Tag Archives: Christian bloggers

Treasures

22 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

I’ve found many “treasures” in my lifetime. The times in my life that I write about are, indeed, treasures to me. Such wonderful memories they are. But I have some “earthly” treasures, as well. I’ve collected things throughout my life, and they usually have great meaning to me. I remember when my Aunt Jessie bought me my first pitcher – and it started a collection with me. Most of the “pitchers” I have are actually creamers. She took me another time to Juarez, Mexico, and we purchased another pitcher.

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I have a pitcher that is purported to be from my grandmother – and the only thing I have from her. Remember, she had 13 children, and my family lived far away from her, so we didn’t get very much of hers following her death. 3 I have a cow pitcher that my mother filled with milk and we poured it over our cereal. 4 (I’ve actually lost that one, but my brother found another one and I have this one to remind me. Here is a picture of the original in our dining room window) 5 I also have a small pitcher that was used on the “family-style” table at our Glorieta Baptist Convention Center in Glorieta, New Mexico. They were filled with cream or milk, and several were on each table for the coffee users. 6 I have another “cow” pitcher that was for the same use. 7 I have a set of pitchers that Aunt Jessie picked up in Pennsylvania one time. 8 Yes, they are dust-collectors as well, but they remind me of good times in my life. But I have other “treasures” as well. I had heard of Hummel figurines most of my life, but it wasn’t until we moved to Germany that they came to mean something to me. In downtown Wiesbaden, there was a most unique store. Here is a picture of the storefront. It is one huge cuckoo clock! 9 But they had wonderful Hummel figurines there. Fred’s mother purchased one, and, since her death, I have it. It is a treasure.10One of the most fun treasures I have is a German nutcracker. Most of the nutcrackers you find have a smooth, rounded block of painted wood for the face.   12

 

Really gives character to him. We have him sitting where we can see him every time we sit down to eat. I know we are to “lay up treasures in heaven,” but these earthly ones give joy to our earthly life and times. When heaven comes my way, I won’t need them anymore – I’ll have the daily worship of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I am so grateful for that assurance of salvation. I am blest beyond measure.

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My Colonial States Trip~Part 14

18 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

 

The “Declaration Chamber” in Independence Hall has been beautifully restored and arranged to represent the way it looked during the years between 1775 and 1783 when the Second Continental Congress used this chamber to meet, debate and eventually adopt our Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.

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The “Supreme Court Chamber” has also been beautifully restored with ochre-painted walls and the coat of arms for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania above the bench. This is the room where the Philadelphia Supreme Court conducted trials, and the state legislature conducted business in the early years of our nation. There are records that indicate the U.S. Supreme Court held proceedings in this chamber in 1791 and again in 1796. The judge’s bench and jury’s box overlooked the accused, who stood in the prisoner’s dock for the duration of his trial, giving rise to the expression “Stand Trial.”

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Next I went to view the Liberty Bell and discovered that the bell was originally cast in London, England in 1752. The bell was installed in the State House and intended to be used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens of public meetings and proclamations, but it cracked the first time it was rung after arriving in Philadelphia. There isn’t actually any evidence that the bell was rung on July 4, 1776 to announce the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A story (fable) was written in 1847 about an elderly bell ringer who claimed he ran the bell on that date. People liked that story so much that it was adopted as fact, and has been perpetuated down through the years. It wasn’t until the 1830s that the bell was dubbed, by several abolitionist societies, as the “Liberty Bell” and used as a symbol of freedom by them during the 1830s and 1940s.

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Then I boarded a city tour bus for a 90-minute guided tour of the city of Philadelphia with all its many historical places. Most people today don’t realize that Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States, or how many important events, which helped shape our country, took place in this city. I was amazed at how many famous people in our country’s early history lived and worked in this city, helping form the foundation of our nation as we now know it.

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I saw the Betsy Ross house where it’s said that Betsy fashioned and made the first American flag in 1776, and later presented it to General George Washington (who by then had been appointed Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army).

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I saw Ben Franklin’s print shop, where he became famous for printing The Pennsylvania Gazette; the President’s House site where George Washington
and John Adams created the Office of the President of the United States; the Christ Church Cemetery where Ben Franklin is buried, along with many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and other famous leaders. I found it interesting as a side note, that it is said, Christ Church in Philadelphia is also where Colonial America made its initial break with the Church of England.

 

—–To Be Continued—–

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The Baby Book

16 Feb

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

 My grandfather was a “guard” at The Colorado State Pentientiary when I was born. He asked if the shop could make this baby book for me. I wonder about the man who made it there in prison. How did he feel? Was he a family man? How did he come to be a fine worker of metal. I don’t think about his crime. It is enough that he showed that kind of consideration for a new-born three-quarters of a century ago.

I wonder if anyone else has a similar keepsake.

Tin Baby Book made in Colorado State Pen

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The Crest

15 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I always took the mountains for granted. They were just part of the scene.

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The Sandia Mountains are part of the Rocky Mountain chain, and are really majestic and beautiful, and I miss them, now that I live in flatland Florida. The mountains are quite wonderful all the time, but especially in the evening, when the sun is setting and they literally turn purple. Remember the line from “America the Beautiful” – you know:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

Well, they really do turn purple! Amazing!

The top of Sandia Crest tops out at 10,678 feet above sea level – the highest point in Albuquerque. And it’s COLD up there – and breezy! We took our daughters there in the summer before we went to Germany – and we forgot to take sweaters with us!. As you can see from the pictures – we were FREEZING!

 

For a bit of information, I gleaned this from Wikipedia: Sandía means watermelon in Spanish, and is popularly believed to be a reference to the reddish color of the mountains at sunset. Also, when viewed from the west, the profile of the mountains is a long ridge, with a thin zone of green conifers near the top, suggesting the “rind” of the watermelon. However, as Robert Julyan notes, “the most likely explanation is the one believed by the Sandia Indians: the Spaniards, when they encountered the Pueblo in 1540, called it Sandia, because they thought the squash gourds growing there were watermelons, and the name Sandia soon was transferred to the mountains east of the pueblo.” He also notes that the Sandia Pueblo Indians call the mountain Bien Mur, “big mountain”.

There are two ways to get to the crest – driving or by the tram.It is reported to be the longest tramway in the world!

 

While we’ve driven the roads many times, we’ve only been up the tramway once – and it was quite a thrill! If you’re ever in Albuquerque, give it a try. Something you’ll never experience anywhere else.

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But Albuquerque and the crest are known for other things, as well. I know that many people have heard of the winter snow skiing in Taos, New Mexico. But the best-kept secret is that some of the very best skiing is right there in the mountains of Albuquerque!

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On a website I checked out recently, it said that there was a 23″ base of snow, and so far this year they’ve had 55″ of new snow! That should delight any ski enthusiast! I never got into skiing – little too expensive for me, and I’m a bit of a chicken. But many people have discovered that pleasure and ski right outside of town.

That’s the Albuquerque I know and love.

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The Red Light Will Change~Be Patient

13 Feb

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

 

 

We suffer when we are not in control.

It affects our very being.

“Lord, I really wanted a sunny day,

but fog is all I am seeing”

 

We are prone to create our own little world.

The old “normal” has to fall apart.

“We can’t go forward, Lord,

unless we have a change of heart.”

 

Accept the present moment.

Be patient, the red light will change.

God uses those “waiting moments”-

Our circumstances He will arrange.

 

Religion is one of the safest places

to hide from God.

Ego wants to be in control.

Forget about rituals and man made rules.

Make communing with God your goal.

 

How comforting to know

God doesn’t love you because you are good,

God loves you because God is good.

That’s why I love Him so.

 

Accept the Present moment Red light

 

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Take Time for Pie With Friends

12 Feb

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

It’s Thursday again and I really( I have been editing so I MUST take out that adverb) don’t have much to write about. I had some thoughts this morning, but dealing with insurance company issues stripped my brain. So when my friend called and suggested going to get some pie, I went.

We nibbled our pie, sipped coffee and talked about all kinds of things from funny to serious.  It was a blessed time and I am so glad we made the time for each other.

This morning I read the blog of my cyber friend, Lia. She loves the savior, as we do and is a wonderful author as well. She wrote about her lack of progress on her next novel. The final paragraph in her blog, touched me. She gave me permission to share it here.

When life gets in the way, and we take time to think about what it means, we become deeper, richer human beings.  That will pour into our writing.  If we give ourselves to others in service with compassion, that will show up in the pages of our blogs, books, poetry or journals. We cannot improve the world around us without improving ourselves, and we cannot improve ourselves without improving our message.

One doesn’t have to be an author to feel frustrated when we don’t accomplish our “to do” list. We may not be writing books, poetry or blogs, but we are writing the story of Christ in our lives. Mike and I have started Tai-Chi with a You Tube instructor.  There is a move, that finishes with one pushing their arms forward and releasing their spirit to mingle with other people’s spirits.  Well that is too “new agey” for me. As I exhale and push my arms forward, in my mind I say. “I am pushing the spirit of Christ that lives in me into the world, may His light shine through me.

Click here if you would like to read the rest of Lia’s blog. Is Life Getting in the Way? | Lia London Books.

This in not me. I needed a picture!!

This in not me. I needed a picture!!

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My Colonial States Trip~Part 13

11 Feb

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

The U. S. Naval Academy Museum didn’t take long, and I was on my way east to check out the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, DE which had a great collection of both hangered and outdoor static aircraft. They had two C-141s on static display and I recorded the tail numbers so I could ask my friend Dick, when I got back home, if he had flown either one of them during his time in the U.S. Air Force. As it turned out, he had flown one of them.

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Next I headed north again to visit the Massey Air Museum in Massey, MD which turned out to be a very small museum with a C-47 sitting in front of one of the hangers and a F4U Corsair mounted on a pedestal next to the rotating beacon tower. The hanger doors were not open and the museum was closed up for the day, (closed at 4:00 pm) so, after a couple photos, I kept moving north.

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I had planned to visit the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum & Library in Wilmington, DE but “Greta” had a hard time recognizing the address, since it was on a rural road, with nothing but a guard station blocking the entrance to the driveway. By the time I finally found the proper address, it was after 5:00 pm and the guard said they were closed. I believe DiVoran would have liked to visit this museum as the estate is used as the location for lectures by famous decorating, clothing and jewelry designers who have contributed to the making of movie and TV series projects such as Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Young Victoria and Downton Abbey. What do you think DiVoran?   After a long day of driving, I stopped and had dinner at the “Metro Diner” in Brooklawn, NJ before heading to the motel in Gloucester City, NJ for the evening.

           

The next morning I left early, driving thru Camden, NJ and across the Delaware River, in time to arrive at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia, PA for a day of touring that historic city. My first problem was finding the underground parking garage. I had to circle several blocks a couple of times before I spotted the garage entrance, and found my way up the elevator to the information center. I picked up a map of the area and got directions to where I could obtain my free ticket for a tour of Independence Hall. As I was heading across the park for the Hall, I realized I had left my camera lying on the counter at the visitor’s center. I rushed back to the counter and asked if anyone had seen my camera, but they said, “No.” I was really upset, but what could I do? Evidently, someone had picked it up and walked off with it, and there went my camera and some 400-500 photos of my trip so far, never to be seen again. It was hard, but I thanked God for the camera loss and asked Him to help me give the whole thing up to Him.

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The Independence Hall Tour was very interesting and educational from beginning to end. We were reminded that Independence Hall (originally the Philadelphia State House) was completed in 1753 and is primarily known as the building where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were debated and finally adopted by the colonial representatives. As a side note, the Liberty Bell had its first home in the steeple of the Philadelphia State House.

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What If I Prayed The Way a Mockingbird Sings

9 Feb

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistWhat if years of praying and studying how to pray were to culminate in putting on Jesus’ light yoke and allowing Him to do most of the praying through me?

What if prayer, even intercessory prayer became no strain but praise and worship? I could pray for a lot of people that way without being responsible for solving their problems. I’m not responsible for that I know, but still I try to figure and fix. If I were a mocking bird, singing and prayer would simply well up from my innermost being.

The mocking bird can sound like many different birds. He is a baby bird begging to be fed, a chickadee, a quail. In the days when we lived in California, the mocking birds in our yard took up whining like the dog. I must say, it drove me crazy. Mocking birds express whatever sounds enter them.

If I prayed the way mocking birds sing I probably wouldn’t know what I was praying for half the time. The focus would be totally on God. How could anybody lose by that? We would participate in His life together. This reminds me of a bookmark my friend, Pam, gave me a long time ago. Though I have lost the gift, the words will remain with me forever. “Birds don’t sing because they have a melody, they sing because they have a song.” Yes, and who gives them their song?

New Living Translation

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3

 

New Living Translation
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

Roman’s 8:26

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The Chest Cold Remedy

8 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

When you get a cold these days (hopefully seldom, and just a mild one), when you search for the best pill or concoction to shake it out of your system…..how in the world do you choose? There seems to be hundreds out there to choose from. Just google it, and you will see.

And yet, I can remember my Mother’s remedy for a chest cold, as clear as yesterday. You see, we had this little space heater in our bathroom that was built into one wall.

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Sounds like a disconnect already, doesn’t it? Well, hang on……..it’s coming. She would have me sit on the edge of the bathtub, and she would rub Bengay® all over my chest.

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Then she would take a dry washcloth and hold it in front of that little space heater until it was nearly hot, then she would have me hold it over my chest while she was heating another wash cloth. That went on – back and forth between two cloths – until she felt she had done enough. Then I was sent to bed.

I don’t remember any cold medication, although there was probably something. Perhaps nothing more than hot tea with lemon and/or honey to help with the sore throat and the cough.

But I’m always sent back to that memory and Mother’s remedy when I smell Bengay™ or anything like it. It is such a sweet memory of a simpler time and loving care my Mother took with me when I was ailing.

I also don’t remember too many other houses that had that kind of in-the-wall space heater. Perhaps it was indicative of the time those houses were built. Fred and I did have one in the bathroom in our first apartment, but that apartment, too was built in the 1950’s or so. I think now in our modern homes, there is a “heat lamp” light fixture that warms the room. Such a loss.

But what a warm, loving memory that is for me.

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My Colonial States Trip~Part 12

4 Feb

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Stars Plane

The next day I misread the opening time for the B & O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD so I was an hour early getting there. I parked in the museum’s free parking lot, and took the free “Charm City Circulator” bus to the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Since I had toured aboard other U.S. Navy ships and submarines, I only went aboard the USS Constellation. I did take photos and checked out the USCGC Taney, the submarine USS Tork, and the Lightship Chesapeake, but saved the time going aboard those ships, for another museum down the road that day. While waiting for the bus back to the B & O Railroad Museum, I struck up a conversation with a very nice lady who was on her way to work, and helped me with the number of the bus I would need to catch for my trip back to the RR museum, and my car.

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The B & O Railroad Museum is located in the old Monte Clare Station, and with its adjacent roundhouse, was part of the original Monte Clare Shops begun in 1829. The Shops are considered to be the oldest railroad manufacturing complex in the United States. The museum is massive, and has one of the world’s largest collections of 19th century rolling stock. The museum was also the site which received the first telegraph message, “What hath God wrought?” sent from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, MD on May 24, 1844 using Samuel Morse’s new telegraph invention.

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Next I took a quick drive north a few miles to visit the Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum in Middle River, MD which was a small museum with only a dozen or so outside static display aircraft. I hadn’t planned to stay long (the Robert Frost poem comes to mind again), but I was their only customer and their very knowledgeable tour guide was a little long-winded with nothing else to do. I immediately realized I was trapped. I was afraid he was going to explain all about each of the 20,000 photos covering the walls of the small museum area and finally asked him if I could see the museum’s airplanes. He had to drive me to the static displays and started telling me all about each of the airplanes, and I was trapped again. They had two B-57 aircraft on static display, and I recorded the tail numbers so I could ask my friend Larry when I back to Titusville, if he had flown in either of them, during his time in the U.S. Air Force. I finally convinced him to take me back to my car so I could get on to the next stop. I’m sure I could have learned a lot if I had not been on such a tight time schedule that day.

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Now I headed south around Chesapeake Bay to visit the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, MD which is located in the Preble Hall, just inside the Naval Academy premises. I parked and had to walk thru a security check point, and show my ID, in order to access the museum. The museum is a maritime museum started in 1845 and traces U.S. Naval history in the form of three dimensional artwork, paintings, model ships, uniforms and metals exhibits in its four galleries.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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