirit of Christ to guide us into understanding.

This is my favorite way to utilize its wisdom at this time in my life.

Every year I buy a small, page-a-day Bible verse calendar, and each day I tear off the page and splack it to a new journal page. I then use it as a prompt. I get out a Bible and write out the verses using four criteria.

  1. Write from the point of view of the author, which is God, not man.
  2. Write in the present tense. For instance if it says, I am going to bless you, write, I bless you now.
  3. Don’t dwell on descriptions of sin. Jesus has already atoned for our sins and shortcomings. We’re interested now in going ahead with Him.
  4. Write down things that expand the passage to your satisfaction. (Judge these things against the rest of the Bible.)

In this way, I receive revelation and insight and welcome many joyful surprises. Here’s a sample from Ecclesiastes 3:11. This book of the Bible tells repeatedly how futile it is to live out of our own intellect instead of following the Spirit of Christ.

My Beloved Child, I made everything beautiful for its time. One flower, one butterfly, one tree—although impermanent, is beautiful in itself–nothing added. So are you. Love and work are my gifts to you.

Stop trying to fix the past or re-live the good times. Stop Worrying about the future. Nothing your imagination makes up is going to happen, but if something seemingly bad happens, you won’t have known about it in advance. Relax, do your jobs, always try to love and forgive. “One handful of peaceful repose is worth two fistfuls of worried work.” (Direct quotation)

Here’s another quotation, this one from artist advocate, Jill Badonsky from her book, The Muse is in. “Everything in life is art. From how you walk and how you smile at a stranger to how you love someone and the way you choose to feel. It’s art.”

2 Timothy 3:14 in The Message says:

There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word, we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

What is your protocol for absorbing the Word of God these days?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →