Tag Archives: Christianity

Aerobics and Hearing Aids

14 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

AEROBICS AND HEARING AIDS – reblog

I wrote this back in 2013, but enjoyed re-reading it.  I hope you do, as well:

 I have been an “exerciser” for many, many years of my life.  As a matter of fact, I began jogging more than three months before I shamed Fred into jogging with me. We’ve never stopped doing something in the way of exercise.

 So it came as no surprise to me to find an “aerobic dancing” class beginning shortly after we arrived in Heidelberg, West Germany.  One of the military wives was teaching the class.  I took the class and loved it!  The interest was so great that she wanted to have a partner to help teach – and she selected me.  I taught the remainder of the three years we were in Heidelberg.   This was our logo and color.

During that time, there was one lady in my class who always stood in the front row and to my right (I was facing away from the students).  As we conversed, I thought she had a speech impediment.  After we got to know each other a bit better, she told me that she had been born with some hearing loss.  She wasn’t totally deaf, but enough so that she couldn’t hear the way most words were sounded.  That explained her speech.  But she had hearing aids that helped her so much, and she could understand all the cues I shouted out in the class.

As interesting as all that is – to me anyway – that’s not the end of the story.  We returned stateside and began our life in Virginia.  Our oldest daughter had met her future husband while in high school in Heidelberg (his father was our American pastor), and he had returned to the States to attend college – where she was attending, of course.  They married a few years later.

One evening, around Thanksgiving time, I received a call from our son-in-law, saying that, on their way to see his parents in South Carolina, our daughter had fallen asleep at the wheel and they had crashed.  I was furious that he would only say that she was “in with the doctor” and wouldn’t give me any more details – like…..is she still alive???!!!

I asked if he wanted us to come and take them back home (they were only about an hour from their apartment).  He agreed.  He then said, “wait, here is the paramedic who will give you directions to the hospital.”  This young man came on the phone and gave me the directions – with the very same intonation that my aerobic student had!!  I knew at once that he had hearing loss, and not a speech impediment.  And, by God’s grace, I was able to understand every word he said – the first time!  No repeats.  God had prepared me, all those years ago, for that very moment, when I would need my wits about me, and to understand this young man’s instructions.

I could end the story there – that is the main thrust of it – but I want to tell you of God’s gracious hand in all this.  You see, when our daughter fell asleep, the car drifted, and our son-in-law looked up and screamed, which woke her, and she drastically over-corrected.  That caused the car to roll several times.  Amazingly, there were no other cars around them – just down the road a bit – no other cars involved in the crash.  There was an off-duty ambulance behind them that stopped, and the paramedics gave aid.  They could have rolled off a bridge and crashed onto the road below them – but they didn’t – they just rolled to a stop on an embankment.  While the car was totaled, our children only suffered a few cuts and bruises.

Our God is loving and faithful and gracious, indeed.

O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us…

Psalm 12:7

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 possib

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Wood Inlay

5 Dec

SUNDAYMEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblog

I wrote this back in 2013, but enjoyed reading it again.  I hope you do, as well

I’ve never thought I would be particularly interested in wood, types of wood, or just about anything related to wood.  I guess the first time I really became interested was when I was graduating from high school and a local furniture store gave a Hope Chest to every graduating girl in my class.  Now, I must say that the chests were VERY MINIATURE!!  More like a keepsake box.  But they were made of cedar, as a real hope chest would be, and finished beautifully.  After all these 50+ years since that time, my miniature hope chest still smells wonderfully fragrant.  That’s probably why I love the fresh smell of cedar so much.

When we were stationed in Germany in the late 1960’s, we came across some wood inlay pictures that really caught our eye.  The intricate “jigsaw puzzle” work of the artist…and the different color of the woods used…were fascinating.  We purchased just one picture, thinking that was all we could afford.  And while we cherished that picture, we couldn’t help but wish we had purchased more.

Marienplatz – Garmisch/Partinkirken 

Back to Germany we went in the early 1980’s – and we began our search for more of those wood inlay pictures, and especially by the same artist.  And we found them!  We snapped up two more.  All of the scenes are of places in Germany that were important to us and our memories.  We treasure them.  And we learned that this particular artist had cut enough puzzle pieces to make pictures for up to five years after his death! Amazing.  

Neuschwanstein Castle 
Konigsee 

But we’ve found other wood inlay that intrigue us, as well.  While visiting in the Chicago area, we stayed in a great old house that is now a Bed & Breakfast.

Roxana Bed & Breakfast 

It is situated on a lake that is reported to have been a playground for the likes of Al Capone and his cronies.  As a matter of fact, the room we stayed in was dubbed the “Al Capone Room,” and had pictures of him, one of his famous cigars, and two bullets he might have used.

Al Capone 

But what interested us the most was the dining room and sitting area.  When the new owners purchased the house, most of the rooms had wall-to-wall carpet.  When they pulled it up, thinking to replace the carpet, they found the most beautiful wood inlay floors imaginable!  So they left them uncarpeted, and open to admiration.  We most certainly admired them.  Just think of the imagination and planning that went into putting these floors down.  Beautiful!

Our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town has a gorgeous wood inlay Aztec calendar hanging at the front of the restaurant.  I’ve seen quite a few calendars before, but none this beautiful.

I’m still a carpet girl – and here in Florida, we have either carpet or tile.  But that doesn’t stop me from admiring the craftsmanship of those artists from long ago.

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.

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Strength and Peace

11 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo credit WordPress AI

Be strong and take heart, 

All you who hope in the Lord.

Ps.31:24

May the Lord of peace 

Himself give you peace

At all times in every way. 

The Lord be with you all. 

2Thess, 3:16 

God will show me the path of life;

In your presence is fullness of joy:

At Your right hand are pleasures 

forevermore.

Ps. 16:11

Surely God is my salvation:

I will trust and not be afraid. 

The Lord is my strength and my song;

He has become My salvation.

Isa. 12:2

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.”

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Worship and Honor

10 Mar

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo Credit:Pixabay

Come worship, wonderful Yahweh,

Arrayed in all His splendor,

Bowing in worship as He appears in the beauty of holiness

Give Him the honor due His name. 

Worship Him wearing the glory-garments

Of your holy, priestly calling!

The voice of the Lord echoes through the skies and seas

The Glory-God reigns as He thunders in the clouds.

So powerful is His voice, so brilliant and bright.

How majestic as He thunders over the great waters.

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.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

How the 4th of July Remind Us We Can Have Freedom from Worry

20 Jul

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Perez


Reblogged Saturday, July 20, 2024

It was the big day. My parents, my brother 16 and I at 17 sat in the courtroom. We dressed for the occasion and our hearts wore unprecedented excitement.

My family worked hard to meet the requirements and lead us to this event that would change our lives. The red, white and blue of the American flag covered the front wall of the large courtroom. Its majestic presence reminded us we were about to take a step filled with a unique honor.

“Raise your right hand,” the immigration officer said.

We did, and with unwavering conviction we renounced our allegiance to Bolivia and pledged our allegiance to the United States of America. In that ceremony we officially became American citizens, fully committed to our allegiance. And that’s when the 4th of July sent off fireworks of gratitude in us.

Not so when I pledged my allegiance to Christ.

I became a Christian, but, unaware, I adopted dual citizenship—to God and to the world too.

On Sundays I worshipped. During the week I worried.

Have you been there? On Sundays we pledge to believe, to obey and follow God. We commit to embrace His Word and hold on to His promises. But when life brings ugly moments, our allegiance to negative emotions takes over.

How can that happen? God says not to worry, but we do. He repeats to trust in Him, but we doubt instead. He offers peace, and we forget that too.

At our recent 4th of July celebrations, there were many proclamations about freedom.

Let’s also include a proclamation to enjoy freedom from the worry that speaks these five lies:

  1. God is not capable to remove the anxiety in us.
  2. God is not capable to bring answers to our solutions.
  3. He’s not aware of the details that bring on fear.
  4. He’s not able to put back the pieces of our broken heart.
  5. He cannot change the path of our wrong choices.

The Language of Worry

That’s the language of worry, unacceptable to Him, and destructive to us. Worry talk contradicts God’s Word and dilutes His promises.

But if we were to renew our allegiance to His instructions, we would speak the language of faith. It would express His strength, enough to sustain us. It would repeat of His love, enough to cover us. And of His grace to bring out the perfect outcome. “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

And with worry in the garbage disposal of life, we sing, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

So why do you doubt, shake or fret? When you know “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday” (Psalm 91:3-6).

Let’s pray.

Father, thank you for the reassurance that You have me and my family covered. Thank You for the sleep that comes at night as you silence the lies. I praise you for the reassurance You whisper into my heart, removing worry from my mind. In Jesus name.

When will you begin your worry-free life?

Bonus article on today’s topic.

Janet

Celebrate with me! My new release, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy won the 2023 Memoir of the Year Golden Scroll Award.

Your copy waits for you here.

Let’s Stay in Touch

You and I are only a click away. You can use this CONTACT FORM to leave your prayer request, make a comment, ask a question, or invite me to speak to your group. Or simply reply to this email.

I also 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

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Hope in the Way

22 Jun

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblog Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

Summer is road trip season. My family had the blessing of taking incredible road trips, reaching as far north as Newfoundland, Canada, and as far west as the eastern edge of British Columbia. Mom diligently studied maps and AAA TripTiks to plan the best routes, and we were lucky to seldom come across detours.

If only our lives were so blessed. Detours happen when we least expect them and when they are most inconvenient. Rarely are they enjoyable so it’s easy to pout that we aren’t getting our way when we have to bend to the will of others – be that road crews or disrupted plans.

As Jesus’ days on Earth grew shorter, He spoke to His disciples about the way ahead of them. In John 14, Jesus tells them that He is going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house and that they know the way to the place where He is going. Thomas is brave enough to question this, as they don’t yet understand where Jesus is going.

Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5) This is something we all grapple with at some point. Where is God leading in this situation? How can I follow when I can’t see the path? My GPS doesn’t have a destination, so how can it route me?

Jesus’ answer was simple. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” (John 14:6-7) We get to know Jesus by spending time with Him, praying, studying His word, serving others, and listening for His voice.

When our life takes an unexpected detour and there are no signs showing us the way, we can place our reliance on God to direct our steps, but only if we attune ourselves to Him. He is our hope in the darkness, our signpost on the unfamiliar road. We have to accept that there are reasons for the changes in our plans that we may never understand. Our ways are not always God’s ways and we have to trust that His ways are better for us.

The only way that truly matters is His Way, the way of life, truth, and eternal relationship with the Father. Walking in that way doesn’t guarantee a smooth trip, but it does guarantee a place for us in the eternal kingdom. That is a much better destination than any we can imagine here on Earth.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Forgiveness

7 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

FORGIVENESS…what a word…what a concept.  And such a difficult thing to wrap our minds around, let alone our actions.

Do you have a difficult time forgiving someone?  Something someone does?  I think it comes with human nature – and after all, we have our pride, right?

One of my very favorite books is called Cafenova, written by S. Jane Scheyder.

It is the first book in the Clairmont Series.  If you are a reader and haven’t yet read any of Ms. Scheyder’s books, I encourage you to do so.  Wonderful Christian author and book series.  In it, Ms. Scheyder has an older gentleman (Otis – 80 years old), giving his neighbor (Maddy – 29 year old B&B owner) his excellent definition of forgiveness.  I have Ms. Scheyder’s and her publishers permission (Andres&Blanton) to quote from Cafenova here.  And you’ll just have to find the book to read “the rest of the story.”  It’s well-worth your time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “I don’t know,” she said as they finished their sandwiches.  “It sounds easy, the way you talk about it, but it’s really…hard,” she finished, for lack of a better argument.

            “Forgiveness came at quite a price.  I figure God has the right to tell us how to do it.”

            “I can’t argue with that,” Maddy said softly.  She hadn’t forgotten everything she’d learned in Sunday School.  “But what if you feel like part of your issue is with God?  I mean,” she hesitated, struggling to express herself.  “Sometimes I feel angry with Him for letting this whole thing happen.”

            She knew she wasn’t alone.  Many of her friends were disillusioned, and had abandoned any religious practices that they’d grown up with, and God along with them.  Some of them, if they were honest, didn’t actually reject the concept of God, they were angry with Him.

            “The trouble is,” Otis replied slowly, “people have this idea that God owes them something, as though creating them, redeeming them and promising them a perfect eternity weren’t enough.”  He shook his head.  “Jesus never said that life on this Earth would be easy.  In fact, He assured us that it would be hard.  Most of us have it so good that we can’t comprehend suffering, and when it happens, we’re shocked and angry with God.”  He stopped and looked out over the water.

            “Somehow we’ve come to believe in this image of God as a sort of genie figure who grants our wishes when we pray.  That’s fine, as long as everything goes our way.  But as soon as something goes wrong we get angry, because that doesn’t fit our image of how we think God should behave.

            “People don’t take the time to get to know God the way He chose to reveal Himself, and that’s through this,” Otis put his hand gently on his Bible.  “The truth is all in here, and everything we need for sorting it out when life hurts,” Otis sighed.  “I guess people don’t want to work that hard.”

            “….He [Otis] turned earnestly to Maddy.  “I know that you feel like something was taken away from you.  I don’t know what you went through with that boy in Seattle.  What was his name?”

            “Phil.”

            “I don’t know what that Phil put you through, but it must have been pretty bad…..”

            “But as long as we’re talking about God giving and taking, did it ever occur to you that God took you away from Phil, and for good reason?”

            “….Again, I don’t know the fellow,” Otis pressed, “but knowing what you know about him now, can’t you at least acknowledge that maybe God did you a favor by taking him out of your life?  Maybe it didn’t happen in a very nice way, I don’t know, but did you ever think that God allowed that, so when you finally healed up inside you would never second-guess whether that boy, that Phil, was really the right man for you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God wants us to forgive any and all wrongs done to us.  It’s not to help the one who did the wrong – it is to free US from that weight of grief and sorrow.  After all…look what Jesus did to forgive us – He hung on that cross and died, and asked God the Father to forgive them – and that means you and me!

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times

Matthew 18:21

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.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Jesus, Our Compassionate King-Priest

11 Mar

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Hebrews 5:14

Jesus, Our Compassionate King-Priest

So then, we must cling in faith to all we know to be true, for we have a magnificent King-Priest. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rose into the heavenly realm for us and now sympathizes with us in our frailty. He understands humanity, for as a Man, our magnificent King-Priest was tempted in every way just as we are. So now we come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness. 

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.”

Tags: , , , , , ,

My Big Brother

10 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Repost

Today is a special day in my family’s life – it is my big brother’s (Bill Lites) 86th birthday!  In honor of him, I would like to repost this that I wrote about him in 2013:

There’s a lot I don’t remember about growing up in New Mexico.  I remember my best girlfriend (down the street….through the neighbors yard….down the alley to her back yard) and some of the good times we had.  She now lives just an hour-and-a-half away from me, and we see each other occasionally.  She tells me that she probably wouldn’t be a believer today if it weren’t for my parents picking her up every Sunday morning to take her to church with us.  I have no memory of her in our car.  I remember her at the church and at the functions we did together.  But not picking her up.  Very selective brain I have, don’t I?

Photo credit – Google search

I do remember that Bill and I used to fight like the proverbial cats and dogs.  Nearly drove our mother to distraction sometimes.  I’m sure he didn’t care to have his bratty little sister trying to tag along very often.

Of course, all that changed when he grew into the age that – all of a sudden, GIRLS were a VERY interesting phenomenon to him!  He would ask me what I knew or had heard about that particular girl.  And what about this particular girl – what do I know or have heard about her.  I really don’t remember many of his “girlfriends” until DiVoran came along.  But that’s another story unto itself.

Thanksgiving 1956 – Bill and DiVoran – photo credit Jessie King

I have a couple of pictures that still make me chuckle every time I see them.  We were both a couple of cut-ups in our day, and these pictures prove it.  Weren’t we cute?  I came upon these pictures many years ago, and had them blown up and sent them to Bill as a Christmas present one year.  I think I heard him laughing all the way from Florida to Virginia!

1949 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – photo credit Agnes Lites

1949 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – photo credit Agnes Lites

I have a couple of pictures taken at Bill’s 10th birthday party – and once again, I wormed my way into the festivities.  Looks like none of the boys were paying any attention to me.  But then, what 10-year-old boy pays attention to a 6-year-old girl?  Some of these boys were neighborhood friends, some were school friends, and some were church friends.  And Bill still keeps in touch with some of these boys.  Those life-time friendships are treasured.

March 10, 1948 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – Daddy inside the front porch – photo credit Agnes Lites

March 10, 1948 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – photo credit Agnes Lites

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG BROTHER!  I LOVE YOU!!

From your (formerly) bratty little sister

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.

Tags: , , , , , ,

When Bad Situations Turn to Victory

27 Jan

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

“This is the new me this year,” my friend said. “Healthy eating and I’m even joining the gym.”

I cheered her on.

And I found a great thing,” she added. “After I juice, I use the pulp to sprinkle on my salads…it’s actually delicious!”

Most discard the pulp, but not her. Instead, she put it to good use. God did the very same with me. When blindness struck at the age of 31, I thought my life was over. I thought I’d be relegated to stay inside my four walls, empty of achievements. And like useless pulp, ready to be dumped in the garbage disposal of life.

Did you ever have moments like that?

Life didn’t turn out like you thought, plans fell apart, and bad times turned your joy to soggy pulp. You were too weak to fight and to down to look up.

At one time or another, we all have experienced this. But when God is in the midst, He uses what little we may have, what flaws we display, what ugliness comes in, or how low we feel. He crafts something deliciously beautiful. That’s because no matter how we try to overcome our own battles and rise above our weaknesses, God is about to turn them into strengths. He uses our weaknesses to make great things. He molds sad circumstances to success. And He turns our losses into gain.

He did that with me. I had asked God to remove my blindness. He didn’t. Instead, He turned my physical blindness into 20/20 spiritual vision.

Paul’s Challenges

In a different way, Paul also encountered adversity, painful and unpleasant, He confessed:

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12: 8-10).

Paul delighted in His weaknesses…and God turned them to strength. He endured hardships…God pulled him through. He faced insults and unfairness…God brought about the victory. He was persecuted… God ushered him to freedom.

Where are you in this new year? Facing hard times? Drained by unexpected setbacks? God’s strength is being perfected in your weakness and inside your walls of tough times.

His strength might not be revealed by correcting the situation, but by changing your perspective to see His hand that removes anxiety, erases fear, and calms stressful moments. He’s at work so you can trust. He’s active so you can relax. And He’s crafting the solution that will strengthen your faith.

Let’s Pray

Father, the situation I face has drained my strength and my tears washed away the joy.

But I will cling to Your promise that Your power is being made perfect in my every weakness.

I shall trust You with every detail, and at every turn, I shall proclaim Your victory. In Jesus’ name.

What strength can you count on today?

Bonus article on today’s topic.

Janet

Celebrate with me! My new release, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy won the 2023 Memoir of the Year Golden Scroll Award.

Your copy waits for you HERE.

Let’s Stay in Touch

You and I are only a click away. You can use this CONTACT FORM to leave your prayer request, make a comment, ask a question, or invite me to speak to your group. Or simply reply to this email.

I also 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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries