Tag Archives: Friendship

Finding Hope and Purpose in Everyday Life

17 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

My friend and blogger sister, DiVoran sends a daily email that she calls a blogette, to her friends. . She shares encouraging words with us that she has found in her in her reading and devotional time. Almost always she includes a video from You Tube.

I especially loved this one.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Prov:19:21

I can totally relate to the verse above. I am learning to hold loosely the plans I make.

Though you may stumble, you will not fall, for the Lord upholds you with His hand.

Ps.37:24

Oh how often I stumble quite literally and in trusting God. So thankful for the promise of my hand being held up by my Lord.

Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.

Job 11:18

So much chaos across the globe. So much division. I find myself wanting to withdraw from it all. Thankful that I love our God of hope. My hope comes from Him.He gives me courage.

The video of the children singing reminded me of my childhood at their age. I loved to sing and I really belted it out. I’m pretty sure it was more like shouting . Thinking back, I don’t remember my parents ever chastising me for being a loud singer.

As i look at these joyful singers, I wonder about their future. Will they remember that they once sang loudly ad joyfully about the coming of the king? Or will life trials dilute their fervor and discourage them? I pray that the words of the songs are planted firmly in their young hearts, as they were for me.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2025 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Lunch with Friends with a Side Order of Covid

3 Apr

Florida weather is beginning to fully behave like Florida weather. The winter was very pleasant with a nice mix of chilly nights and mild days. Now that spring has arrived the chilly nights are history and the air conditioner is running 24/7. The weather forecast for the next seven days are predicted to be in the mid 80s.

As the saying goes, “the mountains are calling and I must go.”

Soon we will be packing and heading out. I checked the weather forecast for our first week home and lows will be in the 30s with highs in the 60s. I plan to soak up the last of the cold.

We can see on our security cameras that our daffodils are blooming and the Japanese maple trees are shedding their winter brown and will soon be flush in reddish purple.

Two deer visited a few nights ago. I think they were checking out my husband’s grape vines. He is convinced the deer believe he grows grapes just for them. Our hosta plants haven’t awoke from their winter sleep but they will any day now. I suspect the deer were checking them out as well.

For several weeks I have been trying to arrange a lunch with a life long friend. She had been dealing with dental issues and eating was a chore for her. Finally last week she called to say her dental issues were almost resolved and we could meet. Almost as an after thought she mentioned she had seen a mutual friend, T, in a store, who moved away several years ago. She asked if I would like to include her in our lunch. I said, absolutely.

The three of us met up in a newly opened Buffett restaurant. We talked and laughed and it was almost like we were those young women of long ago.

As part of reconnecting, we discussed where we were living. T knew of our plans to move the the North Carolina mountains and I knew that when she left Florida she moved to eastern North Carolina. I told her we divide our time between Florida and the mountains. To my surprise she said we do too! Turns out that our homes in the mountains are about 50 miles apart and I go to their town frequently.

In the course of conversations, I asked T where she was staying in Florida. When she named the street she has a condo, my mouth dropped open. Her condo is on the same street where we stay in the winter. She had been there five years! How could this be?

I was delighted to know she was a neighbor and we decided to get together again before we left for that mountains. That was on Thursday.

Saturday morning I received a text asking if I was feeling alright. My first thought was oh no, food poisoning. I told her I was fine. She wasn’t and neither was T. Both of them began feeling ill on Friday and woke up during Friday night with fever and chills. Turns out they both had Covid and feeling pretty miserable. Since both my friends are single ladies, I’ve been texting every day to see if they need anything. So far they have everything they need and thankfully they are on the mend.

We have been wondering why I haven’t come down with Covid. Our best theory is the Buffett may have been contaminated. They both ate peel and eat shrimp and I didn’t, so maybe that was the source.

We definitely are planning to meet up when we are both back in Western NC. And I suspect we won’t be lunching at a buffet.

We enjoyed our time in Florida with our daughter. We will miss her and grand dog Ollie.

Ollie enjoys sitting at the window watching the birds.

I will miss her fast internet. Our mountain internet delivers a whopping 6 mbps on a good day. Rumor has it that fiber is coming this year. Fingers crossed. Until then, I learn a lot of patience waiting for downloads.

PS Today is our 54th wedding anniversary.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Let’s Eat!-Part 11

25 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

As I mentioned last time, we have a standing Monday supper meal with another couple.   I’ve previously mentioned some of the places we like to eat  .Another favorite to eat is Italian…well pizza anyway.  There is an eatery in downtown Kissimmee called The Italian Joint where we used to go occasionally.

Photo Credit:https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-italian-joint-kissimmee

They make the best pizza – they add garlic to the finished pie before serving it – and it’s delicious!!  Unfortunately, they have stopped opening on Monday evenings, so that is out for our Monday evening meals   However, there is another pizza place in downtown Kissimmee, called Broadway Pizza.

Credit Google search and Broadway Pizza website

We meet there occasionally, and enjoy their pizza as well.  Pam and Richard usually get something other than pizza, but Fred and I almost always share a 10″ pizza.  It is so good I could probably eat a larger one, but we are trying to keep our eating in hand.  Boy! is that hard to do!!

Occasionally we all eat at Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, but only upon occasion.  It is a bit noisier than other eateries, and that bothers us all, as we want this time to be a time for conversation.  The food is “okay” but we like other places where we eat better.  So we do Cheddar’s only once every couple or three months.

So those are about the only places we eat together with Pam and Richard.  We used to eat at Subway a lot, but Fred doesn’t want us to eat that much bread – you know…carbs…so we don’t eat there very often 

Credit Google Search and Subway website

Unfortunately…I happen to thoroughly enjoy their sub sandwiches.  I remember when I was going through chemo that almost nothing appealed to my taste buds, but the turkey sub at Subway.  It was almost a daily occurrence.  I think that’s one reason Fred doesn’t like to eat there…I burned him out on it.

Another sandwich shop where I like to eat (again with the bread, so Fred isn’t too thrilled with eating there) is a Mom and Pop store called Paul’s Deli.  It is a ways from our house, and deep into Kissimmee, so that’s another drawback for Fred.

Credit Google search and Paul’s Deli website

It is a family owned and operated business, and their subs a GREAT!  They have a special for lunch that is half-a-sub with your choice of meats and cheeses, with all the toppings you want.  Hot or cold – take your pick. Really good!

Credit Google Search and Paul’s Deli website

This looks like what I get for the lunch special.  Yummmmm

Pam and Richard got us onto this place some years ago and it is their regular Saturday lunch meal.  The place closes at 4:00 p.m., so it’s not an option for our Monday supper meals together.  Shucks!

Back in June, 2021, I wrote up a blog about one of our favorite BBQ places in town.  Of course we love 4Rivers, and it is close to us.

Credit Judy Wills

But Mission BBQ is about a 30 minute drive away from us, so we don’t get there often.  But we thoroughly enjoy going there.  It is a little different bbq than what 4Rivers offers, and we enjoy the difference. 

Credit Judy Wills

On the rare occasion that Pam is off work one day, we like to take them to Mission BBQ, and we all enjoy it.  Mission dedicates their services to the first responders as well as military – active duty and retired.

Credit Judy Wills

We almost always get a free dessert – occasionally one for each of us.  At one point in time, we purchased large drinks and kept the cups.  If we bring them with us each time, we get free drinks and refills.  That is just a great place to eat.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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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Let’s Eat! Part 8

4 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Recently, Fred and I celebrated our 63rd anniversary – quite a milestone.  As it happened, we were in Virginia, celebrating the high school graduation of our grand-twins, Connor and Hannah.  And so, while we were there, we made our own celebration.

Photo by Judy Wills

While we like to eat out quite often, this was to be a special meal.  We had a difficult time deciding just where we wanted to eat for our celebration.  We finally decided to eat at Berret’s Seafood Restaurant and Taphouse Grill in Merchant’s Square in Colonial Williamsburg.  We had never eaten there before, so this would really be a treat for us.

Photo credit by Google search and Berret’s website

We had a really nice meal there.  Here is a decoration we found at a window near our table.

Photo by Judy Wills

Since they knew it was our anniversary, just before we left the restaurant, they gave us a SMALL bottle of champagne with writing on the side. 

Photo by Judy Wills

Photo by Judy Wills

Nice gesture on their part.  Neither of us are champagne drinkers, but I tasted it when we got back to Janet and Tom’s house.  It was okay, if you like that kind of thing.  It was the thought that counted.

The last day we were in Virginia, Fred and I had a second meal at one of our favorite eateries in Williamsburg.  It is called Food for Thought – original name, hm? 

Photo by Judy Wills

We thoroughly eating there, and the inside decorations are quite unique.  There are “sayings” and thought-provoking comments from scholars and literary people lining the walls.  A most interesting place to eat and ponder…and the food is good, as well!

Photo by Judy Wills

When we returned home from that visit, on Saturday, we went to our favorite bbq eatery called 4Rivers.

Photo by Judy Wills

Since we eat there frequently, we have become fairly good friends – well perhaps very good acquaintances is a better word – with the servers, managers, and cooks there.  We get waves and smiles whenever we enter the eatery, and the managers come and have conversations with us.  We love it! 

Well, we had told one of the managers, Cara, when our anniversary was, and she planned this surprise there for us.  She said she was sweating bullets that day, just hoping we would go there to eat that Saturday, as usual.  And this is why: They had “reserved” part of a table just for us – in our usual spot to eat!

Photo by Judy Wills

They treated us to the meal (wouldn’t let us pay for it); walked us to the table; gave us a plaque telling about love and marriage, that every employee of this restaurant had signed on the back, and just celebrated with us.

Photo by Judy Wills

Every cook/cashier/server in the place wished us a “happy anniversary” with a smile.  They were aMAZing!  We were amazed and surprised.  This is customer service to the extreme.  But we loved it.  Oh, the memories.  And here is where we’ve hung the plaque in our house – so we can see it and think of those people and the effort they put into making a special time for us.   WOW!  

Photo by Judy Wills

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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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A Fun Day and a Scary Day

16 May

On the Porch

Onisha Eiils

Last Friday was a fun day and a scary day.

We have precious friends from way back in time who live in a different city. Since we live in a small rural area, we have to drive to find good healthcare. Meeting up with friends on doctor visit days would inject some fun into the chore, So, we chose doctors in their city.

Recently we got the wild idea to get together without seeing a doctor. We met at their home, enjoyed a leisurely coffee with a pre-lunch treat of decadent cupcakes from Publix grocery, then went out to lunch.

After lunch we went plant shopping at what I call the “flower man”. It isn’t a nursery exactly. It is in the backyard of a man’s home. It’s a big yard and he has several greenhouses. The plants I buy from him seem to survive and thrive better than the commercial ones. Plus, I simply enjoy walking around with a friend and enjoying all of the color. (i’m big into geraniums and coleus this year.)

Photo Credit:Soileau Greenhouse Anderson, SC

When we went out to lunch we drove one car. We both needed to go to Sam’s Club Warehouse after lunch but would drive our own cars because we had a cooler for the cold items.

My husband had been quiet after lunch but he tires easily so I put it down to an energy slump. But on the drive to Sam’s he began experiencing shortness of breath and complained of pain in his lung area. Our fun day became a scary day.

He used his inhaler while I was suggesting we detour to the emergency room. We were both concerned about a pneumothorax. My husband has a strong dislike of emergency rooms and when he didn’t rule out a visit I began mentally planning the fastest route to the hospital.

I think his distaste of an ER visit must have opened up his lungs. The pain subsided and he wanted to continue with our plans. I suggested that he wait for me in the snack cafe while I shopped but he wanted to walk with me. He did ok but looked tired so I suggested we go to the cafe and get a drink and some ice cream before driving home. I texted our friends who were checking out and they joined us. And surprise, surprise, his very berry ice cream sundae settled his breathing!

Photo Credit: Sams Club

Saturday he was a little slow moving. I kept busy around the house while he did his morning breathing treatment. The chilly morning warmed nicely with a gentle cool breeze. I suggested coffee on the porch. We sat sipping our coffee, talking and observing the birds coming to the feeders. When I finished my coffee I began to think of the house chores I needed to complete. I looked over at my husband and decided “forget the chores, savor the time.”

The afternoon slipped sweetly away. Last Saturday was a very good day.

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice an be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

I asked A.I. to create a picture of Jesus walking next to water holding a child’s hand. I had no idea it would do such an amazing job.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2023 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Hope in Friendship

19 Apr

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged

Earlier this month, I took a trip to visit my best friend. We spent a couple of days in Nashville, exploring the Cheekwood Estate and the Frist Museum, probably not the first places that come to mind when you hear Nashville. That’s the great thing about our relationship. We both enjoy off-the-beaten-path, unsung gems in the places we visit. Yes, we wandered down South Broadway past all the popular bars and restaurants. I even convinced her to tour the Ryman Auditorium (which she loved despite her hesitancy).

We’ve known each other for over 30 years, but for most of that time, we’ve had anywhere from 200 to 3,000 miles between us. Despite the distance, we always pick up where we left off when we get together. She is my polar opposite – outgoing, quirky, a magnet for meeting people. The thing I love about her most, though, is we can share things with each other without judgment. We support each other through the tough times and meltdowns. Even though we don’t talk every day, I would be lost without her.

There isn’t much in the Bible specifically about friendship. Two of the most well-known stories are about David and Jonathan (King Saul’s son), and Job’s three friends. These stories are complete opposites. Despite King Saul wanting to kill David, Jonathan stands by his friend (1 Samuel 20). Meanwhile, Job’s friends came to his side following all the calamities that befell him and sat in silence for seven days. When they did speak, they became increasingly accusatory.

No friendship is without pitfalls. We are all flawed and will let each other down at some point. In the book of Acts, we learn about a young man named John Mark, who Barnabas and Paul took with them on one of their missionary journeys. Unfortunately, Mark was young and didn’t complete the trip, which Paul took great offense with. When Barnabas wanted to take Mark on a second journey, Paul was against this because of Mark’s previous breach of trust. This caused a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas to the point that they went on separate journeys (Acts 12-15).

This seems like a rift that cannot be repaired, yet in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we learn Mark is with him once again, and later in 2 Timothy, Paul is asking for Mark to be sent to him “because he is helpful to me in ministry”. Mark had matured and become a good friend to Paul. We can learn from this relationship that even in the face of shattered relationships, there is always a glimmer of hope for reconciliation and healing.

So, to anyone out there struggling with a broken friendship, hold on to the hope that reconciliation is possible. With time, effort, and a genuine commitment to growth, you too can mend the fractures and restore what was once lost.

Don’t forget to check out the resources page I’m developing with content I have found encouraging, has taken me deeper in my walk with God, and generally builds my hope.

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Church-Part 13

15 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I’ve mentioned in previous musings that we moved from Dallas, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1945.  We moved so my Dad could become the New Mexico Sunday School Secretary for the New Mexico Baptist Convention.  He stayed in that position until he retired in 1961.  

I’ve never known just why he moved to New Mexico, or if he had been invited by the New Mexico Baptists to come to that position.

I think I’ve mentioned before that there was a family we knew living in Deming, New Mexico.  I didn’t know for a long time how our family knew that family.  I do remember that, when I was old enough, I would ride the bus by myself the four hours it took to go to Deming and spend several weeks with that family.  They had a daughter, Ruth Anne, who was my age, and we got along famously together.

Ruth Anne and me on the Ferris wheel – NM State Fair 1955

Ruth Anne at the NM State Fair 1955

From the Deming newspaper – 1954

In fact, one summer I would go to Deming, and the next summer she would come to Albuquerque and stay a couple of weeks with us.  It was a great friendship, and we still are in contact today.  More on that later.

While Ruth Anne and I have discussed this, neither of us knew just how our families got to know each other.  As it turns out, Ruth Anne’s father and my dad both grew up in Louisiana, attended the same college, and played college basketball together!  WOW!  Small world, indeed.

Ruth Anne’s father 1955

And so, in thinking on this one day, I wondered whether or not Ruth Anne’s father had anything to do with my father taking the position in New Mexico.  Ruth Anne’s father was highly involved with the New Mexico Baptists at that time, and so the possibility of him recommending my dad to the Board is a great possibility.  However, since both of our dad’s are gone, neither of us know whether or not that is how it all came about.  I don’t know whether the Baptist Convention of New Mexico would have that information on file or not.  I still wonder about it, however, from time to time.

Fred and I ran into Ruth Anne and her new husband, Charles, when we were all attending the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in the 1960’s.  We became fast friends all over again.  Ruth Anne and Charles went on to be missionaries to Malaysia, and now, retired, live in Colorado, continuing to do what they can with the Colorado Baptist Convention.

Back in 2014, Fred and I took a Southwest trip with Karen and Brian, and early in that trip, we stopped overnight with Ruth Anne and Charles.  Nothing like renewing old friendships, and making new ones (for Karen and Brian).

2014 – Colorado – Charles, Fred, Ruth Anne, Brian, Karen

At one point, our church here in Orlando had a pastor who was from the Philippines.  During his tenure, Charles, Ruth Anne and a grandson of theirs made a trip to Orlando.  We met them, took in Medieval Times Show, and just visited with them.  On Sunday evening, heading back to their hotel, I mentioned that we had this new pastor, Ramel Cuenca.  Both Charles and Ruth Anne sat straight up in their seats and said, “Ramel Cuenca!!”  Turns out, they were all in language school together before heading out to their mission field – Charles and Ruth Anne to Malaysia, Ramel and Sherry to Indonesia.  We drove to the church and Charles was out of the car like a shot!  Ramel was at the front doors of the church, greeting people as they were leaving.  As Charles strode up to him, Ramel looked up and said, “where did YOU come from??”  A happy reunion.

If it weren’t for “church,” I doubt if any of this would have happened.  Thank you, LORD, for church.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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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Church-Part 10

11 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I’ve written before about the “serendipities” that have happened in our lives.  I really enjoy them.  And a lot of them are related to church.  With the Air Force, we’ve moved around quite a bit, and so have been members of many different churches.  As result, we occasionally come across either someone we knew before, or someone we have known in common.  I really love that kind of thing!

For instance, just recently, I saw on facebook that some friends of ours from our church in Heidelberg were in town,

Heidelberg Castle

The building where Grace Baptist Church met – photo by Fred Wills

doing the Disney 

Credit Pixabay

and Universal parks

Credit Pixabay

I made the comment to her, after some of her pictures, that we wished we had known they were in town…we would have made an effort to meet up with them.  She replied they hadn’t known we lived in Orlando, and that they were in town for a few more days and their schedule was quite flexible.  And so, several days later, we met up at our favorite BBQ place.

Photo credit Judy Wills

They and their oldest daughter met us there – and we discovered it has been 39 years since we had seen each other!  WOW!  God is so amazing to bless us with friends that we have kept.

And another serendipity happened while I was Church Secretary at South Orlando Baptist Church here in Orlando.

This couple (Ted and April) came into the office one day…new to our church and community…and said they had just moved here from Virginia.  They had a lawn service here, but also had some lawn equipment they didn’t need, and thought the church might could use it.  I told them we had a lawn company as well that did the church’s lawn care.  And then I told them that we had moved here from Virginia, as well, and what part of Virginia did they come from.  They mentioned the Hampton Roads area – which was near where we had lived.  I mentioned we had lived in a small town, Seaford, just eight miles south of Yorktown.  They replied they also had lived in Seaford.  I mentioned we had been members of the Seaford Baptist Church, and they replied that they had been, as well.

Seaford Baptist Church as it was when we lived there.

Copied from the cover of a pictorial directory

I said that we had really enjoyed the Sunday School class, mainly because of the teacher, Larry Edwards.  Ted nearly fell on the floor and said, “WHO?”  I said Larry Edwards…and Ted said…(wait for it)…that’s my brother-in-law!  

Such a small world!  Larry and Janice came down to Florida at one time, and we met them at our favorite seafood restaurant for a visit.  When Ted and April arrived, they looked at the four of us, and said “it’s really strange seeing you all together.”  Again, God is so very good to bring people into our lives where we can become friends…life-long friends…and have the assurance of seeing them when we all get to our heavenly home.

And I doubt we would have had any of these connections without being part of the church.  God is so good!

WE….ARE THE CHURCH!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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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Church-Part 8

27 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

The Music

Still making that detour…. 

And that brings me to the church we are members of now.  We’ve been in that church since 1996, and love it.  As one pastor said, this church is what heaven is going to be like – a mixture of peoples and races.  We have about 40 different nations represented in our church – and we are all worshiping the same God!  It’s wonderful!

This congregation is not a mega-church, as so many are these days, but a nice-sized church of about 800 members.  Of course, not all attend at the same time, so we have between 300-350 attending each Sunday.  That changed when the pandemic hit, unfortunately, and we haven’t gotten back to full-strength yet.  However, between all those attending, and those watching through live-stream, we are close.  I am thankful for the live-stream, so I can still “attend church” when I am home on a Sunday for some reason or another.  But it’s just not the same as being with other believers and worshipers.

All that to say that our choir has been a fairly good-sized choir throughout all those years.  Not huge, but some good voices.

2017 – Sanctuary Choir, South Orlando Baptist Church

Unfortunately, I have pictures from only one musical we’ve performed…but it was a good one.

In 2004 we performed one called Journey to the Manger.  We had a narrator, manger scenes, 

modern scenes,

Old England scenes,

 Medieval scenes, 

Depression era scenes,

children’s choirs, etc.

It was wonderful. 

One of our choir members was a professional seamstress.  Her ministry was to make all of the period costumes in these pictures.  She is amazing!   But the story was so filled with the Gospel of the coming of Jesus Christ, that no one could miss the message!  

I mentioned last time that one of the musicals we did in Virginia, Christmas is Calling You Home, we also performed at this church.  I have some wonderful mental pictures of that performance but, unfortunately no actual pictures of it.

We also performed Easter cantatas, and had other “musical” type of services.

If you can get back into the Oldthingsrnew archives, my post of September 30, 2012 tells of a concert we performed – six of us on Clavinovas (digital/electronic pianos).  Our Minister of Music was always on the look-out for something musical to give inspiration to our church.  Also, if you will find the archives and find my post of October 7, 2012, I tell of a concert violinist who came and gave her testimony, and played her violin.  She is magnificent!

So those are some of the “musical” things that we have been part of in the churches where we were members.  We have always enjoyed being in the choir, wherever we were.  Music has always been a part of our lives, and we are grateful.

WE….ARE THE CHURCH!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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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Friendship

19 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Back in the early 1970’s we were living in San Antonio, Texas.  Great place to live.  We really loved it there – even considered living there when Fred retired from the U.S. Air Force.  However, that was not to be.

The Alamo-San Antonio, Texas Photo credit Judy Will

We were members of the First Baptist Church in downtown San Antonio from 1971-1974.  It was an “old” church – established in 1861.  It was, at the time we were there, the 15th largest in the nation.  This sanctuary was built in 1925, and completely remodeled and modernized in 1964.  We thoroughly enjoyed that church.  The first Sunday we visited there, we walked in and the feeling was…home

First Baptist Church, San Antonio, TX – from a post card

Since it was a quite large church – somewhere around 5,000 members – it was in the Sunday School, choir, and other groups where we got to know other members.  Janet was still in nursery age, but Karen was school age and old enough to sit in the worship service.  Since Fred and I were both in the choir, I found an older couple she could sit with.  She always found her way to the choir room to meet us following the service.  

One Sunday morning, just before Sunday School started, I was sitting next to an older woman I didn’t know.  She tapped the coloring book I had on my lap (for Karen to entertain herself quietly during the service), and said, “I know how you keep yourself awake during the preaching!”  We both laughed.

I later found out that she was the Senior Pastor’s wife!!  Oops!

One of the organizations within that body of believers, was a young women’s group that we called “Friendship.”  The idea was for each of us to find one international wife who spoke very little English and bring her to the church.  I must say that the only thing “churchy” about this entire program was the prayer we said before we had refreshments.  No preaching…no church teaching…just pure love and friendship.  

We had a one-on-one hour of teaching them English via the Laubach Method of teaching English as a second language.  It is a highly successful method, and even those of us who were not fully trained, could help someone learn the language.

Following the hour of English, we would have some time with refreshments and getting to know each other.  And then we would have another hour of arts and crafts.  We had an exercise class; we had art painting, etc. My specialty was teaching crocheting.  My girls each crocheted a shawl from yarn.  Most seemed to enjoy it.

It was a lovely experience, and one I have treasured.  San Antonio, being a very “military” city, has many international women married to our military men.  Some had never had occasion to attempt to learn English – and sometimes, the U.S. military husbands didn’t necessarily want their international wives to learn English.  But it did my heart good to know we provided that service.

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. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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