Tag Archives: Christianity

Toy Truck

7 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblogged from 2015

I admit it – I love to look at the e-mails we are sent, and I enjoy most of the facebook stuff I look at.  I also have to admit that on FB, I usually just look for the “pictures” and videos rather than all the verbiage presented there.

I’ve been really amused by some of the pictures on FB.  This one really caught my eye and had a good laugh over it.  When I showed it to Fred, he laughed, as well.

What do you think?  Cute, huh?

But think how creative that truck driver was to put this together.  It didn’t really take a lot of thought to do this, but gave a great deal of enjoyment to those who saw it.

The same could be said of the things we say and do in our lives, to those around us.  Do we say and do things that bring joy to those we live with?  Or to our neighbors?  Or to our fellow church-goers?  Or have we become so jaded that we don’t have any joy left in our lives?  

Recently [in 2015] I had total knee replacement – not a fun thing, that’s for sure.  It was done to help relieve the pain in my knee, since the “cushion” in my knee was gone, and the two bones in my knee were grating upon each other.  Ouch!!  But through the surgery and the following physical therapy, I’ve tried to keep an upbeat spirit.  One of the best exercises was what they call “foot pumps.”  I joked that I would probably wake up from the anesthesia saying “foot pumps….foot pumps.”

I’ve joked with the therapists and their assistants.  When the therapist commented that I wasn’t “grunting and groaning” when he was severely pushing on my leg, I told him that my mind was saying “I can do all things through Christ who keeps pouring power into me….. I can do all things through Christ who keeps pouring power into me….. I can do all things through Christ who keeps pouring power into me…..(and by the way – that’s what the Greek actually says!)”  And he laughed.  I’ve gone back to see the nurse on the floor of the hospital where I was for four days.  She was such an inspiration – she even pulsed pom-poms as encouragement for us to get up and walk!  She always had a smile on her face.  And she seems pleased when Fred and I go back just to see her.  We get hugs.

My time in the physical therapy clinic is past now….anything else I “recover” will be by my own working out.  Recently on FB, I saw a video clip of a little girl – she couldn’t have been more than 1½ years old, trying to walk to her encouraging Daddy.  The thing that impressed me was that she was trying to learn to walk with a prosthetic leg!  I saw that and said to myself…”Well, Judy, if she can do THAT, you can just suck it up and dig in and work to get this leg back into shape!  No more belly-aching!!”

Everyone says that laughter – a good old-fashioned belly laugh – is some of the best medicine anyone can have in healing.  And that’s why that toy truck struck my funny-bone.  It gave me such a good laugh, that my spirits were lifted.

And here’s a directive from scripture:

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  REJOICE!

Philippians 4:4

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.

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Our LIfe is Meant to Be

28 Jun

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Reblog

Our much loved poetess, Louise hasn’t been able to compose of late. Her poems spoke words of comfort, encouragement love and humor. Just the sort of words our current world needs. So, I am planning to reblog them. Enjoy

May you always remember
God is in control.
He has a plan for your life.

Listen with your heart
As he leads you.
You will ward off the strife.

The events in our life
Are meant to be.
There is a peace that
Can be found.

The challenges are many
Diligence is profound.

We may not have chosen
The path we are on,
But trust it was meant to be.
God works in mysterious ways
As he plans our destiny.

There is a peace that can be found,
Know God has a plan for our life.
Keep your faith strong in him.
You will ward away the strife.

.

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The Image of God

25 Oct

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Yes, I was born in sin,

But forgiven, created in 

The image of God.

Torn from the sod,

But made like Him. 

God is good. 

With Him, I can

Be good as well,

Let us dwell

In grace and mercy.

God is love, 

Peaceful dove.

Holy Spirit fruit I am,

His precious lamb,

God is wise

In His eyes

I will have discernment

Covered over in His raiment

Divine interventions.

God is giving,

Exults in living

Superabundance

Overwhelming wondering

Omnicreative God

God is light,

Brilliant sight,

Knowledge, understanding,

All together banding,

In His Illumination.

God is bread; He’s the head

Showing always favor

Live in it to savor

Spirit fed in love.

Raining from above. 

All photos from 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.”

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He Was There All the Time

31 Aug

He Was There All the Time copy

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistSometimes I write down what I think the Holy Spirit is saying to me. It’s as if I were sending God a letter. At other times I sit and wait to hear what He says back. Yesterday I wrote out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” That was, of course, exactly what I needed to hear.

After I had thought about it for twenty-four hours I felt like writing some more. I don’t pretend to have any answers, and I’m sure I make mistakes, but here’s what I wrote: (I write in second person because it makes the message more personal. Perhaps you do this too.)

Beloved, I felt God say, sometimes you recall hard things in your life that you wish had happened differently. You feel sorrow that you had to go through those experiences. You try to reconstruct ways in which outcomes would have been better if circumstances had been different. None of that does any good. Do you know why? It’s because I, The Father, set up those circumstances or, at least allowed them for my purposes.

My dear child, wouldn’t it make you angry to think I had set you up for hurt — that I deliberately ruined at least a part of your life?

More likely you think I wasn’t even there and that you caused everything yourself. It is so easy for you to come up with the wrong perceptions. It’s as if there were a part of your brain that insisted on lying to you. It’s a trickster, a devil, a demon, the flesh, the self, the carnal nature. It makes up stories about your life and then you cling to them. It says seek always, but do not find. It desperately needs intimacy with you in order to feed itself. It is false. Only I am true.

You have always had choices. Sometimes the choices you made were less than productive, but I didn’t leave you alone on dark paths of fear, bitterness, and greed. I went with you. I buffered the cold winds when I knew something would be too much for you. I worked always to bring you to my side

Could the same scary things have happened if you had made right and good choices? Yes and no. Every choice sent you down a different path so that every one of them had a potential for a different outcome.

Remember, dear one, your life in Me is a finely choreographed dance. You need to rehearse with me so that our steps will match. I have plans for good for you and not for evil. Remember, you need me and I need you. I have always loved you and I always will. Nothing you could ever do would change that.

“He Was There All the Time”

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The Trouble with Church Music

6 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

Just mention church music in a group and you will see a variety of responses ranging from a shrug to a terrified shiver. Our enemy is having the time of his life ripping churches apart using this beautiful gift from God. If this were a game show, on the one side you have those who love hymns pitted against those who insist on a praise band with contemporary music. In the end, Satan is the only winner.

I have been mulling this for some time and decided to add my thoughts to the conversation.

Everyone in a congregation is a not singer. I once loved to sing, but my vocal cords no longer make a pleasant sound. A long singing session bores me. There I said it. Feel free to label me shallow.

Singing the same chorus over and over does not make me feel more spiritual. Do you remember the Beatles hit song, Hey Jude? It has three minutes of interesting material and the rest is just repetition.

Older persons in the church may be wearing hearing aides to better understand the pastor’s message and the feedback from praise bands going full blast creates misery for them. (I don’t wear one….yet. But my time is coming.)

Younger members live in a fast-paced world and find the slower tempo of hymns b-o-r-i-n-g.

So what can be done to use music in the church the way it should be, to unify the body of Christ in praise of their Savior?

Consider shortening the song portion or breaking it up throughout the service. Experiment until you find the amount of time that fits your congregation.

Become more creative in how we sing. I love Chris Tomlin’s Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone. By mixing the beauty of a hymn with a more contemporary sound, he created a moving and inspiring piece of music. I love it when the song director flows the music from one song to another telling the story of what Christ did for you and I  

Sometimes the praise band at our church would begin a song, but then the instruments were silenced and the incredible sound of voices praising God was so beautiful, I would stop attempting to sing and listen to the pure sounds of the congregation’s voices. I think if those with hearing devices knew they could expect something like this each week, it would give them a time to look forward to, rather than dreading the whole singing portion.

One of our larger local churches tried to solve the dilemma by having two services based on music choice. The obstacle to this was who has to get up early? The young people like to sleep in and the older folks take awhile to get moving in the mornings. My husband and I had to declare Saturday a day of rest and refrain from any heavy physical labor so that we could get our achy bodies to cooperate on Sunday morning!

This past weekend, I heard of a creative solution to the music issue. A largish church in Georgia holds two services simultaneously in separate buildings. One service begins with hymns and the other contemporary. The pastor preaches one sermon in “the flesh” (couldn’t resist that) and he is viewed on a screen in the other building. He rotates each week so that a group has him up close and personal twice per month.

It seems like months of thinking on this would have generated more ideas .My grandfather belonged to the Primitive Baptist and they don’t use any instruments at all. Maybe they are on to something. I’m sure you have some thoughts. How about sharing what your church has successfully done or ideas you have?

 

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South of the Border~Part 5

13 May

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Lites

 

Once all the dedication ceremonies were over, it was time for the teams to relax and celebrate. OSM had made arrangements for a cookout at the John 3:16 Church and we were all ready to do our part to help eat everything in sight. This was another opportunity for the entire group to praise God for His continued love, protection and provision toward us during this entire project

1

After we finished eating, several of us headed over to the Carpenter’s Shop to help assemble and setup some new equipment that had been recently donated. The young boys were especially excited about the new tools, and were wanting to know what each tool did and when they were going to get to work in the shop.

2

Early Saturday morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we packed up the vans and started the long trip back toward San Antonio. Our caravan took a short break just before we got to the border to visit the market in Piedras Negras, where I bought DiVoran a 4-foot long Rain Stick. It makes the most wonderful sound (like falling rain), and she still uses it every Sunday, when she sings with the Praise Team, during our morning church service here in Titusville.

3

 

Our border crossing was uneventful this time, and we arrived at the Kennedy ranch in time to enjoy a real American dinner (our first in a week) and boy was that a great meal. Some of us took time to wash some really dirty clothes, and enjoy the quiet surroundings of the ranch, until it was time to head back to the Retreat Center for a good night’s rest.

4

 Sunday, after breakfast, we drove a short distance over to attend a church service at a Cowboy Church (I can’t remember exactly where), which was quite an eye opener for me. It had to be one of the most informal and unusual church services I’ve ever attended. They really know how to praise the Lord in that church, and without any pretensions.

5

 Then we started working our way toward the airport by spending a short time at the beautiful River Walk, where we had a great lunch at one of the many nice restaurants located there along the San Antonio River. By the time we finished lunch, it was time to head for the airport, say our final good-bye’s, and get checked in for our flight back to Orlando.

6

 

I can say, I feel like that was one of the most rewarding weeks I have ever spent in my life. There is nothing like seeing the appreciative look on people’s faces when you hand them the keys to a house that they would never have been able to afford, or that they ever had expected someone would give them. If you can, you should try it sometime. I guarantee you will love the experience, and it will absolutely change your life forever. Our God is good, all the time.

—–The End—–

  

If you, your church or civic group would like to help the OSM with their ministry to the needy people of Mexico and Haiti, you can visit them for details on their website at www.onlyaservant.org or call them at 830-228-4809.

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Minute Mediatations~4

10 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

OBEDIENCE… What a hard word that one is. We have to obey our parents when we are young. We have to obey our teachers in school. We have to obey our boss. We have to obey the rules of the road – that one can be really dangerous if we don’t obey them!!

1There are rules in the military.

2

There are even rules in the games we play!

3

We keep thinking, “I’m the master of my own self! Why do I have to obey anyone?” But it just doesn’t work that way, does it? No man is an island… isn’t that what the bard said? Well, it’s true.

So many people criticize Christianity as being a “crutch” for life. I hate to disappoint them, but they have some sort of crutch as well. Their crutch can be a job, a spouse, a significant other, money – or love of it, booze, drugs, etc. And if depending upon God and His love requires my obedience to survive in this world is my “crutch” – then I’m all in. Fortunately, God’s “yoke” is very easy and light. He gives us so much leeway in what we do, and all He asks is that we let Him take our heart’s desire and turn it His way. Have you noticed that, when you become God’s child, that your desires change? You no longer want to do those things you did before. They frequently become distasteful to you, so you stop doing them. You want to please God with your actions.

My brother, Bill wrote about obedience. Here are his thoughts:

4

Obey His commands. What does that mean? Jesus was asked that very question in Matthew 22:37-39. Jesus answered the Pharisees: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

In other words, if we keep our eyes on God, then everything else falls into place. Obedience to God becomes easy. Not that everything we do on this earth will be easy, but with God’s help, obedience to Him becomes our life’s goal.

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South of the Border~Part 4

6 May

A Slice of Life
 Bill Lites

Work had progressed great the first two days, but then Wednesday night the rains came, and the dry parched earth turned into a quagmire. That kind of rain is seldom seen in that part of Mexico, and the rainwater does not sink into the soil there like it does in our Florida sand.

1

Even though the rain had stopped by Thursday morning, when we arrived at the work site, the mud really slowed down the day’s operations. Some of our vehicles got stuck in the mud more than once that day, and much valuable time and effort was spent pulling them free.

2

The mud was so thick that we had to be very careful walking through it because it would suck the shoes right off your feet, and your next step would be in that mud in your stocking feet. An added disadvantage of all that mud was that thick globs of it stuck to the bottoms of our shoes, and we tracked it into the houses every time we came in, and more time was required to scrape it off the floors. This also got in the way of any activity going on above the floor level.

2

Because of the high summer temperatures and “zero” humidity, once the rain stopped, the area dried up fairly rapidly. Then once the water had dried up, the deep mud ruts hardened into sharp ridges in the streets, which could cut a truck or van tire if the driver wasn’t careful where he was going.

3

In spite of the rain and all that mud, the work pretty much got back to normal. We were able to continue with most all of the unfinished work on the two houses (doors, windows and final trim) and included getting the mud and debris cleaned up. The electrical lights and switches were wired up and tested, so everything was ready for a final inspection. This allowed us to completely finish the two houses by the afternoon of the third day.

4

On Friday, we drove to the building site, and once the final inspections were completed, and the work areas were cleaned up, we gathered the colonia (unregulated settlement) dwellers at one, and then the other of the new houses, for a prayer and dedication service for each. Pastor Santos (Pastor of a local church in Nava as well as the John 3:16 church there in the colonia) officiated at these services with our own Diana translating his words for us.

5

The Mayor of Nava and his wife attended the dedication service, to praise OSM and all the team members for their continued service and support of their city of Nava and especially the people of this colonia.

6

And then, each team had their picture taken, standing in front of the completed house they had built, to remind us all of just how much can be accomplished when a group of people get together and put their effort into a worthy project.

7

One of the most memorable and gratifying things I have ever been honored to be called upon to do, was when I was selected to be the one who presented Jose, Estela and their family with the keys to their brand new house. They were overwhelmed with gratitude, and it was a special thrill for me too!

8

Of course, not every family in the colonia can have a new house today, but it has always been OSM’s goal to provide this kind of housing for as many of the colonia families as possible, as workers and funds became available.

9

By 2010, OSM had provided almost 100 houses for Nava’s colonia families. Unfortunately, in the last few years, the drug wars and terrorist activities in many parts of Mexico (including the Nava area) have curtailed the house building activities for OSM, along with many other organizations who participate in these, and other much needed humanitarian projects.

10

—–To Be Continued—–

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Heaven

4 May

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

For most of my life, I’ve been wondering what Heaven is like, or will be like for me personally. One of the first blogs I Stairway to Heaven with MLKwrote was about the time, when I was five-years-old, that I saw the neighbor on her way to Heaven. I may have dreamed it — doesn’t matter if I did or not.

Anyhow, I saw her walk down to the end of our street and up a staircase and I knew where she was going. Later that day Mother told me the neighbor had died and gone to Heaven. Sorry, I don’t know the doctrine in this story. I do know that seeing people go up a staircase is not uncommon. I Googled it.

In college, I wrote an essay wondering what Heaven was like and the class discussed it until the teacher brought us back to earth.

I read a reliable “doctrinal” book called, Heaven, by Randy Alcorn that I enjoyed, but I still wanted to know more.

Finally, a tiny flame started to flicker in my imagination and I came up with an answer that satisfies me. I take no responsibility for whether this is true or not and when you get there, don’t blame me if it’s nothing like I’ve thought up. Ask God for your own vision of Heaven.

I don’t know who will greet me or what that will be like, but it will be a warm welcome, I know that much.

In the song, “Amazing Grace,” it says, “When we’ve been there ten-thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.” So, theology (and practicality) aside, what’s going to keep us entertained for ten thousand years and more?

Here’s my take on it. I will never be alone unless I want to be alone. I’ll be with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as well as the people I have loved, love now, and will love when I meet them. Much of our time will be spent in celebration and praising God.

That leads me to the next phase of my fantasy. I will have challenges (and success). I will learn every song I ever wanted to know, play every instrument I ever wanted to play, and see every sight I ever wanted to see. I will learn, do, and share everything I’ve ever wanted to know, experience, or contribute. Life will be full of awe.

Bill and I aren’t in any hurry to go to Heaven. God is so good to us now. We do everything we can to stay healthy and happy. We try to listen to Him and we ask Him to empower us to do the work He sets out for us. We have accepted Christ’s death on the cross for our sins. That means that when our spirits split out of their cocoons, we will go to Heaven. We will fly free of all pain, confusion, and sorrow. Rejoice now. Rejoice later.

“When we all Get to Heaven.”

Heaven, by Randy Alcorn

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SMH Prayers

30 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis
I'm a winner

Have you noticed that garage sales have moved online? It seems many towns now have a Facebook page, moderated by an individual, dedicated to buying and selling.  I joined one in the hope of finding a used refrigerator and quickly posted what I was looking for. After that I scrolled through the timeline and noticed no one was looking for anything. It was all for sale or iso. Now for sale was easy, but what the heck was iso? The post would read something like this:

iso kids clothes, good condition size 6.

I had no clue what that meant so finally, I asked. The Facebook page was for our town in North Carolina and I figured I didn’t know enough people there to be embarrassed. The answer came quickly….iso means in search of. I guess looking for is just too much to type. Which leads to my next puzzle.

Working as a publicist for Rebekah Lyn Books, I spend a lot of time on Twitter and Facebook. I noticed SMH attached to tweets and Facebook comments and again I had no clue. Did it mean social media hottie, so many hormones, shake my husband? This time I discretely questioned a friend who explained. SMH means shaking my head. This one I could relate to because I find myself shaking my head-a lot. In fact, I SMH so much I have decided to  connect the head shake with a prayer. I’m trusting that praying as my head shakes will turn my thoughts on His solutions rather than my human frustration.

Head banging computer GIF

Yes, I know this poor lady isn’t shaking her head but it was so funny it had me ROFL

ps I am still iso a fridge for my garage in good working order at a reasonable price.

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