Tag Archives: God

Six ways to soothe your soul. 

19 Nov

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

10-28-16-6

I wasn’t prepared to hear this revelation. A group of seven folks sat around the table, eager to learn about the writing craft. And I planned to impart all I knew about my writing journey.

“How about if we share a bit about our story,” I said, hoping to know a bit about them.

Everyone took their turn. And then the lady seated in a wheelchair to my left spoke.

“I lost my leg. But I still have my courage,” she said in a peaceful tone.

I gave a silent gasp. She not only had a leg amputated, but she lost her sight too.

“I want to write my story,” she said, “to inspire others who might be feeling sorry for themselves,”

Admirable desire for sure. But little did she know that God had already written her story. He wrote all the details: He knew the moment she would receive the bad news from the doctor. He knew the limitations put on her life. He had written her future. He jotted down her every need and He’s still writing her story.

He’s also writing your story and mine, too. So we can be free to let go that anxiety about the future and instead, take a deep breath of relief. He’s aware of what we’re facing. What is being cut off from our life. What is diminishing. What we lost. What we miss. He knows the joy and hard times of tomorrow. And best of all, He’s written in the tablet of His love our victory over grief.

That tablet is the Bible. No matter what you’re missing in life, whisper these six truths found in Psalm 139. They will soothe your soul:

  1. He knows me intimately. “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.”
  2. He knows my every move. “You know when I sit and when I rise…”
  3. Even my thoughts are familiar to Him. “You perceive my thoughts from afar.”
  4. He knows where I came from and where I’m going. “You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”
  5. He knows what I’ll say, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely…O LORD.”
  6. He is close enough to touch my pain. “You have laid your hand upon me.”

If He knows your thoughts, your words, ways and whims, how can He not know how to soothe your soul?

Source: Six ways to soothe your soul. | Janet Perez Eckles

 

May I pray for you?

I considerate it a privilege to pray for you. Please send updates to previous prayer requests, too. You can send them HERE.

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Video

God Has Been Watching Over Me~Part 1

9 Nov

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

It’s hard for me to remember just how God watched over me during my early years (1-5) but I know He did. I do remember playing with Patsy in the back yard of my home in Dallas, Texas sometime before I was five years old. (See Bill’s blog “The Little Girl Down The Street”). As part of our play time, we made and ate mud pies. Now I know that we both could have gotten really sick on that diet, but God had to be watching over us during that time.

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Our house in Dallas was on a corner lot, adjacent to a main thoroughfare, and I lost my toy Parachute Man when a gust of wind caught him and he drifted into the path of a car on that street (See Bill’s blog “Parachute Man”). I had been told not to go into that street for any reason, but as a six year old little boy, it took Someone bigger than I was to keep me from chasing after my Parachute Man, into the path of that car (He must have had His hand on my shoulder).

 

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During a summer retreat with my family at the Alta Frio Baptist Camp in Texas when I was six, I was bit by a Cotton Mouth Moccasin (See Bill’s blog “Snake Bit”). My dad and mother witnessed the incident as I ran ahead of them into the shallow water at the edge of the Frio River, where we were going to swim. God protected both my dad and me that day. My dad had been in the medical corps during WW I, and he immediately applied a tourniquet around my leg, scooped me up and quickly carried me back to our cabin. There he made small slice marks in my leg, with a razor blade at the fang marks, and sucked the blood and venom from the wound, before taking me to the doctor’s office (on gravel roads at least 10 miles away in a friends old Model A truck). With his teeth full of fillings, that harmful venom could have entered his system and, at the least, made him sick (was my dad’s medical training just an accident?).

 

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When I was around 15 several guys my age followed an older boy on adventure to explore an abandoned mine in the mountains near our home in Albuquerque, New Mexico (See Bill’s blog “Hole In The Ground”).   That old mine shaft had never been shored up with bracing of any kind. There was one short section of the tunnel that had caved in at some time in the past, and even though it had been partially cleared, we still had to actually crawl through that section that we skinny boys could barely squeeze through. If that section, or another section, had caved in while we were at the bottom of the shaft, the chances are we all could have died before anyone found us.

 

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One day the next year I was driving down the street on my motorcycle, in front of the local Junior High School, and happened to see my sister with her friends walking home. I hollered at them and waved as I passed them (See Bill’s blog “Keep Your Eyes On The Road”-). When I looked back at the road there was the bed of a dump-truck, stopped, in the middle of the road (no flagman, orange cones or warning signs of any kind) with men making repairs, just in front of me! Without thinking, I just reacted, throwing the motorcycle almost to the ground, cleared the edge of the truck bed, slapped my left foot on the ground, pushing the motorcycle upright again. All this happened in a split second at 25 miles per hour. There is no way I could have looked up in time and reacted that fast without His help!

 

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Your security depends on what you choose from the menu.

8 Oct

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Menu of life

I sat at a large table among friends at a restaurant famous for its delicious Bar-B-Q. The smell would make anyone’s mouth water. We laughed, made comments and oohed and aahed at the menu items.

And since I don’t eat red meat, I tasted delicious moments with dear friends instead.

I looked in the direction of the waiter standing beside me. “I’ll order a side salad and cole slaw…and a baked potato with nothing on it.”

“Sure,” he said, “And your meat? Ribs, steak, chicken, pork?”

“No I’m fine with my salad,”

“You mean…” he said with disbelief in his tone, “You don’t want to order any meat?”

I shook my head and grinned as I always do when folks ask me that question in that you-must-be-crazy tone.

The same happens even in airplanes. A passenger seated beside me and I chatted for a long time. I told him a bit of my story and we discussed faiths.

“I don’t believe in religions,” he said. “I think we’re here on this earth to serve a purpose for the next life and that’s it.”

“Interesting,” I said.

“For example,” he said, “since you like to help people and you can’t see, you probably will come back as a guide dog in your next life.”

Gulp.

And when I stated that Christ Jesus, the one who died for my sins, is the Lord of my life, the ruler of my days and my guarantee for life eternal in heaven, he gave the are-you-crazy tone similar to the waiter

That’s okay because in John 14, the Bible makes it all clear. We don’t come back as dogs or other creatures, we remain in heaven for eternity because…

  • In heaven is where Jesus prepared a mansion for us.
  • He extends that invitation to all.
  • Jesus healed the sick to display His power.
  • He transformed souls to leave room for freedom.
  • He’s the only truth so we would see clearly.
  • Jesus died on the cross to kill our sin.
  • He rose from the dead, so we would, too.
  • He wrote Scripture to guide our path.
  • And finally He loves unconditionally, passionately, eternally so when the world lets us down, we can count on Him.

While you analyze the menu of religions, philosophies, beliefs and notions what do you choose to feed your soul?

Source: Your security depends on what you choose from the menu. | Janet Perez Eckles

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What to say to a depressed loved one. 

1 Oct

Walking by Faith , Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Depression, anxiety and worry are the enemies trying to kill our peace and they are on the rise among men, women, and teens. Why? Few know the answer. But here, Dr. Michelle Bengtson has important guidelines so you can help someone begin the victory path.

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“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Proverbs 18:21

What we say to others can either build them up or tear them down. We must take care not to further injure someone in their suffering from something we say.

As a neuropsychologist, I’m witness to the well-intentioned but misdirected words of friends and family to depressed loved ones that only serve to pull them down further.

When people suffer from depression, they often also harbor low self-esteem, guilt, and shame. What they crave is to know they are loved, accepted, and not alone.

Let Scripture help you determine what to say to a depressed loved one: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Here are a few things to say to someone struggling with depression:

  • I love you. There is no better time to hear this than when they are struggling to love themselves and wonder if others truly love them too.
  • I’m here for you. This is one of the most comforting things you can say to someone feeling alone.
  • You are important to me. It’s vital to know they are still acceptable, accepted, and important.
  • I’m sorry that you are going through such a painful time. Expressing your sorrow for their pain communicates that you care, even if you don’t fully understand.
  • Is there something I can do for you? This communicates your willingness to help and just your offer will lend comfort and encouragement.
  • You may not believe this now, but you won’t always feel this way. The depressed individual often needs reminding that there is hope.
  • We will get through this together. This communicates your acceptance, and your love.
  • Nothing. Actions often do speaker louder than words. I remember when Job encountered great hardship. Job 2:13 says his friends came and sat with him for seven days and nights. During that time, they didn’t speak a word because they saw how great his pain was. Words could do nothing to help his misery, but their company spoke volumes.

Remember, when you are speaking to a depressed loved one, your goal is to encourage and uplift them. “But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief” (Job 16:5 NLT).

How will you encourage a loved one today?

 

Source: What to say to a depressed loved one. | Janet Perez Eckles

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Do You Know?

9 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

 

 

 

 

When I cried out in my sorrow,
His presence came shining through.
Don’t ever suffer in silence.
Christ is always there for you.

 

Do you know that God smiles?
It’s recorded in His word.
That is so encouraging.
A fact I had never heard.

 

“When they were discouraged
I smiled and that encouraged them
and lightened their spirits.”
(Job 29:24 TLB)

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Don’t Fake Love

8 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

My friend, Pat is a delightful mixture of elegant Southern style, charm and out spoken opinions and I love her. This past year she has traveled the road of widowhood and has done so with courage, joy and tears.  She and her husband, shared a life long passion for memorizing scripture passages and the conversations of our weekly breakfast group were often spiced with passages that tied into whatever of the world’s problems we were solving.

This Wednesday at breakfast she handed me a card in an envelope and asked me to open it after we left. At home, I opened the card, a beautiful handmade creation, with a hand written note, thanking us for offering to drive her to Asheville for eye surgery. I looked on the back and sure enough, there was the name of the person who made the card.  I suspected  Pat had purchased the cards to encourage this creator in the same way she encouraged my daughter, Rebekah by buying her novels and giving them to people she thought might enjoy reading them.

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Isn’t it pretty?

At the bottom of the sweet note she shared a scripture, Romans 12:9-13. KJV

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

 

I decided to read some other versions and when I came to The Message it read in the same way Pat encourages us. Perfect!

The Message

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

 

This was on the bottom inside of the card.

 

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My Love Affair With Disney~Part 1

21 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Will

 

I’ve been in love with all things Disney for about as long as I can remember. I believe the first Disney movie I ever saw was Cinderella – and I was sold! As I grew older, I kept wishing there was some way I could – personally – have a copy of Cinderella and watch it whenever I wanted to! Fast forward to this hi-tech generation, and I have Cinderella on my bookshelf! Of course, I don’t watch it all the time, but it’s there for the watching if I care to. I usually have to do it when Fred is gone!

When we moved down to Florida, it was more-or-less with the intention of either or both of us working for Walt Disney World, so we could visit the parks just any time we wanted to. God may have wanted us down in Florida, but His plans for us did NOT include working at Disney World! And His plans are so much better than ours!

So we content ourselves with annual passes to Disney World. Fred jokingly says they are our Christmas/anniversary/birthday (and any other special event in our lives) gift to each other. They are rather expensive. But we get free parking with them, and we can come and go just any time we want. Sometimes it’s for nothing more than to have a supper meal there. And we consider if we stay about two hours, we consider it a “visit to the park.”

In 1999, we thought it would be fun to keep track of how many times we went to a Disney park during that year (38 times). And we’ve kept on with that tradition. Our peak year was 2005 when we went 64 times! If it’s raining? We don’t go. We know we can go another time.

And on our anniversary each year, we stay at the Shades of Green resort, and go to each of the parks, one each day. So you can see – we REALLY like Disney!

Because we’ve been enamored with Disney for so long, we have quite a bit of Disney memorabilia around our house. And we thoroughly enjoy it all. Our youngest daughter, Janet, worked at a Disney Store once upon a time, and she supplied us with quite a bit of Disney stuff. One of my favorite things she gave us, were figurines of some of the characters from Disney’s 1939 original Fantasia. I enjoyed them so much, that I had a friend (who is a wood worker by trade), fashion a shadow box for them. That box and those figurines now grace a wall in our house. I think they are adorable! Unfortunately, I have broken one of the pieces, but have substituted another Mickey in its place. And another friend who worked for Disney, presented us with “Mickey’s House” snowglobe that rests upon the top of the shadow box.

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

 

 

 

 

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What you must kill in order for joy to grow.

20 Aug

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

GardeningA desire to garden exploded in me when I read this:

Why do gardeners go for their hobby with such passion and dedication? I think it is because the creativity never ends. Gardeners are always adding, trimming, forming, watching, and that’s what makes the work fun. Our gardens are our living, ever-changing palette.

What fun! I want to do that, too. But then I remembered what someone told me. Gardening requires work, real work such as consistent efforts to pull out weeds so the flowers can grow.

I should’ve known that—nothing grows without work. I learned that in the weed-filled garden of my own life. And when I went to work, pulling out the weeds, then joy began to blossom.

And like many, the most stubborn weed is the one called doubt. It has to be yanked out. If not, doubt chokes all that tries to grow.

Often that unsightly doubt comes in these three different varieties:

  1. Doubt that God is enough, that He will provide for all our needs. “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
  2. Doubt that God will be with us no matter where life takes us. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
  3. Doubt that is the key that opens the door to destructive fear. So we fear things won’t turn out, answers won’t come or solutions won’t arrive. “For I’ve not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

When doubt is pulled out, the garden of life shines with new colors. Peace grows, security blossoms, and hope brings on the fragrance of joy.

What weed-killer are you using for that stubborn doubt?

Source: What you must kill in order for joy to grow. | Janet Perez Eckles

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What if things get worse? Where do we find reassurance?

13 Aug

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

08-05-16 flat tire

VIDEO OF THE WEEK SNEAK PEEK  (CLICK HERE)

The sound was awful, the heat unbearable and the tummies were empty. That describes our ride home from a theme park with the grandkids this past Saturday.

The sound came from the rear of the car. We had traveled a few miles and were in the middle of nowhere. The heat read 99 degrees. And the 6- and 8-year-old grandkids in the back seat were more than a tad hungry.

So, what did these two wise, grandparents do? Nothing, we rode for a while hoping the noise would go away, and at the same time going through options for the reason for such noise.

Hubby pulled over and discovered a totally flat rear tire. Aware that our somewhat new vehicle doesn’t provide a spare tire, we waited for the tow truck.

We wiped sweat from our foreheads as the heat sizzled through the windows. And to pass the time, we played a silly game. It’s called the what-if game. We imagine alternate options, ones much worse than we face in reality.

We took turns. They began and we followed. What if we had an accident instead? What if we had no gas in this heat? What if he air-conditioning didn’t work? What if Papa couldn’t drive and Nana had to take over? (They gasped at this one!)

The game, as silly as it seems, teaches them that life has unexpected glitches, bringing painful surprises that leave us in the heat of discouragement. Then like the tire, our joy goes flat. But even in the worst or truly devastating what-if’s we can imagine, we’re triumphant still. We’re secure in the power of God’s love. And we’re in the reassuring shelter of His protection.

The Apostle Paul confirms this as he might have come up with some what-if’s of his own. And so he asserts: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37b-39)

No matter how dark your situation might be, have you considered the what-if’s?

Source: What if things get worse? Where do we find reassurance? | Janet Perez Eckles

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Could it be that these 10 steps are keeping you from the abundance of life? | 

30 Jul

Walking by Faith, not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

His Way

 

07-22-16 10 stepsShocking statistic. I just learned that we spend 10% of all our waking hours looking for something—from a parking spot, to our cell phone, for the latest post on Facebook, etc.

What would happen if that 10% of our time could be spent in looking for something worthwhile, something that will positively impact our lives, make it better, happier, and richer?

That something is wisdom. For it’s the lack of wisdom that lead us to make bad decisions which result in the mess of life, in the disappointment that brings on sadness, and in the regret that makes our heart ache.

Good news because God said, “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding…”

And put on your celebration hat because if, in that 10% of our looking time, we find God’s wisdom, these ten rewards found in Prov. 3:13-18 are ours:

  1. For she [wisdom] is more profitable than silver.
  2. And yields better returns than gold.
  3. She is more precious than rubies.
  4. Nothing you desire can compare with her.
  5. Long life is in her right hand.
  6. In her left hand are riches and honor.
  7. Her ways are pleasant ways.
  8. And all her paths are peace.
  9. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her.
  10. Those that lay hold of her will be blessed.

I’m waving my hand in the air. I want all that! Don’t you? But in our hectic lives with traffic jams, to-do lists that keep getting longer, and pressures that squeeze us dry, how do we find that wisdom? God’s answer: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt…” (James 1:5-6)

How will you embrace God’s wisdom to make your days brighter and better?

Source: Could it be that these 10 steps are keeping you from the abundance of life? | Janet Perez Eckles

Janet’s joyful spirit lifts my heart. If you would like to learn more about Janet and her ministry, visit her home page.

Janet Perez Eckles, Igniting Your Passion to Overcome

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