New Beginnings

     This was my first official week back at work. So many things happened to me this week. I have to stop and catch my breath to be able to grasp it all. God can do more than we could ever ask or think. When I heard that WJLS was sold to West Virginia Radio Corporation, I was happy. There was no covering that fact up. The previous company basically ran it into the ground, they took all of the money they could and didn't invest any back into the business until they had to. I had to forgive them for what they did, it was hard, but after, the day I was praying and telling the Lord how they treated me, and the Lord asked me then, did they beat you, did the crucify you, I said well no Lord and the Lord said they did all of what they did to you they did it to me and much worse. Well when I heard that what could I say, I had to forgive them. As hard as it was I was obedient to the Lord.      As I said when I heard about the sale of the station, people...

     The song "Back in the Saddle Again" is playing in my head, not the Gene Auntry one, but Aerosmith. I'm baaack in the saddle. This sounds crazy for a  50-plus year old woman to be singing this. Or I could just sing it is either from Donald Lawrence "Back better than I was before".  Anyway I started back at WJLS today was the official first day. I came up Friday. I was nervous, I didn't sleep well last night or on Thursday night. I am so afraid that something will come up that I can't handle.  I was really surprised about how much came back to me. I hadn't worked a board since August 31, 2010.      Coming back is bittersweet. There are some things I am going to have to pray about and work through. There were some changes made. I know everybody likes to put their stamp on things, but these changes were really unnecessary. I began to wonder if they were done out of spite. It would be like me programming a rock station. I wouldn't...

     Have you ever considered the life choices you make? Interesting, thoughts, sometimes you play the "what if?" game. "What if" can be a dangerous game to play, because at times it causes you to imagine things that are best left alone. One of my favorite poems is "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. I remember this from fourth or fifth grade The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this wi...

     Radio is my first love as a career. I have said it, admitted it. This is the first step to getting help. Right??? Radio to me is like a mistress, it is addictive and very seductive once it is in your blood watch out!!! . Nothing ever compares to it.      I was talking to someone in class who recognized my voice from radio and finally figured out who I was. They knew Matt as well from our radio days. Last week when we were at a dinner for Matt's work, we just refer to our time in radio as another life. We met at the radio station where we both worked so it is part of us. Radio was something that I wanted to do since I was 10 years old back then , it was a long shot, because I was very shy and timid. As I got older I wanted to do something behind the scenes. One of my jobs as an intern was to write commericals and write liner cards for the oldies weekend. As I got into radio more and more I realized what a vital tool it is in people live...

     In the last few months I have had my struggles. With depression, bought on by medication. One of the really bad side effects. With my purpose in life. With what God has promised me that He would prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. People have prophesied over me that "my setback was to set me up for a come back." All I have been asking lately is when. I have been waiting for two years and, I have been through so much.      I was looking at TD Jakes the other morning, and he said sometime that really ministered to me. You know how sometime you don't fit in with other people. It is not that you don't play well with others, it that you can't do what other people do. There are places that you can't go and things that God won't allow you to do. It gets hard and you get lonely and you wonder why you can't fit in. Jakes said that "God didn't design you to fit in, God designed you to stand out, to be an outcast for the plans He...

     I love the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind. I really do but I sometimes wonder about things. We all have been there. When some injustice is done to a loved one, when we hear of someone sick who has served the Lord for many years. I know life isn't fair, so I wish people would stop trying to make it fair. You try to deal with hand you have been dealt.     For me, dealing with the hand that I have been dealt is dealing with albinism. Which means no pigments in my skin. That means I cannot tan, I burn, like a piece of bacon in a hot skillet. When I was young, people used to tell me I needed to get a suntan, I needed some sun. So I went to the store , got some suntan lotion. The only thing it did was turn my skin an orange color. Then I graduated to the sunless tanners. They sort of worked to a point. I get questioned all the time about my blonde hair, it is not from a bottle, it is this color, because of the albinism. I won't have to worry ab...

     Being a supervisor has its ups and downs. I hear stories at school all the time about these younger people in their early 20's being managers. It strikes me as strange, but then when you think about it. They are offered a little more money and a chance as they see it to boss people around. They think it is cool to be over people. The company puts them in an assistant manager position and they work their tails off for just a little more than minium wage. You have the authority to hire and fire people. So you hire your friends and fire people who you don't like. They could be good workers, but maybe their personality and yours just don't work well together. There maybe something about them that rubs you the wrong way.  I had a supervisor tell me I needed to quit wearing that cheap perfume. The cheap perfume that I was wearing was my moms Chanel No 5.  Anyway I just shook my head and went on doing whatever it was I was doing.   ...

     It's another snowy day. It came earlier this year than usual. I remember my mom telling that the year that Sharon and Dwight Bright were born that there came a big snow in October 1961. Tree branches broke under the weight of the snow, ect. I am now sitting at home, this morning I watched as my husband dig his way out. I had a flashback to December 2009 when he was digging his way out to get me to work. I was glad I didn't have to go out, but also a little sad. I used to think of getting out as an adventure. My mom and I would get in the Subaru and head to WJLS, or my dad would drop me off in his truck on the way to work and then when Matt and I worked mornings we braved the snow. Many mornings it would be us and the snow plow. We always saw it as a challenge. I was proud that I never missed work during a storm. Once Matt walked up there to clean the ice and snow off of the satellite dishes so we could get programming. I had learned when the snow was deep, to ta...

Children are scattered all over this land We've lost our love for our fellow man Father and mothers are parting today There's dust on the altar where we used to pray Let's seek out the old paths and walk therein Our children are crying, dying in sin Satan is laughing as God's people stray There's dust on the altar where we used to pray Tears that were once shed for a brother in need They are now called old-fashioned They are no longer seen Greed and proud hearts have gotten in the way There's dust on the altar where we used to pray. Let's seek out the old paths and walk therein Our children are crying, dying in sin Satan is laughing as God's people stray There's dust on the altar where we used to pray. I heard this song in 1985. One morning I went to work and was listening to the program that came before "Joy In The Morning". The preachers name was Oden E Lockhart. That song really got to me. During that time I was having...

     The Lord has been dealing with me in the area of my prayer life. For someone who used to do a lot of praying, I have come up somewhat lacking. I figured with all of the extra time I had, I would be an awesome prayer warrior. This lasted for a short time. Not because I was that busy. It was just because I was in a rut. I get up in the morning to start Matt's coffee, go back to bed and get up right before he leaves and then when he leaves, I turn on the TV and listen to the ministries all from the couch or I go back to bed. The Lord said I needed to step it up a notch.   While I was at the Women's Conference at church the pastors daughter was speaking about, how growing up their family prayed together at night before going to bed, they gathered in the living room to pray and how she has continued that with her own family.  I thought I used to do that, but I have gotten lazy about that, now I just watch the news and head for bed and IF I think about ...

     Last week a friend of mine transitioned to heaven.  Anyone who knew Florence Smith knew that she was a strong lady. She was a sweetheart as well, full of fight, and spunk. She lost the battle with cancer, but she was the ultimate winner, she is home with the Lord.      Florence was a member of the church I attend, I first met her in the adult Sunday School class. We would see each other coming and going with different things in the church. It wasn't until we started doing some health education in the church. We tried to do "First Place" a Christ centered weight loss program. This was during the time my mother was in the hospital and I needed to watch my diabetes. I was diagnosed as a "border line" diabetic.  We would meet and wiegh each week, we cancelled meetings and then the meeting dwindled down to three of us.  When my mom died she dropped off a fruit tray by the house.          In the...

     In a recent post I said that God had sent me a message saying "Did I want to settle for bronze or did I want to wait for the gold?"  I said I wanted to wait for the gold. I still want to wait for the gold. Waiting is hard work. Lately there is not a day that goes by where I don't run into someone who asks me if am I still in radio. Some of them think I retired, I had been at the job long enough to retire, but I wasn't old enough to retire.      You get questions like this "How is retirement?" or "I miss you on radio, why doesn't another station hire you" or they want to tell me all of what is going on where I used to work. It is like people have to just talk. I usually cut the conversation short by saying "That it was part of God's plan and I went back to school." Most people are shocked that I would even consider doing something else. I look at it like this, I am not going to stand at a door and beat my fists bloody until ...

     God's Word is awesome and He will give you a word when you most need it. I am soooooo thankful for that.  Some days I have a tendency to grow restless and feel sorry for myself. When a fellow former co-worker made the announcement that they had gotten a job, I got a little depressed. Not that I wish them any ill will, it's just that it didn't seem fair in the scheme of things. I am almost ashamed to admit this but anyway I spent a few days feeling sorry for myself.      Self Pity Land is a tough one to visit, because you come alone and you stay there alone and it grows deeper and takes over your life. You stop enjoying the things you used to enjoy, it smothers you and takes all of your energy. I couldn't stay there long because I had schoolwork to do. I even began to resent going back to school and working so hard. Thats what Self Pity Land does. It makes you think your accomplshments seem small or unimportant. Sometimes you have to sh...

     About 15 or 16 years ago Michael W. Smith had a song called "Place in this world". I'm looking hard to find my place in this world, were some of the lyrics to the song. First I can't beleive it has been that long since that song came out.. When the song came out, I really didn't pay that much attention to the lyrics, because I had my place in the scheme of things. I taught the seventh grade Sunday School class at Memorial Baptist, I was involved in the singles ministry there and worked with children's church. I also did the morning on WJLS -AM and did a little promoting concerts that came to Beckley. I had even did some traveling to some of the concerts and knew quite a few of the artist I played on the air.      Fast forward fifteen years later, I am now a minister still in the young stage of the ministry, where you watch and go with someone and learn how to do things. Even though I have been in church since the age of ten, being a ministe...

     When I look back over the last two years. I have some strong emotions and some battle scars, but I am better for it. There is a song called "Pulling Me Through" that I can relate to. Losing a job in the economy is not unheard of. To try to end someone's influence and ministry is just plain mean. There were things said that shouldn't have been said. Implying that I did something to deserve what I got from people I thought would have my back. It turns out they didn't. People I had worked side by side with, I never heard from them. Some of them I helped when life turned on them. That's OK, It hurt, but I talked to God about it on my knees as I cried during those early days.      August 31, 2010 when the day was over with I came home and made some calls to Division of Rehab, to some other people. Not looking for sympathy as some had suggested, but to start life again and let people know what was going on. I went to class and almost fell do...

     I love to read. There is nothing better than curling up on the couch or in your favorite chair with a good book. On those lazy summer days sitting on the back porch with a good book. When I say good book, I am not talking about classical literature here. A good book is one that hold your interest. It could be classical literature, historical romanance, biographies, self help books, science fiction or westerns. What ever you like and it holds your interest.      A book had the power to take you to another place and time without the expense of leaving your home. I have been to the Amish country several times. The Amish families in Lancaster Pa., and some Amish families in Ohio. I have visited the farms, planted and harvested crops with them. Then I have been to the high fashion world of Danielle Steel. The travels to the surburbs and across the ocean. Right now I am with a thirty one year old single women and her grandmother in Maine as they ...

     It was in 2006 that I began to have trouble with my eyes. I have always been legally blind, but this was different. I began to see shadows around letters. I noticed at work when I was writing contracts, the lines would get jumbled. One morning I was leaving for work and mis-stepped and fell down my steps to my walk, busting my knees open. I knew it was time for my annual eye exam. I began to wonder if all of these things were a result of me using the computer a lot on the job. So I went to have a dialated eye exam. The results were scary, I had a condition call kertaconas, that is when the cornea bulges out and things get fuzzy, you cannot distinguish certain items. It is treated either by wearing contacts or transplant surgery. The doctor who diagnosed me was a listener. He was going to refer me to a specialist in Charleston. He also wanted me to sign releases of the eye doctors I had  been to. He wanted to look at my records. So I signed three releases of...

     The was a country song that said that you need to love what needs loving because we are only here for a little while.  This week I have received several calls and emails about different people I know transitioning from this life to the next one. Some of them I didn't know they were as sick as they were and others I didn't know if they were sick at all. They had overcome some obstacles with their health, but they seemed to be doing OK.      Elder David Parker was a member of Heart of God ministries, he played music,. preached, and witnessed; anywhere he could, he told people about Jesus. Elder Parker was a straight shooter with things... at times a little too straight, but he loved Jesus. He sang the song "There's Just Something About That Name". God send people like that into your life to show you what is important, how to conduct yourself and guide you in the right ways. Going to the nursing home was just part of the ministry, as well...

     Its August, the garden is coming in with fresh tomatoes, green beans and all sort of fresh vegetables. I remember my dad saying that when he was a kid, him and his cousin Johnny would head for the garden with a salt shaker, so they could eat tomatoes, cucumbers ect. I also hear the crickets singing and I think its almost time to go back to school. Those three words send a dread into the lives of every kid. Parents get anxious about buying stuff for the kids, school clothes and the like.  Moms and dads get sad because kids are going off to college for the first time. There are a lot of emotions associated with this month.      I am experiencing all of these myself. happiness over the plants and the garden,looking forward to the convention in Ripley, anxious about school and my financial aid package and trying tio finish Algebra and pass it, also statistics, I am concerned about. I am told that it makes more sense that algebra.. I am fee...

     Theresa was experiencing a lonely time in her life when Lee started working there. Theresa was writing in a composition romanric stories when she had some down time which usually was while she was on the air and evenings at home. The notebook went everywhere. Theresa would write things about two people coming from completely opposite ends of the spectrum, meeting and falling in love, despite the many obstacles put in the way. Some of this ended up being partly true, in Theresa's life. She had just strated a story about a woman who was busy with her caeer  meeting a man through work and all of the ups and downs it caused.      When Lee came to work that day and he was introduced as the assistant engineer, Theresa wondered in her heart if he could be the one. He was nice looking, sort of a nerd, but not really. He wore glasses and had the shirt with the pens in the pockets, , kind of a geek, but very nice to look at. At first Lee was ver...

While I was cleaning up the kitchen to paint the cabinets, a process I haven't finished yet, due to schoolwork ect. I looked at some of the papers I had, some were old recipies. I found Carol Hortons noodle bake  and a few others and I also found this from a Bble study. Mom and I used to attend the Noon Bible study at Heart of God Ministries. I still do sometimes. I actually enjoy it better, but it is hard to find transportation during the day. Everyone has their routine and I feel like I am in the way, at times. Anyway I thought that everyone would be interested in what was on my refridgerator for over three years. The paper has yellowed, but it is still easy to read. Bishop Fred Simms - Bible Study 4-23-03 Challange yourself and memorize these rules to become the child of God desires you to become. 1. I can accomplish what I desire to do. 2. I am sharp 3.My mind is clear 4. When I do a job, I will do it right, I will do it fast, and I will do it well.  Remember f...