Tag Archives: #Christian Blogger

Latch on to Love

4 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

When we let go of the negative
we can latch on to the positive,
and that positive emotion is love.
Love is like a healing balm.
Open your heart to receive it.
It comes from our Lord above.

Accept what you cannot change.
The circumstances wouldn’t have been different
by anything you could have done.
Love is forever.
With love battles are won.

Love shows up in so many ways.
It brings comfort and strength when we feel weak.
Hate doesn’t take you where love does.
It is the peace of God that we seek.

Everything you want is on the other side of fear.
Fear is the killer of dreams.
Rise above your circumstances, don’t stay under them.
Nothing is as bad as it seems.

Painting by DiVoran Lites

Painting by DiVoran Lites

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You Can’t Outgive God~Part 1

5 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

DiVoran met our friend Marcia in 1987 at the first Christian Writer’s Conference hosted by Park Avenue Baptist Church (PAB) here in Titusville. Marcia was one of the invited conference speakers, and she was holding classes on “Script Writing.” It was a difficult time for Marcia as she had used up all the family resources caring for her husband who had just died of M.S. after an extended illness. She had arrived in Florida to attend the Writer’s Conference with all her belongings in a very old van, which she was also living in. As she and DiVoran talked about writing subjects, Marcia happened to ask where she could find a laundromat. DiVoran offered to take the few things she needed washed home and do them for her. This small act of kindness on DiVoran’s part was the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship.

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After the Writer’s Conference, Marcia decided to stay in Florida and got a job with a small Central Florida town newspaper. That job allowed her to spend a lot of her spare time writing and selling dinner theater mysteries. For a place to live she took up house sitting. This caused her to do a lot of living out of boxes, but she liked getting paid for a place to stay instead of having to pay rent. In 1988 we invited Marcia to stay with us while she and DiVoran attended the next Christian Writers conference at PAB.

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DiVoran and Marcia saw each other at several more Writers’ Conferences after that, and their friendship continued to grow. Then one day we got a call from Marcia inviting us to come visit her in the town where she was working and house sitting. She showed us around her newspaper office and took us to a collectibles museum. What a grand time that was. In 1995 Marcia invited our family to go with her to the Annual Renaissance Festival in Sarasota, Florida. We camped at the Myakka River State Park and our whole family had a wonderful time at the festival with Marcia and visiting the many places of interest around that area.

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The next thing we knew, Marcia had a job with Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) here in Florida. Her job was as an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager. Then in 1998 Marcia invited us to join her for the “Employee Day” at the new Disney Animal Kingdom Park. A wonderful time was had by all as we explored that wonderfully creative new Disney theme park. Marcia moved up in her job responsibilities at WDI and with her innovative ideas she became a real asset to the company.

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As it happened, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) had begun construction on their first cruise ship “Magic” in Italy sometime in 1996. It wasn’t long after that huge construction project got under way, according to Marcia, that the DCL office there in Italy began having a lot of trouble with the Italian office staff being able to understanding the DCL paperwork systems. Marcia was selected to be sent to Italy to help organize the Italian DCL office and coordinate the many various needs that the DCL office had to deal with on a daily basis. It wasn’t long before she became the unofficial office manager and the Italian DCL office began to run a lot smoother after that. 

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Go West Chapter One~Ellie

3 Aug

I was having fun with my cousins from Georgia over the weekend and didn’t have a chance to  collaborate with DiVoran on her regular Monday post. So I thought it would be fun to share with you what else she has been up to. As well as blogging and poetry, DiVoran is also an author of Christian fiction. She has been writing a serial  western romacne novel and a new chapter is posted each week on Rebekah Lyn Books. PLUS she creates orginal art work for each chapter! If you like this excerpt be sure to read the other chapters~Onisha

Go West

By DiVoran Lites

Chapter One

Ellie

Elizabeth Morgan, riding backward, looked out the train window at a sign that said, Clifton. It was here she hoped to find a plan and purpose for her life. As she stood, she studied the Victorian-style train station with several men milling on the boardwalk. They wore ragged clothes, battered hats, and down-at-the-heel boots. For a moment, she tried to imagine them dressed in well-fitting woolen suits with homburgs or fedoras on their heads. Then shaking her head, she gave it up. All the imagining in the world would not make this burg into downtown Chicago, and that was fine with her. She needed a new life, maybe she’d find it here.

Smoothing kiss curls over each cheek, she straightened her narrow-brimmed cloche. As she reached toward the shelf for her tapestry carpet bag, an arm went over her head and carefully lifted it down. She looked up at a tall man with silver-blond hair and gray eyes that were the kind that turned blue on a sunny day. He now held the carpetbag in one hand and a deep brown Boss of the Prairie Stetson in the other. She didn’t know yet who he was, but she knew from working in her grandparents’ department store back home, that he had good taste in hats. His frayed khaki shirt, however, looked as if it were part of a uniform from the Great War.

via Go West Chapter One~Ellie.

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Granny~Part 4

2 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                                    

 

In my previous musing, I spoke about my Granny’s gift of sewing. She was a master at it. And all on her old Singer treadle sewing machine.

 

Back in those days, we girls wore either hoops under our full skirts, or lots and LOTS of crinolines, to make our skirts “stand out.” Some of the things that Granny made for me fell in the category of very full – probably a full circle – skirt made from heavy felt. I loved them all. I remember a fuschia skirt,

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a turquoise skirt,

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and especially a red skirt that was made for a 1955 Christmas parade in which I took part. I was in Junior High School then (equivalent to Middle School these days). It was named Jefferson Junior High School, and our colors were red and white. Here’s a picture of a bunch of us girls in our red and white, spelling out “Jefferson.”

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Granny also made a taffeta dress for me for Easter in 1955. My, I was such a young thing then!

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Granny had a bit of a green thumb – which she did NOT pass along to me! Her favorite was the African Violet, and she had many small pots of them in the kitchen corner window. She had a real knack of caring for them, and enjoyed all the different colors of the plants she had.

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Occasionally Granny would travel back to Texas for a visit with her sisters (Loa and Lillie).

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Since Aunt Jessie was the working one in the family, Granny went alone. Here is a picture of her at the original Albuquerque airport.

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Notice the Pueblo Indian architecture (adobe) as well as the vigas protruding from the building (horizontal roof beams made of logs, usually protruding from the side of the house). We had those on our house, as well, although I think ours were more decorative than useful. When we were children-into-teens, we would go out to the airport, sit on the stone wall and watch the airplanes come and go. The original landing strip was also used by Kirtland AFB, so we got to see quite a few airplanes. And it was spectacular at night! That was also a great place to watch the July 4th fireworks!

I also mentioned Granny’s great sense of humor. Here is an example from DiVoran – my wonderful sister-in-law (love), and published author:

I recall one thing Granny said that tickled my funny bone. We were all in the kitchen washing and drying dishes, except Jessie. I had just put a plate I had dried quickly in the cupboard and Granny reached up and touched it, then she said, “Hmm, feels like it sweated during the night.”

Another thing, I asked my mother why she thought Jessie didn’t help with the dishes like all the other women did. I don’t think Mother’s answer held much water. She said it was because Jessie worked every day just like the men did and that exempted her. At the time, I bought it, but thinking back, who else worked their forty a week? Your mom and mine.

I loved my Granny, and memories of her still delight me.

 

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~

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The Light Bulb

29 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Cross Plane

Last night when I got up to get a glass of water, I noticed the small night light in our China cabinet was out.  I made a mental note to replace the bulb in the morning.  This morning I located a new bulb and went to the cabinet to replace the bulb.  To my surprise, as soon as I touched the bulb it came on.  I loosened the bulb and tightened it again and it worked fine.  Then it came to me that this was another perfect analogy of how our all-powerful God works in my life.

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Somehow that small light bulb had worked loose (thru vibration or a thin layer of corrosion) and was not making contact with its electrical socket (power source).  If I’m not careful I can end up like that small light bulb.   In the midst of my busy life, for one reason or another, and by my own choice, I can slip away from my personal relationship with God, and end up depending on my own power to live my life.  Then, the next thing I know I find myself in some kind of a problem and wonder how I got there.  When I finally realize what I have done, I have to make another choice; to ask God to forgive me for my foolishness and for not listening to Him, and for Him to put me back on the right track.  That’s when I am plugged back into His almighty power and I can be enlightened once again with His wisdom, knowledge and understanding. What a blessing that is!

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I often ask myself “Why do I muddle around in confusion and frustration when I know God has the answer or direction I need?”  For some reason it seems like He is the last Person I turn to for the answer to a problem.  And there I go again, losing His almighty power source to help me live the kind of life He created me live; a life of love, joy, peace and rest.

Proverbs 3-5

You might enjoy Proverbs 3:5 The Message version

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Washing Dishes

27 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistI have almost always washed dishes, sometimes I had help, sometimes not. When I was a child, Mother called on me when the restaurant got too busy for her, Dad, and a waitress, if we had one, to handle. My brother washed dishes with me. Usually I washed and he dried. To amuse ourselves we bickered or stacked the dishes in the drainer as high as possible stopping just before they began to topple. We called it making castles. Our parents paid us 25¢ an hour. One day I was at my friend, Patricia Franklin’s house for supper. I loved the Franklins, a big catholic family with five boys and one girl. The girl, Patricia, was my best friend, and I had a crush on one of her brothers. He didn’t have a crush on me.

Usually, Patricia and I washed the dishes after supper when I was there. The Franklins 1obviously had other arrangements when I wasn’t. On this summer evening, when I went into the kitchen to start on the dishes, I figured somebody would follow. To my surprise, no one came. I washed all the dishes by myself and left them to dry piled majestically into a fine castle. I got a lot out of the experience. For one thing I was pleased that my skills were such that someone besides my own family needed me. For another, being so responsible make me feel like a grown-up. The third thing was that I felt I was expressing my regard for the family and they would all pleased with me. I don’t know whether that ever happened, because I’m not sure they knew they had a martyr in their midst. Of course, their being Catholic, I wouldn’t be even a minor martyr compared to the ones the had read about. But I felt good about myself, anyhow.

A restaurant customer once said I was the chief cook and bottle-washer. I couldn’t claim the first part-but the second part was true. I have been washing dishes for 70 years. Every country on this globe has people who can make the same claim (if they have dishes, and more to the point, if they have food).

Now there’s only Bill and me. Together we keep the kitchen moderately clean. I’m glad I have things like that to do. I heard a story once from a friend who visited a rehab center. She gave a talk and after refreshments, one of the elderly women took her plastic cup over to a sink where she slowly and lovingly washed and dried it. You see, she had no home to care for anymore. I’m glad I have jobs to do even now. I thank God for dishes and for everything that goes with them. Also I thank him for my electric dishwasher, even though one of us has to wash them by hand before we put them in or they won’t come out clean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhV7vJQq6Nc

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Granny~Part 2

19 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                                    

I’ve mentioned before that my Dad was 20 years older than my Mother. When Mother had been dating Daddy for a while, she showed Granny a picture of Daddy, and Granny exclaimed: “Why…..he’s an OLD MAN!”   But that didn’t really make any difference to Mom and Dad, even though he was only six months younger than his mother-in-law.

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Granny was really a good cook. And back in those days, more women stayed home and did the cooking for their families, than we do now. For some reason, I remember being in San Antonio with Granny and Aunt Jessie, and the smell that I remember is one of Frito Lay Corn Chips™ that she had spread out on a cookie sheet and warmed in the oven, because they had become “limp” from the moisture in the air. Heating them in the oven would “crisp” them up again. It was a unique smell, and one I’ve not smelled since. I guess Frito Lay now has a better way of sealing their packaging.

I remember that whenever I had the flu or strep throat (which I had a lot as I was growing up!), she would make a pot of potato/onion soup for me to eat. It was so good and was just what I needed when I didn’t have much appetite. Unfortunately, I never got the recipe from her. I have a recipe for a delicious potato/leek soup (from my wonderful sister-in-law, DiVoran), but it just isn’t quite what Granny made, but as close as I can come without Granny’s recipe.

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One of my favorite things to eat is popcorn. I remember one time when I had either the flu or a very bad cold, and Granny was staying at our house. She asked what I wanted to eat, and I told her a BIG bowl of popcorn! She popped it up, fixed it just the way I liked it – lots of butter and salt – and brought it to me. Unfortunately, my sinuses were so stopped up that I couldn’t taste anything – and the popcorn held no appeal to me. To say that she wasn’t happy with me, goes without saying.

Granny had a terrific sense of humor.

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She could tell a joke with the straightest face – then just howl with laughter when I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.  I’ve seen this look of mischief on her face so many times. She was such fun.

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Aunt Jessie always had a dog around the house. And she and Granny both loved those dogs. They came to Albuquerque with Ginger, a beautiful red Cocker Spaniel.

I don’t remember just when Ginger died, but I do remember when they got Trixie – a little Pug. As my Mother said when Trixie was just a puppy – “She’s so ugly she’s cute.” And she was.

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As Trixie got older, along came Bubbles – a black Poodle.

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They were all fun dogs. We had cats at our house, and dogs at Granny and Aunt Jessie’s house – so we had the best of both worlds.

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Granny (Addie) with Judy and Bill Lites, 1956

~~~~~~~~~~To be continued~~~~~~~~~~

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Midnight Excitement Part 2

15 Jul

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

 

The helicopter left the scene and officers began to return to their cars, so I assumed the excitement was over and went back to bed. My neighbor told me that later, after I had gone back to bed, they retrieved a pickup truck and an unmarked police car from the woods, and carried them away on a tow-truck. I had only seen what was going on in the street in front of my house, but my neighbor also informed me that she had seen and heard Sheriff’s vehicles on the power line sand clearing (trail) that runs alongside her house while all this activity was going on. That apparently was where the police officers/sheriff deputies had finally apprehended the suspect.

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And now for the rest of the story!

 A couple of days later I was able to view the 30-minute Sheriff’s Department helicopter video of the chase and discovered that the suspect was driving a pickup truck during the chase, and that the small dark car (with its lights off) was actually an unmarked police car at the front of the chase. When I had first been awakened and looked out the window, the suspect’s truck had already passed our house and rounded the corner, and I had thought the unmarked police car (with its lights off) was the suspect’s car. And, when I saw the two cars facing in opposite directions in the intersection, it was really two police cars, and the two officers must have been trying to work out their next move in the chase of the suspect. I also learned that, before racing thru our quiet little neighborhood, the suspect had been chased through a fatal hit-and-run police crime scene on U.S. #1, where he hit two police cars and nearly hit at least one officer. The video also showed the truck being chased off the paved streets into the woods and onto a power line clearing (trail) and a walking trail, where at one point a second person jumped out of the truck and ran off into the woods.

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In a subsequent newspaper article, I learned that at some point in the chase, the suspect stopped long enough for deputies to attempt to arrest him. As they approach his truck, he refused to exit his vehicle and suddenly accelerated, ramming into a deputy’s car and speeding away. When the suspect was finally apprehended, having gotten stuck in the deep sand portion of the power line clearing (trail), he resisted arrest to the extent that officers had to TASER him. So, that was why the EMTs had been called, to make sure the suspect was OK after having been TASERED. That same newspaper article listed the following charges that had been filed against this suspect:

 ‘Grand theft of a motor vehicle, DUI with property damage, driving while license suspended/revoked/canceled with knowledge of first offense, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident without giving information, four counts of aggravated assault of law enforcement officers with a weapon or firearm, two counts of aggravated fleeing or eluding an accident with injury or property damage, and one count each of fleeing or eluding with lights, siren, high speed or recklessness.’

 And if that isn’t enough!

 Today we learned, on the local NEWS, that Law Enforcement Authorities believed that the suspect, driving another vehicle, was the same person who hours before the chase I had witnessed, was the one who had caused the death of a motor cyclist on U.S. #1, and fled the scene. This was the very crime scene location on U.S. #1 at which the suspect, in the stolen truck, later had been chased through, hitting two police cars, before being chased into and through our neighborhood.

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NEXT STOP FOR THIS SUSPECT

 Now that’s what I call some real “Midnight Excitement” part of which had taken place right here in our very own quiet little neighborhood!

 

—–The End—–

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Janet and the Paint Puddle

7 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                          

Fred and I waited until he graduated from college before we married. We had known each other about three years and engaged for half that time (I invite you to revisit my October 5, 12, 19, 2014 posts on “How We Met”).

As soon as we left the wedding, we headed for Fort Worth, Texas, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Fred was to study for the ministry. While there for four years, I went to work, getting my “PHT” degree – you know – Putting Hubby Through, while Fred achieved his MDiv and MRE (Master of Divinity/Master of Religious Education).

When no ministry openings came available for Fred upon his graduation, and his Draft Board became interested in him, he began checking into the military openings. And so we found ourselves in the United States Air Force.

We spent one year in San Jose, California, while Fred studied Meteorology. We then spent three years in Wiesbaden, Germany. Our next tour was 13 months in northern Maine. And the follow-on tour was in San Antonio, Texas, where Fred was an instructor in the Air Force Officer Training School.

After living in apartments and government housing all that time, we decided it was time to finally own our own home. And we found one that was quite comfortable, and a new construction.

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The entry to the house was divided from the living room by a half-wall, with spindles to the ceiling.

After we had been in the house for several years, we thought of painting that half-wall and entry way, and set about to do it. We laid out a cover for the carpet, just in case. We had a step-stool to get the higher-up areas. We had our rollers, brushes, and paint trays that we kept filled with paint.

Roller
Roller
Brush
Paint tray
Paint

Karen was in school, but Janet was still at home with us. We were busy painting, and had warned Janet to stay either in the living room or her room, but do NOT come in the entry way. However, I frequently found her edging her way around one of the half-walls and into the entry way, rather than going the other way, through the kitchen and family room. And then, as you might surmise, I looked up, saw her squeezing by that half-wall again, and I yelled, “JANET!” Startled, she looked up, whirled around and lost her balance, and SPLAT! landed right in the middle of the “puddle” of paint in the paint tray!

Fred was rather furious, but I picked her up (she was bawling by this time), and took her to the nearest bathroom. While she was in the tub, with me “hosing” her down, the whole thing just tickled my funny bone. I began to giggle – as did she – and we had a great time cleaning up.

She survived the paint – and we survived the painting. And it’s a sweet memory.

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Are electronic devices the doom of family time?

2 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

FrienI'm a winner

The heat wave here in the hills last week, kept me inside chilling with the A/C. This week is much more pleasant, weather wise and fun wise.  We have been enjoying a visit from a Florida forever friend and have taken some short but scenic drives. When we haven’t been out enjoying the sights, we seem to gravitate to a comfy space and spend time on our “devices” At first thought, this seemed a bit anti-social. But today I realized, it is very much like the “olden days” when people would grab a section of the newspaper to read, then share a laugh or tidbit of news with everyone else.

Last evening our daughter Rebekah flew up  to spend the holiday with us. We always have a good time when we are together here in the hills. There was a lot of excitement going on this morning. We could hear a mowing/chopping machine moving through the neighborhood. Our roads are communtiy owned and we hadn’t paid for any maintenance. Those machines are impressive! The saplings that were crowding the road were no match for this beast. I watched, fascinated as it’s arm reached out and leaned the tree over then began chopping and grinding. By the time  the machine moved on, the road looked like a tornado had been through. Can you tell it doesn’t take much to entertain me? Meanwhile, our friend from Florida was so excited about the cool temperature that she insisted on dead heading our rose bushes.I made the barest of protests before handing her the pruning shears. We now have tidy rose plants and clean (sort of ) road sides. What a day!  But wait, there’s more. Our son and his family came for dinner and even though it was raining, the husband set up a large umbrella and grilled chicken. I had brined it that morning and it was so juicy, we all enjoyed it. After dinner we played some rounds of Would You Rather and Apples to Apples with the grandchildren, who like everyone’s grandchildren, are the most beautiful, adorable and smart grands around.

To finish the evening after our son went home  we spent time on our back porch, listening to the drip-drip of the rain and enjoying the fireflies. Rebekah reminisced about the fun she had chasing them each summer and I smirked remembering the blessed relief of not having to entertain her! Then we all retired to our comfy spots and picked up our electronic devices, kind of like the times when cities had a morning and evening edition of the newspaper.

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