Tag Archives: Christian bloggers

I Was Watching You the Whole Time

10 Aug

We are pleased to welcome Janet Perez Eckles to Old Things R New. She lives in Orlando with her best friend and wonderful hubby, Gene. They  delight in the love of their two grandchildren from their son Jason and his wife Rachel, and their middle son, Jeff. We wait in joyful expectation to the day when we’ll reunite with our youngest son Joe, in the glory of heaven. 

Janet Perez Eckles

My three-year old granddaughter gripped my hand. “C’mon, Nana. Let’s go jump over the waves.”

My feet sank in the hot Florida sand as I took each step, her tiny hand inside mine. Even at her age, she knows to lead her blind Nana.

For a long, long time, we jumped, giggled and wiped salty water from our eyes. Then like the splash of a huge wave, I realized we had walked far from where her Papa was.

Worry began to burn. What if we cannot make it back? What if he lost sight of us?

I got down on one knee and held her thin face in my hands. “Sweetheart, do you see Papa anywhere?”

“Uh…no,” she said. “Let’s jump some more.”

I heard a conversation nearby. “Excuse me” I said, waving in their direction. “Can you help me? I’m trying to find my husband.”

Before I’d finished my question, I heard a familiar voice. “I’m here, honey.”

That voice was my husband’s. “I was watching you the whole time.”

How similar to God’s voice when stress, fear or worry fools our heart to believe we’re far from Him. But in reality in the sea of life, when the sand of hardship burns, and when the heat of heartache sears, God is watching, aware of our every step. Though we may think we’ve wondered far, He’s close enough for us to hear the whisper of His love. And how life changes when we can feel the touch of His grace. We sense the power of His protection. And when waves of unexpected trials come, we count on the safety of His care.
Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Janet Perez Eckles, the blind Latina who helps you see the best of life.
http://www.janetperezeckles.com

Grateful for the privilege of inspiring you…
My website in English
En Español
My story (video)
Inspirational video just for you

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What Cats Can Do for You

9 Aug

 From the Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

Dogs are said to be “Man’s best friend”

To their owner that may be true-

But please allow me to list some things

That a cat can do for you..

Yes, I am a cat lover-

I grew up with them, you see-

Never allowed to have a dog,

Cats gravitated to me.

Cats warm your lap, and

Give you someone to talk to-

They help reduce your blood pressure

As they communicate with you.

Cats are so easy to entertain-

They can turn a bottle cap into a toy.

They display daring acrobatic feats

That turn “hum drum” into joy.

Cats make you more aware of birds.

I used to have so many-

But since the Lord sent those cats-

I find I don’t have ANY!

Cats teach you how to “land on your feet”-

And how to “lick your wounds and go on”.

They contribute to living a longer life-

As your affection they try to “con”.

They remind us that life is mysterious-

They share the “all is well” purring with you.

They make an old worn couch look beautiful!

You can see why I love cats- can’t you!

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Your Old Men Shall Dream Dreams

7 Aug

Your Old Men Shall Dream Dreams

2004

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Sometime in 2004 I had a dream that started in a small building about the size of the church we were attending at the time.  A few people (some of which I knew) were scattered around the room.  One good friend walked up and handed me a lapel mike and asked me who was going to lead the meeting.  I said I guessed I could get it started by having everyone tell us his or her name.  As I started around the room, many more people were coming in and I realized I couldn’t name them all.  So, I just looked around and asked them to meet and greet each other.  As people kept streaming in, the room kept expanding until there were thousands of people in a huge outdoor coliseum.  Even though I was completely out of my element, I could feel the people’s love for me and for one another.  I was moved by their openness and asked them to pray that Jesus would visit us in Spirit and Truth.  I was filled with the most wonderful feeling of love and acceptance, and couldn’t stop sharing with them the love that Jesus had for all of us.

 

Then I started sharing with the people how Jesus must be hurting, and how we had all hurt Him at one time or another.  I told Him how sorry I was for how I had hurt Him and immediately felt His warm love and forgiveness.  Everyone was open and receptive to what I had to say, except for one heckler right on the isle next to me.  He was not mean, just disruptive and I finally looked at him and said, “Be quiet mister.” And, he immediately disappeared!

 

The sky above us was constantly moving and filled with every color in the rainbow (like Alice in Wonderland).  At some time during the gathering, it became very dark all around the outside of the coliseum and started to rain, but not on us.  The open sky above us remained bright and filled with moving color.  It was a very scary position to be in, but as thousands of people kept coming in, I found myself filled with an ever-increasing desire to share the love of God with them.  It was the ultimate worship experience!

 

When I woke up, I felt cool and calm, not hot and sweaty like when I wake up from most dreams.  My first thought was “I don’t ever want to find myself in front of that many people, in that kind of a position!”  I immediately repented and told the Lord I was willing to do whatever He wanted me to do.  Then I thanked Him for giving me the experience and felt that I should write it all down.  I wasn’t sure why I felt like I should write it down, because I have never done that before, especially in the middle of the night, but it just seemed like the kind of dream that I wanted to share with others.

 

 

Acts 2:17

                                               

 

 

 

                                               

 

 

 

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A Little TLC Can Go a Long Way

5 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

For the past several days we’ve been hearing a bob-white conversation from the woods behind our house. We back onto the Diceranda Scrub Sanctuary where threatened and endangered species both from the plant family and from the animal world have Author, Poet and Artisttheir habitats. We have the Diceranda (thincola) or Titusville mint (endemic, which means this is the only place in the world where it is known to exist.) It is endangered. It’s a small leaved plant with leaves that remind you a bit of rosemary with a tiny violet flower. It needs a bit of clearing alongside the trail to thrive.

We have Florida scrub jays. They are like blue-jays only plainer and more shy they are on the list of threatened species. We have gopher tortoises (threatened), great

lumbering creatures that look as if they crawled out of the swamp somewhere, but who, need xeric sandhills for their burrows. Many other animals survive because of them, the indigo snake is one that uses the burrows. Indigo snakes are threatened.

Did you ever wonder what all the hullabaloo was about when it comes to the different wildlife we talk about being endangered or threateneds? In a nutshell, what that means is that there are so comparatively few of each species that they will someday be extinct if something isn’t done to

This turtle likes bird seed.

Turtle eating under bird feeder

conserve them.

Conserving any kind of plant or animal necessitates conserving the places where they live, the food they eat, the water they drink (and swim in) as well as the nesting places where they rear their young.

So what? Animals come and animals go. Why should we worry about any of that? We have our nice homes and our lawns and picnics on beautiful summer days. We have our clean water, (we hope it is clean, anyhow).

The only trouble is that as the wildlife go, so goes the world. Prime example: have you heard about the honey-bees dying off in many countries including the U. S.? What good are honey bees anyhow? We don’t need honey, we’ve got tons of sugar. Yes, but did you ever think about what we have to have to make sugar or any other kind of food, including meat, milk, eggs, spinach, apples, and yes, sugar cane. The plants must be pollinated so they will grow, flower, turn into fruits and grains. Albert Einstein once said, “If honey bees become extinct, human society will follow in four years.” I’m curious how we could last that long, but never mind. The bottom line is: no pollinators, no food.

The birds, bees and insects, all depend on each other and on plants for basic life. Throw any system off-balance and you’re asking for trouble. So what can I do? What can you do? We can start with small things, small things can make a big difference. Look at books and websites on how to create habitat in your yard. What do your birds and butterflies need? What will bring bees to feast at your place. How can you live where there are endangered and threatened species and be a part of defending them. You’d be surprised what a little bit of TLC by a lot of people can do.

We’re hoping the bobwhite will start coming to our yard again. Once a momma and daddy slipped through our chain link fence and twelve babies jumped through too and followed them all over learning what to eat and what not to. How did we ever get so blessed as to have seen a sight like that in the wild? God loves all his creatures, so obviously He’d be happy to see us find some more ways to take care of each other and the wonderful world He has given us.

DiVoran’s books are filled with her love of nature. You can learn more about her and her books at Rebekah Lyn Books

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Somewhere

2 Aug

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

Somewhere there is a place for me.

A place I have a need to be.

A new plateau, a goal to meet-

Purpose, direction, without defeat.

Oh, God, give me strength to greet each day

With a cheerful countenance,

Don’t let me sway.

Please let me focus on the issues of life

That bring joy to others-

To relieve their strife.

To have victory over the enemy called fear

The energy and stamina to persevere.

I wrote this poem seven years ago after my husband died.  I truly feel that God answered it in a remarkable way. I have written poems about every subject that my imagination has allowed, but, before I get too boring, I do believe it is time to take a break.
             
Sincerely, Louise Gibson

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You’re in The Navy Now~Part 2

31 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

Back home in Albuquerque, I discovered Boot Camp, the “Summer Cruise” I had just endured was actually going to be credited to my 1956 record, and I was now eligible to go for my 1957 “Summer Cruise” if I so elected.  Since I f1elt like having to go to boot camp had cheated me out of a cruise on a “real ship,” and I was bored with those reserve meetings, I ask my company commander for orders to go on a “real summer cruise” and he reluctantly agreed.  This time I was assigned to the destroyer USS Gurke (DD-783) out of San Diego.

At first sight, tied up alongside the pier, I thought the Gurke was a small ship, but it didn’t take me long to find out that it was plenty big enough, especially, when it came to swabbing decks and painting bulkheads.  The 2regular Navy sailors looked down on us Reserve pukes, so it was no big revelation to learn that was why we got so many of the grunt jobs.

The ship’s regular routine while I was onboard, was five days of maneuvers training at sea and back to port for the weekend.  I was surprised to find that this landlubber got his “sea legs” right away and didn’t get seasick like many of the other reservists, but I actually enjoyed the rolling/pitching motion of the ship.  That is, until on liberty that first weekend, while walking through San Diego, the streets were 3rolling/pitching like the ship had been doing all week.  Then, when I stopped in a tattoo parlor with a friend, and almost lost my dinner because of the sights/smells and the moving room.

I discovered that in the Navy, the smaller the ship the better the food, because there are fewer men to cook for.  The food on the Gurke was great, and I looked forward to every meal.  However, that wasn’t the case with some of the other reservists.  I thought we were lucky during this cruise, because the areas of the ocean we did our maneuvers in were 4relatively calm most of the time.  But, there were others who were sea sick from the moment we left the dock, and never did get over it until they were back on dry land.

After the two-week cruise on the USS Gurke, it was back to Albuquerque and those boring monthly reserve meetings, where I finally realized I was just going to have to bite the bullet and get this Navy thing over with.  The contract I had signed up for was two years of active service and four years of reserve service.  So I went to my company commander and requested orders for active service.  He said NO!  What was this?  Weren’t we in the same Navy?  Then I realized he probably got points or something, for each person in his unit.  But, I was determined, and went several levels over his head, and wrote to the Commandant of what was then the 11th Naval District, and requested active service.  Would you believe, I had my orders for active service within two weeks, and boy, was my company commander mad!  However, to get this “trouble maker” out of his district, the Commandant had cut my orders to report to the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Center in Illinois, outside Chicago.  The next thing I knew, I was on a train headed East.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Susie’s Daddy

29 Jul

My Take

DiVoran LItes

Author, Poet and Artist

Earl plays the guitar for our praise team. He’s one of those who can play many instruments and play them without notes on paper.

Earl is a big man, younger than my son, older than my grandson.  I hold his hand in our prayer circle after practice. His hand is gentle, patient, and strong.

His little girl, Susie, is in my Sunday School class. She’s about to be seven as she puts it.

One day she brought a plush horse to Sunday School and I noticed he had construction paper wings. They were designed and cut and adhered to the horse with tape that stayed on through all Susie’s loving. “Who made your horse’s wings?” I said.

“My daddy,” she said. Later I learned that almost all her critters have wings daddy has made for them. One Sunday she told me about a small worry, and I suggested she tell her Mommy about it. AND my Daddy says Susie adamantly.

After practice on Father’s Day it came to me to compliment Earl on his fathering skills. Everyone likes to be encouraged in this way.

As we left the platform I said I had something I wanted to tell him. A look of fear came into his eyes and I realized that he had perhaps in the past been told a lot of things he didn’t want to hear, but he was brave, he didn’t bolt.

“Susie really loves you, I said. You are a good father.”

“She’s my baby,” he said, still wary.

I told him about the wings and how impressed I was with the way Susie loves him and trusts him.

“Just doing what comes naturally,” said Earl.

I told him I understood that, but that few daddy’s of my acquaintance gave their little daughters the kind of TLC he does.

“Oh, I didn’t know….” His face began to crumple.

In order to escape his embarrassment if he started to cry I started to move discretely away, but he kept pace with me. “Thank you for telling me that,” he said. “You can’t know what it means to me.”

I told him I did understand what he meant. Regular people so rarely see our own excellent qualities.

My grandmother Maire would approve of my telling him how I felt.. She always taught that if you saw something good about someone they deserved a compliment.

Pastor Peter Lord would approve too. His number one message these days is Eulogy:.tell people good things about themselves while they are alive. Don’t wait until you go to their funerals.

Most people need encouragement for the good things they are and do. To coin a phrase a quart of praise is worth more than a gallon of criticism. It’s one gift that makes both the giver and the receiver as happy as can be.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

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A New Beginning

28 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

 Back in March, there appeared a post on Old Things R New, written by our Grandson, Forrest.  If you want to check it out, it was March 18, and titled So How Did I Do It?  It was about purchasing an engagement ring and proposing to the love of his life.  He’s a great writer.

I now want to tell you the rest of the story – and a new beginning.  Forrest and Alyssa were married on Friday, July 12.  It was a grand event, and well attended.  Parents and Grandparents from both sides of Forrest’s and Alyssa’s family were there, as well as  aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I had teased Forrest last Christmas about being “ticked” at him and Alyssa.  At his “why?” I told him our story.  You see, Alyssa and her family are from San Jose, California.  When they announced their engagement, I began plotting our trip to San Jose and California – back to see all the sights we saw when Fred and I lived there.  And I had wanted, for quite a while now, to take a cruise that went along the California coastline, from San Diego up to Washington State.  I had it all planned out in my mind, and had even begun looking at cruises.

And then the bottom dropped out – they had decided to get married in Wheaton, Illinois, where they met at school!!  NOOOOOOOO!!!  There went my dream cruise!

Didn’t matter that it made more sense to get married there, where all their school friends were.  I wanted that trip to California!!!!  Oh well, this is not my party.

And so we all gathered on Thursday for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.**1  Forrest’s sister was to be a bridesmaid.  Our Grandtwins were both to be in the wedding party – Hannah as a flower girl and Connor as the ring bearer.

The dinner was held at The Ivy, a neat old building in downtown Wheaton, that one time had been a funeral home.  Stained glass windows and all.  Lovely.

The wedding itself went off without a hitch.  I was watching Forrest as Alyssa and her father walked down the aisle toward him, and saw his chin quiver, and his eyes get a bit red.  The pastor later said that it was a good thing the music lasted just a little longer, so that Forrest could compose himself!

The party moved to the Morton Arboretum for the reception, where Forrest had proposed to Alyssa.  Beautiful place, and just the right setting for the occasion.

And then the newly married couple was off to Cancun for their honeymoon.  Forrest was eager to show Alyssa some of the spots we all had seen on a cruise together.

And a new beginning starts…..

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Bandit

26 Jul

 From the Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

Like a “thief in the night

You stalked your prey

You watched my “goings”in and  out

You hid behind the tree all day

It was my heart you were searching out!

You were abandoned, hungry, and frightened,

Always anxious by day.

You were left at the home of the “Cat Lady”.

Would you be welcomed,

Or turned away?

” You don’t know the heart

 Of the “Cat Lady”, little friend-

You were welcomed the moment

She looked into your eyes

And saw the need that has no end-

It’s called “love!”

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You’re in the Navy Now~Part 1

24 Jul


A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

No. 7 Blogger

No. 7 Blogger

1When I was a senior in high school my best friend Bud talked me into joining the U.S. Navy Reserve.  The idea behind this brilliant move was to get the attention of girls.  You see, we lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico where there were two U.S. Air Force bases and we had grown up seeing guys in Air Force uniforms everywhere we went.So, we figured, what better way to attract the attention of girls than to be able to drive up and down Central Avenue dressed up in those unusual Navy uniforms once a month.  Of course, once we joined up and got those uniforms, things didn’t actually turn out the way we planned.

Back then there was none of this “I don’t like this, I want out” business.  Once you 2signed up, you were in for the duration.  The worse thing was, by the time we got out of our evening meetings and got to the drive-in, most of the girls had already been picked up by some Air Force guy, or gone home to do their homework.

The first few monthly meetings were a real adjustment for me.  Each meeting 3started with us having to report to the reserve unit doctor for a series of shots.  We were inoculated against every disease known to man, so the Navy could send us anywhere in the world and we would be protected.  I couldn’t believe how many shots that entailed.

While we were still stinging from the shots, it was “All personnel report to the parade ground for close order 4drill.”  That was the “grinder” where they taught how to salute every officer we ever encountered, how to handle our M1 rifle, march in straight lines, all the while looking smart so our company commander would look good to any big shots during divisional presentations.

Each year all reservists were required to participate in a “Summer Cruise.”  That sounded like fun, until I discovered the Summer Cruise for all first time reservists was “Boot Camp” at the U.S. Naval Training Center in San Diego.  I don’t think the drill instructors were very happy to see us by the way they treated us, but I was glad to see reservists from other states there, and to know I wasn’t the only one having to go through all this degrading punishment.

Even though I had worked at various jobs since I was fourteen, nothing of those 5had prepared me for the challenges of boot camp.  We did learn some interesting things while at boot camp, like how to tie every knot the Navy had used since the beginning of time, and survival swimming, a must for use after the ship you are on is torpedoed at sea and sinks, and all you have left to make a float with is your trousers.

Then there was how to properly fight those scary shipboard compartment fires with nothing but water, and the one I disliked the most, the gas mask training.  6They have you put on a gas mask, walk you into a building full of tear gas, and let you stand there to see how effective the mask is.  Then, they tell you to remove your mask.  Of 7course, you hold your breath as long as you can, but you don’t think to close your eyes.  The next thing you know, your eyes are burning like crazy and you have to breath, and that’s when you get the full force of what that gas can do to a person.  Let me tell you, that episode made a real believer out of me, because that tear gas they use is really nasty stuff.

But, mostly it was a 24-hour test to see if you could keep up with marching 8everywhere we went, exercising with our rifles until we thought our arms would fall off, drill until we thought we would wear the soles off our shoes, clean the barrack until a bug wouldn’t dare show it’s face in the place, and learn how to wash our clothes by hand with a bar of Ivory soap.

Luckily it only lasted two weeks.  Then, when it was over, I actually felt cheated that the only ship I had been on through all that, was the USS Recruit (TDE-1), which turned out to be a giant “ship simulator” sitting in the middle of one of the training center parade grounds.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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