Tag Archives: #Christian Blogger

Snow

21 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Growing up in New Mexico, we had our share of winter snow. As a matter of fact, the mountains just outside the city, to the East, were and still are, some of the best snow skiing in the country.

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It’s one of those “best-kept-secrets.”

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Of course, some winter storms dropped more snowfall than other years (18″ one year in one night), but it seems like we always had snow.

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I was all but surprised to find that Fort Worth, Texas had snow as well! I guess I had always thought of Texas as hot and dry. But there was one winter when we were literally snowed-in for a couple of days. We were in an apartment building, with parking in the back, and we couldn’t get out of the driveway. Yea!!! We couldn’t get to work!

 

 

 

And, of course, when we moved to northern Maine for that one year, we had plenty of snow! More than we ever wanted.

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Karen was not quite four-years-old when we left there, and her impression of snow was that we were snowed in – because she could look out her second-story window, down on the roof of the stoop below and see the snow stacked high.

 

But for the five years we lived in Panama City, Florida, we didn’t have snow. Well, once it snowed about half-an-inch, but that was it. It was funny, actually: I happened to be driving by the elementary school at the time it was snowing, and one child was in the stereotypical stance of standing-spread-eagle, tongue hanging out, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongue! Our girls did a lot of their growing up years there, so they were unaccustomed to snow.

So it was, that when we went to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, they had their first real taste of snow. It happened overnight, and we awoke to snow on the ground. Those of you reading this who are old enough to remember, many years ago Toyota had a little jingle that went: “You asked for it….you got it…..Toyota.” Well, I did a bit of improvising to that jingle, and woke each daughter up singing that tune: “You asked for it…you got it…it snowed last night!” They were up and out of their beds in a flash and dash to the window!

I don’t remember how much they played in it – probably more than I remember. There were other children in our little cul-de-sac, and I’m sure someone had a sled. But after wading through it to school every morning for months, they weren’t so thrilled with it. But that’s part of life, right?

It’s nice to have those kinds of memories, however. Adds a little spice to our life.

 

 

 

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Love Encounter

15 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

Big cat slides
Between child and fence
Small hand comes out to pet
Cat collapses in dry leaves
Tummy up for scratching

Cat rolling in grass

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Minute Meditations~9

14 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy WillsJUDY

                                                 

CONNECTION…

How do you connect with people? If you are in a business, you probably have some sort of “plan” to connect with people who could be your customers. We see ads in the newspaper and on the TV all the time for businesses selling their particular product. We see ads looking for people to work with a specific company, or in a specific position.

I’ve heard of people who attend benefits or parties or some such event just so they can “network” the system, and benefit themselves or their company.

But what is your connection to the one and only true living God? Is it an Easter and Christmas connection? Is it a once-a-month connection? Or is it a genuine, life-sustaining, personal relationship with God?

My brother Bill wrote about this recently. Here are his thoughts:

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Our connection to God is, quite simply, the only way we can live this life with any purpose or satisfaction. It allows us to walk upright without staggering or tripping or falling down. There may be bumps in the road, but if we keep our eyes on that connection to God, He will keep us from falling flat on our faces. He will help us see the direction we need to take – to be His children.

We are blest, indeed.

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I’m so messy

11 Jun

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

I need to just come out and say this. I… am…messy. I have been a messy from my earliest memories of childhood playing with sweet Ruthie who had bouncy white blonde curls and never got her hands dirty, while we played in the dirt.

Even today, if you are brave enough to have lunch or dinner with me, be prepared to watch food fall from my fork and onto my clothes. I just can’t help it. Another fun place to be near me is in the kitchen. I can’t seem to cook without making the kitchen look like a FEMA claim. The floor get so littered I keep this handy battery powered broom to scoop up the debris. A disclaimer here, in case I bring a covered dish to your house, I am messy in the kitchen but I make sure that everything starts out clean and as germ free as I can make it.

I have struggled with this in my housewifely skills as well. Clutter, clutter everywhere. If anyone can tell me how to keep a house with no “secret” sitting room look permanently tidy, please share your wisdom! I am to the point where I am tired of losing the clutter battle and ready to wave the white flag of surrender.

As I finished typing the previous paragraph, Jeremiah 31:3 was running through my brain.

God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will.

    Expect love, love, and more love!

 That is The Message version. I know being messy doesn’t equate to being brought out of the wilderness as the verse is referring to, but it delights my heart anyway. And to add a divine touch, as I looked out the upper window in my messy living room, I saw a beautiful, brilliant red cardinal on a tree limb; more magnificent than any I have seen in my yard.

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Minute Meditations~7

31 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                                

POSSESSIONS…

What is your most prized possession?

Your car?

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Your house?

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An instrument you’ve scrimped and saved for, for so long you wondered whether or not you would ever be able to afford it?

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That big-screen TV?

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That stereo system? That computer? That ipad or iphone?

What about a pet? Is that considered a “possession” to you?

How did you feel after you acquired that prized possession? Did the possessing of it complete your life, like you thought it would? Or were you “let down” now that you had it in hand?

My brother, Bill, wrote about a woman who desired something – something she considered more than life itself:

4In acquiring those prized possessions, if we consider how that possession can be used to God’s glory, then we can use it – “give it back to God” – and know that we have fulfilled God’s desire for us in that instance. We can give God the opportunity to bless us with our use of the possession.

The “essence” of this thought is that, what God gives still belongs to Him – to be used for His glory.

I had never thought about my possessions in that light. God really DOES want to give us the best, and to bless us with it.

WOW!

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The Bank Robbery~Part 4

26 May

Guest Post

Norma Rowe

Norma head shot

We came out of the bank in two or three groups and were taken, in unmarked police cars, to Parker Center, the LAPD main office in downtown L.A. I couldn’t believe what I saw when we came out of the bank, traffic had been detoured and there were policemen and FBI agents all over the street, and on the rooftops. The market across the street had been evacuated and of course, news people were everywhere. As soon as we got to Parker Center, they let use the phone to call our families.

Thank God, my parents didn’t find out until it was over – a friend of my mother’s came to our home and said, “I wanted to come and keep you company in such a moment as this.” That’s how they found out about the robbery. My Dad rushed down to the bank but when he got there it was over, though still crowded and he wasn’t allowed to get close to the bank. Fortunately, a bank customer who knew my father told him, “Norma is all right, they were all taken downtown.” At least they didn’t have to go through the ordeal of knowing I was in danger.

We all had to give statements but mine was the longest because I had been the most involved. I was taken to a small room where two detectives recorded everything I said. One of them took me back to the bank after we finished. At that time, the bank was full of FBI agents, Loss & Investigations Department personnel, and top bank management. I talked to some of the people I knew for a few minutes. They were lightening things up kidding me because a puppy had somehow got inside the bank and left a deposit under my desk. One of the bank officers I knew well said “I knew you had to be scared….but, were you ‘that scared?’ (Referring to the “deposit” under my desk.)

I put my things away, got my purse, and left the bank. As soon as I walked out, a news reporter and his cameraman wanted to ask me questions, but we had been told not to give out statements. The bank gave us the next day off from work. As a “consolation prize,” a good customer and friend of our manager who had just bought a houseboat treated us all, as well as our spouses or boyfriends, to a day-trip to Catalina Island. We all laughed afterwards saying, “Haven’t we suffered enough already?” The trip was meant for good but the ocean was so rough that most everybody, including me, got seasick. We enjoyed the day on Catalina Island, though.

Days later, it was determined by an autopsy that the perpetrator had shot him and that he was on drugs at the time of the robbery.

Although so many years have gone by I still remember every single detail, especially how God strengthened and shielded me and was true to His promise that “nothing was going to happen to me. Praise His Holy Name!

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Serendipities, Synchronicities, and Miracles

18 May

My Take

DiVoran LItes

Author, Poet and ArtistSerendipity means an unexpectedly happy experience, and to me synchronicity means a happy coincidence. My own definition of miracle contains both, but I always attribute a large or a small miracle to a loving Heavenly Father.

Last Thursday evening, I went to a local elementary school to see my young friend, Janicia, dance in a playlet about bullying. As I walked into the rapidly filling cafeteria, I searched every row of tables for Janicia’s family and for my art friend, Lanie Tan and her daughter Misa. I looked at every face, but saw no one I knew.

I found a seat down front with enough room for me and one or two others. As I started to sit down, I looked out the big window and there was Lanie looking in, waving, and throwing kisses. I pointed to the empty seat and she nodded with enthusiasm. Almost immediately, she was there beside me. I didn’t know where the other family was going to sit, but I relaxed humming, “God will find a way, when there seems to be no way.”

Misa was somewhere else in the building with friends and Lanie and I had a good chat. Lanie was wearing a mask because she had a cold and didn’t want to spread germs. We got into our talk and then she had to leave because a coughing fit came on.

In a couple of minutes, Janicia’s mother came in carrying their eight-months-old baby, Dee-Dee, and a big diaper bag. She plopped the baby on my lap and there she sat perfectly satisfied, looking around with big brown eyes, good as gold.

On stage, Janicia wore a t-shirt that said, “Girl Power.” The play was about bullying. The man who arranged it does that at schools to increase awareness.

After the performance, the children had hot-dogs and we waited for the drawing for a new computer. By this time, Janicia, her mom, her dad, and her four-year-old brother, Bobby had gathered. Lanie, and Misa, plus Misa’s three friends and the elderly gentleman who is guardian to one of them sat facing each other. We managed to include everyone in a pleasant conversation.

Suddenly, it was time for the drawing. Misa sat next to me with her tickets and I asked if she was going to win something. She nodded yes. I happened to be looking at the ticket closest to me and saw that Misa’s first number matched the called one, then the second, the third, the fourth — all matched.

Lanie told Misa that if they won the computer they would give it away. The reader read the last number, it matched, too. “I won!” Misa said. Her mother shook her head not believing it. I nodded mine, yes.

All evening God was casting serendipities, synchronicities, and miracles around like falling stars. The lady who won the computer on the second go-around indicated that she really needed it. People who knew each other got together, others, once strangers happened to gather and feel at home with each other. It was like a party.

Sometimes, I can hardly wait to see what God will do next. I do know that he loves to do jobs and activities with us and He enjoys seeing His children enjoying each other’s company, the biggest miracle of all.

I John 4:7-8

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MINUTE MEDITATIONS~5

17 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Perfect Timing…

1Every once in a while, everything just seems to fall into place, such as: you’ve had the house on the market for months and months….and then all-of-a-sudden, the right buyer appears, the house is sold, and you move out. Just like that. Click…click…click, just like clockwork, the timing is perfect.

Or, when you are writing a blog to post, nothing seems to be forth-coming.

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Then, all-of-a-sudden, an idea pops into your head, and you can’t get the words out fast enough. Click…click…click, just like clockwork, the timing is perfect.

Coincidence? Hardly. That’s God’s hand at work. And it’s amazing – and I’m sure frustrating – that we don’t recognize it for what it is.

My brother, Bill, wrote about that:

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So when we do take advantage of that opportunity, and recognize it for God’s perfect timing, then we can express our thanks to Him and know that He has blessed us, indeed.

There is absolutely NOTHING in this life that feels so right as being in the perfect timing of God’s Will. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

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The Bank Robbery~Part 1

5 May

Guest Blogger

Norma Garcia Rowe

Norma head shot

Norma is our newest guest blogger. She has an amazing story to share and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Be sure to take a look at her bio in the menu above~Onisha

My name is Norma Garcia Rowe. I was born and raised in Cuba and immigrated to the United States in 1964.

On May 17, 1972, the bank where I worked was held up. It was mid-morning, right after we opened. I was on the telephone with a client when I noticed the Assistant Manager, waving at me trying to tell me to get off the phone. He was standing near a clean-cut man who wore a sport coat and a narrow brimmed hat. At first I didn’t know what he 1wanted, but then I saw that the man was holding a gun against his chest so that none of the others tellers or the customers could see it. I learned later it was a 45-caliber handgun. I immediately dropped the phone into the cradle and got up to join the others.

Apparently, he had been waiting for me to get off the phone so that I couldn’t alert anyone because the minute I hung up he led us all, employees, and customers, to the back of the building where the vault was located. He was walking on the lobby side, and we were walking on the inside of the counter. I remember pressing the silent alarm when the man wasn’t looking in my direction. It was then that he yelled out, “If anyone presses the alarm I’ll blow your head off.” Well, too late – everybody had done it by then. The alarm went directly to the police department and to the bank’s Loss and Investigations Department, which worked in conjunction with LAPD. He got all sixteen of us huddled up in the vault. Back then, there were no computers. Records were kept in files and those files were put in boxes so, this vault was nothing but a storage room and it couldn’t have been much bigger than 12’x12’. There were shelves, wide enough to store those boxes, from floor to ceiling against three walls and back-to-back in the middle of the room, serving as a partition, leaving one aisle on each side. We kept most of the money in a metal cabinet by the door.

Of course, the man didn’t know that, so he kept saying, “Two of the girls that work here go out and collect all the money and put it in bags.” No one moved. We were all afraid for our lives. I hid behind a tall young man that worked as a part-time teller hoping he would shield me if the guy decided to start shooting.

I was one of the girls throw up in a wastebasket. I also remember that one of them was in such state of fear that she climbed up on a shelf and lay there, shaking all over, her eyes open almost to the point of bulging. I was scared too but felt so bad for her that I remember whispering, “Don’t worry, everything is going to be all right.”

The robber kept repeating, “Two girls go get the money” The least of my intentions at that time was to be one of those girls but then something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, I heard an audible voice. I didn’t hear it with my ears, but somewhere in my forehead. It was a commanding voice, saying, “You go, nothing is going to happen to you.”

At that moment, I felt strong and fearless. Taking a step forward I said, “I’ll go.” It was as if suddenly I had been vested with armor or a shield and I knew that truly, nothing was going to happen to me.

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New Series~Minute Meditations

19 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy WillsJUDY

                                              

I would like to do something a little different for a few weeks. Hope you like my musings.

As I have mentioned before – and he has posted – my brother worked in the space industry all of his career. He has shared so many interesting stories of his work. Recently, one that has impressed me the most is that, whenever one of our space shuttles docked with the International Space Station, it would “nudge” the ISS back into its orbit.

ISS  If that didn’t happen, then eventually the ISS would fall into the earth’s atmosphere and burn up. Did you know that? I didn’t. And it seems like such a waste to have spent all that time and money to make the ISS, and then stop the space program. Oh well.In any case, if you are old enough to remember the Challenger disaster,

Bill wrote a “Minute Meditation” about it, and I would like to quote it here:

Minute Meditation Challenger Bill Lites

So, even in tragedy, as Bill stated, we can know that God is there, is in control, and we can trust Him in all our ways. That is such a hopeful and reassuring thought for me. For you, as well, I pray.

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