Tag Archives: Christian bloggers

Keep Looking Up

23 Aug

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

          Life presents many challenges from birth to the grave

          But lift your thoughts to God above,

          He promises to save.

          God fashioned us in our mother’s womb

          So I am certain He had a plan.

          We were designed in His own image-

          To serve our fellow man.

          When I was a child, I thought as a child-

          Striving always to please-

          It took a lot of challenges

          To set my heart at ease.

          My heartfelt wish, as I was growing up,

          Was to be a caring soul.

           I desired all humanity

          To make loving others their goal.

           I know it is unrealistic

           To expect Heaven here on earth  –

           But wouldn’t it be wonderful

           If every soul felt its worth?

           Reach out and “touch someone”-

           A word of encouragement, or a smile will do.

           Your kindness will be rewarded-

    It will all come back to you.

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You’re in the Navy~Part 4

21 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

My orders, following my two-weeks leave, had me reporting to Norfolk, VA for assignment to the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), which at the time was on patrol in the Mediterranean.  To get to the ship, I was flown from Norfolk, to Cannes, France (On the French Riviera!) with stops or layovers in Gander, Newfoundland, the Azores, and French Morocco, North Africa.1

I arrived in Cannes, France on Christmas Eve (Aw, shucks, it was cold in Cannes, and there were no girls on that famous French beach).  When I got my first up close look at the Coral Sea, I couldn’t believe how big it was.  I 2reported aboard and was directed to follow a Seaman to the compartment where I would live for the next six months.  I followed him thru one hatch and down one ladder and I was lost.  That ship was so massive, it took me a good month to find my way from my bunk, to anywhere but my duty station and to the mess deck.  Even though the ship was huge, every compartment had its use, and berthing quarters, for the 3500 enlisted personnel, were very crowded, and consisted of small clothes lockers and fold-down beds stacked four high.

 One of the first things I had to do, after being assigned watch schedules for my work/duty stations, was my turn at KP duty (welcome aboard you newbie).  The enlisted mess deck on the Coral Sea was run by a First Class Machinist Mate who, the rumor had it, had almost blown up one of the main ship’s boilers years before, and for punishment, was restricted from going anywhere on the ship below the mess deck level.  He was a very angry and mean person, and also demanded perfection from everyone working on 3his mess deck.  He was so hated, that he slept in a chain link wire cage, located right there in the corner of the mess deck, to protect himself from harm from the many people he had poured out his wrath upon.  The story goes, that years before, someone had thrown a string of firecrackers into his cage, in the middle of the night, and he almost killed himself trying to get out.  You can just imagine what kind of retribution he had been dishing out, on anyone assigned to his mess deck after that little prank.

After I was released from my tour of 16-hours a day “Mess Deck Hell”, I spent the rest of my tour of duty on the Coral Sea working below decks as an Engineman Specialist, monitoring and servicing the hydraulic equipment used to operate the ship’s deck-edge elevator.  This elevator was one of three elevators on the ship, used to move the air group’s aircraft between the hanger deck storage area, and the flight deck, whenever flight operations were required.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Walking

19 Aug

My Take

DiVorarn Lites

I started walking when I was a baby. My first steps were into my curly headed daddy’s arms. I practiced a great deal and garnered a lot of praise. Author, Poet and ArtistFalling didn’t phase me. My memory doesn’t go back that far, really, but I know that’s the way it was. The first time I actually recall walking was when I went next door to my little friend’s house to play. I was about five. My brother and I took off walking to town one day in Crowley, Colorado when our puppy got lost. We never did find him, just caused our parents a lot of worry. When I was older, my brother and I walked to the creek looking for a goose we had let escape on purpose because we didn’t want to eat him for Thanksgiving dinner. When I was a teen-ager, on warm evenings, I walked in the neighborhood after supper in Albuquerque. Anyhow you get the picture. Every day, except Sunday, I walk about a mile and a half. In the summertime in Florida, if you get up early enough you can catch a lovely breeze. Using the IPod to amuse myself while I walk helps if I get a bit bored. That doesn’t happen on a wooded trail, only in the neighborhood. I can still stop and say hello to neighbors, I just pull the ear bud connector out and the IPod stops right where it is.

One day a couple of weeks ago I was getting ready to put some water in the

Bad Hose!

Bad Hose!

bird-bath. I dragged the hose over to the cement sidewalk, but before I could take another step the bad hose snaked around my foot and threw me down. As I fell, I had the fleeting thought that if I broke anything, I wouldn’t be able to really walk for a long time. However, when my hands and knees hit the pavement, I knew I was still intact. One knee had a bloody gash and the other had an eventual bruise, but I took my regular walk the very next day.

When it was time for visit to the chiropractor, he found about a dozen places in my knees, hands, and  arms, that had gone out of alignment and needed fixing them. Once again I thanked God for him. He has kept us in good shape for over thirty years. I was still thanking God I hadn’t broken anything. A break can result in so many complications. I told Doc Z. that I was thankful to Mother her good bones, too. She fell many times without any breakage. He said, “It wasn’t your genetics that saved you, it was your walking.” Wow! I was thrilled.

He also said that the reason people fall and have accidents is that they rush around most of the time. That’s me. I don’t know why I think I must hurry through things. I am retired and life is good. Although I can still walk as fast as I want when walking is my purpose, I’m slowing way down in every other aspect of my life. Eat more slowly, listen patiently without thinking of what I’m going to say, or how I can correct somebody, chew food well, don’t multi-task. I must admit that multi-tasking has caused more mistakes than anything else ever has. Life is better now. I’m so glad I learned how to walk. Aren’t you glad you did, too

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West Berlin Part~2

18 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

         

One of our favorite places to visit in West Berlin was the Charlottenburg Palace.

1It is very like many of the palaces and castles built by German King Ludwig, and part of it was influenced by those structures.  It is built in rococo and baroque style.  It was built in the late 1700’s.  The central area has a large domed area with a gilded nude statue of Fortune as a weather vane.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped, similar to Versailles in France.

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Within the Palace is the Charlottenburg Museum.  One of the most fascinating things in there is the original bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti.  We’ve always wondered why the original was in Germany and not England or even Egypt.

In the Tiergarten area of West Berlin (a large public park to the west of the city center) is the Russian Memorial.  It commemorates the 480,000 Russian war dead who died in the Battle of Berlin in April and May of 1945.  Throughout the Cold War, Soviet honor guards from the Soviet occupation zone were sent to stand watch at the memorial.  It is an impressive sight.

5Another impressive sight is the Victory Column, also in the Tiergarten area of Berlin.  It was built from 1864 to 1873 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Prusso–Danish war in 1864.  The shaft of the monument is made of cannon captured from the enemies. The bronze figure at the top was added later, after further Prussian victories in wars against Austria (1866) and France (1870– 71); so the column marks also the unification of Germany after these victories.  It’s really beautiful.

We had heard of the Congress Halle, and walked past it when our oldest daughter 6and I were in West Berlin with Fred, who was on a TDY (Temporary Duty) back in 1969.  It was built by the Americans and given to the Berliners as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.  Because of it’s unique design – an “open” oyster – it is affectionately known as the “pregnant oyster” by the locals.

While we were with Fred on that TDY, we were staying in a hotel that was miscpart of  Templehof Airport, where the Berlin Airlift originated.  One day, I wasn’t feeling very well, kind of like I was getting the flu.  When I went down to the restaurant, the German server inquired about my health.  When I explained, he said he had just the thing for me – and he brought me a cup of the most delicious lentil soup I’ve ever had.  Mostly broth – nice and hot.  And then he put together a tray of very hot water with several tea bags and had it sent up to our room.  After all that TLC, I was back to normal by morning.

One of our fondest memories of West Berlin is the English-speaking Baptist church we visited.  There was a large group of English-speaking people in7West Berlin, and they managed to find each other and form a church.  All were welcome – including any Germans who might wish to attend an English-speaking service, even if it was more to increase their knowledge of English, than to worship our Lord.  But along the way, they were sure to be touched by the people around them, as well as the Holy Spirit, and perhaps come to know Christ as their personal Savior.

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Our tour and trips to West Berlin were some of the most satisfying of our time in Europe.  Certainly something we will never forget.

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The Choice That Set Us Free

17 Aug

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Janet Eckles Perez

 

“Turn that off,” I finally said to my husband as I walked in the TV room.

The nightly news blared yet another angle of the George Zimmerman case. The sad details stirred painful memories of our own trial—the prosecution of the man who killed our 19 year-old-son 10 years ago here in Florida. The man who stabbed him 23 times pled self-defense and the verdict also declared: not guilty of all counts.

The rage, the injustice and the protest that has been dominating the media were familiar to us. But more importantly, the details remind us of the decision my husband and I made back then. After nights of diligent prayer for strength. After pleading God for comfort. And after claiming the victory He would bring, we made the choice. The decision to forgive the killer.

The process wasn’t easy, nor the task simple. We chose to forgive because God had instructed us to do so. Were we such good Christians that we would obey? Not really. But we were desperate to be set free from anger or resentment that could’ve held us prisoners.

God said to forgive. But he also said without Him we can do nothing. He said not seek vengeance. But He also said Vengeance belongs to Him. He said to find joy in Him. But He also said to have a heart free of malice.

We found the peace that goes beyond all understanding. We learned firsthand the freedom that forgiveness brings. We found that tragedy happens, evil abounds, but triumph through the power of God is possible.

Writing about this episode is not easy. But the price Jesus paid for murderers wasn’t easy either.

Media hosts have asked me during interviews: What words would you say to the mother of a victim to murder?

I would say three things:

*Seek God’s help for the grieving process. Although it’s impossible to overcome the pain without His help, the journey is different for everyone.

*Be careful to choose what fills your mind. The mentality of a victim never reaches victory.

*Honor your child’s life by turning this painful episode to a powerful message. I suggest inviting those who have a high profile and are outspoken folks to use that same energy, passion and efforts to teach, to encourage and show young people of ALL ages the evil of violence, the value of self-control and the power of forgiveness.

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew 6:14.

Since Jesus gave us the power to forgive, our family’s loss turned to the gain of God’s gift. The gift of freedom wrapped in forgiveness.

For we know that unforgiveness is the chain that keeps us bound. And Forgiveness is the choice that sets us free.

The full story is included in Janet’s #1 best-selling book Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta. http://amzn.to/pwDntn

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Embrace the Promise

16 Aug

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

When we wake up in the morning

There is promise in the air.

We don’t know what the day will bring,

But the expectancy is there.

The time to be happy is now-

We have this day to explore.

Everyday is a special occasion-

What are YOU waiting for?

 “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances,

 but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes,”-Hugh Downey

Footnote:  It is at the end of the day when my work is done that I have time to reflect on what God has done.

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You’re in The Navy Now~Part 3

15 Aug

A Slice of life

 Bill Lites

Bill

Did I mention it was already winter in the northern U.S. and that it snowed the day I arrived at Great Lakes?  Well, it was, and it did.  Burrrr!  I was greeted at the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Center as if I had never 1been in the Navy before.  My time and training at reserve meetings and my two cruises didn’t seem to count for anything. I was rushed through the uniform collection, building and bunk assignment, haircut, and medical inspection just like all the other new recruits (known as skinheads).  I tried to tell the medical assistants that I had just finished receiving my full course of shots, but they didn’t pay any attention to me, and I got the whole batch of shots all over again.

This boot camp experience was much like the one in San Diego, 2except longer, harder and colder.  Here, we were introduced to the wonderful world of KP duty.  What a miserable week that was.  That was where we discovered that the SPAM, and some of the other canned foods the Navy was feeding us was left over from WWII.  I couldn’t believe it!  But, the way the cooks disguised it with other things, it tasted pretty good and nobody got sick from it that I know of.

After a couple of weeks, and having had time to read over my service jacket, 3our drill instructor saw that I had some reserve time and previous basic training, and he made me the company platoon leader.  That didn’t necessarily make things any easier for me, but at least he wasn’t constantly yelling at me like was he was the rest of the company.

I qualified for the company drill team, which required many hours of special rifle with bayonet maneuvers training.  My aunt Jessie came to Great Lakes for my final boot camp graduation, and I was rewarded by being allowed to be a part of the special company drill team parade, during the final graduation ceremony.  I have to admit, after that 13 weeks of basic training, I left there feeling a little more like a real sailor than when I got there.4

Upon completion of boot camp, I had two weeks leave, which I spent in Albuquerque with DiVoran and my family.  This is when I asked DiVoran to marry me, gave her an engagement ring, and announced our engagement.  We had a great time as I regaled them with my boot camp adventures.   I spent many hours at the local drive-in, with DiVoran, eating hamburgers and drinking sodas, and at the movies, as well as, renewing many high school friendships.5

    —–To Be Continued—–

 

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I Believe in Miracles

14 Aug

Bill Lites our normal Wednesday blogger has internet issues and was unable to send in his post for Wednesday. A true miracle occurred this week, I have written a blog post and have it ready to go. so I am posting Wednesday in the hope that Bill will be with us Thursday.

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I believe in miracles, in fact I delight in miracles so much they send my soul into a happy dance. My favorite miracle is seeing God bring people together to meet a need, encourage someone or heal a heart. I have lived long Onishaenough to look back through time to see how God guides the threads of our lives in His hand then draws together those lives to create a miracle. It confirms to me how intimately  God cares for every aspect of our lives. I wish I could draw well because this would be one of my favorite pictures.

As I was thinking about these small miracles, my heart questioned me about the big miracles. Why don’t I feel the same joy when I pray for the “biggies” like freedom from bad life habits, healing and even salvation?  Of course I pray for those miracles and say all the right words but where is the joyous expectation?

Here is my question: Do I rejoice in small miracles because I am afraid to yearn for big ones?

UPDATE: Monday morning, shortly after writing this I received a call that my precious 10 year old grandson was having silent seizures and needed an MRI  ASAP. I marvel at how God led me to search my heart so that I can joyously expect a miracle.

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Woman Cures the Blues by Writing Poetry

12 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

I am my own guinea pig. I figure what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, in other words, I learn things about myself all the time and wonder whether others feel the same way I do.

My latest discovery is in connection with the writing of poetry. I was in the middle of a final polish of my third novel in the Florida Springs Trilogy, Clear Spring, and I was feeling so down, I had to stop every thirty minutes to eat a teaspoon full of pecan pieces. Besides being nervous, a condition I attributed to stage fright because I was drawing near the end of my book, I also had a bad case of self-chastisement, a plethora of thoughts about how I wasn’t any good as a writer, nor as a person. I know I’m the only person in the world who ever has these thoughts, and that bothers me too. What is wrong with me?

Then I saw a Face Book call for entries for poems  about forgiveness from a Christian point of view. I was onto that like ducks on a June bug. First I started through my poetry workshop file, hmm, nothing specific on forgiveness, I usually write about more tangible things. So well, the thing to do is to start a new poem about the topic. I got so caught up in that I found the morning passing without a single bad thought or pecan piece. I wrote and rewrote. I asked my husband to read the poem to me. It was perfect except for one word. I wrote and rewrote again, this time shortening each line by two syllables. That required some word changes too. It got better. By the time I finished I was feeling mighty fine. No stage fright, no collywobbles, no cat-o-nine tails across my own shoulders. I felt ready to tackle anything, even polishing.

A similar thing happened once when my mother and I were waiting at a fish camp for our men to come home from a boat-shopping trip. It got later and later, but I didn’t have time to worry because I was working on a poem, “Bridgett’s Mustang.” You can see that poem in Bill’s, Old Things R New, “Slice of LIfe archives,” Our Trip Across America Part 9.

I need to go now, I am still working on forgiveness, and I hope to send it off within the next hour or so, then back to Clear Spring for some more polishing—stage fright free.

DiVoran’s books can be found at Rebekah Lyn Books as well as on Amazon

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West Berlin~Part 1

11 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                                     

 We had some amazing experiences during our times in West Germany.  We saw so many wonderful sights while there.  So much history, as well. One of our favorite cities to visit was West Berlin.  At the time we were there, The 1Wall (Der Maur) was still in place.  And, unfortunately, the Brandenberg Gate was in the Russian Zone, or East Berlin.  We were unable to get close to it.I later spoke to a German 2national who said she just couldn’t imagine living in such an “enclosed” place as West Berlin.  I tried to assure her that it didn’t FEEL enclosed.  The American Zone was quite open and free.  I don’t think I was very convincing.  She just had to experience it for herself.

 3As we walked around the city, we came upon a fascinating piece of old Germany – a very old hand-watering pump.  Apparently, anyone who knew about it, could bring their car/wagon/etc. there and get free water to wash whatever they had – as long as they were willing to hand-pump the water.  Not something you see around the U.S.

My Mother had come to Germany to visit us that year (May 1969) and we delighted in taking her places that I know she only dreamed of ever seeing.  We happened to be in West Berlin during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.    The German people had erected a 4monument to that occasion, and the celebration took place in front of it.  The monument is three-pronged, representing the American, British, and French efforts to keep the free German people from starving and out of Russian/Communist hands.  It was a tremendous success.

Another site that impacted me greatly was in the heart of downtown West Berlin, along the 5Kurfurstendam, affectionately known by the locals as the Kudam, which is the main shopping street in downtown West Berlin.  After the colossal disaster of World War 2, the German people decided to leave a reminder to themselves of the cost of pride and war.  They left standing the bombed-out shell tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm church.  And built right next to it a beautiful and modern new church and church tower.  While the new structure is impressive, it cannot be fully appreciated until one is inside.  The all-glass bricks are a cobalt blue, and with the sun shining through those bricks – well, all I can say is, it’s breath-taking.  And peaceful. And amazing.  And I’ve run out of adjectives already.

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To be continued………..

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