Tag Archives: Christianity

Attitude

19 Apr

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

                                                                  ATTITUDE
                                                    We can’t control our future-
                                                     Only our attitude.
                                                     We are faced withy daily choices-
                                                     To act kindly, or be rude.
                                                     Don’t ever pray for patience-
                                                     It isn’t zapped into your head.
                                                     God will put you into situations
                                                     That will tax your spirit instead.
                                                     So don’t complain when life is hard
                                                     And you don’t know what to do-
                                                     Turn to your great Creator,
                                                     He has a plan for you.

 

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Lord Help Us To Fly

18 Apr

From  the Heart

Louise Gibson

                                     The tragedy brought to light this week
                                     Has saddened hearts everywhere.
                                     Solace for the wounded and grieving
                                     Is at the heart of our fervent prayer.
                                     We mourn the loss of our fellow man-
                                     We digest the news as best we can.
                                     The Marathon, like 9-11,
                                     Has raised our voice to God in Heaven.
                                      Tragic things happen,
                                      We try to reason why.
                                      Something good must come from this-
                                      Lord, we need to fly.
                                      We must rise above the chaos,
                                      Negativity and fear-
                                     Lord, we can be overcomers
                                     As long as You are near.

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Our Trip to Italy Part 7

17 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

 

Next, we visited the Uffizi Art Gallery, reportedly the oldest and most famous art Museums in the Western World.  A large part of the art in the Uffizi dates back to the periods between the 12th to 17th centuries, with art by great Italian artists such as Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus,” (Shown below), Giotto, Cimabue, Michelangelo and  Raffaello to name just a few of the most famous.

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Then it was on to the Accademia Gallery and the bigger than life and magnificent “David” by Michelangelo.   Originally commissioned in 1501 as one of a series of statues of the prophets to be positioned along the roofline on the east end of the Florence Cathedral, but instead was placed in the public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria in 1504.   Because of the nature of the hero that it represented, it soon came to symbolize the defiance of civil liberties embodied in the Florentine Republic, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states at the time.  The original statue was moved inside the Accademia Gallery from the piazza in 1873 and finally replaced with a replica in 1910.

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Among some of the other many extraordinary sculptures and artwork at the Accademia Gallery are contributions by Francesco de Sangallo, Agnolo Bronzino, Benvenuto Cellini, Giorgio Vasari, Bartolomeo Ammannati, Giambologna and Artemisia Gentileschi.       It was taken for granted at the outset that all members of the Accademia would be male, so when the Accademia welcomed the Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, into its membership in 1620, it was a great honor for the woman painter, and was a great influence for the feminist movement in Italy.

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Then it was on to the Palazzo Pitti, which dates from 1458 AD, and was originally the residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker at the time.  The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 AD, and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany for many years.

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In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy.   Between 1865-1871 it was the residence of King Victor Emmanuel II, when Florence was the capital of Italy.  Today, it houses several minor Italian collections in addition to those of the Medici families.

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From there we strolled over to the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge which is one of many bridges now spanning the Arno River in Florence.  The Medieval bridge first appears in a Roman document of 996 AD, after which it was destroyed twice by floods, and the stone bridge was finally rebuilt in its current form in 1435.   We took time to check out the many shops that are permanently located on the bridge, which was the custom when the bridge was first built.

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After all that Renaissance art by the so many of the great masters, our heads were buzzing, so we stopped for lunch at McDonald’s.  I, for one, was ready for a burger and fries, and besides that, Marcia informed us that McDonald’s is the only eating establishment in Italy where a woman could be sure to find a sit-down toilet.

 

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Angels Watching Over Us

15 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo by Melodie Hendrix

Photo by Melodie Hendrix

 

Not long after I became a Christian there was a sort of underground movement to study demonology so people could be delivered and set free of their compulsions. Some of us read books on the subject and even prayed for ourselves and others to be exorcised. That was about the time the movie, “The Exorcist,” came out. I read the book (I was very sorry I did, too because it was scary, and did not, in my estimation carry a true Christian message.) I didn’t see the movie, thank the Lord.

The strangest thing went with the movement, and that was a fear of studying about or even thinking much about angels. The belief  was that if we gave much credence to the existence of angels we might worship them and be led astray. Demons okay, angels no. It sounds weird now.

I had a book on my shelf I was going to read someday if I ever got the nerve. It was called Angels, God’s Secret Agents, and it was written by Billy Graham. Now I don’t care what religion you are or what you believe in, you probably understand that Billy Graham would be one of the last people on earth who would lead you astray. But still, there the book sat.. After about thirty years I decided I was never going to read it and I donated it somewhere.

Eventually the adrenaline rush of demons went away leaving in its stead a returning appreciation of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then one day I had the nerve to pick up a book about angels. It wasn’t very good,  just a bunch of second-hand sightings and ancient stories. I wished for my Billy Graham back, prayed for it back.

A few weeks later I had an urge to stop by my favorite SPCA store where I can get hard cover books for 32 cents and there it was. Oh, not the same copy, I’m sure, but just the book I wanted and had prayed for. I started reading it and I wondered why I was ever afraid. There are three hundred mentions of angels in the Bible and Billy Graham told about them in a calm peaceful way that was barely even exciting. They exist, they are God’s helpers, and that’s about it. No adrenaline rush.

I’ve never seen an angel or a demon, but I came to believe that demons loved attention more than anything and that I didn’t have to play their game. I never even think about them any more and that’s just fine. In some places missionaries might have to think about them, battle them, all that. I don’t.

So one day we were on I-4 barreling along 70 miles an hour in heavy traffic and seemingly from nowhere a large piece of metal came bouncing toward us making sparks as it gouged the highway. We thought it had come from the truck ahead and left of us. As Bill swerved, we felt an impact. Thank the Lord there was no one in the lane right of us. The man behind us to the right had to go to the shoulder, though.

We caught up to the truck and looked it over. We wanted to tell the man he might have something loose, but we were all going too fast to communicate.

When we got home we examined the car and discovered a three-foot long crease at the bottom of the driver’s door. That sharp metal bar missed slashing a tire, missed the radiator, missed the windshield and missed us–by inches. What do you do when something like that happens and you know plenty of other people have had bad accidents that day, some even died in them? I don’t know about you, but all I could do was thank God for having his secret agents on the job. I had to give a thought to all the invisible sources that are out there helping us day after day. Sure terrible things happen all the time, but these angelic encounters do too. I don’t think we deserved it, I don’t know why bad things happen to good people. I don’t have nearly as many answers as I used to. I just know to give thanks in everything, good or bad and keep on keeping on. Ministering angels can help with all that too.

Psalm 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Luke 4:11 They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

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THE DOLL

14 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy

                                                     

My Aunt Jessie was a “collector” – of things.  She never married, so “things” became her main reason for living.  They were her enjoyment as well as her security blanket, I think.  But she also collected a variety of things that were unusual.  I’ll tell her story another time.

For now, I want to tell you about the doll.  Some of you may be old enough to remember – or have lived in a town large/small enough – that many women usually made or constructed their own clothing.  I was well into my teen years before I had any store-bought dresses.  Blue jeans, well yeah, those were garments we couldn’t sew ourselves.  But other items…..we purchased the fabric and sewed them up just to fit ourselves.

One of my favorite memories is going into the J.C. Penney’s store, and into the fabric department.  Round tables with bolt upon bolt of fabric standing upright, for our selection.  And usually, on top of that round table was a “model” doll – or mannequin –  with a dress or some type of garment made out of a sample of the fabric displayed on the table.  Someone was very crafty with their sewing machine!

don’t know when the J.C. Penney’s decided to discontinue the display on the mannequins, but I do know that Aunt Jessie was at the right place at the right time – and she acquired one of those dolls!  I have a picture of Aunt Jessie in 1950 in her house in San Antonio, Texas, with the mannequin in the background, so she had it a long time.

 

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Eventually, she gave me that mannequin, and I was still young enough to play with it – dress it in the many different “outfits” that we had for her.

After Fred and I married and moved away, I left the mannequin with Mother.  At one point in time she owned and operated a cosmetic studio, and used the mannequin in her display window.  Very effective!

 

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I still have that mannequin.  I’m hoping that one of my granddaughters will eventually like to have it.  It’s a unique piece of American history, and a very fond memory for me.

 

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The Roses

13 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Onisha

Some of you might think the idea of allowing a legally blind man who also has early Alzheimer’s to give you driving directions might be a bad idea, and you would be right but last Thursday it turned out to be a wonderful.

My aunt had to have surgery and we were staying with my uncle Paul who is my mother’s brother. The day after her surgery, Paul insisted that on the way to the hospital we stop at the town florist to get a nice bouquet of flowers.  This sounds simple but we had no idea where the florist was located. “Can you tell us how to get there?” we asked.  “Sure I can” he replied, so taking him at his word we set out.

We knew how to get to the hospital but once we turned off the main highway we had no idea where we were. Sitting in the back seat I sent up a quick prayer. “Lord, we are taking directions from an almost blind man whose mind isn’t always clear. This doesn’t seem real smart but he really wants to do this so I am trusting you.”

As my husband drove I searched the sides of the street for florist signs. Every time I saw one, I asked, “is that it uncle Paul? “I was so sure he wouldn’t be able to see it but every time he said no, that’s not it. Finally he spied the florist and gave my husband directions how to get to it. Uncle Paul was very tired and out of breath that morning and it was quite an ordeal for him to get out of the car and into the store. As we slowly walked in, a sweet sales lady approached us and mouthed, “Is that Mr H?”  “It is “I replied. She gave me an understanding smile and explained to my uncle that she was a friend of his son. When my uncle explained that he wanted some nice flowers for his wife who was in the hospital, she led him to the cooler and told him if he didn’t see anything he liked she would make something for him right then. Uncle couldn’t really see the flowers so he chose roses.

Making it to the florist and being treated with such kindness would have made it a great morning but God is into abundance. Leaving the florist parking lot uncle Paul instructed my husband to not go back the way we came but to go on through town. Well, Lord, I thought we made it to the florist, I guess we will make it to the hospital. We hadn’t gone a mile when uncle Paul told Mike to turn and Mike missed it. We began looking for a place to turn around then uncle Paul said just keep going straight, we can make this work. We were driving through the countryside when he casually pointed to the right and said that is one of the places papa farmed. Swiveling my head to look, I asked “did he farm it when you lived at home?” Yes, he said, “all we young’uns worked the farm.”

My parents were raised in North Carolina but I was raised in Florida. When I was a child they had driven me around the small farming community where my mother grew up, but being a child I just didn’t pay that much attention. Since she died, I had a hungering in my heart to revisit those places. The farms were mostly gone, replaced with housing developments but my imagination could picture her there, running through fields barefoot and up to mischief.

We made it to the hospital with no problem and my uncle proudly carried the vase of roses on his lap and we wheeled him into the hospital room. He had no idea; God had used him to deliver one of my heart’s desires.

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I HAVE TO BE ME

12 Apr

         From the Heart

       Louise Gibson

                         I am fighting the battle of resistance.
                         I have to be me, in spite of insistence.
                         The world is doing its best night and day
                         to alter my thinking, to follow its way.
                        Commercials tell me what I should buy,
                        Etiquette dictates the “how” and the “why”.
                        Experience has proven to be my friend.
                        My values I no longer have to defend.
                        Don’t try to make me an image of you.
                        It is so refreshing to have one’s own view.
                        No longer young, my spirit tells me.
                        In spite of man’s thinking, I have to be Me!

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Our Trip to Italy~Part 6

10 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

 

 

After leaving Verona, we drove over to Vicenza where we saw the Olympic Theater, which was designed by the famous Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and constructed between 1580-1585.  The theatre was inaugurated on March 3, 1585, with a production of Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King.”

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Then we toured the Monticello shaped residence, “Villa Capra La Rotonda” which was also designed by Andrea Palladio.  President George Washington selected the site for the future “President’s House” in 1791.  And then, interestingly, Thomas Jefferson anonymously submitted a design as part of the 1792 competition for the project, that was a variation on the Villa Rotonda.  That design was selected, and ultimately would become what we now know as the White House.   The first President to use the President’s House as his residence was President John Adams, and his wife Abigail, who moved into the  unfinished house in 1800.

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On the last day of January, Marcia and Erika joined us for a 2½-hour first class train trip to the beautiful city of Florence.  With its many art galleries and museums, this ancient and beautiful city is known as the cradle of the Renaissance.  Founded around 50 BC, the city soon became an important trade center.  As the city grew, Byzantine walls were added to the Roman walls around 540 AD for protection.  Additional walls were also added from the 1st to the 13th centuries for additional protection of the inhabitants and commerce of the city.   Lorenzo the Magnificent ruled from 1469-1492, at the time considered to be Italy’s artistic highpoint.  In 1494 Florence surrendered to Charles VIII of France at Sarzana.  1865 Florence is made the capital of the newly united Kingdom of Italy, with King Vittorio Emmanuele being installed in Palazzo Pitti.

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The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) was magnificent.  Originally designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, construction began in 1296 AD.  During the next 140 years it took to complete the basic structure of the cathedral, many designers and architects added their inputs to the basic design.  When completed and consecrated, in 1436, the cathedral still had no dome.  Because of the many opinions at the time about the best dome design, it would be another 10 years before designer Filippo Brunelleschi won the design competition and began construction of the dome.  The conical roof was crowned with a gilt copper ball and cross, containing holy relics, by Verricchio in 1469.  The decorations of the drum gallery by Baccio d’Agnolo were never finished after being disapproved by none other than Michelangelo.

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As can be seen in the picture above, across the piazza from the Duomo was the Baptistery of St. John, one of the oldest buildings in Florence, thought to have been built between 1059 & 1128 AD.  The Baptistery is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures. The south doors were done by Andrea Pisano, the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti.  The east pair of doors were dubbed by Michelangelo as “The Gates of Paradise.”

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The bronze-casting and gilding on the main entry doors was done by the Venetian Leonardo d’Avanzano, widely recognized as one of the best bronze smiths in Europe. It took him six years, with the doors being completed in 1336.  These proto-Renaissance doors consist of 28 quatrefoil panels, with the twenty top panels depicting scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist.  The eight lower panels depict the eight virtues of Hope, faith, charity, humility, fortitude, temperance, Justice and prudence.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Otherwise

8 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lite

Photo by Melodie Hendrix

Photo by Melodie Hendrix

 

Our son and daughter-in-law are empty nesters, so we all make an effort to get together with the grandchildren several times a year. Since our granddaughter and her young man are theater majors, a show is our favorite place to go. We have supper before or after of course.

Yesterday we parked four cars in the lot at the Bob Carr Auditorium in Orlando because we were heading out in different directions afterwards. We walked the mile to Church Street for supper in a bitterly cold wind. We knew it was going to be cold, but none of us believed it could ever be that cold. That’s the way we are in Florida, cold takes us by surprise. No one was truly dressed for it.

After supper at the restaurant, we decided to take the free bus back to the theater so we walked to a bus stop. We discussed other unsatisfactory options as we waited because it was just so cold. Our grandson and his young lady, our granddaughter and her young man huddled, and our son and his wife huddled with us. We asked the “kids” to come closer and they shuffled en masse without letting go of each other. We then had an eight-person huddle. A woman about my age came up shivering and we invited her in, so now we had four pair and a spare. She said she wasn’t a Snow Bird, she was from Seattle, so she was a Rain Bird. She said it sometimes seems colder in Florida than anywhere else.

The empty bus arrived and we all got on. At the next stop, a man who appeared to be homeless came on and stood up front near the driver. We thought we were supposed to get off there so we rose, but: “Next stop says the driver,” and we all sat down again. The homeless man turned to our son, the leader of the pack, and asked, “Are all of these yours?” Our son nodded. “You’re blessed,” said the man.

We all felt warm and close now, and glad that a stranger had recognized our bond. Say, maybe he wasn’t a homeless guy after all, maybe the lady traveling alone wasn’t a real “Rain Bird,” either. Perhaps they were both angels sent to remind us that our lives, “might have been,” as Jane Kenyon’s poem says, “Otherwise.” They could have been, you know.

Hebrews 13:2

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (ESV)v

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UNCLE JESS

7 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy

 I have a really quirky family.  And most of them I have enjoyed through the years – or stories about them.

 My Mother’s family is originally from Ireland, with a good old name of McBratney.  I don’t know a lot about the family history, but only some from my Great-grandfather on.  He was one of 11 children, eight of them male.  I know that they called themselves “The Boys” and got together occasionally.

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About the time I was “aware” of life, there were only four “boys” left, my great-grandfather not being one of them.  I made a trip to Kansas once with my Aunt Jessie and Granny, and got to see them then.  However, my fondest memories are in 1958 when those four “boys” came to Albuquerque for a visit.  They were my Granny’s uncles, my Mother’s great-uncles, and so my great-great-uncles.  But they were fun and funny to be around.

 

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While I enjoyed them all, I guess Uncle Jess was the one I remember the most.

 

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And this story about him always delights me – and makes others laugh when I tell it.Back in 1958, one of the favorite things to do was to grill steaks on the outside grill.  Big, thick, juicy steaks – lots of fat to flavor the meat – special seasoning to give it just the right tenderness and flavor.  You remember, right?

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Well, one of those times, after the meat had been cooked and all were seated at the table, Uncle Jess began to meticulously cut all the fat from off his steak….and then proceeded to EAT THE FAT!  My Mother exclaimed – “Uncle Jess!  The doctor told you not to eat the fat on your steaks!”  And he calmly replied, “No he didn’t.  He only told me to be sure and cut it off.”

 

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As I said, he was a sweetheart!

 

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