Tag Archives: Christian bloggers

Three Steps to Contentment During Chaos

6 May

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged 5/6/2023

“How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?”

In the decades as a court Spanish interpreter, I’ve interpreted that question countless times. But no matter how convincing the evidence, or how stern the judge’s reading of the charges, you never know what the response or plea will be. During sentencing, anxious thoughts must fill the minds of defendants as they walk into new life behind bars.

In the courtroom of life, we may feel sentenced to live in a world behind the bars of anxiety. But in the chaos that swirls with fury, we can still find security, we can still know peace and even live with profound contentment. Here are three patterns to follow:

Contentment comes in our praises. While in prison, did Paul choose grumbling or gratitude? “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” (Acts 16:25-26)

With heavy chains around his ankles, Paul looked up and his lips spoke praises to the Lord. The surroundings didn’t matter. The discomfort didn’t face him. Nor did the injustice rattle him. He didn’t complain or grumble, he found contentment and gratitude. That’s when chains broke loose and freedom came. That same freedom you and I will know when we praise God and even thank Him in the pain.

Contentment comes with intimate closeness. David knew despair, his laments in Psalm 22 range from physical torment to spiritual torture. Yet when he called upon God, he remembered His goodness and faithfulness, that’s when contentment arrived as David sensed God’s closeness: “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” (Psalm 139:1-3)

Just like God is familiar with David’s innermost details, He knows ours too. He knows when we’re reading those headlines and He sees the stress that surges, the worry that walks in and the fear that makes us frantic. But God also knows how to place peace in our hearts and bring contentment in spite of the chaos.

Contentment comes in spite of losses. When day by day we seem to lose what we once knew to be sacred and good? Inflation doesn’t end. Immorality becomes more intrusive. What God called wrong is now right. And what we once held holy is now ridiculed. But no matter what changes, how much we lose, contentment dawns as it did with Habakkuk. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

No matter what we lack, we will also rejoice, trusting in the Lord, our Savior. This mindset and resolve keep us free from the prison of anxiety. We’re not sentenced to a life of gloom, but to a forever in God’s grace. That’s the contentment that defies any chaos, any battle or any storm.

Let’s pray:

Lord, thank you for my renewed contentment as I recognize that the darkness that surrounds us is no match to Your power at work. I will rejoice in You, my Savior. Amen.

What difficult moments need your praises to the Lord?

Further reading: Why anxiety doesn’t have to defeat you.

Janet

It’s my joy to have you as part of my inspirational family. Please feel free to share today’s post with others.

Special Announcement

I invite you to dance with me in celebration of my book which is coming soon, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms Betrayal, Blindness and Heartache to Shining Joy. I wrote it for you—to uplift you with fresh inspiration. Your copy waits for you here.

Let’s Stay in Touch

I invite you to visit my WEBSITE. You’ll find more inspirational blogs along with my story, books, and videos. You’ll also learn the passion and mission of JC Empowerment ministries.

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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I Created New Age Categories.

5 May

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

It’s been a few months now since I became a septuagenarian. I am not really sure how it happened. And don’t get me started on how my children are now the age I was as they began to leave the nest. Except for some aches, pains and less mobile joints, none of my friends feel as old as a septuagenarian must surely feel. 

Image by ❄️♡💛♡❄️ Julita ❄️♡💛♡❄️ from Pixabay

The word elderly is often used to describe septuagenarians. I have to dispute the description. We are not elderly. I am adding new categories, sub-elderly and uber-elderly. I would say this could be applied to those over 85 years of age. Although, I know some who defy the elderly image.

So, if according to my scale, 70 is sub-elderly and 85 is uber-elderly, then somewhere around 77 years of age would be elderly. I am certain I will reassess this conclusion in a few short years.

I have enjoyed keeping up with advances in technology but I am sure that one day I will decide to step off the train and park my brain somewhere. I do hope to hang on until teleportation becomes the mode of transportation.

https://ggwash.org/view/76340/would-you-rather-teleport-to-work-if-you-walk-or-bike-maybe-not

I am in a quandary about AI. It can do fascinating things. I bet if I asked, it could tell me the perfect Father’s Day gift for my husband. Imagine never having to decide on a perfect gift! One could type in the recipients name and it would produce an answer.

I tried it!

Here is an example: I asked Chat GPT: What is the perfect birthday gift for author Rebekah Lyn? Within seconds I had suggestions!

As an AI language model, I cannot know for sure what would be the perfect birthday gift for Rebekah Lyn. However, I can suggest some general ideas that might help inspire you:

  1. Books: As an author, Rebekah Lyn might appreciate receiving books as a gift. You could consider getting her a new release or a classic novel that she hasn’t read yet, or even a signed copy of a book by one of her favorite authors.
  2. Writing tools: If Rebekah Lyn is someone who enjoys writing by hand, you could consider getting her a nice notebook or journal, or a set of high-quality pens or pencils. If she prefers writing on a computer, you could consider a subscription to a writing software or a new keyboard.
  3. Personalized items: Personalized gifts can be a great way to show someone you care. You could consider getting a customized coffee mug or a t-shirt with her favorite quote or saying on it.
  4. Gift card: If you’re not sure what to get Rebekah Lyn, a gift card to a bookstore, writing supply store, or even a local restaurant or spa could be a great option. This way she can choose something that she really wants or needs.
  5. Experience: You could also consider giving her an experience, such as a writing workshop, a trip to a literary festival, or a book signing event with one of her favorite authors.

Ultimately, the best gift will depend on Rebekah Lyn’s personal tastes and interests, so try to think about what she might really enjoy and appreciate.

Not bad suggestions at all! I do think AI must be carefully managed.

I may be classified as a septuagenarian but I am definitely sub-elderly.

In my 70 years of life I have known joy and sorrow, people have disappointed me and I have disappointed people. Cultural values have changed drastically. I remember talking with my daughter during her teen years as she struggled to find her value standard. I told her something like values and morals change with the times but the Word of God is constant. Make it your go to when you are confused.

I have long loved this verse. It puts life into perspective for me;

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
Isaiah 40:8

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 2022 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Fear Not

1 May

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Isa. 41:10 and Job 11:18

Fear not, 

For God is with you.

He will strengthen you.

He will help you.

He will uphold you with His 

Righteous right hand.

Having hope will give you courage.

You will be protected and will rest in safety.

Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

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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Breathsavers ®

30 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

In previous musings, I have written about a family I knew growing up, who lived in Deming, New Mexico (please see my post of January 15, 2023).  I mentioned that the family had one child – a daughter – who became fast friends with me.  We are still very good friends, even though we live so far apart.

Ruth Anne and me on the Ferris wheel – NM State Fair 1955

Ruth Anne at the NM State Fair 1955

I also mentioned that when I was old enough, I would ride the bus to Deming by myself (a four hour bus ride) and spend a few weeks in the summer with Ruth Anne and her family.  And the next summer she would come to Albuquerque and spend a few weeks with us.

1956 – Ruth Anne and me in Albuquerque at our house

All that to say that one year I developed bronchitis, and was still coughing away when I went to Deming.  Now one of the most fun things about being with Ruth Anne and her family, was that we would go swimming at the local pool.  That particular summer, Ruth Anne’s mother told me that, as long as I was coughing so much, I couldn’t go swimming.  I had to learn to control that cough!  So I set out to do just that!

1955 – Deming, New Mexico – Ruth Anne, her dad, a friend, and me

But what I learned most about controlling the cough, was when I was trying to sleep.  I learned to cover my mouth with the pillow and cough into the pillow!  Muffle the sound, as it were.  It must have worked, because I remember we DID go swimming!

And as an adult, I have found, through the years, that I still have times when trying to sleep, I still have the need to cough…whether from a cold or whatever.  And since I sleep in the same bed as my husband, and don’t want to wake him up unnecessarily, I still face-plant into the pillow and cough.  Sometimes that just isn’t quite enough to quench the cough, and I used to have a cough drop near at hand.

Credit – Pixabay

 But now I’ve taken to having a roll of BreathSavers® on the night-stand near my bed and pop one of them into my mouth.  It is a smaller tablet than a cough drop, and doesn’t “furr” my tongue the way the cough drop did.  And it seems to do the trick in getting me to stop coughing.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

I had to do that just this morning [as I am writing this], and it reminded me of that time of my life when I had to try to control my cough. 

I used to just suck on BreathSavers® because liked them, and at one point gave a 5-pack of them to our grandchildren for Christmas – just one of their gifts from us.  They enjoyed them and asked for them whenever they were with us. 

Good memories!

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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Obsessed with Reading

27 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I’ve heard that obsessed is the new “word.” Whatever that means. I decided to follow the crowd and use the word in my title. Maybe I will add it as a search key word too. LOL

I tend not to follow the crowd in my reading choices. If everyone is talking about a novel, it’s a good bet, I haven’t read it. I think I harbor suspicions that the latest chart climber might be more hype than substance. Not that I am all that into substance.

Of late I have been binging on cozy mysteries with slightly elderly female heroines. Well, except for a series that features a retired British police officer and his faux assistance German Shepherd. I’ve read through several romance series set around bake shops and flower shops. I especially am enjoying a bake shop series set on a small island in Cornwall. The baker lives in a lighthouse.

Thank heavens for Hoopla and the Libby app, both free through the library system.Usually I am listening to an audio book as well as reading one on the Kindle app. Occasionally I will also add a paperback to the mix. It’s fun living in two or three different worlds at the same time. Way better than the current days in which we are living.

I am years late discovering the depth and wisdom of Charles Spurgeon and Oswald Chambers. I read though Spurgeon’s Morning by Morning last year and absolutely recommend it.

The Kindle version is free on Amazon

This year I am reading another of Spurgeon’s, Faith’s Check Book, and I’ve added in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. Although these authors lived in another century, their writings seem to me pertinent, insightful and encouraging in this century’s turmoil.

I was also very late to the party when digital books became the rage. I clung to my hard copy, page turning ways. How could a digital book be as satisfying? I began the shift to digital books due to a problem with my vision. With a digital reader I found I could enlarge the text and change the lighting to accommodate my deficit. I dowloaded Amazon’s Kindle app and Barnes and Noble’s Nook app and have been very pleased with them.

A huge plus for me in the Kindle app is that I can highlight a group of text that I want to save or share and the app creates a “clipping.”

The world seems to be in global chaos. In a morning reading this week, I took great encouragement in the passage above. I often share a clip on Twitter, definitely a platform where much encouragement is needed!

Speaking of encouragement, our fellow blogger, Janet Perez Eckles has just released a new book.

Now I see. How God’s Amazing Grace Turned Betrayal, Blindness and Heartache to Shining Joy.

Janet is the most joyful woman I know and we can all use a stout dose of joy these days.

For the past 891 days I have been learning Spanish using an app. It is set up as a weekly competition. I am enjoying it and dare I say, I am obsessed with learning Spanish? They, the people who know everything about keeping an aging brain sharp recommend doing word puzzles, (Not happening) learning to play a musical instrument. (Setting myself up for failure) or learning a different language. Now that I can do. It has been fun refreshing my high school and college Spanish and remembering how much I dislike verb conjugation. I so believe it has helped me to retain what I read.

We are back in the North Carolina mountains for the summer. It has taken me two weeks to get settled in, but I have most every thing unpacked, I am looking forward to peony blooms and potting baskets of petunias, geraniums, snapdragons, coleus and whatever else strikes my fancy.

We already have several pairs of yellow finch feasting on our bird feeders and several hummingbirds buzzing around us. It’s going to be a good summer. I hope yours is as well.

This song has been singing in my heart the last few days. Even when I am in a store that has background music, my mind and heart hear this one. Weird but nice.

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 2022 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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High-Speed Fiber Optic Installation-Part 5

26 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

After the Christmas holidays, I was finally able to reach the contact person at the claims office.  This time she said they still didn’t have all the necessary information, and would I please send the photos and the estimate again.  I verified the email address and sent the information they requested again.  I was beginning to wonder if this was a ploy to keep from having to pay me, or just how many times I was going to have to repeat this process before they finally received the email information, I was sending them.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo. customer-service/clipart.  

About two weeks later, with no other word from the contact person, I was surprised to receive a check in the mail for the estimated damage claim amount.  Wow!  I guess they finally did receive my information and someone actually followed thru with my claim.  Will wonders never cease?  I didn’t waste any time contacting the drywall contractor and setting up an appointment to have the damaged area repaired.  That only took a couple of days to schedule, and the repair was completed without any additional problems.  

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/ceiling+repair

Upon completion of the repair, I mentioned that it didn’t look like the new portion of drywall was covered adequately, but was told that it would all look fine when the plaster dried.  I really didn’t think it had enough plaster on it, but I didn’t say anymore because hey, who am I to question the guy that does this kind of work every day.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It’s a week later and really, does that look like there is enough plaster on the new piece of drywall to cover it adequately?  I was originally told that the new plaster might not match the original plaster, and I was ready for that, but the plaster on the replacement drywall just isn’t thick enough to cover the new drywall.  So now I have to get the drywall guy back out here to finish the job the way it was supposed to have been done the first time.  Bummer!

Image credit: yahoo.com/frustrated+man+clipart

I called the drywall guy and it’s hard for me to believe what he told me.  He said that it’s not that there isn’t enough paster, but that the new plaster and wallboard have to be painted in order to keep the paster from drying out and crumbling.  Not knowing anything about smooth  or skip trowel ceiling finishes, I was not aware that they had to be painted.  Well, whatever; he is coming by to take a look at the repair and do whatever needs to be done to finish the job to my satisfaction.  We’ll see how that goes.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/ceiling+repair

Well, as expected, the drywall guy never showed up, even after I called him several times.  I had the same kind of problem with sub-contractors back in the 1980s when I was building houses with my father-in-law.  The last 5% of any job is getting the “finish” contractor to do his part.  I ended up many times doing most of that “finish” work myself, when possible, just to meet the scheduled closing date.  So, I (not too happily) painted the repair area myself.  OK, so I caved.  I know I should have insisted on the drywall guy doing it, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of a tiny little bit of paint.  Besides, I had already had enough trouble with this project and just wanted to see it done.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Well, finally the job is done, and we love the new system.  However, this whole project has been what I call getting connected to a new high-speed fiber optic system THE HARD WAY!  What do you think? 

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 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 Last Prayer

24 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites


My prayer was on the last page of one of my journals from 2005

Lord, I realize the people I most admire have flaws. Only You are wonderful through and through, with no ugly edges. People, even at their best, cannot meet our deepest needs; they sometimes misunderstand, disappoint, expect too much, or can’t be available when I need them. 

This makes me glad to have You as my best friend, Lord, my Wonderful Counselor,  my Ever-present Help in trouble, immediately available around the clock, seven days a week. How wonderful that I belong to you, the, unpolluted Source from which all downstream flow. When I stop to listen to you, my life is restored. 

So I delight in people here on earth, but first and last, I come to You, the only perfect Person, the only ideal Person, the only One whose love is flawless, the only one who is worthy of my highest praise. Oh God, who is like you? There is none to compare with You! 

Photo Credit:Pixabay

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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Let’s Play a Game-Make it Up

23 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Re-blog from July 2019

I have some quirky habits – well, I suppose most people do.  But for some reason, when we are stopped at a traffic light, I look at the cars around us – specifically their license tags – and try to make up words for them.

I think I started doing that with our own license tags, just so I could remember them if or when I would need to give that information to someone, such as the DMV or at a hotel where we stayed.

For instance, one of our tags in Virginia was QRI-727.  What would you make of that?  Well, my thought was:  query (or question)? Is that a 727 airplane?

We had one tag here in Florida that was UNH-935.  Since we attended (and Fred graduated from) the University of New Mexico, thus UNM, that was fairly easy: University of New Hampshire-935.  Get the picture?  I just wish Fred had asked the clerk to pull one that had UNM on it! 

Okay, let’s do a test-run.  See what you can make out of the following (that I made up):

            Y25-JVP

and     Y75-KPD

For the first one, I would have said:   Year25-John Victor Patrick

And the second one:   Year75-Kissimmee Police Department

            (That one was easy, since I have two friends who work at the KPD)

Then there are the vanity plates.  I have a lot of fun with them.  There was a married couple we knew in Texas who had Mopsy on her car, and Popsy on his.

And then I saw one vanity plate with just one word on it:   ytteb    I had a difficult time figuring that one out – until I spelled it backwards.  I’m assuming the driver’s name is: Betty.

We had one Air Force license tag that said AGPOP.

Really easy to remember.  Unfortunately, Florida law says that military plates have to be changed out every 10 years.  I can’t imagine who made up that law.  All it does is create more paperwork for some government agency, that is totally unnecessary.  But that’s the government for you.

Below are some sample license plates from Florida’s License plate designs

I guess the one that really inspired me to do this word search, was while we were living in Virginia.  I was stopped behind a car whose license plate had the words:  I SOIF.  That one had me baffled.  Soif?  Soif?  What in the world is soif?  Then, as I began looking at the back window decals – and the bumper stickers – of the car, I realized that I was looking at all kinds of surfboards!  Okay…now I get it – I SOIF means I SURF.  The guy in the car was a surfer.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

So….has this inspired you to take a new look at license plates and try to figure out words?  It’s a fun thing to do, and Fred gets quite tickled at some of the ones I come up with.  Give it a try.  You just might like it – and it helps pass the time when traveling.

[Added April 23, 2023:  in seeing license tags from other states, I realize that a lot of states have more than the 3-n-3 numbers/letters that Florida has.  But it still might be fun to try to make something of the tags you see.]

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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The New Power Pole-Part 4

19 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Since I already had internet cables running from outside the house into my attic and to my computer, it was only a matter of snaking the new high-speed fiber optic cable across the attic and down thru the existing holes in the wall, alongside those existing cables.  When the technician went into the attic to route the new cable, he happened to kneel on a piece of plywood I had nailed between two trusses.  The plywood split under his weight and his knee went down through the drywall ceiling of our garage/studio.  OPS! Was anyone hurt?  No, thank goodness, but he was so embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

He apologized profusely and said that in all his years on the job this was the first time anything like this had happened to him.  I told him not to worry about it as the same thing had happened to me when I was younger and working for an electrical contractor, except in my case, my leg had ended up going thru a lady’s kitchen ceiling.  He told me he would immediately send in a damage claim to his company to get the hole in the ceiling repaired.  He finished the installation of connecting us to the new high-speed fiber optic system with no other problems.  He told me someone from the company claims office would be contacting us about the repair of the damage soon.

Image credit: yahoo.com/frustrated+man+clipart

It took me about two weeks to finally get in touch with the claims department, after I received my first email from them telling me they had set up a claim number for me and to contact them with more information.  When I finally reached the claims office, the agent said one of the things they needed was some photos of the damaged area.  I told her that the technician had taken photos of the damaged area and that he had assured me he would forward them to their claims office.  She said they hadn’t received any photos and asked me if I had taken any.  I said I had, and I tried to email them to her, but they wouldn’t go thru to the email address she gave me.  Next, she said they also needed an estimate for repairs to the damaged area.  I said I would get an estimate and forward it to their claims office. 

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo. customer-service/clipart.  

It has now been three weeks since my last contact with the claims center.  I re-sent my photos of the damage to the contact person.  I had a damage estimate made and emailed it to the contact person.  I have tried several times each week to reach them to verify they received the requested information with no avail.  I have phoned only to be put on “hold” for up to five minutes, and then a computer voice tells me there is no one available to help me.  I have left messages with the contact person with no response.  I have sent emails to the contact person with no response.  I have tried the phone calls at different times of the day to try to catch the contact person to no avail.

Image credit: yahoo.com/frustrated+man+clipart

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 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 Peace of God

17 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites

The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

Photo Credit:Pixabay

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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