Tag Archives: Christianity

Investigating Family Ties~Part 3

7 Oct

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Mother’s other grandmother was Florenda Jane Bingham Bedell Britton. Anyhow, Florenda Jane was born April 6, 1847. When Dora was six years old Author, Poet and Artistand her grandmother came for a visit, she came to Dora’s room every night and they kneeled by the bed and prayed together. That TLC, Mother said, was what helped her want to become a Christian later in life. Florenda Jane belonged to the Church of God Holiness. I assume from the name they were what we now call charismatic. Florenda Jane died December 28, 1936 at eighty-nine years of age. I was born two years after she died. I wish I had known her. We’ll all sit down and have a fine chat in Heaven some day. Please join us when the time is right.

One of my mother’s grandfathers was Ezra Marshall Bedell. He was born in Syracuse New York in 1844. During the Civil War he was taken prisoner for eight years.

This brings us to Mother’s parents, Mabel and Roger Bedell. They lived on an apple ranch just outside town and settled in to raise apples, vegetables, chickens, a few cows, a son, and two daughters. Roger was manager of the Gas Company from 1917 until the town got electricity. They made water gas. The formula came down through the family, but I’m glad I don’t have to make it in order to have lights and cooking fuel. If the light over the dining room table began to dim, it was time for Roger to get the machines going again.

During the Great Depression, relatives who needed a place to stay came and went. My family has a history of feeding other people. I imagine if you investigate, your family does too. In those days, if you had food, you shared it. Now you can share knowledge with your children about their ancestors. It will make them stronger and more self-confident, especially if they hear stories about how their relatives loved and served Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

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What Has Frightened You Today

28 Sep

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

He really, really grabbed a snake. This past Sunday I was relaxing on my lounge chair beside our swimming pool and dozing off. Suddenly I heard a gasp; a second later, a splash.

“I thought it was a rope that fell in,” my Dad said, who’s completely blind and with a voice a bit agitated. “I grabbed it, but it was a snake.”
A snake? He grabbed a snake? Gulp. Friends, how quickly do you think I jumped to my feet and ran for cover? Not so much because the snake was slithering around the pool, but because my Dad, unable to know where I was seated, could’ve tossed it my way! I dashed and slipped behind the fence. With something protecting me I felt safe—shaken but safe.Okay, no more gasping.
But, why was I so worked up? I’ve been there before. Life threw at me snakes of adversity. The venom went right through my heart with pain and sorrow.
Not a pretty place. You’re probably familiar with those unexpected problems, burdens, and confusing moments that slither right in. No warning. No clue. We’re relaxing in life, when least expected, we hear the splash of another disappointment—another glitch in life.
Maybe you’re there right now—overwhelmed with life and in the pool of anxiety. Or numb because of the bad news you just heard. Or the hopeless situation has emptied you of all the tears. And with the heat of sorrow, you’re too exhausted to run for cover.
Good news: when we’re attacked, helpless, on the verge of despair in this imperfect world, “The word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect” (Psalm 18:30-32).

Father, so often I feel attacked, in the midst of slithering enemies of confusion, worry and fear. Protect my days, shield my life and count me among those who put their hope in you. I will declare I am your child standing behind the fence of your grace. And while I wait for your answer, I shall rest secure and safe. In Jesus name, amen.

What has you frightened today?
• Who arms you with strength during tough times?
• Have God’s promises to keep you safe filtered deep into your soul?

Fear

Janet Perez Eckles,
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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Good News

23 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

I like good news better than bad news. My family had a toast, “Health, wealth, and happiness.” Options, solutions, suggestions on those subjects interest me. As a Christian, and a writer, I learn by reading the Bible and other spiritual literature. I learn by journaling, praying, going to church, and most of all by following the leading of the Holy Spirit who brings information into my life in many different ways, mainly by directing me in my reading. Here’s some general knowledge I’ve acquired lately.

  • In about fifteen years, it’s going to become possible to live forever.
  • “The Case for Immortality,” by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
  • America could have better schools, if we modeled them after the schools of some foreign countries. “Save Our Schools”
  •  Some doctors are treating their patients without requiring medical insurance. AARP bulletin, September, 2013

Ray Kurzwell, an inventor on a par with Edison, plans to live forever. However, the argument he gets most frequently isn’t, it can’t be done, but it’s this: only the rich will be able to afford the technology. Kurzwell’s, answer? “That’s what they said about cell-phones.”

Our school system seems to be about teaching children to take tests instead of encouraging them to love learning and to think for themselves. In contrast, Finland has the top-rated school system in the world. The secret is in the quality, training, and support of teachers. Although their government does pay for the education of their teachers, it’s not the politicians that are in control of the school system, but the excellent teachers who are earnest about their work, and well paid to boot.

In a growing trend, about 5,000 doctors in twenty-four states do not accept medical insurance. That gives them and their patients a chance at the best, most responsible and most reasonable care possible.

I just have one question. If I opt to live forever instead of living in fear of old age and debility, will I still have all the love, the income, and the health I’ll need to make life worthwhile?. I’m certainly looking forward to Heaven, but I can’t fully, imagine the splendors there. My life here is good, so I may have to make that decision someday. One thing I know: I’d rather imagine living forever, even here on earth, than to live in fear. I don’t want to put off enjoying life for some future time either. Being present in the present just makes everything so much more fun. How do you feel about good news versus bad news? It makes you think, anyhow.

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Our Trip to Maui~Part 1

22 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Let me start off by saying that, after four years of college, Fred had another 1four years of schooling at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

During that time, his father, a U.S. Air Force Chaplain, 2was stationed at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, just four hours away from us. We drove over frequently to spend a weekend with them.

After they had been in Louisiana for a few years, dad was transferred to Hawaii. As Fred’s education started coming to a close, we began to think 3about giving ourselves a graduation present by joining them in Hawaii for a visit. We were getting really excited about that prospect.

But Uncle Sam had other ideas! In January 4before Fred graduated in May, dad was promoted again and reassigned to Wright-Patterson AFB, in Dayton, Ohio. It was quite a bit of culture shock to go from tropical Hawaii to winter in Ohio in a few short weeks!

And there went our dream of a Hawaiian vacation! Shucks!

Fast forward about 39 years – boy that really zipped by, didn’t it? Fred’s parents were living in an assisted-living facility in Washington State. They had thought to make a trip to Maui for a week in a time-share owned by their youngest daughter and her husband, but needed/wanted some of the family to be with them to sort-of keep an eye on them. Since Fred and I were retired at the time, we graciously volunteered for that job. Really had to twist our arms to do that, right??!!

Two weeks before we were scheduled to depart, Fred’s mother, already afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease, had a major set-back. She was placed in the Special Care Unit of the facility, where there were trained staff to care for her.

Since Fred’s dad had been trying care for her by himself – and he was encouraged not to visit her for a few weeks so she would become adjusted to her new home – we decided to go ahead with our plans. Frankly, he needed the rest from all that stress.

So Fred and I flew to Seattle, rented a car and dropped our luggage at the hotel where we would be staying for just one night. We drove to Shelton, an hour’s drive away, and spent the rest of the day with Fred’s mother, father, sister and her husband. We three then drove back to Seattle for the night, as our flight out was quite early the next morning.

In spite of being on the West Coast, the non-stop flight was really long to Maui. We arrived at the Kahului airport in the capital of Maui.

We had arranged for a rental car, picked it up, stopped by the Costco nearby and picked up groceries for the mornings we would be there. We planned on partaking of all the wonderful island foods for lunches and dinners.

5

~~~~More to Come~~~~

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Choices

2 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

DiVoran Lites

Doesn’t it drive you nuts when you decide to do something and you get so many choices you can’t make up your mind? For instance we recently changed cable systems and it seems the new one has even more choices of channels than the old one. They are up into the thousands now. I hear you can delete some of the channels and someday I may do so if I ever care enough to bother. I have found, “The Waltons,” and, “Little House on the Prairie,” and those should last me a while.

What about choices on our computers? We can do things one way or maybe we’d rather do them another way. The only trouble is, it seems to me as if sometimes one way works and at other times that way doesn’t work at all. Sound confusing? Think of the state of my poor mind.

Today I was browsing through a magazine that had pictures of several different kinds of artisan salt in it among them: Black, Red, and fleur de sel. By the way, new research is debunking the 100-year-old-idea that salt is supremely bad for everybody. Thank heavens. Anyhow, I might send away for the fleur de sel some day. Here is its description: fleur de sel is the caviar of salt (but honey, I wouldn’t eat caviar if you paid me, oh well, never mind.) It goes on: “made from the delicate crystals that blossom on the surface of crystallizing sea salts; delicate flavor; violet-like aroma: maintains integrity on wet foods. Now that sounds lovely and exotic, doesn’t it?

Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t want fewer choices in the world, I’ll muddle through the way things are. But how about religions? We have the Christic religions. That is an entirely new word for me that means what we once called Christ-centered. Or at least I assume from the context that’s what it means. Then we have Zen Buddhism, Hinduism. Humanism (yes, I do call that a religion), and a whole bunch more and within each they have denominations and branches galore. I’ve read a bit about some of them and I see some good things in some, (some really scary things, too), but the precepts that seem right and good to me are right there in the Christian Bible too. They were probably there first. To be more specific I like the Zen idea of being in the moment, but I know we have lots of scriptures that tell us the same thing. Jesus Himself did only one thing and I know he was paying attention when he did it. What did Jesus do? WDJD? He did whatever He saw His Father in Heaven doing at any given moment. And with this, I come to the crux of my rant. I keep coming back to Jesus every time I see another choice of religious precept. He is the one and only the all-in-all, the master, the bread, the salt. He is everything to me and will be everything to anybody who wants Him even a little bit. Then He and the Holy Spirit within us can help us make our choices, large and small, a very present help in trouble and in daily life. Psalm 46:1

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Wiesbaden~Part3/Frau Katie

1 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

When we were headed to Wiesbaden, West Germany in 1967, I was seven months pregnant with our first child, Karen.  It was a long flight over, and she and I were both exhausted.

At that time, the military was assigning each incoming military family a sponsor, to help with the transition from the U.S. to an international country.  Our sponsor seemed to be very helpful through letters (e-mail had not been invented yet).  When we told him we were going to stop in Albuquerque to visit with family before departing for Germany, his comment was for us to enjoy our time there – it was his home, as well.  Hmmm…. Interesting.

He met us in Frankfurt and drove us to Wiesbaden, about an hour down the road, where we checked into our hotel.  He apologized that his wife was not with him (it was about 5:30 a.m.), but they had a small child that was still asleep, and they would meet up with us that afternoon for a trip around the town, and dinner.

After a good nap and shower, we headed out to meet them.  As we got closer to the family, the wife called out my maiden name!!  Turns out, she and I had been in Rainbow Girls together in Albuquerque.  She had even been in my installation ceremony as Worthy Advisor.  Small world.  And small world, indeed, when Fred and her husband found out they had been in some classes together at the University of New Mexico!  It certainly made us feel more at home, having some ready-made friends there.

We had initially thought that we would attend the Chapel on base, but contribute to the Baptist Church in town.  Fred’s father had been an AF Chaplain, and we thought that we would continue that tradition.  However, some of the members of the church came to visit us, and convinced us to join them.  We became quite a part of that group, and never regretted that decision.  We made some life-long friends there.

Karen on Grandma Wills’ shoulder

After Karen made her appearance, we started taking her with us to church. There was a nursery there, that was manned by a lady they called Frau Katie.  I think she really took a shine to us, since I would take Karen down to the nursery and nurse her.  That was when a lot of American women were against nursing their babies, and only using bottles.  In any case, Karen became a favorite of hers.   On one of our last trips before we rotated stateside, we asked Frau Katie to stay with Karen while we were gone.  We later discovered that she was teaching Karen to speak German!  That gave Karen a head-start on German when we returned to Germany 10 years later.

Katie came to visit us when we lived in San Antonio, and we thoroughly enjoyed her visit.  When we returned to Germany 10 years later, we went to visit her in Wiesbaden.  My mother had come to visit us, and she went with us.  Katie treated us to some home-made cheese cake at an outdoor café.  I’m sure she’s gone to be with the Lord by this time.

But we will always remember Frau Katie and Wiesbaden.

Karen and Frau Katie

Karen and Frau Katie

                                                     

 

 

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Four Keys to Stop Worrying

31 Aug

Walking by faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Janet Perez Eckles

Hubby and I were enjoying a nice lunch at a local restaurant the other day. And as I munched on my salad, I noticed a taste of pasta.

“Hmm…” I thought. I don’t remember noodles being part of the oriental salad I ordered.

I made a comment. And that’s when hubby admitted. Without me knowing (advantages of having a blind wife) he scooped a portion of his dish onto my salad. I smiled because the blend of flavors was pretty tasty.

Did that ever happen to you? You’re going through life, enjoying pleasant events. When, without you realizing it, someone has dumped something you never expected. It happens to most of us. The only thing is that often, unlike tasty pasta, what was added tastes awful.

I’m talking about stuff the world adds to our day—fear, anxiety, stress. But the most common one is worry. I can almost guarantee that as you’re reading this, in the back of your mind, worry has come in. That pesky habit of worrying about something, about someone…until you cannot enjoy the salad of life anymore. That’s when emotional indigestion sets in.

Good news: seated across the table and observing as we go through our plate of tasks, goals and dreams, Jesus sees how the enemy slips worry on our plate.

According to Him, in Matthew 6, He tells it like it is regarding distasteful worry:

• Carve out all kinds of worry, big and small: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body…”

• Consider a more sound perspective: “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

• Count on His provision: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”

• Claim your value: “Are you not much more valuable than they [the birds in the air]?”

• Create a new motto—Jesus’ motto: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Father, I confess, worry comes in as an intruder that often robs my joy. I shall embrace your instruction not to worry. It doesn’t belong in my heart where you reside, where you rule and where you placed your peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.

• What has you worried today?

• What promise in God’s Word speaks to your heart?

• How can you conquer worry?

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Listening

30 Aug

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

People need people

To validate their dreams-

No one is independent-

We all need someone, it seems.

A speaker needs a listener

To the language of his heart-

We all need recognition-

True listening is an art!

Do you truly sense the hunger

When a person speaks to you?

Or do you struggle with impatience

To express your point of view?

Let us try to open our heart

To hear the speaker’s tone-

So that we can let them know

They don”t walk alone.

Listen very carefully

To the message they convey-

Everyone needs to express

What their heart wants to say.

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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.

4

—–To Be Continued—–

 

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