Johnny Walker

Los Angeles was “a nice place to visit,” but it was too expensive, too far away, and it never ever seemed like home. So after living there for about a year, I put in a bid to transfer to back to Florida. Within a few days my request was approved to work at Delta’s Jacksonville reservation office.

So, in June of 1991, we gave our second-hand furniture back to Goodwill, and packed up our personal belongings and had them shipped them to Jacksonville, Florida via Delta Cargo. The four of us left Los Angeles by car, headed back to Florida.

We made it to Jacksonville, got our furniture out of storage from Tampa, and moved into a nice (and practically new) lease/option-to-purchase home in Orange Park, a suburb just south of Jacksonville

Megan and Michelle in Orange Park in 1991.

After living in an apartment in LA for the past year, I thought we finally have a nice place to call home; a place to settle down, one that could be ours long term. Until my first day at work…

I walked in and found myself somewhere between disbelief and shock. It was nothing like the Los Angeles office. The carpet was worn, the walls needed paint, and they were still using the old big box single-screen computer monitors. My first thought was, they’re going to close this office. 😳

I mentioned it to a couple of other employees that I had just met, but could tell they had no idea what I was talking about so I dropped it. I decided just to be thankful that we were back in Florida, and that Harold had already found work at a car dealership, and that we were living in a nice home. I decided not to worry about Delta closing the office.

Do not worry about anything, but In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6-7

Orange Park was actually a great place to raise a family; nice schools, parks, and a good church, Ridgeway Baptist. We also found Nemour’s Children’s Hospital in nearby Jacksonville for Megan’s clinic visits.

Megan won a first place trophy at the Spina Bifida 5K Fundraiser!

Some of our favorite places to visit while living in this part of Florida included Green Cove Springs and St. Augustine. Green Cove Springs is an little old town with a couple of restaurants, shady oak trees and a nice playground. St. Augustine is an old beach town with lots of cute shops and restaurants. It was simply beautiful at Christmas 🎄time.

So, just like I predicted the first day I stepped foot into the Jacksonville Delta Air Lines reservation office a year and a half earlier, Delta management announced that they were planning to close several offices over the next few months, and the Jacksonville office was one of those offices. I hate to say, “I told you so, but….”

I put in my bid to transfer to one of three cities to work in Delta Reservations:

Atlanta, because it was the main headquarters.

Miami, because it was in Florida.

And Dallas, because it was in the Bible Belt.

In preparation for the move we gave up our leased home and moved into an apartment nearby on a short term lease. Michelle and Megan both made some new new friends right away which made the move a little bit easier.

Michelle, Megan and their friends at the Orange Park apartment.

Michelle and her friends often hung out in little groups outside our apartment listening to music on boom boxes. One day, just for fun, Harold put a boom box on his shoulder and we walked outside within eyeshot of the kids, turned up the volume and started walking/dancing around to the music. We thought it would make for a good laugh for everyone but it backfired. Michelle was so embarrassed; she started crying and ran down the street away from us! I think this event officially branded us in Michelle’s mind as weird parents. 😳

A month or so after moving to the apartment, we decided we’d better make a weekend visit to Miami, just in case that was going to be our next home. Miami was pretty but it was way too hot and way more crowded than we expected. On the way home from Miami I started to have second thoughts about putting it on my bid.

When we got back home, we found our apartment had been ransacked! Several things had been stolen, including some clothes, a cute little lamp and a set of my mother’s rings. The thief even helped themselves to the food in our pantry! I filled out a police report and resolved I’d never see our stolen items again.

A couple of weeks later, I saw my cute little lamp, now broken, sticking up out of our next door neighbor’s trash sitting outside her door! I called the police to add this information to my original police report. Long story short, the police recovered most of what was stolen, including some things I didn’t even realize were missing. The thief was our next door neighbor’s daughter. She told the police that she came over to our house and unlocked our balcony door right before we went out of town, and climbed over our adjoining balconies and helped herself to our stuff while we were gone. It was a strange experience and it made me sad that a neighbor would do this to us.

After all of that, I was really looking forward to moving. I prayed for God to please send us where He most wanted us to go.

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Finally, the bid results came in: Bible-Belt here we come!

So after two years in Jacksonville, we were excited to be moving to Lewisville, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, in July of 1993, furniture included! While our two previous moves were voluntary and only allowed us to bring our personal effects, this move included all of our household effects since they were closing the office. A professional mover came and packed everything and drove it by semi-truck to Texas.

Which brings me to my last story about our time in Jacksonville, and the title of this blog. Soon after moving to Orange Park we kept seeing a young man in his late 20’s or early 30’s, walking up and down the main road. He was thin and obviously homeless. I never saw him begging, he was almost always, just walking. I felt sorry for him so I started buying an extra cheeseburger whenever we’d go to McDonalds and then we’d look for him to give it to. I told the girls that we wouldn’t give him money, but a sandwich would be ok. I tried to talk to him a couple of times but he wasn’t much for talking; he was just so very sad. Sometimes we couldn’t find him and so we would just have an extra sandwich. So then I decided it might be better to put together some bags of snacks and bottled water, and keep them in my car to give to him.

Michelle said that the kids at school called him “Johnny Walker” so that’s what we called him. The rumor was, he lost his job, his wife left him, he drank too much, and he became homeless. I don’t know if they named him after the whiskey, “Jonnie Walker” or if it was because he was always walking. I decided I preferred the latter.

To this day, I still wonder about “Johnny Walker,” but out of this experience, God inspired me to start putting together some bags with snacks, water, toiletries, and a gospel tract to give to the homeless. I stock up at the Dollar Store once or twice a year and fill the bags all at once and then keep one in my car, to give away as needed. People nowadays call them “Blessing Bags” but to me they’re my “Johnny Walker” ❤️‍🩹bags.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4

Heaven

One of my favorite pastimes is shopping at thrift and resale stores. I really don’t have to buy anything; I like just walking around and browsing old and unusual items. It brings back fond memories of days gone by.

One day while at a resale shop I glanced over at the books and noticed a worn out copy of “Heaven is for Real.” They made a movie about it a few years ago and I remembered lot of people talked about seeing it or at least wanting to go see it. I never got around to it. Actually, I purposely didn’t go see this movie when it came out, or buy the used book at the resale shop that day. Why? Because it’s not biblical.

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. John 3:13

I know the book was a bestseller and that the movie was a box office success. Many may have read the book or saw the movie, but for those who don’t remember the book or the movie, here’s the synopsis. It was about a young boy, the 4 year-old son of a pastor, who had an operation and claimed he went to heaven and back during his operation. He basically claimed he had an out-of-body experience. He describes his visit to heaven with the vivid imagination of a young child. Hmmmm…. 🤔

Interestingly, when I was young, maybe 11 or 12, I had, what I would call, a kind of weird out-of-body experience myself. I was sick with a fever and headache for a couple of days and was lying on the living room couch. I remember having an awful headache and crying a lot and drifting on and off to sleep. I remember it seemed so real: floating from room to room, hovering near the top of the ceiling, for what seemed to be several minutes. I woke up in a sweat and kept thinking about it while my mom was giving me water and cold rags to try to bring the fever down.

I didn’t go to the doctor and I didn’t mention the floating experience to anyone because it was all too weird. At the time it seemed frighteningly real to me, but again I was a child and I was sick. In retrospect I’m 100% sure it was the fever that caused me to have this type of experience.

So as sincere and well meaning as this 4 year old boy and his father may have been, I simply don’t believe it. He may have had a some sort of hallucination due to the anesthesia or maybe it was just his imagination, but regardless, I don’t believe for one second that he went to heaven and back.

Why would people even begin to believe a story like this? Why would you waste your time reading a story based upon a 4 year old’s imagination or hallucination?

What God has revealed to us in His Word is the only legitimate source we have about heaven. There may be a lot about heaven that is yet to be revealed to us but I believe the Bible tells us all we need to know.

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,”What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:7-9

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2

Actually, much more important than knowing about heaven, is knowing Jesus. All of the “knowledge” in the world about heaven will not get you there. You need Jesus first and foremost.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.John 3:16

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

So herein is both the answer and the question:

Jesus

Do you know Him?

Game Set Match

They say that friendship is somewhat like tennis; it’s fun and you take turns playing off of each other’s volley; hitting the ball back and forth into each other’s court, kind of like the back and forth interaction we have in friendships. I still have fond memories of my first friends.

Annette:

Annette was cute and bubbly, the same age as me, and full of mischief! We were born just a few days apart in the same hospital. Our mom’s were friends. We were also neighbors until Annette and her family moved away when we were in 1st or 2nd grade. I was so sad when she moved. Our neighborhood was full of boys, and there weren’t very many girls my age to play with. I’ll never forget one day when we were playing over at her house, and she said, “Let’s put apples in our shirts,” and then go show her mom. I remember thinking it probably wasn’t a good idea, and I was right; her mom frowned at us and I was so embarrassed. And what made it worse, Annette told her mom that it was my idea!

Lynn:

Lynn was also a neighbor; she lived two doors down from our house and although Lynn was a couple of years younger than me, we got along good. Her house was warm and inviting, filled with antiques and the tick-tick of an old clock. We almost always played indoors so I guess that’s why I remember her house so much. Lynn was quiet and small for her age and she was super sweet. I remember her mom telling me that Lynn’s health was fragile and that she couldn’t play outdoors or as often as I wanted to. As life would have it, and I guess because of our age difference, our friendship faded. Years later, I was so sorry to hear that she passed away in her late thirties. I never learned what caused her early death or what her mom meant when she told me that Lynn was frail.

Carla:

Carla and I met in 3rd grade at our elementary school. She had the prettiest smile and such a beautiful complexion. Most of my memories of our friendship consisted of spending the night with each other and playing Barbie dolls. Our friendship was short lived though as she also moved away. Several years later I was surprised to see her at high school, but so many years had passed, we really didn’t know each other anymore.

Judi:

Judi lived next door to the elementary school we attended and I remember thinking it was so cool that she could walk to and from school everyday. We were friends from the 4th through 6th grade. She was creative, fun to be around, and we had something in common: The Beatles! We, like most every other girl in 1964, were in love with John, Paul, George and Ringo. Besides listening and singing along to Beatles songs, we liked to dance, practice cheers, play Four-Square, and tetherball. She was so athletic and was almost always better than me in whatever we did. I remember her mom would drop us off downtown Indianapolis to go shopping all by ourselves. I felt so grown up. I think we were only 10 or 11 years old at the time. I also remember going on a trip with her family to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. I thought that was such a cool place.

Me and Judi in a Photo Booth somewhere in Indianapolis in 1964 or 1965, me at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and Judi’s sister, Vicki (on the right) and her friend, Marty, in the Photo Booth.

We lost touch after 6th grade when we went to different junior high schools for 7th – 9th grade. We ended up going to the same high school but it wasn’t until the end of our sophomore year that I realized who she was. She had grown about 6 inches taller than me and I hadn’t even recognized her. It was sad though because we didn’t know each other anymore. Puberty grew us up and we weren’t the same little girls anymore.

Donita:

I met Donita in 7th grade junior high and we were immediately kindred spirits! Our common interests were boys and fashion.

Donita’s 9th grade yearbook photo.

That’s me and Donita in the October, 1968 school newspaper. I don’t remember what we were buying but that’s me opening my coin purse and Donita standing next to me talking.

We’d talk on the phone for hours! I remember my dad getting so annoyed because we’d be on the phone almost every night with each other. And this was back when we only had home phones, and of course they were attached to the wall. I would lay on the floor in the living room and stretch the cord out of shape, and my dad would complain that the cord was stretched out of shape and that I was always on the phone and nobody else could get through. Back then, home phones would give just give a busy signal to the caller if you were already on the phone talking with someone. Eventually I got a phone, also with a long cord, installed in my room but we still only had one telephone line.

My favorite memories with Donita were spending the night over at each other’s house, hanging out with our junior high friends, and when she came with me and my family on a vacation to Indiana Beach in 1968.

It was on this vacation to Indiana Beach that I got to fly in an old open cockpit Fairchild PT-19 warbird. The pilot’s name was Mike and I only know that because that’s what I wrote on the back of the photo! I was thinking it was my sister, Joyce, who set this flight up for me as she had started working at Sky Harbor in Indianapolis in 1968, but she doesn’t recall this. So, I’m not exactly sure how this came to be, but I think this was my first flight in an airplane, and it was a good one! Joyce did take me flying two or three times while she worked at Sky Harbor from 1968 to 1973 (and I worked there from 1977 to 1986) but I don’t have photos so I’m not exactly sure when and in what aircraft we were in, although I suspect they were Cessnas. I do remember coming dangerously close to the active propellor on one occasion. I exited the aircraft for some reason which I don’t recall now, and was unaware of how close I came to the propellor until I got back in the aircraft and Joyce told me she about fainted when she saw me walk so near it. I was not a Christian at this time in my life but believe that God, knowing that one day I would be, protected me that day.

Toward the end of 1968, Donita told me that due to her dad’s job she had to move to Georgia. We cried for hours! We kept in touch by writing letters to each other for the first few years. Then, when I graduated from high school, I arranged to meet her at the Atlanta airport on a stopover on my way to Florida.

As the years went by we lost touch. I thought of her often, and then in 2009 I remembered a picture that she had sent me of her baby girl, and it had her name written on the back of it. I did a Facebook search and found her daughter, Gina, who gave me Donita’s email address. We connected again and I got to visit her again, but this time we met for lunch in Lawrenceville, a suburb of Atlanta, while Harold and I were on a road trip. It was so good to see her again and to be back in contact after so many years.

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Donita and me in Lawrenceville, Georgia, November, 2009.

Donita passed away April 11, 2024. I mourned the passing of my old friend; I missed the Donita I knew when we were young and I miss her now. I decided to send Donita’s old letters to her daughter. I re-read the letters with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, and shipped them in a lavender flowered box to her daughter, Gina, along with some photos and a stationary book of Bible Promises for her, her sister, April, and their step-brother, Shane.

Penny:

Penny and I met in Junior High and our common interests were shopping, Janis Joplin, rock bands, and boys. I don’t know how, but somehow we managed not to get into too much trouble. One night we took her brothers car out for a drive (she drove, not me!) and we were probably only 14 years old. We loved going to parties, singing Janis Joplin songs, hanging out with friends, and dancing at Sherwood Country Club. We also went to rock concerts to see Three Dog Night, Chicago, and Iron Butterfly.

I remember Penny always had a beautiful tan (even in the winter) and I tried so hard to get a tan like her. One day, after laying out for several days in the sun, her mom told me, with a serious face, “Elaine, you should get out in the sun more.” 😳

Me, Ron and Penny 1969

Here we are in 1969 with my brother Ron, who had just graduated from Navel training.

At Indiana Beach summer 1968.

In a crowded Photo Booth sometime in Junior High school.

At my cousin’s wedding in 1969. I brought Penny with me and we sat in the second row. There’s my grandma and grandpa, my cousin Todd, and Uncle Bill in the first row. My cousin, Connie, told me years later that Penny was her official “wedding crasher!”

Here we are at our 40th high school reunion in 2012.

And here is Penny, Annette, and me at our 50th High School reunion in October 2022.

…There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother….Proverbs 18:24

I remember the first time I read this verse, I assumed that it referred to friends and wondered if I ever really had a friend like that. Later I learned that the “friend” in this verse is actually referring to Jesus. Which makes perfect sense. Friends come and go but Jesus has long been my closest friend.

It’s interesting how you can hear or read a Bible verse several times and then, it’s as if you’re hearing it for the first time. In the late 1980’s I remember hearing this next verse in a sermon and it really caught my attention. Interestingly, it’s the first half of Proverbs 18:24,

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly….Proverbs 18:24

I’ve thought about that verse often over the years, as throughout most of my life, friendships have been difficult for me. First of all as an adult, I think it’s easy to get “out of the practice” of friendship. We get busy with kids, work, and just the busyness of life. But personally for me and for as long as I can remember, I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable around other people. I enjoy people but I enjoy solitude more. In retrospect I think that God has used that to help me draw into a closer relationship with Him, which of course is very good, but I’m not so heavenly minded that I don’t also realize that having friends is also good.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

So,

I need to be continually reminded to stay in the game; to serve and to return the ball whenever it lands in my court; to seek common interests with others and to take time to invest in friendships. This goes for anyone who finds themselves with similar feelings. I’ll close with this quote from C. S. Lewis:

Friendship … is born at the moment when one man says to another “What! You too? I thought that I was the only one!”

Note: This post was originally written in 2019, however I updated it on April 2024 due to the passing of my friend, Donita. ❤️‍🩹

The West Coast

In June 1990, after a 5 day, 2500 mile trek across the country, with two kids in the back seat and one car in tow, we anxiously drove into Los Angeles looking for our new apartment. We had just a few days to get settled in before I was to start working at the LAX Delta Reservation Office. We stopped to get directions to Sepulveda Boulevard. It was a major road so I was a little surprised when the guy didn’t know which road I was talking about. So I pointed it out to him on the map (yes, a paper map) and he burst out laughing. Apparently I needed to work on how to pronounce Sepulveda.

Welcome to Los Angeles. 😂

We settled in a nice gated apartment in Torrance, right next to a park and an elementary school. It was expensive, like most things in California, but thankfully Harold got a job right away, and we managed to make ends meet. We furnished it with second hand furniture and were so blessed to have a very sweet older couple, Cliff and Irene, live right next door to us. Cliff was a Church of Christ pastor and Irene was an amazing cook who loved to share her home-made pies.

The Delta Reservation Office was located just outside of LAX on Century Blvd. The office was big and modern with brand new split screen computers, which was a little intimidating at first. The week I started there, all the buzz around the office was about Kevin Costner’s wife being there for a visit. She worked for Delta before Kevin became a famous actor. I never got to meet Kevin Coster, but over the course of the next year I did run into Ed Begley Jr. (Ghostbuster’s, St. Elsewhere), and I talked to Gary Collins (actor and talk show host) and Elton John’s agent on the phone. Ha!

Welcome to Hollywood. 😂

My new position was as a full-time reservation agent. I was basically doing the same job that I had in Tampa, except this position was permanent and full-time. My seniority wasn’t much better here than it was in Tampa so the best schedule I could get was the night shift getting off at 01:00 a.m.

One night after work I was the first one to come upon the scene of a traffic accident; a young man and his motorcycle were lying in the middle of the intersection. As I got out of my car another car pulled up and the driver told me he worked for United Airlines and that he also just got off work. We walked up to the accident victim, asking each other if we knew how to do CPR. I knelt down to try to get his pulse; no pulse. I put my ear next to his mouth; no breath. I said a quick prayer for his family, whoever they were. I felt so sorry that they would soon be finding out their loved one was no longer alive. Then out of nowhere, a police officer ran up to me. He asked if I was a witness or if I knew him, and I told him no. The policeman proceeded to emphatically tell me to get up, return to my car, and leave ASAP.

I was a little shocked, but did exactly what I was told. Apparently he was just doing his job as I found out later that thieves were known to stage accidents like this, to rob you, or worse. Unfortunately for this young man but fortunately for me, this was not a staging.

Over the course of the next year, I didn’t come across any more fatalities, but it wasn’t unusual to be driving down the street, at any hour of the day or night, and to witness police with guns drawn, and suspects spread eagle.

Actually, Harold did have a close call with death while we lived there. I nearly strangled him one night:

I came home from work on a Friday night (at my usual time of around 1:30 a.m.) and found out that he let Michelle spend the night with a friend that she played with at the park near our home, but neither of us had her full name, her address, the names of her mom or her step-dad, or either of their phone numbers. All we knew was that she lived in an apartment across the street. I was beyond livid, and up all night worrying and praying, alternatively. At the crack of dawn I was over at her apartment complex walking up and down the sidewalks looking for her come out of one of the apartment buildings. I walked. I prayed. Repeat. I went home alone, praying all the way.

Thankfully, she came home within a few hours. She was safe. I was relieved and so thankful.

Oh, and Harold survived too, but barely.

Michelle and Megan with their friends at the park next to our apartment:

We attended a Baptist church in Manhattan Beach that had an Awana program. The girls enjoyed Awana back in Florida, so I was happy to find a church with the same program in California. One of the Awana leaders was a handsome young man with a great personality. His speech was slightly slurred and he always wore a ball cap. One day he took off his ball cap to show me that he only had half of a scull. Half of his brain was removed due to a car accident from a few years before. He had recovered almost all of his brain function through therapy and God’s help. Amazing.

Christmas at our Torrance apartment. All of our Christmas ornaments were in storage back in Florida so I hung some dollar store ornaments and garland up on the wall as a makeshift Christmas tree this year:

While in Torrance we arranged for my mom to come stay with us for a few months. She was a great help with the girls and we enjoyed a first time vacation to Hawaii together too.

During the time she stayed with us I could tell that Alzheimer’s was chipping away at her, little by little. While I was gone walking Michelle to school one morning, she took a walk as well and got lost. I called the police and thankfully she was located right away but it gave me an awful scare. She knew her memory was getting worse and it was beginning to upset her. In time, I came to realize that she stopped being aware of it, so eventually she wasn’t upset about it anymore. I also believe, regardless of how terrible a disease it is, that God has a plan and purpose for everything and that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus” and that a disease doesn’t change that. God is in control no matter what.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Mom and Megan in the atrium park at our apartment:

We liked living in Torrance, but the bulk of our family was on the other side of the United States. Besides that, the earthquakes were a little unnerving, and the cost of living was so expensive. I called it a “Real Estate Twilight Zone.” So it wasn’t long before I began thinking about transferring out of Los Angeles. When I saw a new job opening in special contracts with Delta in Atlanta come up on the job board, I was intrigued. I prayed about it, discussed it with Harold, and got an appointment for an interview. Atlanta wasn’t home, but it would be a lot closer to it.

On the flight to ATL for my interview, I settled in my seat hoping for a nice quiet flight and to do some reading. I’d brought my bible and had been reading it for about 30 minutes when the young man next to me struck up a conversation. He started out apologizing to me for drinking a beer. It was a morning flight and I had noticed that he was drinking beer (in the morning) 😳 but I told him no need to apologize. We ended up talking the rest of the flight. He told me that his dad was a pastor and that he was a Christian but that he hadn’t been living in God’s will for some time. He said seeing me reading my bible convicted him and made him think about his current walk with the Lord. Once in Atlanta, I went on to the interview and quickly realized that my chances of getting this job was likely slim to none. I returned to LAX and wasn’t surprised to learn that I didn’t get the job. By this time I already knew that the job God intended for me was sitting in that seat, that day, on that airplane.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17

Then, my supervisor suggested I go into the management program, so I decided to give it a try. On the very day I was supposed to start management training, Megan was admitted to UCLA Children’s Hospital with meningitis. So instead of starting a new management training class I asked for time off to be with her. Megan stayed in the hospital for two weeks on IV antibiotics. The infectious disease doctor was perplexed by her test results, suggesting that her meningitis was associated with a problem with the cadaver dura that was used for her surgery in Tampa several months before.

Then, within two months, she was back in the hospital, having yet another neurosurgery to try to detach some of the tumor from her spine. It was after this surgery she was fitted for leg braces and had to start a routine of voiding by catheter. It was a very trying time in our lives, once again. And yet, once again I felt the presence of God helping us through it. In retrospect, I believe God, knowing that Megan was going to need more surgery, placed us near one of the best children’s hospitals and one of the best neurosurgeons in the country, and at just the right time.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 103:19

Megan with gifts she got while in the hospital:

After several hospital and doctor visits I decided I would no longer pursue any upward career moves within Delta. Megan had so many medical issues I needed to be available both mentally and physically to focus on her. I was however, still very interested in getting back to the other side of the country. So, in June of 1991, after one year in Los Angeles, I made a lateral move and transferred to the Jacksonville, Florida Reservation Office: God willing, the subject of a future writing. 🖊

Where Are We?!

Driving through northern Florida late one night in the fall of 1988, our young daughters, Michelle and Megan were fast asleep in the back seat of the car. As we drove into a small town, Michelle woke up and asked, “Where are we?” I replied, “Starke”. She said, “No, where are we?” I again replied, “Starke”. She then sat up and yelled, “I know it’s dark! I said where are we?!” Harold and I cracked up laughing!! 😂

In retrospect, it was a kind of a prophetic moment for our family. We had just moved to Tampa from Indianapolis a few months earlier. Little did we know at this point in time, that over the span of the next five years we would be making three more big moves.

Tampa, actually Brandon, a small suburb east of Tampa, is where we were currently living at this particular moment in time. We lived an apartment at first and then in a house with a lease/option to buy. It was there in Brandon where I experienced a big growth in my relationship with God. I talk about that experience in my previous writing titled Another Gospel.

Some of my favorite memories in Brandon were times with my mom. She was able to come stay with us for a couple of extended visits, and even though she was in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s then, we didn’t let that keep us from enjoying time together. We went to church, visited Florida relatives, went swimming and to the park. I loved having her with us and I think she really enjoyed it too.

Harold worked as a car salesman at a car dealership in Brandon and I found a temporary part-time job in Tampa through a Temp Agency. Finances were tight and I didn’t like my job, but at least it was a job. With Harold’s job being primarily based on commission and my job being part-time, our income was hit and miss. Sometimes we were fine, other times, not-so-much. During the not-so-much times, we were so short on money that I pawned my wedding rings two times just to have grocery money. Before moving to Tampa I had never even went into a pawn shop but by the second transaction I finally realized it wasn’t exactly the smartest way to manage money.

One Saturday afternoon I popped some popcorn, stuffed it in my purse, and headed for the $1 Theatre with the girls. It had all the makings for a great day, all except on this particular day my brakes quit working. I nearly ran into another car and almost ran off the road. Somehow I managed to pull in to a shopping plaza, rolling to a stop without hitting anybody. We got out of the car and sat on a park bench outside one of the stores. Harold was at work and this was before cell phones. I sat there contemplating what to do, near tears, and decided just to pray. Within a few minutes an auto repair van pulled up and parked right in front of us. I jumped up and asked him if he could look at my brakes. I told him I didn’t have much money and that I’d been sitting there praying about what to do. He smiled and offered to take a look at the brakes. He came back and told me that the emergency brake was on and that was what caused them to get hot and not work. He said it would be safe to drive once they were fully cooled down. I offered to give him the few dollars that I had on me but he refused any money. I was relieved and simply amazed how God answered my prayer in such a tangible way.

Then in April of 1989 I got hired by Delta Air Lines and was so excited! It too was a temporary part-time position but getting hired by Delta was an answer to prayer. In Indianapolis I’d worked for a small airline and was hoping to get on with a major airline in Tampa. I really was just so happy about getting hired by Delta, that I chose not to worry about the fact that I’d have to work nights, that it was a temporary position, and only part-time.

I worked in the reservations office right outside of the Tampa airport in a triangle shaped building called The Paragon. One night my car broke down on I-4E coming home after work around 1:30 a.m. in the morning. A not-so-nice grumpy policeman stopped and then reluctantly drove me to the nearest gas station where he just dropped me off and left. Now, this was the kind of gas station with bars on the windows. 😳 I called Harold repeatedly on a pay phone but he was doing what most people were doing at 1:30 a.m., sleeping. I kept calling and calling until he finally woke up. He had to put the girls in the car and come get me and try to fix my car in the wee hours of the morning, and then he had to turnaround to get to work on time.

Good times.

Not.

While our finances and our car problems were an issue, our major on-going concern was for Megan, our youngest daughter (at the time). She was born with Spina Bifada and was having ongoing medical issues. She had an initial neurosurgery shortly after birth in Indianapolis and was doing well. In Tampa, however, she began having a few problems which resulted in several doctor and hospital visits, and two neurosurgeries at All Children’s Hospital in St Petersburg. The second surgery was mainly to correct a problem from the first surgery here. We stayed at a nearby Ronald McDonald House at no charge during these times which was much needed and appreciated. The hospital was only about an hour away but the traffic was awful so we really appreciated being able to stay right there near the hospital. I worked nights and Harold worked days and we managed it as best we could. It was a very trying time in our lives. I prayed a lot. Prayer helped me to focus on God instead of all of our problems. It was here I learned an important truth about prayer:

The power of prayer is not in the act of praying; the power is in God. It was God who helped us get through these days.

By the spring of 1990, things were going good but I was hearing some rumblings around the office that some of the temporary agents may be let go at anytime. Back when I first started working there, I was told not to hold my breath waiting for a permanent position in Tampa. They told me that the last temporary agent that got converted to a permanent full-time agent there was seven years before. I kept checking the job board for a permanent position to come up, but just like they warned me, it wasn’t happening. I was starting to worry about losing my job and our much needed medical insurance. I decided to pray about it and to trust in whatever answer He made available to us.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Philippians 4:6

Then one day I saw on the job board that a permanent full-time position opened up ….. but it was in Los Angeles! I thought, how in the world could we actually live in Los Angeles?! I prayed about it, talked it over with Harold, put in for the position, and found out within a few days that they awarded me the position in Los Angeles.

So in June of 1990, it was Los Angeles or bust! We put the bulk of our furniture in storage, packed up our personal belongings and shipped them via Delta cargo, and drove to LA, with two young kids and one car in tow. For our young family of four, it was quite a challenging move. By the grace of God we got there safely, settled in an apartment, and began the next chapter in our lives: the perfect subject for my next writing. 🖊

The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. Psalm 121:7-8

I’ve never been a fan of tattoos, not even the little ones with pretty flowers in inconspicuous places. I love flowers, and I realize it’s a personal choice, but why people would mark up their body, in permanent ink no less, is a mystery to me. With that said, I do have some favorite “No Regrets” tattoo fails: “No Ragrets,” “No Regerts,” “No Regets,” and, “Noregrets.” 😂 That about sums up my opinion of tattoos.

On the serious side of regret, it really isn’t a very pleasant subject. It usually represents a failure of some kind; something we’ve done wrong or something we’ve failed to do. A regret that produces sorrow or leaves you with a sense of remorse. A regret that a window of opportunity has closed.

I think it’s virtually impossible for anyone with a conscious to have lived their life with no regrets. For all those who appear to have no conscious I suspect they’ve worked very hard to suppress it.

A healthy conscious helps us navigate the why’s and the why-not’s in our lives. Important questions for sure, but I think the most important question we could ever ask ourselves is where we will spend eternity.

There are few things in life that are more final than death; there are fewer things in life more certain than death. The simple odds are, ten out of ten people die.

When I first hear of someone’s death, some of my first thoughts are, “Did they know the Lord?” or, “Did I ever hear them say something about their relationship with Christ or see something where they talked about their faith?” No matter if I knew them or not, but if I did know them, then it becomes intensely more personal. My thoughts change to, “Did I ever have any spiritual conversations with them?”

I didn’t always think this way.

I regret not being more concerned about spiritual matters when I was young.

I regret not having faith conversations with people I cared about, who died unexpectedly and at a young age.

I regret not really knowing where people I cared about are spending eternity.

God has since given me a heart for the lost, and a desire to spread the gospel, but I still have regret.

There are umpteen reasons why we don’t share our faith and

or talk about spiritual matters with each other. Being out of God’s will probably covers it pretty well. Fear is also real; fear of failure and not knowing what exactly to say. However, in times when I was afraid but followed through anyway, God calmed my fears and gave me the words and the strength.

…Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. Matthew 10:19

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Other reasons include being caught-up in the busyness of life, or thinking that it’s not my job, or maybe we just fail to love people as much as we should.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

Whatever the situation (or excuse) if you’re a Christian, and you’re not sharing your faith, ask yourself why not and pray about it.

While I do believe God puts certain people in our lives for a reason, there are also many people we may not be aware of that are part of God’s plan in our lives. Be willing, be ready, be available.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastics 3:1

And,

While “Salvation belongs to the Lord.”(Psalm 3:8) God calls for Christians to share our faith. As Christians, we should be having random faith conversations in one way or another from time-to-time with all sorts of different people. Pray for tender hearts, pray for opportunities, and trust in God’s perfect timing.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

The Blame Game

Back in the early 1970’s, Flip Wilson made us all laugh when he claimed, “The devil made me do it!” His TV show was funny and his shtick was brilliant; he took something that was common to all of us and turned it into comedy.

The truth is, we’re all guilty of pointing our finger at someone or something and quick to deflect the blame away from ourselves; it’s in our nature. Flip made light of blaming the devil for everything, and made a good living at it for a while. Eventually, like most TV shows, the ratings went down and the show was canceled.

While Flip Wilson’s TV show was short lived, “The Blame Game” is actually the longest running “game” in history. We’ve all have had staring rolls in it at some point in our lives; some to a greater or lesser degree and whether we’re willing to admit it or not. Here’s a recap of episode #1

Blame Game Episode #1 🎬

Starring: Adam and Eve

Setting: The Garden of Eden

Author: Moses (Inspired by God)

Synopsis: In Genesis 3, God asked Adam, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Adam blames Eve.

Eve blames the serpent.

And thus began the first episode of “The Blame Game”

The Blame Game typically begins in our own lives when we as little children, blame anybody and anything to avoid admitting we’ve done something wrong! It’s very natural and sometimes comical to see a child doing this but it’s the wise parent who let’s the child know early on that they know the truth, guides them toward admitting they’ve done wrong, and punishes them in an age appropriate way if warranted.

The Blame Game may become a little more complicated as we grow up, but nevertheless it’s still the same old game. In my own life, I went through various traumas when I was young. For many years I saw myself as a victim, at first unconsciously and then later more consciously. The tricky part about being a victim is that there is a perpetrator to rightfully blame but it becomes problematic if you then try to justify your own sinful behavior because you were a victim. It’s very convenient and so much easier to blame someone or something for the sin in your own life. Not to take away from the fact that I was a victim, but, and more importantly, it really wasn’t until I saw myself as a sinner too, that I began growing in my Christian life.

But each person is tempted

when he is lured and enticed

by his own desire.

James 1:14

Owning up to the sin on my life not only put my opinion of myself in proper perspective but it also lead me to a clearer concept of forgiveness. We’re all sinners in need of a Savior.

Plain and simple, we are responsible for the choices that we make. Not other people. If you’re blaming your bad choices and your bad behavior on other people, simply put, you’re wrong. Own up to the sin in your life, and if you’ve never done this yet, there’s no better time than the present. God is a loving Father, who waits patiently for you to turn to Him in repentance and faith.

If we confess our sins,

He is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

100%

Ford-100% Kavanaugh-100% Interesting. I watched the Ford-Kavanaugh senate hearing on TV for most of the day yesterday. My honest opinion is that they both seemed very believable. I would like to think that it’s just a case of mistaken identity on her part, but she claims she’s 100% certain it was him. He claims that it was 100% not him. I’m not going to judge either one as a liar.

But I do think this hearing should remind everyone that everything we do is subject to scrutiny at some point in the future. If not by some type of legal proceeding, then ultimately by God Himself.

Here’s the thing: to be on the safe side of the law, don’t break it. To be on the safe side of God, you have to admit you’re a lawbreaker. The irony is, it’s impossible not to break the law because we’re all sinners. No matter how good you think you are or what others think of you. You may be able to persuade people and/or the law one way or the other, but in the end, what real good will that do you if you’ve not reconciled with God? The truth is, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Roman’s 3:23

To me, this senate hearing was the culmination of an unfortunate course of events, with the only possible good outcome being that it might bring attention to the total depravity of man and the total sovereignty of God, and that many would take Him up on his free gift of salvation.

Mirrors

Mirrors-3

My husband and I are on the road a lot. I enjoy traveling and my husband enjoys being in the motor home business so that works out well for the both of us.

We buy a lot of motor homes and I often drive one too if we buy more than one motor home at a time. I’ll never forget a few of years ago I got on I-4 West in Florida driving a 36-foot motor home back home to Texas, when I suddenly realized I’d forgot to adjust the side mirrors! The right mirror was totally turned in and I couldn’t see the cars to the right of me at all. I quickly called my husband who was driving ahead of me, to have him look back and tell me if I could change lanes so I could exit and fix my mirrors.

That was my first (and hopefully last) mistake concerning my mirrors while driving a motor home. I’ve learned to trust and depend very much on those mirrors.

Mirrors are helpful in little things too. All through my grade school years I was extremely near-sighted and wore glasses. I remember on my 13th birthday, my parents, at the suggestion of my sister, Joyce, gave me the gift of hard contact lenses. I was so excited about not having to wear my old glasses anymore but was a little nervous about putting the contacts in my eyes. The eye doctor eased my fears by teaching me how to put them in using a small mirror. With that small mirror and a little bit of practice it wasn’t long before I was a pro at it.

So in January of 2018 I decided to read through the Bible, again. I think this was my third time of reading through the Bible. As usual, I learn and/or discover new insights each time I read the Bible. Even simple things. For example I don’t think I ever realized until the 2018 reading that the Ten Commandments are written down in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. It’s common actually for the Bible to repeat laws and various verses in the Bible and The Ten Commandments are certainly important enough to be repeated. So, it got me thinking about the Law.

The Law is actually like a mirror. Like a mirror, the Law helps us to see the “dirt and imperfections,” (aka the sin) in our lives.

Just as a mirror shows us what we really look like, the Law convicts us of our sin, and the only cure for the sin in our life is Jesus.

“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring usto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Galatians 3:24

To be clear, the Law doesn’t save us. Only Jesus saves. But, the recognizing of our need to be saved, seeing the “the dirt and imperfections in the mirror” aka, the sin in our life, is a step to salvation.

“The recognition of sin is the beginning of salvation.” Martin Luther

So the Law makes us aware and convicts us of our sin.

Then,

Turning away from sin in repentance, and turning to Jesus Christ in faith, trusting in Him for the forgiveness of our sin. and believing that He is who He says He is, is what brings us into a right relationship with Christ.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15

Something to think about the next time you look in the mirror.

Billy Graham

Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God. #BillyGraham

In October of 2002, Billy Graham came to Dallas to speak in what was to be one of his last crusades, The Metroplex Mission, a four night event. Weeks before, our church was contacted by the BGEA to be one of the participation area churches. I attended the Billy Graham five-week training program at our church and volunteered to be a counselor at the Dallas Metroplex Mission crusade.

Part of the 5-week training program included bible verse memorization, which my oldest daughter, Michelle, helped me with. As a result, she memorized those bible verses too. It was during this time I began praying for one of my husband’s friends who was in the hospital and was not expected to live. My daughter and I went to visit him in the ICU at the hospital where we found him on a ventilator and unable to talk. That gave us plenty of opportunity to do all the talking. So we shared some of the Bible verses from the BGEA training, went over the plan of salvation, and prayed out loud for him.

The next day, my daughter told me that she had been sharing the Bible verses with her boyfriend and that he’d been asking a lot of questions about becoming a Christian. I encouraged her to go over the plan of salvation with him as soon as God gave her the next opportunity, which came that very night. He received Christ as His Savior in response to the gospel. He started attending our church and began a one-on-one Bible study with his Sunday School teacher. He also came to the first night of the Metroplex Mission and came forward to make a public profession of faith.

On that first night of Mission Metroplex, Billy Graham, at age 83, spoke clearly about God’s love and His plan of salvation. One of the first girls that I spoke with was a 22 year old young lady who came forward to rededicate her life. She explained that she first came to know Christ at age 20 but that she had not been following Him the way she knew she should. I told her that when I was young, I did the same. I explained that I first came to faith in Christ at age 12 and then drifted away in my teens and early twenties. I mentioned that when I was her age I was working as a cocktail waitress and bartender and didn’t turn my life around until I was in my mid-twenties, a few days after hearing Billy Graham speak on TV. Her eyes opened wide and she looked shocked. She told me that she was currently working as a cocktail waitress and bartender. So, out of the over 2300 people that come forward to make a decision for Christ that night, God arranged for the two of us with a similar background, to connect and speak with each other. Amazing

Over the next few nights at Mission Metroplex I had the privilege of talking and praying for several more ladies. After it was over I came away with the understanding that Christians should always be ready to share our faith anytime, not just at a Billy Graham crusade.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15

Concerning my husband’s friend who was in the hospital, he passed away within a few days of our visit. While I don’t know if he was able to hear us, or if he ever received Christ, I do know it was those same Bible verses and plan of salvation that we spoke to him about that my daughter shared with her boyfriend, who in turn responded by receiving Christ. A little over a year later, this young man died unexpectedly at age 24 and I believe he is in heaven today because he placed his trust in Jesus.

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:15

On February 21, 2018, I woke up to the news that Billy Graham had passed away at age 99. Billy Graham spent the bulk of his life preaching the the gospel and pointing millions and millions of people to Christ, one of which was me.

I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. John 11:25