tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68010523477601000502024-03-13T12:13:30.564-07:00Wise EyesThrilling truth?!
Want proof that God is real? Wise Eyes provides stories for your whole family inspiring faith, truth, and hope.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-68564378809188888552015-11-16T15:20:00.001-08:002015-11-16T16:02:58.212-08:00Have you ever felt alone?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mabel-Demonstration-Power-God%C2%92s-Word/dp/1496961757/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447715652&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=mabel+by+charlotte+huskey">Check out Mabel on Amazon!</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">A Demonstration of the Power of God's Word This memoir is about Mabel, a remarkable young girl left alone in the world. Her life is shattered when both her mother and brother die, and her father abandons her. While struggling to survive, she is mistreated and falsely accused. Mabel's strong faith in her heavenly Father is put to the test. Will she ever have a home to shut out the cold or a family with hearts of love as she once had? After enduring four turbulent years, Mabel receives a letter from her papa. It is postmarked Oklahoma City. She uses all her money for a train ticket and goes searching for him. Without any modern communication, will Mabel find her papa in a city of 90,000 people? If by a miracle she finds him, will she be able to love and forgive him? Ii Corinthians 4:8 9 “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” Mabel's young life is ship wrecked and torn to bits. She is troubled on every side, yet she is not forsaken by her heavenly Father. Will He ever restore her life and mend her broken heart? Can she believe in His plan for her life and trust He will give her good things when all she has known is affliction?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-66433947263353115892015-07-28T21:00:00.000-07:002015-07-28T21:15:30.567-07:00Wonderful life of 80<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Would you care to share? It's birthday time and we want to celebrate all that Charlotte is and has done. Please commit below and share a funny moment or how she has positively impacted your life.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-86261601614018155472015-04-30T11:35:00.001-07:002015-05-12T20:35:50.101-07:00<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="font-family: 'Apple Chancery';"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-size: large; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> ON MY KNEES</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we are unable to do things we want to do here is another way to get it done.</span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last night I took a journey; to a land far across the seas.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I did not travel by boat or plane; I traveled on my knees.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I saw so many people there, In trouble and in sin;</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus told me I should go, For there were souls to win.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But I said, “Lord I am not able to go And work for Thee.”</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He answered quickly, “Yes you can. . . By traveling on your knees”.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He said, “You pray, and I’ll meet that need. . . You call, and I will hear;</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Carry a burden for lost souls. . .Of those both far and near”.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And so I tried it, , , Knelt in prayer; And gave up some hours of ease.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I felt the Lord right by my side, While traveling on my knees.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As I went on, souls were saved; And sickly bodies healed. . . </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I also saw my strength renewed, While laboring on the fields.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I said, “Yes, my Lord, I’ll go. . . My desire Thy will to please;</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I will go and heed Thy call, By traveling on my knees”.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And by faith I saw things happen; Christ setting men free. . . </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Joy and peace was also theirs, On the other side of the sea.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The message of Christ was given, As clear as could be;</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And I was also there. . .Cause I traveled on my knees. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>__Selected</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-12483387037463904662015-03-17T19:43:00.000-07:002015-05-12T20:46:34.656-07:00<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 9px; text-align: center; text-indent: 27px;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Will Your Children Survive the Blizzard</b></span></div>
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<i>If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him </i>I John 2:15<br />
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Blizzards often completely paralyze the activities of city and country areas, and cause death to those caught without warm shelter or food. Many people in the United States have died from blizzards. In 1940, when I was a little girl living in Oklahoma, 144 people froze to death when a cold Arctic front swept across the Mid-west. In 1958, there were 171 deaths in the Northeast; also, in the same area 100 died in 1996. New York lost 400 people to a blizzard in 1988. In 1993, 200 died in the Eastern part of our country. That is records of some of the worst blizzards in the U. S. But Europe records loosing 1000 as the result of only one blizzard.<br />
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A blizzard occurs when masses of cold, polar air move out of the arctic regions and into the Temperate Zone. When these air masses meet moist warm air masses coming from the tropics, a cold front forms, separating the two kinds of air masses. Heavy snow falls along the cold front. High winds blow around the low-pressure area where the two air masses meet. </div>
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It seems to me that a spiritual blizzard is blowing across the Church. The chilling spirits of Satan have moved into the temperate regions of Christendom and are paralyzing many. Revelation 20:7-9 tells us, “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth... and compassed the camp of the saints....” Also chapter 9, tell us that the bottomless pit was opened and spirits come out that were commanded to hurt all men which had not the seal of God in their foreheads. These prophecies of the end time are surely being fulfilled. Millions of seductive spirits are swarming across the land chilling down those who were once on fire for God. God said, “So then because thou art lukewarm, ...I will spew thee out of my mouth,” (Revelation 3:16). I wonder how many will be spewed out and eventually die in this awful spiritual blizzard? Then what will happen to the children of those who have cooled off or died?</div>
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Many people have lost their lives in blizzards because they did not suspect its force or the direction from which it was coming. The World Book Encyclopedia states that weather forecasters can usually tell when a blizzard is coming. But occasionally blizzards change direction and strike cities unaware because only the most skilled forecasters can see all the changes that may occur in a blizzard’s path. </div>
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This spiritual blizzard is the same. There is a subtle, intangible, spiritually evil force behind those things that cause the cooling off. The impact of that spiritual force is far greater than we suspect. And Satan is shrewd. He changes his tactics often so that only those who are the most skillful in spiritual warfare can detect the attack. From the history of the church, we know Satan has deceived even those who were skilled in spiritual warfare. Lord help us to be watchful and seeking God to know when and how Satan is working.</div>
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The subtle power of this blizzard is similar to a magnet or suction. Like quick sand, it will take us under while we’re struggling against it. Have you not seen someone struggle and struggle to get loose from coveting material things, but eventually, a power stronger than they pulled them under? They become victims, working long hours, neglecting their spiritual man. Satan will storm us with different things, pleasure, doubts, unforgiveness, the cares of life, etc. Cares of this life seem to be the most dangerous. Material things are necessary; our very existence demands their attention. But Jesus told us “seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, (let it be top priority) and all these things will be added to you,” (Matthew 6:24-34). Also Jesus teaches that, He feeds the birds of the air, and that we worth much more that they. Yet to judge by our anxieties, it seems that God cares for the birds but not us. </div>
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Jesus warns in Luke 17:26-30 that as it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot so shall it be in the days when the Son of man is revealed. What was happening then? They were eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, and building. What are we doing today? One would think that since food and shelter are more easily obtain than in years passed, we would be more carefree about them. But we are not. Our conversation shows that the devil’s snow flakes of materialism are flurrying through our minds. Our conversations are about: What we eat? What we wear? Where we are living, and what we are driving. </div>
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“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” (Matthew. 12:34). Listen the next time you are in a group of Christians. What are the conversations about? The mouths are talking about what is in their hearts. What then is on the hearts? Jesus said, “after all these things do the Gentiles seek:” By our conversations and by how we spend our time and energy, will our children judge us to be Gentiles (unbelievers), or spiritual Christians? </div>
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The force of Satan’s blizzard is blasting every heart. He forces himself into our hearts through the desires of the flesh that are not sinful. Food and shelter are not sin. But Satan through his demonic power is using these things to lure us into loving the world more than we love God. I John 2:15-16, says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust (desires) of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Oh, that parents who love only legitimate things of the world could only see the damage it does to their children. What are luxuries to us will be necessities to our sons and daughters. A blizzard of sinless desires will blind them. Will they be able to survive the awful storm and come out loving God with all their heart?</div>
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During storms of physical persecution Christians go all sorts of pressures, yet they stay true to God. But the pressures of materialism are so different that it is hard to distinguish when “things” are a blessing from God and when they are a cruse. Planting and building, buying and selling are perfectly legitimate and even beneficial, but the power behind them presses upon men today until they lose their directions and become unbalanced. Notice how Christians are feverishly making business deals? They are hurrying here and there doing business and talking on the phone in every place, and all hours of the day and night. Their affections are buried by materialism and their spirits so lean they fall under the lightest pressures.</div>
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Men talk about being caught in the rat race. And for what is the race? Is it not to accumulate the world’s goods? Isn’t it to enjoy as much of the world as possible? If we want to enjoy the world its because we love the world. For, who wants to enjoy what he does not love? In the good old days, when it was really hard to make ends meet; a man would work at one vocation and spend his evenings at home with his family. Today fathers are working two jobs, or both mother and father are working, leaving little time for teaching God’s Word to their children. Some entrepreneurs have their fingers in several business speculations. They are caught up in a marketing maelstrom that is whirling them madly around like a rat on a treadmill.</div>
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Can we not see that this is not God‘s plan for his people? God says, “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God,” (Colossians 3:2-3). Are our children convinced that we are dead to the things of the world? At which do they see our eyes sparkle? (Is it when we hear God’s Word or when we’re gotten something at a terrific bargain or earned extra money?)</div>
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A storm has formed under the direction of Satan and has moved out over the world. Let us say, “No” to collecting more “things” and take shelter under God’s Word. That is the only way to protect our families and ourselves. It is the only way to avoid being paralyzed by Satan’s blizzard.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-64250944596174904502015-03-14T20:46:00.001-07:002015-05-18T13:33:05.734-07:00<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>To My Posterity and All the World</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Where there is living people there is hope.”</i></span></div>
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<i>What advice would you pass along to your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren? What have you learned that you would like to share? 200 years from now the children in your family may be learning from your wisdom. You can influence strengthening and advise your family for many generations. When they read this page what advice would you give them?</i></div>
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My advice to all future generations is : Always remember Manasseh a character in the Bible. He was king of Judah and he lead the people of Judah into worshiping idols. He experienced witchcraft, did enchantment and he sought advice from wizards. In later years, he was captured by an enemy, chained and carried to Babylon. During this terrible trouble he humbled himself and prayed. God delivered him; and he turned his country back to God this is found in the second book of Chronicles chapter 23.</div>
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Always remember that no matter what sins you have committed, God will forgive when you humble yourself and pray. Then you can help others turn around.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6ibqYPJARbSS3-hglp7zeZMmLZNd4npgOsCK81wzOJN9BmlrQiKu254iqVJ_ApnNmgIDjYDIX3JNM81p6-CubLdNOOs9luPTZklhVrKDclVcKIkn2YFWRGMH01auSnFHOh6IHtUxIMmG/s1600/10991305_10152863139288409_3331595524522495990_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6ibqYPJARbSS3-hglp7zeZMmLZNd4npgOsCK81wzOJN9BmlrQiKu254iqVJ_ApnNmgIDjYDIX3JNM81p6-CubLdNOOs9luPTZklhVrKDclVcKIkn2YFWRGMH01auSnFHOh6IHtUxIMmG/s400/10991305_10152863139288409_3331595524522495990_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Other Advice;</div>
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1. Always believe God created all things. </div>
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2. Love and reverence this God. ”He that loves not; knoweth not God, for God is love." I John <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4:8.</div>
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3. Trust the Bible to be Gods message to man. </div>
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4. Rely on the truth that you are made in God’s image. This will give you strength to overcome every sin. </div>
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5. Seek God's approval on every major decision in your life</div>
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If my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were sitting around my rocking chair I would say, “I love each of you and wish I could help each of you with your particular problems. I would love to hold each one on my lap and shield you from suffering. Of course, I can’t. Aside from that, the wind and the storms are what makes a strong tree.</div>
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I know God will make you strong to conquer the obstructions. Don't trust yourself, trust the great Creator who can do all things. Every obstacle you conquer, will make you stronger for the next. So keep climbing up as you go through life. If you fall, –get yourself up, dust off and go again; ever climbing upward.</div>
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The eggs of the cicada locust hatch in a tree. It falls to the ground where it enters the soil and stays until it is fully developed. This takes from 2 to 17 years (depending upon the species of cicada). When the insect is develop it crawls out of the earth and finds a tree. Step-by-step the bug moves up the tree. If he loses his grip on the tree bark, he starts again, always moving upward until he finds this tree home.</div>
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So we humans must always be moving upward, always upward until we get to our final heavenly home.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-43614249482030107932014-03-06T17:29:00.000-08:002015-05-12T20:28:13.692-07:00The Big Bang Theory, You Have Got to be Kidding- God<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_S-VSBHDbYYMkhvmlvDQ0Db4yASN8cGtH4rVFucRub9ApXeG-IUcdhXVXXAyPl6r-nte2HK9_-Sd9jrphKUXKOAykbTm5Crp4n6KboTL8q_et5dBXIzbQra9LJmmJI-BVz4e7Myz9flp/s1600/1915637_187845788779_7341177_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_S-VSBHDbYYMkhvmlvDQ0Db4yASN8cGtH4rVFucRub9ApXeG-IUcdhXVXXAyPl6r-nte2HK9_-Sd9jrphKUXKOAykbTm5Crp4n6KboTL8q_et5dBXIzbQra9LJmmJI-BVz4e7Myz9flp/s400/1915637_187845788779_7341177_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>OUR YOUNG EARTH</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Published in the Church of God Quarterly for juniors, 1990<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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How long does it take to make an island, a canyon, or a mountain?<br />
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One day the cold November wind of Iceland lashed a fisherman’s face. It
caught<o:p></o:p></div>
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his net. When he threw
it out again, he noticed smoke rising from the North Atlantic about four miles
out from Geirfuglasker.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Look! Smoke!” He shouted to his partner. “A ship’s on fire!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ship's captain radioed for help and headed the small fishing boat in
the<o:p></o:p></div>
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direction of the
smoke. Moments later the captain radioed again, “No ship is in danger. But fire
is shooting out of the icy ocean!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dr. Thorarinsson, a well-known geologist, was at the scene in a couple
of hours. He watched from the deck of a ship a safe distance away as red
volcanic rock and ash spouted into the sky. Gigantic flames lashed upward as if
trying to lick the sky. Day after day he watched an island being rapidly formed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Two years later, in 1965, he built a house on the new island. This new
island was named Surtsey. The house was headquarters for scientists studying
the new plants and animals that invaded the island.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Several leading evolutionary geologists watched as natural forces within
the earth formed not only a new island but one with a landscape that appeared
to be thousands of years old. “The varied and mature landscape was almost
beyond belief,” Dr. Thorarinsson wrote.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What elsewhere may take thousands of years...the same development took
weeks or even a few days here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Evolutionists use an uniformitarian time scale for estimating the age of
the earth, rocks, fossils, etc. According to this time scale, changes in the
earth’s surface are a gradual process rather than sudden upheaval. Geologists now
realize because of Surtsey (the new island formed by the volcano) that this
time scale could be very misleading.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shortly after the island’s first birthday it had a mountain which has an
active volcano, wide sandy beaches, impressive cliffs which were grayish white
and resembled the cliffs on the English Channel. There were hollows, secluded
valleys, soft waving surfaces and boulders worn almost round by the surf. Gales
and sandstorms dealt blows on this island within its second year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some geologists watched as small amounts of hot lava flowed gently down
to the edge of the sea. When the ice-cold seawater splashed upon the steaming
lava, it shattered into a billion small bits of sand! When Surtsey was a
two-year-old island, it looked like it could have been 10,000 years old!
Surtsey Island is good evidence that our earth could be young, much younger
than evolutionists want to admit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The violent eruption of Mount St. Helen on May 18, 1980, gave some more<o:p></o:p></div>
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Geological surprises.
In six minutes it leveled enough trees to build an estimated 640,000 houses.
The mountain paradise turned into a bald wasteland. Mud and rock avalanched
into Spirit Lake, causing waves up to 850 feet high on the north shore of the
lake. As the water returned to the lake, it scoured trees, plants, soil and
volcanic debris from the mountain’s slopes. This was dumped into the lake
forming an approximant 320 foot-thick deposit on the bottom. This mat of wood,
bark and plant life under the water pressure has already formed peat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peat is the first material in the formation of coal. This peat is
already much like certain coal beds of the Eastern United States. Until recently,
scientists have believed that coal was formed slowly sometimes taking a thousand
years. I wonder if this peat will soon change into coal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Twenty-three square miles of a valley on the north side of the mountain
were covered to an average depth of 150 feet with rocks and volcanic debris. In
this valley hills and gullies formed within five days which geologists would
have thought to have taken hundreds of years. Some of these gullies are 50 feet
deep. A miniature “Grand Canyon” over 100 feet deep is believed to have formed
in one day. The erosional features of Mount St. Helen are not unique, but are
similar to those seen elsewhere when a volcano errupts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At Lituya Bay, Alaska, an enormous wave destroyed the forest along the
shore as high as 1720 feet above the ocean. It stripped the hills of vegetation
and changed the mountain into a wasteland. Such stripping would have taken
thousands of years under “normal” conditions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On November 20, 1980, at Lake Peigneur, Louisiana, a well driller
accidentally penetrated an underground salt mine. Two hundred forty million
cubic feet of lake water emptied suddenly into the mine. This caused tree-like
patterns of channels in the lakebed<o:p></o:p></div>
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for a depth of 200 to
300 feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On the night of June 8, 1974, a rain storm in southern Brazil eroded a
valley 16 feet deep, 50 feet wide, and 1600 feet long into a gently sloping
field.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Scientists estimate that the 277 mile long Grand Canyon, carved by the
Colorado River, took three to six million years to form. This all took place
long before man kept records of erosion. But one of the world’s largest
man-made disasters was the unrestrained flooding of this same river between
1905 and 1907. In nine months, the runaway river formed 43 miles of channels
with an average width of 1000 feet, and depth of 50 feet. It removed almost
four times the amount of dirt removed while digging the Panama Canal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If the Colorado River had kept eroding at that rate for 113 years it
could have cut another canyon as large as the Grand Canyon. If it had kept on
the same rate for just three million years, the canyon it carved could be 2,000
times deeper than the Grand Canyon. This is just more evidence leading us to
believe that the earth is young.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The moon also tells us that the earth is young. Scientists believe that
the earth and the moon are about the same age. They also know that strong ultra
violet light and X-rays change rocks to dust at a very slow rate. Even this
small amount could during a billion years, cause the moon to have at least
twenty miles of dust on its surface. However, the astronauts did not sink into
miles of dust when they landed on the moon. They only found enough dust to make
good footprints!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Surtsey Island, Mount St. Helen, flooding, well drilling, the small
amount of moon dust and a multitude of other evidence has caused many great
scientists to believe that the earth is less than ten thousand years old, not 4
½ billions years old!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="ES-MX"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-MX">Charlotte Huskey</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-69759812820273998672014-03-06T16:12:00.001-08:002015-05-12T20:29:24.817-07:00Bell Found in Coal<h1 style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 30px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<a href="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell1.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #594739; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Bell in Coal" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-503" src="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell1-224x300.jpg" height="400" style="border: 1px solid rgb(208, 208, 208); float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px 10px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Bell in Coal" width="298" /></a><br />
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In 1944, as a ten year old boy, Newton Anderson dropped a lump of coal and broke it in half in his basement and found that it contained this bell inside. The bituminous coal that was mined near his house in Upshur County West Virginia is supposed to be about 300 million years old! What is a brass bell with an iron clapper doing in coal ascribed to the Carboniferous Period? According to Norm Sharbaugh's book <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ammunition</i> (which includes several “coal anecdotes”) the bell is an antediluvian artifact (made before the Genesis Flood). The Institute for Creation Research had the bell submitted to the lab at the <span style="white-space: nowrap;"><u>University </u></span>of Oklahoma. There a nuclear activation analysis revealed that the bell contains an unusual mix of metals, different from any known modern alloy production (including copper, zinc, tin, arsenic, iodine, and selenium).<br />
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Genesis 4:22 states that Tubal-Cain was “an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron…” Perhaps when his civilization came to an end in the flood, one of his bells was buried with a mass of vegetation that became coal and ended up thousands of years later in Newt Anderson’s coal bin. The bell was prominently featured in the 1992 CBS docudrama production called <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ancient Secrets of the Bible </i>and is now part of the Genesis Park collection. Later on, Newton Anderson spent a <span style="white-space: nowrap;"><u>much </u></span>time researching the figure atop the bell. He discovered similarities to the Babylonian Southwest Wind Demon, called Pazuzu. The demon typically is shown with a headpiece like the bell figure. Indeed the bell’s headpiece appears like it may have been taller and part may have broken off. The Hindu deity Garuda is sometimes depicted on top of bells, as is the Egyptian Isis. The kneeling posture with hands clasped is quite like Garuda representations. Demonic worship seems to take on similar forms in various cultures (like the <span style="white-space: nowrap;"><u>Venus figurines</u></span> from disparate lost cultures and the ancient fascination with pyramids), which doesn’t necessitate that they were culturally related. At our request, Mr. Anderson was examined by an expert polygraph specialist to further validate his claims. He passed the test and the report can be seen <a href="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell_polygraph.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #594739; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a>.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell2.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #594739; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Bell in Coal - Underside" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-504" src="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell2-150x150.jpg" height="150" style="border: 1px solid rgb(208, 208, 208); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Bell in Coal - Underside" width="150" /></a> <a href="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell3.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #594739; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Bell in Coal" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-505 alignnone" src="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell3-150x150.jpg" height="150" style="border: 1px solid rgb(208, 208, 208); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Bell in Coal" width="150" /></a> <a href="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell4.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #594739; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Bell in Coal" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-506" src="http://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bell4-e1322104272667-150x150.jpg" height="150" style="border: 1px solid rgb(208, 208, 208); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Bell in Coal" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
For more detailed pictures of the bell and the demon-like figure on top, click the images above. In 2011 Genesis Park staff participated in locating the mine where the coal containing the bell artifact was dug. An <a href="http://www.genesispark.com/update-on-the-mysterious-bell-found-in-coal/" style="border: 0px; color: #594739; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Published Article">article has been published</a> on the significance of this find.</div>
<div class="navigation" style="border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 25px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I hope you enjoy this reading. Charlotte</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-30988150917407076462014-03-05T14:40:00.000-08:002015-05-12T20:45:27.685-07:00Plaster Ape-men<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">PLASTER-OF-PARIS APE-MEN</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This article
was published in the Church of God Junior Sunday School quarterly in 1990<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
If man’s ancestors were apes, then
a million fossils should be available that show the linking characteristics
between the two. According to the evolutionary theory, these changes began more
than five million years ago. I would think with all the excavating been done, at
least one fossil for every five years of time should have been found.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It seems men have a greater desire
to find the “missing link” between man and apes than the missing links between
the other kinds of life. Let’s look at some evidence that has been used to try
to prove they are connected.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Back in 1891, Dr. Eugene Dubois
thought the missing link between man and apes could be found in the East
Indies. He went to Central Java and within a year, he had dug up the top of a
skull, a fragment of a left thighbone, and three molar teeth. They were not</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
found together, but within 50 to 75 feet of each other.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Evolutionists were thrilled with this
find. Dr. Chapin exclaimed, “It is fortunate that the most distinctive portions
of the human frame should have been preserved. Using these portions we can
reconstruct the entire being.” This specimen of man supposedly stood halfway
between the man and the ape.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
What portions were found? the top
of a skull, a left thighbone and three molars. From a piece of head bone, one
leg bone and three teeth, what can be learned about how a creature looked, or
how tall he stood? He supposedly lived 750,000 years ago.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It was not until 1922 that
scientists decided that this Java man, (for so he was called) was just a big
blunder. What Dr. Dubois actually found was the skull of a gibbon, the leg and
premolar of a man, and two molars of an orangutan! For thirty years, however,
the Java man was exhibited in museums and praised by books as the missing link between
man and ape. Some magic or great imagination was used to produce a man from
only a gibbon’s skull, leg and tooth of a man, and two orangutan teeth. The
‘magic’ plaster-of-pairs formed most of his body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
But the search was on, and in 1926
the Science Newsletter announced, “<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">jungle speaks again on man’s per-human
relatives: A perfect skull of prehistoric man is found. This find, which is
complete and sound, will be kept in Dutch East India, as transportation of such
relics is prohibited.</span>”</i> This important relic turned out to be the
knee bone of an extinct elephant!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Another famous would-be link
between ape and man was the Piltdown man. Around 1910, Charles Dawson found a
reddish-brown skull in a gravel pit where some roadwork was being done. Later,
in the same pit, a jawbone of about the same color and two dark teeth were
found. Dr. Arthur Smith of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">British</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place> created a bust of
how he imagined this ape-like man looked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
He named it the Piltdown man and
placed it in the museum. Pictures were taken of the Piltdown man and writers
wrote about him. It was printed in children’s science textbooks. Henry Osborn,
of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">American</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place> of Natural History, called him
the Trina Ape-man, I suppose because he was made of three parts. Yes, this one
was created with only three parts, and much plaster-of-paris! For forty years
children around the world studied from their school textbooks that the Piltdown
man was the missing link between man and ape.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In 1949, Kenneth P. Oakley examined
these same bones under new microscopic methods. He found the bones readily
absorbed fluorine, collagen fibers could be seen under a microscope and that
their color was only surface deep. These three tests showed that the bones were
not old.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Using a microscope, Mr. Oakley
found file marks on the teeth. The teeth had</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
been filed to look like man’s teeth. In addition, the black
paint on the teeth could be scraped off. The teeth and jawbone were found to be
those of a modern orangutan. It was nothing but a hoax!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
However, for 35 years innocent
children had been taught that the Piltdown man was proof that they were related
to apes. The whole thing was revealed to the public by a splendid article in
the Popular Science Monthly. It was entitled, “The Great Piltdown Hoax” and
reprinted in the October 1956 issue of the Reader’s Digest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The <st1:state w:st="on">Nebraska</st1:state> man, another ape-like man, was
created out of plaster-of-Paris in 1922. He was supposed to have lived in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States of America</st1:country-region>
one million years ago. At the Scopes Trial in <st1:state w:st="on">Tennessee</st1:state>, William Jennings Bryan was made
to look like a fool because he didn’t believe in evolution. The <st1:state w:st="on">Nebraska</st1:state> man had
recently been discovered and was used as evidence for evolution. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Twenty years later, in 1943, S.E.
Winbolt, in the Pelican Book Series, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>, B.C., alluded to the <st1:state w:st="on">Nebraska</st1:state> man as a
genuine link between man and ape. Yet what fossils or bones of the <st1:state w:st="on">Nebraska</st1:state> man were
actually found? One tooth! That’s right, only one tooth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In the years since the Scopes
Trial, it has been discovered that this tooth belonged to a peccary, a species
of a pig now extinct in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region>. “Give us a tooth, and plenty of
plaster-of-Paris,” the evolutionists seem to say, “and we will create a whole
race of fossilized ape-like men.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Now we come to another missing link
that was exhibited in the museums and whose pictures you still see in books. He
is called the Heidelberg man, but he is really just one jawbone. The jawbone of
Mr. Heidelberg was found in sand and was said to be from 375,000 to 700,000
years old. If bone could be preserved that long in sand, we’d probably be
tripping over bones all the time!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
At any rate, the Heidelberg man is
in the books for study, although even scientists have great differences of
opinion about him. Some said it was a valuable find, while others said it was
worthless. One scientist observed that a whole race of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">South</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype></st1:place>
islanders have massive jawbones like the Heidelberg man, another showed the
skull of a modern Eskimo to have the same appearance. Using plaster-of-Paris,
the ape-like man was made and demonstrated as proof of the evolution of man. As
far as I know, the Heidelberg man is still referred to as proof that man
evolved from an ape.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It seems that when there is a great
desire to create an ape-man, it can be done from plaster-of-Paris using as
evidence of a once-living creature either a pig's tooth, the top of a man`s
skull, the jawbone and molars of an orangutan, the skull of a gibbon, leg and
tooth of a man, or just one jawbone! The search continues without success for
ape-man fossils. Millions of American tax dollars are spent each year in this
search, but each uncovered fossil of man is found to be basically like man is
today, for that is how God created him.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-88942919723981339892014-02-17T21:26:00.002-08:002015-05-12T20:38:11.116-07:00Song of the Rye<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was made to be eaten,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Not
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I came as a blessing</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-73082188093477357152014-02-13T11:41:00.002-08:002015-05-12T20:40:12.265-07:00One Book or Many Books<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One Book or Many Books?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_tOfbA7GOEre-YSqqz5HEuRoM7USllhZqaNm55HQWELinGOoTm4FrWZXTljoQ4WxkQ_s-nVz_Tyu3YY2ZVIfnlTHS7zLQK-WRz3yVf4u10g8PfEFprULCcbQN0rFdImFIBdwWMvD-KwR/s1600/boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_tOfbA7GOEre-YSqqz5HEuRoM7USllhZqaNm55HQWELinGOoTm4FrWZXTljoQ4WxkQ_s-nVz_Tyu3YY2ZVIfnlTHS7zLQK-WRz3yVf4u10g8PfEFprULCcbQN0rFdImFIBdwWMvD-KwR/s400/boys.jpg" width="312" /></a></div>
<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“I
wouldn’t base my beliefs on one book,” she said. Her words stung. The sting
went deep so deep I have not forgotten it. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
knew immediately to what book she was referring. The book which explains
eternal truths in a way that people can understand some of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
questioned. Does this intelligent person believe there is only ONE book about
truth?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">You
believe that God doesn’t exist? How many books have been written trying to
prove he doesn’t exist? Think of how many books have been written proving that
God does exist. Some say, that truth is relevant to the person and
circumstances, that there are no absolutes of truth. How many books confirm
that theory? How many prove that truth is truth at all times, in all places?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now
take just one truth, that of marriage being the union of one male and one
female person. Can anyone name the quaintly of books printed about that one
truth? Go back thousands of years and began counting. They are endless. Even
before books existed, pictures on cave walls shows romance, mating of a man and
a woman.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Can
anyone list how many truth principles the Bible contains? A few examples of
eternal truths are: The above, Man lives and dies, There is day and night, Seasons
change, There will always be seed time and harvest, (God’s promise to man after
the flood. Gen. 8:22) People are in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). There are
hundreds of other truths. Now imagine the number of books written about each
truth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If
only a few books were written each year. Multiply that by the thousands of
years that writings have existed. If all those writings had been preserved, how
many books would that be? Could the world contain them all? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
reminds me of what Apostle John said about Jesus. (John 21:24) “There are also
many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written
everyone, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that
should be written.” Even secular history and archeology digs prove Bible
truths. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What
is this about believing in only one book? I base my beliefs on the thousands of
books that prove the eternal truths of the Bible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-39611260581979955722013-12-08T21:36:00.000-08:002013-12-08T21:39:08.383-08:00What Would Jesus Say About the Way I Give<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jesus saw the
rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw a certain poor widow
casting in thither two mites. And he said. Of a truth I say unto you, that this
poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their
abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in
all the living that she had.” Luke 21:1-4.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Sunday morning, January 28, 1996, I stood
in the church of God chapel in Chapultepec, Mexico. The children had settled
into their places after Sunday school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We had sung five songs and two brethren had prayed.
Now we were singing again and people were placing coins in the offering basket.
The six-inch straw basket designated to hold the offerings sat on a small table
in front of the plain, homemade pulpit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The first one to put in an offering was a
little girl whose father is an alcoholic. Then the bubbly, four-year-old
grandson of Francesca came bouncing up the aisle and dropped his grandma’s
offering in the basket. I watched Sister Josephine, (a widow who had no roof
over her kitchen until the church in the U.S. supplied for it this Christmas).
She was dressed as usual in a red hand-me-down dress and white shoes. She gives
on offering every time she comes to church. Among the others who pressed forward
was 85-year-old Don Romalo. His steps are unsure and he leans heavily on his
cane for stability. In this condition, he goes uptown each day and cleans cars
to have money to give. Suddenly a little boy dashed passed me and hurriedly
dropped in a few coins. It was Fredrico’s son. Fredrico is a father of five—who
has been out of work for about a month. (None of these people receives food
stamps or welfare checks.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> What deep, stirring thoughts I had while
watching these poor ones giving “all their living.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> I wondered if I felt somewhat like Jesus
did when He watched the widow and said, ”this poor widow hath cast more in than
all they which have cast into the treasury.” Mark 12:43.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How much offering did you give to Jesus this week?
Did you give “all your living?” or did you give “of your abundance”? Was your
offering close to ten percent of your weekly income? Was it nearer to five
percent? Perhaps you gave a total of one percent of the wages you earned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I want Jesus to speak well of me, so I promised God
that I would give more of my income to Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Have you ever wondered what Jesus might say if He was
watching as you dropped in your offering?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0United States32.621710566996846 -115.501263141632087.0996760669968459 -156.80985714163208 58.143745066996843 -74.192669141632081tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-64727765812716629982013-12-07T12:11:00.001-08:002013-12-07T12:11:33.663-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Incidents of God’s
Mercy<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But thou he cause grief, yet
will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lamentations
3:32<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Leaning against the dusty cement block
wall, I scanned the faces of the listeners as Bro. Adelfo Gonzales repeated the
invitation again. “How many would like to have salvation?” A man with white
hair and crippled feet raised his hand high above his head. He said, “I have
read the Bible through several times, but I still don’t know how to be saved”
Three others raised their hands. One was a man perched on a bicycle. His eyes
seemed to be pleading for deliverance from the life, which his hard face, heavy
black beard and long hair portrayed. It was almost dark when the yard meeting was
over, but we had prayed with and instructed seven souls which God in his mercy
had touched. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Earlier on that Sunday, we had taken
baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy to a family who had not come to church
that morning because of a sick grandmother. When I entered the one-room house,
Guillermina, the saved granddaughter, said to me, “We are so glad you have
come. We need you. Grandma says she will soon die, but she is afraid. Please
tell Grandma, how to be saved.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Grandma Lucia had lived all her life in Oaxaca,
a southern state of Mexico. This last spring her daughter, Francisca, felt an
urgency to bring Grandma (98 years old) to Baja California so that she could
care for her. Although Francisca did not have money for the bus ticket, she
thought she must leave on Sunday, and asked me to take her to the bus station. <i>(She had saved enough money for two return
tickets.)</i> She came to church Sunday morning with her bags ready to go. The
brethren took up a love offering. When the money was counted, Francisca had
enough for the bus ticket, with only $2.00 extra. The bus was an hour late, so
we visited, while waiting. After that hour, Francisca was in my heart. It would
be three days before Francisca would arrive in Oaxaca. I cried all the way home,
as I thought how hungry Francisca would be without food those three days. I had
given all my money, and I am sure, that others, who gave to her, had to do
without something they needed that week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That Sunday afternoon Grandma Lucia greeted me in
the usual formal way; many flowery words and a kiss on my hand, and then she
said, “Teach me how to pray when I die. I’ve already divided my food with the
saints (her images), done penances walking on my knees for long distances,
given to the poor and been a good neighbor. What else should I do to have
peace?” Years before when Grandma Lucia had visited with Francisca she would
not come to the Church. However, this time she attended whenever she was able<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> We talked with her for about an hour and
I could see she was sincere. Very simply I explained to her the plan of
salvation through faith in Jesus. Her granddaughter and I prayed, and then I
asked her to repeat after me a prayer of repentance. After prayer she said, “I
have peace. I am not afraid to die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Grandma Lucia passed away September 16,
with a smile on her face. She had served her religion from childhood, but it
did not help her in the end. However, the mercy of Jesus saved her in her last
days, just as he did the thief on the cross. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At this same time, two women lost their mother in a
traumatic auto accident in our area. The Escobar family shared his home with
these strangers until they were able to travel. Both of these sisters professed
salvation during the four weeks they stayed in Chapultepec. What a merciful God
to allow these strangers to meet God’s children that lead them to Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> God was also merciful to give a wonderful
meeting at Pacoima, CA. The spirit of the meeting was sweet, the preaching
exceptionally good, and many souls sought help at the altar. It was glorious! A
young sister who came with us was sanctified and baptized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Although no one came prepared to have
children’s meeting; the Lord blessed in a wonderful way. One day the children
were so under conviction that five came to the altar and prayed for salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
believe there were eight adults and two children baptized. Seven of these were
from the Pacoima congregation. Isn’t God merciful?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> A few days after returning from Pacoima,
we were visiting an elderly woman who rented housing for migrant field workers.
A young woman knocked at the door, and asked, “May I listen? I loved to hear
about Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> About halfway through the lesson she
left, but returned quickly. Later I learned that Maria was checking on her
four-year-old son who was sick with the mumps. We followed her home and found
her little boy lying on a blanket on the cold cement floor. The only furniture
in the two-room dwelling was a broken down chair and a two-burner kerosene cook
stove. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Early the following morning, I took two
more blankets and an egg-carton type mattress to her. While I was reading and
explaining some scriptures to Maria, her mother came to check on the sick boy.
I read, James 5:13 and prayed for the child. The following day when I came to
visit, the child was outside playing. I told Maria, that I would like to teach
the Bible to the children if she would get them together. “They go to school in
the morning and work pulling onions in the afternoon,” she said. “They get home
about 6:30, but please do come.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The following evening, Rhonda Doolittle,
Julie Samons and I arrived at 6:30. Twenty-three children and four adults were
waiting for us. After five lessons, the interest was as good as it was that
first day. I see the mercy of God in helping us meet Maria, for I realize this
door would not have been opened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <i>“The
Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy.
The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy
works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall
speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power. To make known to the
sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.” Psalm
145: 8-12<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-31830592123986159782013-12-07T12:05:00.001-08:002013-12-07T12:07:32.228-08:00Incidents of God's Mercy<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But thou he cause grief, yet
will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lamentations
3:32<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Leaning against the dusty cement block
wall, I scanned the faces of the listeners as Bro. Adelfo Gonzales repeated the
invitation again. “How many would like to have salvation?” A man with white
hair and crippled feet raised his hand high above his head. He said, “I have
read the Bible through several times, but I still don’t know how to be saved”
Three others raised their hands. One was a man perched on a bicycle. His eyes
seemed to be pleading for deliverance from the life, which his hard face, heavy
black beard and long hair portrayed. It was almost dark when the yard meeting was
over, but we had prayed with and instructed seven souls which God in his mercy
had touched. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Earlier on that Sunday, we had taken
baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy to a family who had not come to church
that morning because of a sick grandmother. When I entered the one-room house,
Guiermina, the saved granddaughter, said to me, “We are so glad you have
come. We need you. Grandma says she will soon die, but she is afraid. Please
tell Grandma, how to be saved.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Grandma Lucia had lived all her life in Oaxaca,
a southern state of Mexico. This last spring her daughter, Francisca, felt an
urgency to bring Grandma (98 years old) to Baja California so that she could
care for her. Although Francisca did not have money for the bus ticket, she
thought she must leave on Sunday, and asked me to take her to the bus station. <i>(She had saved enough money for two return
tickets.)</i> She came to church Sunday morning with her bags ready to go. The
brethren took up a love offering. When the money was counted, Francisca had
enough for the bus ticket, with only $2.00 extra. The bus was an hour late, so
we visited, while waiting. After that hour, Francisca was in my heart. It would
be three days before Francisca would arrive in Oaxaca. I cried all the way home,
as I thought how hungry Francisca would be without food those three days. I had
given all my money, and I am sure, that others, who gave to her, had to do
without something they needed that week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That Sunday afternoon Grandma Lucia greeted me in
the usual formal way; many flowery words and a kiss on my hand, and then she
said, “Teach me how to pray when I die. I’ve already divided my food with the
saints (her images), done penances walking on my knees for long distances,
given to the poor and been a good neighbor. What else should I do to have
peace?” Years before when Grandma Lucia had visited with Francisca she would
not come to the Church. However, this time she attended whenever she was able<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> We talked with her for about an hour and
I could see she was sincere. Very simply I explained to her the plan of
salvation through faith in Jesus. Her granddaughter and I prayed, and then I
asked her to repeat after me a prayer of repentance. After prayer she said, “I
have peace. I am not afraid to die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Grandma Lucia passed away September 16,
with a smile on her face. She had served her religion from childhood, but it
did not help her in the end. However, the mercy of Jesus saved her in her last
days, just as he did the thief on the cross. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At this same time, two women lost their mother in a
traumatic auto accident in our area. The Escobar family shared his home with
these strangers until they were able to travel. Both of these sisters professed
salvation during the four weeks they stayed in Chapultepec. What a merciful God
to allow these strangers to meet God’s children that lead them to Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> God was also merciful to give a wonderful
meeting at Pacoima, CA. The spirit of the meeting was sweet, the preaching
exceptionally good, and many souls sought help at the altar. It was glorious! A
young sister who came with us was sanctified and baptized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Although no one came prepared to have
children’s meeting; the Lord blessed in a wonderful way. One day the children
were so under conviction that five came to the altar and prayed for salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
believe there were eight adults and two children baptized. Seven of these were
from the Pacoima congregation. Isn’t God merciful?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> A few days after returning from Pacoima,
we were visiting an elderly woman who rented housing for migrant field workers.
A young woman knocked at the door, and asked, “May I listen? I loved to hear
about Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> About halfway through the lesson she
left, but returned quickly. Later I learned that Maria was checking on her
four-year-old son who was sick with the mumps. We followed her home and found
her little boy lying on a blanket on the cold cement floor. The only furniture
in the two-room dwelling was a broken down chair and a two-burner kerosene cook
stove. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Early the following morning, I took two
more blankets and an egg-carton type mattress to her. While I was reading and
explaining some scriptures to Maria, her mother came to check on the sick boy.
I read, James 5:13 and prayed for the child. The following day when I came to
visit, the child was outside playing. I told Maria, that I would like to teach
the Bible to the children if she would get them together. “They go to school in
the morning and work pulling onions in the afternoon,” she said. “They get home
about 6:30, but please do come.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The following evening, Rhonda Doolittle,
Julie Samons and I arrived at 6:30. Twenty-three children and four adults were
waiting for us. After five lessons, the interest was as good as it was that
first day. I see the mercy of God in helping us meet Maria, for I realize this
door would not have been opened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <i>“The
Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy.
The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy
works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall
speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power. To make known to the
sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.” Psalm
145: 8-12<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0United States32.18997764608492 -115.501263141632086.6679431460849194 -156.80985714163208 57.712012146084916 -74.192669141632081tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-22889049215758748282013-11-17T20:53:00.002-08:002013-11-18T11:47:34.865-08:00Mabel<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Going
to Oklahoma City<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZhXb3xRJ00RbGO3y53qU9MMNmxsxRJEnj3ZHfMmpk-zEI74X1jojUroKefe3nVS8loCvWoUWkV2VOt90BZa7qvtnWqRzFbgkI-RD1y9-ftem0mDnrGlJoP3ZPJGYksKMPQeDDsWfb7XQ/w83-h140-p/Scan008+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZhXb3xRJ00RbGO3y53qU9MMNmxsxRJEnj3ZHfMmpk-zEI74X1jojUroKefe3nVS8loCvWoUWkV2VOt90BZa7qvtnWqRzFbgkI-RD1y9-ftem0mDnrGlJoP3ZPJGYksKMPQeDDsWfb7XQ/w83-h140-p/Scan008+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZhXb3xRJ00RbGO3y53qU9MMNmxsxRJEnj3ZHfMmpk-zEI74X1jojUroKefe3nVS8loCvWoUWkV2VOt90BZa7qvtnWqRzFbgkI-RD1y9-ftem0mDnrGlJoP3ZPJGYksKMPQeDDsWfb7XQ/w83-h140-p/Scan008+-+Copy.jpg" style="line-height: 115%;" width="187" /></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:… for the Lord holds him with his hand. Psalms 37:23-25<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">"I can do all things
through Christ who strengtheneth me,"</span></i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>Mabel said to herself as she stepped
into the train bound for Oklahoma City. Tucked in her secret pocket were the
few cents that remained of her saving after paying for her ticket. In her hand
she held the most recent letter from Papa? Heavy fog shut out the raising
spring sun, as she waved to Wallace and Estella. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mabel was 16 and had never traveled alone. She wanted Estella to come with her. However, Estella had no money, also she was in love with Wallace and didn’t want to leave him. Mabel had the
feeling it might be the last time she would see Estella, she wondered if Estella
was thinking it might be the last time she saw Mabel. She drove away the dark
thought by telling herself, that Estella will be happy with Wallace and she will be
happy with Papa. The thought of seeing Papa made her giggle. The lady sitting
beside her in the train looked over in surprise. Mabel pretended to not notice. She did not want to talk she wanted to dream of the happiness that lie ahead.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Mabel looked out the train station
window in Hobart. She </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">imaged the surprised look on Papa’s
face when he would see her. The excitement tingled through her, down to her
littlest toe and yet a gloom hung over her head. What if she never saw Estella
again or if she did not find Papa? Where would she stay? What would she eat? Mabel
pondered these thoughts as she waited for the next train that would take her toward
Oklahoma City from where Papa had mailed his last letter to her. She encouraged
herself by repeating her favorite verse. “I can do all things through Christ
who gives me strength.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 9.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> As the train entered Oklahoma City, Mabel began reading the
street names. She was hunting for 12<sup>th</sup> Street. She had never seen so
many streets or such large buildings. These must be real skyscrapers, she
thought. To Mabel the four-story hospital in Mangum reached almost to the sky
but it seemed small now. A large sign on top of a very tall building read,
Colcord. It surely must be a hotel, she thought. Maybe I could get a job there.
Such a fine hotel would pay good wages and I could rent a little house for Papa
and me.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> In the big station, Mabel watched
people scurrying this way and that. “I think half the world must be here
today. I wondered where each one is going and if any one might be going to see their papa they hadn't seen in four years?” </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 18.01801872253418px; line-height: 19.519519805908203px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 18.01801872253418px; line-height: 19.519519805908203px;">She mumbled to herself.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 18.01801872253418px; line-height: 19.519519805908203px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She wanted to
ask someone where to find 12th St but each one seemed so busy. Even the ticket
agents were busy selling tickets and answering questions.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Before she had summoned courage to ask
questions, she noticed an advertisement on the wall. It read Lee Huskins Hotel,
Oklahoma City, 450 rooms, fire proof. Mabel caught her breath. Four hundred and
fifty rooms? They must need many girls to clean all those rooms. After looking
around a few minutes longer, she found a large city map on the south wall of
the station and studied it. "There is the street where my papa
lives!" she said to herself, her heart beat wildly. She stepped out of the
station and looked around. There was the Lee Huskins Hotel towering over other
building. It was just one block from the train station. She wanted to remember
so she could come back and get a job.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> The street was full of cars, more cars
than she had seen in her whole life. In the middle of the street going north
and south were train tracts. People were getting off a little one car train
while, others were scurrying on to the little train. Overhead was a long wire
that connected to what looked like an electric wire. “Was electric pulling the
train carrying all those people up the hill?” she wondered.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mabel stuck her head in the door of the
little train, “Does this train go to 12<sup>th</sup> Street,” she asked the
driver.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> “Yes, Madam” he answered. Mabel jumped
on and pulled her box up the steps and sat down behind the driver. ”This isn’t a train. It’s an electric trolley,”
the driver told her. Most people call them streetcars. Oklahoma City has 68
miles of these tracts. We can carry people to almost any part of the city. You
new in town?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> “Yes, why do you ask?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> “New folks are arriving every day, a
big hunk of ‘um looking for work in the new Model A factory or the meat packing
houses. There’res been three companies open up meat packing houses here in the
city. Together they represent 3.5 million dollars, and they have given our city
2,400 new jobs. Why the whole part of the city over there is called Packing Town
because of those packing houses.” He threw his hand over his head and pointed
southwest.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mabel made a mental note, Packing Town, another place to find a job.
“This must be a very large city,” Mabel remarked.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> “Sure thing, it’s the fastest growun
city in Oklahoma, maybe in the whole world. We’re only about 25 years old and
boasting a population of 90,000 and like I said new folks are coming in
everyday.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mabel gasped, ninety thousand people,
where would Papa be among so many?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mable had never ridden an electric
trolley. It went so fast that her head was in a whirl trying to see the
buildings as they passed.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Before leaving the streetcar, she showed
the driver her Papa’s address and asked which way to go. She was soon on the
right street. Walking slowly along, she read the numbers on the few house that
had numbers. She was going the right direction, soon she would find a number
like the one on her papa's letter which she held tightly in her hand. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> “There it is, right in front of me!” me
she gasped. Trembling with excitement, she knocked at the door. A woman opened
it. "Does Simon Kelly live here?" Mabel asked. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "No, he doesn't," the woman
answered. "He was living here, but he moved last week. He said something
about getting a place so he could do his, own cooking. I only rent out sleeping
rooms."<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mable trembled. She felt dizzy. “You all
right?” the woman ask.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Yes,” she mumbled as she fought back
tears. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> “You look like you just seen a ghost.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> When Mable could finally speak, she
said slowly, "Do you know where he moved? I've come a long way to see him.
He-he's my-my papa."<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> The woman saw Mabel needed help. “Say, Alfonzo,”
she yelled, “Do you know where Mr. Kelley might be living?” Then she gave Mabel
directions as to where she might find her papa. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> As Mabel walked along following the
woman's directions, she quoted the Bible verse. “'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'” On and
on she went carrying her box that contained all her belongings. She was
thankful for the handle, which Wallace had made when he tied it securely with
new rope. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Finally, she found the house.
"Does Simon Kelly live here?" she asked. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "Who did you say?'' asked the lady
at the door. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "Simon Pleasant Andrew Kelly? <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "No, he doesn't live here. Never
did. He might be the man who came asking about an apartment last week. But he
never came back. There are more apartments at the end of this street. Maybe
you'll find him there." <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Mabel walked on the direction the lady
had pointed. She was tired and her box seemed to be growing heavier every step.
She’d left </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Mangum</span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> early but had a wait over in Hobart and changed trains again in
Chickasha. She walked passed a restaurant and the aroma of food in the air
smelled delicious, but the lonely ach in her stomach was worst than hunger,
besides she might need her money later. "Oh, Papa," she cried to
herself, “Where are you? I've come such a long way."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> The manager of the apartment at the end
of the street knew nothing about a big man named Simon Kelly. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "God, help me," Mabel prayed
as she walked slowly away. “In an hour it will be dark, and I have no money for
a hotel. I don't know anyone in this big city. Please, Lord, help me find a
place to get in out of the darkness?"<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> The
train station! I'll sit unnoticed on a bench through the night, she
thought. Mable was completely lost after going to all the different apartment
houses. Now where was the train station? The electric train did not run on the
street she was on, so asking first this stranger and that she finally found her
way back to the station. Dropping her heavy box beside her aching feet, she
slumped onto a bench. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mabel
needed courage so she untied her box and took out her Bible. Opening to Psalms.
she read, “As a father pitieth his
children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him….The mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s
children.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> The next thing Mabel knew was that she
was waking up and the train station was empty and quiet. Looking around she
noticed the ticket agent glancing at her and then at the clock. Finally, he
called to her, "There are no more arrivals or departures tonight. The
station will be closing in five minutes." <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mabel jumped to her feet and ran to his
window, "I-I-I wasn't waiting for a train —" she hesitated. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "You'll have to find a room for
the night, Madam," he said. "It's time to lock the station doors.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "I have no place to go, and no
money," she protested.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> "I'm sorry," he said, as if
it meant nothing.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<i><br /></i>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> Mabel picked up her box and walked slowly out
into the night. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 10.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; tab-stops: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Taken from "Mable" a book about my mother. Lord willing, it will be published in it in 2014. The picture was taken on Mable's sixteenth birthday.</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-82488209757431824202013-11-17T13:04:00.001-08:002013-11-17T13:04:27.358-08:00Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-52520480726098738012013-11-15T13:39:00.001-08:002013-11-17T14:06:35.012-08:00Tires<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">In 1971 we were living in La Mission, Baja California.
The summer before our oldest son Bob had stayed a few weeks with the Watkins
family in Oregon. He had worked in the fields and earned enough money to buy
new school clothes. So the following summer, we all went to Oregon to earn
money. We crawled around on our knees picking strawberries about a week but
earned only a few dollars. Since God was n’t blessing our efforts, we began
thinking maybe God had something else in mind for us to be doing during that
summer. </span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Then a phone call came from the church in San </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Diego </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">asking James t</span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">o come
and </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">administer </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">a </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">funeral service. </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">While he was away I
felt God was saying, “Go to Monark Spring Camp Meeting." I said nothing to
James about it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">The night after he returned, we were discussing God’s
will and he said, “I believe we should take the children to Monark, however our
tires will never make the trip."</span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">“Maybe God will send money for new tires,” one of the
children suggested. “We really want to go.”</span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">“Well let’s pray,” James answered.</span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Because God had told us both, and we were 1,000 miles
apart, our assurance of it being God’s will was strong. We had enough money
for gasoline, so we loaded the car and started. I don’t remember how far we
went before the first blow out. Seems it was somewhere in Idaho, anyway we were stranded beside the road. The children jump out to freedom and </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">started </span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">running down the
moderately sloping embanking. In a few minutes one called, “Come look. Here is
a tire.' James raced down, and I followed holding Leah’s hand. </span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Needless to say, the tire was the right size. God always send what is useful.</span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">We went on a few hundred mile and had another blow-out. This
time a man in a pick-up stopped to help us. He was from the tire shop in the nearest town and had been called to change a tractor tire.Guess what? He had the company truck. The pick-up
bed was half full of tires. He gave us two; just the size we needed and helped James
put one on.</span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">On we went; I can’t remember how God supplied the other tire. What I remember is we drove into the Monark Camp ground with four
new (different) tires than when we started in Oregon. </span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">The saints were singing. It sounded like heaven to us
weary travelers. I got up in the pulpit and testified how God brought us there.
Maybe some of you “old timers” can remember that testimony. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">During that meeting, God told us to not return to our
home in Mexico. He impressed us to keep our children ages, 6 though 16 near the
saints for a few years. We did and they all found wonderful spouses among the
people of God. </span><br />
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 3.36pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">As I reflect on the past, I wonder what great
differences would be in our family today had we not followed God's directions and
started out that day from Oregon without good tires on our cars?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When James</span></span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> returned to Mexico to bring some of our belongings he discovered that our neighborhood had turned up-side down. Two girls (that Rosi walked to school with) had been raped. Also drinking and drugs were freely accessible. It was a bad place for children. God</span></span><span style="color: #898989; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"> sent us away just in time.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-84441002306956542502013-09-20T18:27:00.002-07:002013-09-20T18:40:17.988-07:00Fish for Supper<br />
<br />
‘’Fish for Supper<br />
<br />
<br /><br />It was June 1962; we were living in a tiny house just outside of Rosarito Beach, Baja California, Mexico. We lived so close to the Pacific that fog usually hid the sun until around 10:00 or 11:00 each morning. Today was different, I had been up for a while and the sun was bright and warm so I called to the sleeping children, “Get up and we’ll go to the beach.” <br /><br />Bobby yawned and opened one eye. “We going to the beach?” he asked.<br /><br />Mary stretched her long arms over her head and swung her big feet out on to the rough wood floor. “Great idea!” she said.<br /><br />“Yea, let’s go,” Mary’s brother, Rudy answered. “Maybe we can catch a fish. I’d like fish for supper.”<br /><br />“Okay, as soon as we eat breakfast and get our work done,” I answered.<br /><br />Besides our four small children, three other teenagers were staying with us. Shirley Stice had been helping missionaries, Edith Cole and Ruby Marken on the Pai Pai Indian Reservation. They had gone out for the summer so Shirley had come to stay with us. Since school was out in California, Mary Ellen and her brother Rudy had also come to stay a month with us. This made nine in our family.<br /><br />Mary had lived with us and helped care for our children when we lived in Orland, California. She felt right at home getting the children ready. She filled two baby bottles of milk, for Rosi, one for mid morning and one to carry to the beach. Then she served cereal of oats to Rosi, Tim and herself. Tim loved oats, with milk or without, but the instant he had satisfied his hunger, the bowl with the remaining oats, went on his head for a hat. Any oats left in the bowl stuck on his hair or dripped down his face onto his clothes. Mary knew Tim’s tricks, so she kept an eye on him while she fed Rosi. <br /><br />Rudy and Bobby rolled up the sleeping rolls, and went outside to fill the two laundry tubs with water from the water barrel. We washed clothes every day. Washing was a back-breaking job and if we didn’t wash everyday it was almost impossible to get them all clean again. Besides that, we had only one clothesline on which to dry the wet clothes. <br /><br />Shirley helped Tricia pick up toys and clothes and then she swept.<br /><br />James had already gone to help Tomas Mendoza build himself a shack at the tomato ranch where Tomas worked. Tomas had committed his life to Christ at the Baptist church in town a few weeks before we moved to Rosarito. However, since meeting James the two were knit together like the Bible characters David and Jonathan. They saw each other almost every day.<br /><br /> When the tubs were filled, the girls went out to wash and Ruby and Bobby sat down to eat. “I don’t want oats,” Bobby whined. “We have oats every day. <br /><br /> “How about some fried potatoes,”<br /><br /> “No, we have then every day too.”<br /><br />“Sorry that is all we have.”<br /><br /> “I’m so tired of oats, potatoes and split beans. Can’t we have something else?”<br /><br /> ‘We‘ll have fish for supper,” Ruby said cheerfully.<br /><br /> “Then let’s go and catch the biggest fish in the world. Can Rudy and I go ahead?<br /><br />“We better stay together. Come help the girls with the washing.”<br /><br /> When we finished washing, rinsing and hanging the clothes on the line, we started for the beach. Bobby and Rudy, with Tim on his shoulders lead the way. Mary carried Rosi, I held Tricia by the hand because she was afraid there were bugs or snakes in the grass. However, whenever she saw a pretty flower, she forgot about snakes and bugs and ran to pick the flower.<br /><br /> Blue water stretched out before us as far as we could see. I closed my eyes and listened to the sea-gulls calling, while I inhaled the fresh ocean breeze. “Oh, God,” I said in my heart, “You created this. You can do anything. Increase my faith.” I kicked off my shoes, and wiggled my toes down in the warm sand. It felt so-o-o good. The children and teenagers had already shed their shoes and were racing to the water. “Watch Tim,” I called, when I saw him toddling behind them toward the water’s edge, “The waves will knock him down.”<br /><br /> Mary raced for Tim. Holding Rosi in one arm, she grabbed him by the other just as a wave toppled him. He screamed. She carried him back to me. I cuddled his cold trembling body. “I no like.” he said. “It mean. It mean.” (It was several years before Tim would again wade in the ocean.)<br /><br /> I spread out the blanket I had brought and Mary sat Rosi on it, and ran to hunt for shells with Shirley and Tricia. Tim was soon building roads in the sand and driving shell cars over them. It was about time for Rosi’s nap so she was soon a sleep. I pulled her on her blanket under a bush to shade her from the sun. <br /><br />Everyone was busy so I took the time to talk to God. “God, you know I am embarrassed to serve split beans, potatoes and oats to my guests every day. It has been a long time since we’ve had a salad, that would be such a treat. You created everything in this world, how about creating some better food for us. I don’t want these young folks to believe this is the way you always treat your workers. Aren’t we worth more than this? My children want a gallon of cold milk delivered to their home each day as it was when we lived in Orland. And I would like some fruit for them.” When I had finish complaining, I waited for an answer. God never spoke.. However, I soon felt a sting of reprove and repented of my complaints. Afterwards a warm pleasant feeling come over me and I began singing. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />“Could we with ink the ocean fill?<br />And were the skies of parchment made;<br />Were every stalk on earth a quill<br />And every man a scribe by trade<br /><br />To write the love of God above,<br />Would drain the ocean dry.<br />Nor could the scroll contain the whole<br />Though stretched from sky to sky.<br /><br />Oh, love of God how rich and pure!<br />How measureless and strong<br />It shall forever more endure<br />The saints and angels song.”<br /><br />I sang it over again, and again, and again. I wrote in big letters in the sand, “God is Love.” I felt God’s big arms around me. “I’m sorry God for doubting your love. I know you have a plan that I don’t see,” I said as I wrote.<br /><br />I watched the children build homes, ranches and castles in the sand. “These will be destroyed by the rising tide,” I thought, “So it is with the homes, enterprises, bank accounts and any other thing we have upon this earth, it will all be destroyed before long by fire, as God told us in His Word. “The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (II Peter 3:10)<br /><br /> After a while, Mary, Shirley and Tricia came bringing their arm full of shells. We talked about the different animal that God had made to live inside the shells. We talked about the vastness of the ocean, about the expansion of blue sky overhead. It was all so awesome, and then Mary began singing “When I look down from lofty mountains grander, and see the brook and feel the gentle breeze. Then sing my soul, ‘How great Thou art, how great thou art.” I joined her. Then Ruby and Bobby, tired of playing in the water came too, and we all sang what we could remember. <br /><br /> “I wish I had a fishing pole, I could catch a fish for supper,” Rudy said. <br /><br />“Me, too,” said Bob. “We all want a fish.” <br /><br />“Let’s dig clams,” I suggested. We did but we had only our hands to dig with and clams are deep, so all we dug up were sand diggers.<br /><br />I supposed that the children were getting hungry by now, so suggested we go home to eat. The children quickly vetoed my suggestion and continued playing for several more hours until the sun was getting close to the horizon.<br /><br />“We had better start for home” I called.”You are wet and will get very cold as soon as the sun is down.” As I was gathering up the few things we had brought, a car drove up. I had often wondered what I would do in self-defense with all my little children. I would not run and leave them unprotected, but today there were plenty of us we could protect each other. Besides the car was quite a distance from us. I wasn’t wearied until I saw two men walking toward me. As they came nearer, I saw they were carrying a fish. The boys saw it too and came running to tell me. <br /><br />“There is our fish,” they said.<br /><br />“Sell fish to you,” the man said when he neared us. “No sell today. Day very late must sell. For you just two dollars.”<br /><br /> “I would love to have the fish but I don’t have two dollars to pay for it,” I answered. The man acted as if he thought I was lying to him. He became angry; said words in Spanish that I didn’t understand and started walking away. My heart beat fast. Thoughts flashed through my mind. “Lord, please don’t disappoint us, here is a good time for you to show your love that’s more than the water in this ocean. We sure want that fish.” As suddenly as he had turned away, he turned around walked back and said, “I’ll give fish for money you have in pocket.”<br /><br />We were all standing together by this time and were looking wishfully at the big fish. I held out my hand and said, “The man says he’ll trade the fish for the money we have. Let’s see how much we can raise. We all dug in our pockets. All together, they had seventeen cents. <br /><br />The man became angrier. This time my heart skipped a beat. I thought for sure he was going away with his fish. Then God softened his heart and he said, “I take money. You take big fish.” He placed the fish carefully in my two out stretched hands and gave a little bow as if giving me a gift. Truly, it was a gift, for seventeen cents would not have paid for it fins, if he were selling them.<br /><br />We held the fish beside six-year old, Bobby. It was the length that he was tall. We took turns carrying it home.. <br /><br />We cut it in pieces, gave portions to our neighbors. After we had eaten all we wanted, we rubbed salt into the remaining fish to preserve it and therefore ate fish the following day.<div>
<br />That night many families thanked God that they had, “Fish for Supper”!<br /><br />--Charlotte Huskey<br /><br /> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-36712025641501261772013-09-20T16:24:00.002-07:002013-09-20T16:24:18.328-07:00I Love You Jesus<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sunday morning, September 1, 2013</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I sat on my front porch gazing up at the
awesome blue of space. You know the space that goes on for eon of miles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Some say that Jesus lives far away beyond the
blue space. “But, Jesus, I know you are
not far away for You live in my heart.” I said. The thought was overwhelming.
How could it be that the creator of the universe could abide in me, just a weak
worm of the dust? My eyes filled with tears, I breathed out, “I
love you, Jesus.” Then my mind went
leapfrogging from scene to scene of experiences we had together. “I have loved you since I was five years old,”
I whispered. “I loved you before you came to live in my heart.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I don’t remember much of my early
childhood. However, I do remember that Jesus
became real to me just before my sixth birthday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In April of that year, I had polio
(poliomyelitis) and it left me crippled. Two bouts with pneumonia that winter
had weakened my immune system. Therefore, when an epidemic of polio broke out
in Oklahoma City, I became a victim. After the fever and suffering ended, I wanted
to get up and play. Mamma helped me out of bed, but I could not stand. Later I
realized that I could not crawl. I could only roll to get where I wanted to go.
Mamma would carry me out on the porch so I could watch other children playing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My biggest disappointment was thinking, I
would not be able to attend school. I had wanted to go to school since my
sister Bob started two years ago. During the days as I lay on a quilt and
watched other children playing, I hoped to play again someday. That September
day in 1941 when I walked to school, and ran with the other children during
recess, I knew Jesus was real. He had healed me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> He
came into my heart two years later when. I was eight years old. We lived in a
two-story house and my bedroom was on the second floor. I crawled out of bed
and went downstairs to my mother’s bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the darkness, I stood beside my
sleeping parents. Those parents I loved beyond measure. I hated to awake them,
because they were tired from working to care for my three siblings and me. Now
they were resting. I hesitated and almost turned to leave, when my mother
sensing my presence spoke, “What you want, Dink?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Trembling, I said, “I wanta be saved?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mamma prayed with me and Jesus came into
my heart that night. Oh, the lightness and happiness I felt as I returned to my
bed! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: small;">That was 70 years ago. I thought at the
time that I couldn’t love Jesus more, but my love for Him has grown with every
experience until now my love is too deep to express. How </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">desperately</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: small;"> I wish I
could help others understand the depth of my love. However, I cannot, for there
are no words to express it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: small;">The only way
to understand my relationship with Jesus
is to experience it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Thank you Jesus, for loving me all these
years.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-84356691516560862002013-09-16T14:04:00.000-07:002013-09-16T14:11:46.176-07:00Too Much Food and Time<br />
Meditation 9/8/2013<br />
<br />
Have you heard the Bible story about two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah? It is found in Genesis 13. It says, “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord.” Eventually like an erupting volcano, hot brimstone fell from the sky burying both cities.<br />
<br />
Did you ever wonder what was happening in these cities before they became so wicked? In another place, the Bible tells us: “…this was the iniquity of … Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness ...neither did she strengthen the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” Ezek. 16:49 & 50 A wise proverb of King Solomon is, “Pride comes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction.” Pride, plenty of food and idle time was what caused the inhabitants of Sodom to fall into wickedness. If they had changed some things in their lives, perhaps they might have avoided the catastrophe.<br />
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Are we allowing our children to follow a path toward wickedness when we keep them full of food and give them time to be idol? An old wise saying is, “An idol mind is the devils workshop.” Shouldn’t all children have responsibilities equal to their ability? Even small children can be responsible for keeping themselves and their room clean, doing school homework and helping with family chores. Other responsibilities should be added as they grow. By the time, they are young adults they should be working and paying for some of their clothes, their car, insurance, gas and repairs unless they are devoted to studying. When parents supply their needs, they have more time to experiment with sin. Parents are in essence giving their children “fullness of bread and abundance of idleness” the very things that caused Sodom to decline. A busy child will be tired at night. He will sleep instead of staying awake doing things that are not constructive.<br />
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Another sin of Sodom was that they did not “strengthen the poor and needy.” While we are living a standard better than that of kings in former ages, the poor barely exist in there miserable conditions. What are we doing to strengthen the poor? Do we even share our abundance with them? Much of our abundance is thrown in the trash, half an apple, vegetables we don’t like, leftover food, that could be saved for another meal, etc.? What kind of example are we showing the next generation?<br />
<br />
Are we using money for unnecessary comforts for our children and those children becoming selfish or experimenting with destructive things of the world, too much entertainment, popularity, drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography etc.? Sometimes the sacrifices parents make for children are propelling then toward tragedy. Perhaps they would benefit more by seeing their parents helping others and the gospel.<br />
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Let us not allow our children to grow up in the sins of Sodom for they may take up the practices of those cities as well. We can take our sons and daughters into the icy waters of self-denial, and give of our money to help others and by so doing save our sons and daughters. On the other hand, we can huddle in our comforts with them and await the outcome. God help us to save ourselves, and our families from “pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness and ignoring the poor.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-28970070706630654202013-09-15T21:14:00.001-07:002013-09-15T21:14:19.066-07:00The Family StructureThe Family Structure<br />
<i>…Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. </i><br />
Geneses 18:18 & 19.<br />
<br />
The family structure is very important because it needs to be strong generation after generation. Each generation is a cycle of dependence on other members of the family. If the structure is faulty, the cycle may break. A broken cycle inflects pain of different degrees on members of the family. We have all seen this in abused or neglected children, rebellious teens, deserted spouses, and neglect of the aged. People of every age and all social and economic levels are affected by emotional problems caused when the family structure is broken. Likewise the family with a good structure will be blessed generation after generation.<br />
<br />
The family cycle begins with a baby totally dependent on adults. Those first five or six years are the training years when the behavior patterns and moral conscience of the child are forming. What happens to the child in these years has a lifelong effect. It is the parents’ most opportune time for training that will produce good results in later years. (Training is educating in behavior patterns using negative and positive stimuli.) As a child moves into middle school age, parents become teachers and coaches for their children. They show the children how to study, how to work, how to make goals for themselves, how to bring their bodies and emotions into control so they can be successful in life. Show them how and encourage them when they achieve a goal. Later in high school and college years parents continue coaching and become counselors in whom God has invested both wisdom and authority for their family. If the parent child relationship is a good one, this will be a precious time for both child and parent. Then comes the child’s adult years when parent and child are friends. This long period of time is when the parents reap rewards of his parenting years. Later when the parent becomes aged, the roles switch. Adult children become the adviser and authority over the parent. That completes the beautiful cycle that God ordained for families.<br />
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When your children are old enough to choose their friends will you have given then reason to choose you? Have you proved that you are trustworthy by being truthful to them? Or in their forming years did you tell them little white lies to get them to do what you wanted them to do? Have you often weakened in confrontations when you should have calmly stood for the correct? Have you respected them as a valuable person and kept a good relationship? Do your teen-agers consider you a part of their desirable relationships? If they do, it is because your family has learned to depend on each other. It is God’s desire that families be interdependent just as His church is interdependent (many members but all working together as members of a body. I Cor. 12:12-27)<br />
<br />
Two predominant structures for families are interdependent and independent. To illustrate the interdependent family image a family standing in a circle holding hands and facing each other. They connect through touch and can easily communicate as each one can see the other. The members of an interdependent family find their identity and social, emotional and spiritual fulfillment together. The interdependent family is likely to stay in close contact after the children are adults and have families of their own.<br />
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The family with the independent structures is likely to slowly disintegrate when the children are older and begin choosing their friends. To illustrate an independent family structure image a group of people standing in a circle with their backs to each other and not holding hands. Communication is difficult without either hand or eye contact. Each one in this group is looking outward to his interests. The members of this family think and do for themselves without much consideration of other family members. Their social and emotional needs are met outside the family. A family with an independent structure often becomes a “dysfunctional family.” Divorce, child abuse, child neglect, drug or alcohol abuse, and sorrows of all sorts are the results. Some families fall into such deprave conditions as is described in Joel 3:3. <i>“They… have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine that they might drink.”</i> Other independently structured families serve well in society; however, their hearts are void of the rich blessings that God intended for a family to enjoy. Often these persons suffer depression, loneliness, and other emotional disorders that may lead to needing professional psychiatric help. A biblical proverb states that,<i> “A brother offended is harder to win than a city.”</i> Have we not seen this to be true? When brothers become angry at each other, it is extremely difficult that they be reconciled.<br />
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It is not hard to identify an independent adolescent, which is finding his or her social and emotional satisfaction outside the family. To get friends’ approval, he or she will conform in hairstyle, clothes, music, entertainment, speech and much more. They are becoming a part of another family (a family of peers). He has found a relationship, which he did not find in his family because the members of the family were working independently. He can find a certain amount of social and emotional satisfaction with his friends, however to find spiritual satisfaction he must come again under parental authority.<br />
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Is there hope for a family who is becoming fragmented to regain relationship with each other? In Joel 2:12-13, there is a promise. It says,<i> “Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping… turn unto …God for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness…”</i> In verse 25, it also says <i>“I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer worm…: and my people shall never be ashamed.” Zechariah gives another promise. He says, “Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord … and I will turn unto you.” </i><br />
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Parents who are willing to admit they have made mistakes have already taken a big step toward a better family. Repent and ask Christ to help you to know how to train yourself and your children to depend on each other. Then gather your family and explain the mistakes you have made in the past and ask their forgiveness. Be careful not to focus on your children’s mistakes. Remember you are rebuilding relationships. You take the blame for the state your family is in. As an example: If you have been lacks on making obedience obligatory explain what God’s Word says. If it is respect, explain that. Then explain the course of action that you believe God wants you to take. Kindly answer any questions they may have, and pray together as a family.<br />
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To be successful in reconstructing a family, you must be determined; for an interdependent family structure is very opposite of the way the world believes a family should be. It is also contrary of human nature. Every person is born with a desire to be independent. Every child needs consistent supervision of a mother to become skilled in living interdependently with other members of a family. You may have to make some difficult changes like, the wife staying at home. You’ll need to put family above financial advancement. Some Biblical instructions are found in Titus 2:3-7.<i> “The aged women…teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of god be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded, in all things showing thyself a pattern of good words: in doctrine showing in-corruptness gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned…” </i><br />
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Older children will watch to see if the attitude and the relationship between their parents has changed. They will want to see humility, genuine love, repentant attitudes, a striving to do better. Teenagers can sense hypocrisy in parents and usually do not want to identify with a hypocrite; however, they will often forgive and try to conform if the parents are sincere. Make good the chance you have to restore your family for you may not get another. Children grow up rapidly. If we as parents will seek God to give us a heart that will fear him and give us courage to obey all his commandments always, it will make a difference in our families. We can then have faith that God will bless our children and it will be well with them. Deuteronomy 5:29.<br />
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An old fable about a dying father with a bundle of sticks sums up these thoughts. He called his sons and asked each in turn to try to break the sticks while bound together in the bundle. None could. Then he untied and separated the sticks and asked then again to break the sticks. Quickly the sticks were broken. Then the father said, “My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this bundle, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies. But, if you are divided among yourselves you will be broken easily as these sticks.”<br />
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I thank God that we can have the blessing of God upon our descendants as Abraham had on his; for we are children of Abraham and heirs of the kingdom of God. Galatians 3:7 reads like this: <i>“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>…Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. </i><br />
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I Am The Child<br />
I am the child.<br />
All the world waits for my coming.<br />
And the earth watches with interest<br />
To see what I shall become.<br />
Civilization hangs in the balance,<br />
For what I am<br />
The world of tomorrow will be.<br />
<br />
I am the child.<br />
I have come into your world,<br />
About which I knew nothing.<br />
Why I come, I know not.<br />
How I came, I know not.<br />
I am curious: I am interested.<br />
<br />
I am the child.<br />
You hold in your hand my destiny,<br />
You determine, largely,<br />
Whether I shall succeed or fail.<br />
Give me, I pray you, those things<br />
That makes for happiness.<br />
Train me, I beg you, that I may be<br />
A blessing to the world.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-47490685105726109622013-09-02T23:52:00.001-07:002013-09-02T23:55:49.544-07:00Ask for the Old Paths<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jeremiah 6:16 “<i>Thus
saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, Where
is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We are thankful for the many new inventions and
discoveries that help humanity live an easier, healthier and longer life. However,
if we are not careful, in our quest to keep up with the new more educated way
of life, we will cast aside the <i>old paths</i>.
We need to use both the new and the old. We will find <i>rest to our souls</i> by following the <i>old paths</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Don’t we like to read books, and see movies of the
“good old days?” Those were days when people respected fellow citizens and
trusted in a higher power. They took time to know and help each other. They
took time to reflect on what they were doing and where the choices they were
making would lead them. Don’t we all wish that life could be a little more like
it was in the “olden days?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Think a moment of our nation. What country has become as
great as the U.S.? Our nation has helped almost every nation of the world. Why?
Why did it have more than enough for it citizens while other nations were not
supplying enough for theirs? Why did our nation survive those first years of
hardships, and wars? How did we progress from hand tools into the machine age <i>without</i> mass unemployment and poverty? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Where did our founding father get wisdom to form a
government that has been so successful? They observed <i>the old paths</i> of their ancestors and other nations: noting the
results of those who practiced righteousness and those who practiced evil. They
saw by example that “Righteousness exalteth a <i>nation</i>: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34) They
read their Bible and believed that such passages as Proverbs 24:3 & 4 were
true. “<i>Through wisdom is a house (nation)
built, and by understanding it is established: and by knowledge shall the
chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”</i> They sought God
earnestly for wisdom, understanding and knowledge. (Some of their assemblies
turned into prayer meetings.)<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Even Ben Franklin who was considered
the least religious of our founding fathers made this statement.</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> “I call for daily prayer, for
…We need to keep God’s concurring aid. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground
without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We‘ve
been assured in the sacred writings that <i>‘Except
the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it</i>.’ History will
afford frequent opportunities of showing the necessity of a public religion;
from its usefulness to the public and the advantage of religious character
among private persons... and the excellency of the Christian religion above all
others, ancient or modern…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">Dr. Benjamin Rush, a very
intelligent founding father graduated from Princeton University when he was
only 14 years old. He is referred to as the father of the Public Schools. He
said, “The Bible should be read in our schools in preference to all other
books. In contemplating the political stations of the United States, I say if
we remove the Bible from the schools we will waste so much time and money
punishing crimes and will be doing so little to prevent them. This divine book
of all other favors the equality of mankind, the respect of just laws and those
sober and frugal virtues that constitutes the soul of our government. There is
the most knowledge in those countries that have the most Christianity. And
those parents or school masters who neglect religious instructions of their
children and pupils reject the most effective means of promoting knowledge in
our country.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For 200 years, children all over America learned the
order of the alphabet by memorizing Bible verses</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">. Also teachers in the public schools used the Bible as
a textbook. Therefore, those generations had strong character, wisdom,
understanding and knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I am happy following the <i>old paths</i> that the generations before me followed. It is a restful
life, and who doesn’t want rest in this “rat race” age?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Trust
in the Lord with all thy heart; and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all
thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in your
own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel,
and marrow to thy bones. Proverbs 3:5-8<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-55543395954019607322013-08-23T18:49:00.001-07:002013-08-23T19:03:01.533-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">God Knows Our Foolishness<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">O, God thou knowest my foolishness; and my sin is not
hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of host, be ashamed
for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of
Israel. Psalm 69:5 & 6. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Thursday is my day to bake. I have baked bread and
given the profits to missions since we moved from the mission field in Mexico.
I go to bed the night before planning my baking day schedule. And, sorry to say,
I often get up ready to get into the dough. I say a hasty prayer. I read a verse or two in the Bible but I don’t
take time to meditate on it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A couple weeks ago, in prayer meeting, Marie Benson
exhorted us to take time for meditation on God’s Word. That if we gobbled it down it will not do us much good,
just as gobbling down our food does not do our body as much good as when we
relax and eat slowly. I promised myself that I’d do better. I called her the
following day and thanked her. “It was just what I needed to hear.” I told her.
Since that time, I have taken more time reflecting on God’s words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As I was getting ready for bed, Wednesday night, I was
planning Thursday’s schedule. I would need to finish baking early enough to tidy
up the house, bath and be at the airport by 8:00 p.m. We were to pick-up Maria,
our granddaughter at the OKC airport. Maria, along with others, was returning
from a month long trip to Kenya, Africa. There they helped with a construction
project for the Huruma Orphanage Centre. (Her picture laying bricks is on my first post.)
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I promised myself this Thursday would be different. I
got up early so I’d have time to do things right, read my Bible and reflect on
its meaning. However, something
distracted me and before I knew it, I was mixing whole wheat bread. By 10:00 o’clock,
I have four loaves of banana nut bread baked and eight loaves of whole wheat bread
ready for the oven. That was wonderful but soon the day turned chaotic. The
cinnamon roll dough was too moist and hard to keep in round shapes, I forgot to
put almonds on the Sabbath bread, and some of the cookies burned. I struggled
through the rest of the day. By 1:30, I was exhausted, when usually I can keep working
into late hours. However, God who is always merciful, sent volunteer help. The
baking was finished and kitchen clean by 3:30 p.m. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After the helpers were gone, I picked up my Bible to
read, and guess what, I fell asleep. When I awoke it was time to make supper. Since my husband, James is not well; I knew it was now my obligation to
prepare a meal, so I did. When the meal was finished, it was time to get ready
and go pick-up Maria at the airport.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I f I’d had a smart phone, I might have gobbled down a
bit of God’s Word while riding to the airport, in that way eased my conscience
a little. As it was, I had to admit that I had broken my promise to God..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After returning from the airport, I opened my Bible to-- you guess it, Psalm
69:5 <i>O God thou knowest my foolishness,
and my sin is not hid from thee. </i>My prayer that evening, was, “Lord forgive
me for making the foolish mistake of putting my other things before you. I am
thankful you are merciful, loving and forgiving. Please, don’t let what I do
hinder those around me, for I know others are watching my life. Help me be a
better example. I don’t want others to be discouraged in You.”<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-54512395147630697212013-08-23T14:13:00.000-07:002013-08-23T19:05:28.323-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A Surprise Birthday <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday,
March 6, 1962, two weeks after we moved to Baja California, Mexico<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Mommy,”
said Bobby, as he was dressing for bed. “I’ll be six years old tomorrow. Are things
ready for my party?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All through
the day I had been wondering how I would explain to Bobby that there was
absolutely no money for a cake or present for his birthday. “Honey, I am very sorry but we have not been
able to get you a present---<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“What? Don’t
stores in Mexico have toys and things?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh, Yes. Of
course there are plenty of things to buy but- but – we have no money right
now.” He looked so sad. I clenched my jaws to keep from crying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Is my
birthday going to be worst than this last Christmas? Why can’t things be like
they used to be when we had fun birthdays, picnics at Stony Creek Park and
Christmas with everybody? I don’t like moving, away from everyone, Rada, Cecil,
Rudy, and---.” He began sobbing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I sat down
on the bunk bed beside him. I put my arms around him, and he laid his head on
my lap. I also remembered those good times in Orland, California. Because we did not live near either mine or
James parents, we had for the past five years celebrated Thanksgiving with
three childless couples and (sometimes their lonely friends) from the church we
attended. Two couples, Bro and Sis. Rudd, also Rada and Cecil counted
themselves as grandparents to our children. Rudy was the brother of Mary Ellen,
who had lived with us since Tim’s birth. Rudy stay at our house a lot to play
with Bobby. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whenever
possible we spent Christmas with either my parents or James’s dad. Sometimes we
enjoyed both at the same time. This last Christmas we were all alone in a small
cabin on the church campground in Pacoima, CA. There were a few small presents
but not the usual kind, nor the royal family feasting, playing games and so
forth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally,
Bobby stopped sobbing and looked up. “You will make me a cake won’t you? And I
can invite Lallo and Juan to eat with me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I prayed to
myself<i>- Oh, Lord, how can I tell him,
that I have no sugar, eggs or butter to make a cake?</i> We all slept in the
same room because it was warmer. I got up and finished making our bed, which
was a mattress on the floor between the two bunk beds that were pushed tightly
against opposite walls. Tricia and Rosi were asleep in one and Tim lay asleep at
the other end of the one on which Bobby sat. <i>God I
know all things are possible.</i> <i>You
supplied for Tim to have a beautiful birthday just three weeks ago and you can
do the same for Bob. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Why don’t
you answer me?” Bob questioned. He dangled his feet picking up one side of the
cover on our pallet. “You are going to make me a cake, aren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I hurled our
pillows to the other end of the pallet, and sat down beside Bobby. “I’m sorry Bob, but I have no sugar, butter
nor eggs with which to make a cake. Lay down and I will tell you a story.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I don’t
want to hear a story.” He pushed me away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I slipped out
into the kitchen and put on my pajamas, then sat down cross-legged on my
mattress. I couldn’t talk for crying, so we sat in silence. The rain was
falling in torrents outside. Cold wind blew into the little room through cracks
around the door and windows. The fire in the round heating stove in the corner
of the room had die down in order to save the scant wood supply. “Come on, get
under the cover,” I pleaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He did, then
looked up at me and asked. “Are you sure God sent us here?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I think He
did. Your dad fasted and prayed three days before he decided this was the place
God wanted us. Things can’t always be as we would like. We have food to eat and
this place out of the cold rain. God will supply for us. Remember God sent a
raven each day with food for Elijah. But Elijah had to suffer, too. The King’s
men were hunting Elijah to kill him, that’s why he was hiding in the mountains.
Elijah too, may have wished for different food than what the raven brought. We
too may not always like what God does but remember He will take care of us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bobby wiped
his eyes and said softly, “Okay.” Bobby wanted to please Jesus and said often
that he wanted to be a worker like Timothy in the Bible. In fact, he had asked
that his little brother be called Timothy after the Bible character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Try to go
to sleep now,” I whispered and kissed him. “I hear the car so Daddy is here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Sorry I am
so late but it took a long time to get the neighbor’s car out of the ditch. This
clay ground is like slime and yet it sticks like glue. It’s like the soil in Southern
MO.” He slipped off his muddy shoes and clothes near the back door. Got into
his pajamas and came into the room. “What? Isn’t Bobby asleep? Looks like he’s
been crying?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Well, we
are feeling pretty sad because there is not money for his birthday.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Why, when
is his birthday?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It’s
tomorrow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh, yes, I know.
Well, things could be worse. I was just visiting with Tomas’ sister, Marie. Her
baby was crying because she was hungry and she had no milk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You didn’t
give her the cans of milk in the car?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I gave her
one can.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Rosi drinks
one can every day. What will she do after tomorrow?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’m sorry.
I didn’t know that was all we had. I couldn’t carry away milk and leave a baby
crying of hunger.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Poor James
did all he could to comfort us but it all seen in vain. We had forgotten that Jesus
said, “Take no thought for tomorrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I covered my
head so Bobby couldn’t see me crying. I could hear him sobbing until he went to
sleep. James wrapped himself in a quilt and sat down on the pallet at my feet
and began reading the Bible. I never moved but I could hear him reading. “Blessed
is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”
(Ps.41:1) “Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall
we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek:) For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all
these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the
norrow; for the norrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He prayed a
while quietly them got under the covers. Soon he was snoring heavily. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I pretended
to be asleep. Secretly I was wishing I could trust God like he did. I wondered if
he thought cans of milk would come falling out of the sky like the manna in the
wilderness? His growing up years living with a minister father who sometimes traveled
as an evangelist had given him first hand experiences seeing God meet needs. I
supposed it was like foundation stones in a building. He had told me about his
sister, Esther fifth birthday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She wanted a
doll buggy. One of those strong iron ones like was made in the thirties. There
was no money for such a luxury and their mother had explained this to Esther so
she wouldn’t be too disappointed. On March 3, the day before her birthday their
mother Ella Mae took Esther to visit Sis. McMain. Esther was playing with her
doll while the women visited and prayed together. Before leaving, Sister McMain
asked, “Do you have a buggy for your doll?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Yes,”
Esther answered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While going
home on the city bus, Mother scolded Esther for telling a lie. “But I’ve been
praying for one and Jesus is sending it,” Ester answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
following morning, when James and His brother David were returning from
delivering the morning newspaper to their customers they saw a doll buggy in
the alley behind their house. James hurried into the house wrapped Esther in a
blanket and carried her to the alley. “There is my doll buggy,” she
squealed. Mother was sure some little
girl had accidently left it there. She sent the boys over the neighborhood.
They asked at every home about the doll buggy. No one claimed it. Truly, God
had sent the buggy. <i>Could it be possible
that at this late hour God would arrange things so Bobby would have a happy birthday?
<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had grown
up on a farm in Oregon. Our presents were bought with hard earned money. In the
summer and fall we stored away enough food to last until the coming harvest. I
was very uncomfortable having only enough food for a few weeks, much less for
only one day. I turned from side to side until I finally fell into a restless
sleep. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometime later,
we awoke to loud knocking on the front door. “Jaime! Jaime!” Someone was
shouting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Quien es?”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> (Who is it?) James muttered half
asleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="ES-MX" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;">“Yo soy Jose.</span></i><span lang="ES-MX" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;">
(I am Jose) <i>Aqui esta</i> <i>Smeet. </i></span><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smeet.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> The voice answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It must be
Bro. Smith,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ah, you’re
dreaming,” James answered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But he
realized it was true when he heard the familiar voice of Harland Smith. He
jumped up and jerked open the door and shouted, “Get in here out of that rain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “It is pretty wet out here and the door doesn’t
have a porch,” Bro Smith said as the two men stepped in. Then in his usual
polite way he added. “I hated to come in on you so late, but I started as soon
as I got off work. It rained so hard all the way so I couldn’t drive very fast.
How is everyone?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We are
alright. But how did you find us?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I really
didn’t know where to start, no address, no phone. When we came through last weekend,
I asked but no one knew of a new American family in town. However, all day
while at work I kept thinking I must come and find you. The longer I worked the
more I was convinced that I must come tonight. I prayed all the way for God to
help me. Back up the road a little ways, I saw a man bent over as if struggling
to stay afoot in this awful storm. I stopped and offered him a ride. We talked
just a little and then I realized he was the man you brought to Pomona to get your
things. He lived next door. Of course he guided me right here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Thanks
Jose,” James said shaking his hand. Jose said good night and left. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It was a
real miracle that the timing was just right for you to meet Jose,” James said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Yes, God
does all things right. We just have to listen and follow him.” He said, as he
handed James some letters. “There are more boxes in the pick-up. I’ll get them
out in the morning.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The minute I
heard Bro. Smith’s voice I knew God had not forsaken us. He had sent help. If
there are living angels, Harland Smith was one. His face had a radiance, which
gave the impression of being divine. In his presence, burdens vanished; fear
and discouragement lost their control. There was an influence going out from
him that penetrated into the hearts of others, giving them a new determination
to go for God, no matter the cost. I had many times felt heavenly power when he
prayed. “But why had I been so discouraged a few hours ago,” I thought. “Oh,
God, please forgive me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before the
children awoke, the men had unloaded the boxes. There were two packages for
Bobby, one from Rada, another from Mary Ellen. Another box was full of
groceries. It contained cans of evaporated milk for Rosi, a box of cake mix, eggs,
and confection sugar for frosting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I lay the
cheerfully wrapped presents on the bed beside Bobby. Then I bent over, kissed
him and said. “Wake-up, Bobby. It’s your birthday! Go invite Lalo and Juan to
share your cake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-45435941800600475432013-08-22T19:28:00.000-07:002013-08-22T20:08:47.788-07:00Our First Day Living in Mexico<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">I slammed on the brakes and
bit my lip to suppress a scream. A black station wagon dashed in front of me, slowed
almost to a stop and made a left turn. Monetarily I lost sight of the brown
Chevy panel truck that my husband, James was driving. He was guiding me through
this maize of narrow pothole filled streets. I had heard people joke about
Tijuana drivers but I never dreamed it could be this bad.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">It was my first time driving in this Mexican city
just south of San Diego, California. Besides being my first, I was maneuvering
through rush hour traffic with only one free hand. </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Our ten-month-old daughter, Rosi was asleep on
my left shoulder. If I stopped to lay her down, I’d lose my guide.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">It was near six o’clock
Friday evening, February 23, 1962. Heavy dark rain-clouds cause darkness to set
in early. The lights of the city were now behind us so all I could see was my
guide’s taillights. Often they disappeared around hairpin curves or dipped into
sharp inclines. Nevertheless, the darkness was a blessing with a gray face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">We were not just going on a
mission vacation and would soon be back to our usual life. We were leaving behind
the familiar comforts of America and planning to live in Mexico for years to
come. To make matters worse we had only $10.00 and not a promise of another
penny. Perhaps Rosi’s crying was because she had sensed the tension in my
emotions as we crossed the international border.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">It must have been about 8:00
o’clock when James pulled off the highway beside a tiny deserted house
surrounded by knee-high weeds. He came back to my car and said, “Well this is
the place. Let’s just sleep in the cars till morning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">“Okay, just tell me where the
bathroom is? We gotta go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">“Hu, hu, its right there, that
little shanty. Here’s the flash light.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">I shivered. Partly from the
cold, partly from what I might find in that creaky out-house. I thought we had
come to the end of the earth. There was not a light anywhere. Surely if there
were houses around we could see at least a candle lit. Not one. I put Rosi in
the back seat near her brother Tim who had turned two just one week ago. Tricia
and I went to the outhouse. With the flashlight, I surveyed its interior. There
were spider webs in the corners full of dead flies, so I knew some fat spiders
was lurking somewhere in the darkness. But the spiders were not as bad as the
stench. Tricia our little princess covered her nose and cried. I hugged her, my
tears dropping on her blond hair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">In the car I held her tight
as we listen to the rain beat on the metal roof of our brown 56 Chevy station
wagon. A thousands thoughts raced through my mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">What had we got ourselves</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"> <i>into? Were we
completely crazy? How could I convince James to go back? I had promised James
I’d be a missionary with him eight years ago. We were standing on a pier in
Redondo Beach, Cal., when he had asked, “Will you marry me and go with me across
the ocean?” The evening was so romantic, the hum of the waves on the rocks and
the moon shining on the water. It sounded so exciting.”Yes,” I answered.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"> I envisioned
James and I boarding a ship with our family and near friends standing on the
dock giving us a big send off. People in the church would be standing behind us
with their blessing and financial support. We would have money for travel
expenses, a decent place to live and other basic needs. So we married a year
later on December 26, 1954 at my home church in Jefferson, Oregon. Eight years
later with four children, we were going on the mission field. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">Where was the big send off, I had imagined? Where was
the mission station prepared to receive us? We had already promised our only
money, ($10.00) to rent the tiny house James had located. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">Before we could go, James had to serve the country. At
that time, all men over 18 had to serve two years in the military unless they
objected for conscience sake. If accepted they were classified as
“Conscientious Objector” and were put to
work at something to help our country in place of being placed in the military.
Only a few who applied received it. James had lived a Christian life through
school and on his job at the Chevy dealership so he was accepted and allowed to
work at any nonprofit organization. Through the help of another conscientious
objector he found a job with the Goodwill Industries in Santa Anna, CA. He
drove a truck that picked up donations from June 1955 through June 1957. Bob
our oldest son was born while we lived in Santa Anna.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">He finished this work requirement and we moved back to
Orland, CA. where we had lived the first six months after our marriage. While
living in Santa Anna, a banker (who knew the family had disintegrated because
of the mother’s death in a car accident) notified James that his father’s old
home was in foreclosure. The new owners had defaulted on the mortgage. We had a
small savings so paid off the loan and moved into this house. We sold the little house on Chapman St. and
bought a larger one on a half acre lot to fulfill my dream of an orchard, and
gardens. We soon remolded adding a new kitchen, bath, living and dining area
which almost doubled the size of the house. We needed the space for Tricia, Tim
and Rosi were born in those five years. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"> Soon after Rosi
was born, Bobby came down with the mumps. Two weeks later James had them. While
flat on his back with mumps God began talking to him about his calling to the
mission fields. Everyone in the church encouraged us to go. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">During the following four months, I fought many
spiritual battles. I walked the floor trying to die to my dreams; the future of
my children (education, etc), a comfortable home, orchard, and vegetable
garden. I rubbed my hands over the smooth kidney shaped eating bar that
surrounded a cooking unit. I kissed the stools where our children sat to eat. I
patted my sewing nook and said, “I hope the next person enjoys you as much as I
have.” It seemed like pulling my teeth to leave this lovely new home. By God’s grace,
I made it though. We rented our home for the mortgage payment and started for
Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">We were confused about where to go for some advised going
to El Alamo and others thought we should move to Santa Catherina. Both these
mission station had a small well-furnished house. Finally, after two month
staying in the church campground cabin and in homes of friends, James began
fasting. He went to the mountain to hear from God. Three days later when he
came back he said, “God said ‘Go to Rosarita’.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">“Where?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">“Rosarita.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">Geneva Hite, the friend in whose home we were staying,
spoke up. “We have been praying that God would send someone there, because the
Esquire family had just moved there and they need someone to disciple them.
Here I’ll show you where it is.” She got her map and unfolded it on the table.
“There it is,” she said, “right on the ocean. The government has just built a
hydro-electric plant out at the edge of town and many people are moving in.”
She was so excited I just had to believe that God had really spoken. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"> We waited another
week or so hoping some offerings would come in for our relocation. But none
did. Bill and Geneva Hite made regular trips out into the desert of Baja
California with Harlan Smith. James went with them a couple times and they left
him off in Rosarita to find a house for us. Nothing turned up except a
possibility of a little shanty for $10.00, located three miles north of town.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">We were restless by now. Living with four children
ages five and under in another’s home isn’t exactly a piece of cake. Children
are naturally prone to accidents and curious. It kept me busy from morning til
night just keeping then out of things or cleaning up after spills. One morning
we had about all we could take, it was time to act, so when the children found
money in a thrown away sofa out back of the Hite’s home we took that as a sign
that God would supply our needs. With this money, we put gas in the two
vehicles and started out. How different all this was to what I had envisioned
that night on the pier when I promise James I’d be a missionary.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">I grew up on a farm in the Willamette Valley, near
Salem OR. Dad never tried “to keep up with the Jones” but our 9 by 10 pantry
was stocked with food each summer. There were shelves from floor to ceiling
filled with jars of home preserved fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies, pickles
and meats. What a contrast to the life of faith we were undertaking. Pure,
true, adventure it was! It was like trying to climb Mt. Everest without previous
training - - at least for me. James had had a little experience living by
faith. His dad was a minister and sometimes they lived purely on offerings.
Yes, this was real adventure! Not exactly what I wanted, however that’s why I
married James. I saw it as an
opportunity to work for the Lord, to use
my energy for souls. I dream was to go into new territories and raise up
believers. Although I wished to work for the Lord, I was feeling like running
away. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">Instead of floating on a ship, I was cramped up in a
car, trying to sleep in a rainstorm. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning,
I dozed off.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">The sound of men talking
awoke me. Opening my eyes I saw two Mexicans talking to James, Bobby stood beside
him shivering in the cold wind. The house was a shack. How glad I was that we arrived in the night.
At least I had a little rest before laying eyes on my future ‘dwelling’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">James came over to the car.
“I’ll go pay the rent and see if I can get a key for this place.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">Thankfully, the three
younger children were still asleep so I laid my head back and began praying. <i>“Oh Lord, please increase my faith. We have
only a few days food supply.”</i> <i>Suddenly
I remembered reading the biography of Dwight L. Moody. His father had died
shortly before his mother gave birth to twins. She was unable to work so the
children had to hire out for their room and board. Dwight and his brother cared
for a man’s cows all winter in exchange for a place to sleep and only mush to
eat. I got the point. “Yes Lord, we have enough corn meal for a couple weeks. What
will we do after that?” My mind began thinking of other miraculous thing I had
read. God could do anything. There were plenty of fish in the ocean, wild animals
in the hills not far away. Oh Yes, ‘ the cattle on a thousand hill are his.’ I’m
sure You will give us one whenever our family needs it won’t you God?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">I looked up into the blue
sky. Yes, I was serving an awesome God who had control of everything. I got out
of the car and stretched. Looking about me I saw a field of golden California
poppies bobbing their heads as if welcoming me. And there were Texas blue
bells, and sun flowers, and several other flowers that I couldn’t name. I could
hardly believe the beauty before my eyes. I turned to look in front of the
little house. There across the field, the blue waters of the Pacific stretch
out as far as the eyes could see. And on either side of our “would be home”
were several houses each facing the narrow highway. At least I would have
neighbors<i>. This wasn’t the end of the
world after all.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">When James returned he said,
“I have good news. The owner said we could just live here and fix up the house
for him. He will buy all the materials.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">We went inside and to our surprise,
there was a good propane cook stove. “A stove!” I shouted, ‘That’s all we need.
We have a table, our beds and everything else we need.” In shamed, I covered my
face and cried. God had supplied all we needed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">“Say, I’ve got a propane
tank you can use,” said Jose, our new neighbor. “The contract on the tank is <i>dos centos pesos</i> ($20.00) but this way you
will only pay for the propane which is about $4.50.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">We hadn’t eaten a decent
meal since yesterday morning so while they went for the propane, I started
hunting through boxes for pans and dishes. That is when I realized I hadn’t
washed my hands and had been to the bath room twice. Wipes were not for sale in
those years. And there was no water. Yucky was hardly the word to describe how
I felt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">The kids were awake now and
Tim and Tricia needed to use the toilet. The smell of the “out-house” was
horrendous. I gagged while I held each child over the hold. For a moment, I was
wanting to forget adventure and to fly back to the states to a clean bath room
that flushed and had a lavatory and bar of soap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">When I came out of the toilet,
I heard a strange loud noise. Looking around I saw a boy rolling a fifty-gallon
barrel toward me. <i>“Para Agua,”</i> the
boy said, pointing to me. I pointed to
myself. He shook his head, “Yes”. I understood. The barrel was for me. I
remembered in childhood my mother kept a barrel like that under the eaves at
the corner of the house. In it she caught the rain that fell from the roof. She
said rainwater was soft and better for our skin and hair. When a child I used
to wonder, how could water be anything but soft? It always felt soft to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">“Look! Look!” I called to
the children. “A skinny man driving a bony horse pulling a cart is coming down
the road.” The boy ran out and spoke to
him. Then the man pulled right up to our back door where the boy had placed the
barrel. He climbed into his cart, poured a bucket of water in my new barrel and
rinsed it. Then he poured bucketful after bucketful of water into my barrel.
When our barrel was full, the boy gave the man some money. Now we had water!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">Then what to my wondering
eyes should appear? Two women were coming toward me; one had a broom, the other
a mop, two large boys with hoes over their shoulders and machetes in their
hands and three teen-age girls carrying rags. Grass and weeds were two feet
tall everywhere except around the neighbors houses and drive ways. The women
explained in sign language they wanted to help. The boys began slicing away the
grass nearest to the house. The girls and women went inside. They swept down
the cobwebs and dust, which had collected on the rough board walls. They washed
the windows, the stove and mopped the floors of the three small rooms. We
looked like an anthill preparing for winter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;">The men helped James unload the
boxes, our one chest of drawers and set up the bunk beds. They screwed the iron legs on the
home made table we had brought. When the work was finished our wonderful new
neighbors bid us good-evening and left. Only the children stayed. They took
Tricia out into the field and brought back a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers
which we placed on the table..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That night when we said our evening
prayers, the fears of the night before seem far away. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435413819902666239noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801052347760100050.post-2285006194148854742013-08-22T19:19:00.000-07:002013-08-22T20:01:03.189-07:00A Mother’s Watchful Eyes<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40.5pt; margin-right: -22.5pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 31.5pt 292.5pt 315.0pt 4.75in 8.0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself will bring
his mother to shame.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Proverbs 29:15.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40.5pt; margin-right: -22.5pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 31.5pt 292.5pt 315.0pt 4.75in 8.0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">y mother’s watchful eye kept me safe in my childhood, when I was
playing hide-in-seek with neighbor children. I dashed </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">M</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">into an abandon “out house” to hide; before I got the door
closed a teenage boy jumped in beside me and locked the door. He proceeded
quickly to get me to undress. I refused. He wasn’t taking “no” for an answer.
Right when I felt most helpless my brother Jim banged on the door and shouted
loudly “Open-up.” My mother watching from our house a good distance away had
seen what happened. She called my brother from his hiding place to come and
rescue me. A similar incident happened when I was either ten or eleven years
old. Again, those watchful eyes saved me, from permanent physical and emotional
damage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">How grateful I am for those watchful eyes. These experiences along with
many others built faith and trust into my life. I knew someone loved me enough
to be watching me. I learned I could trust that person. I knew I was special to
them. That helped me to feel secure, to feel loved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">As we grew older and were away from home, my mother often reminded us
that she could not always know what we were doing, but God’s eyes were watching
and we’d have to suffer the penalty for misbehavior. It was easy for me to
believe that God was watching. I grew up thinking my mother had eyes in the
back of her head as well as in the front. It seemed she always knew what I was
doing. No matter how secretly I acted, I got caught. It was natural for me to
believe I would reap the consequences of my behavior (both good and bad). Under
my mother’s watchful eyes, I had been experiencing it for as long as I could
remember.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">This careful watching also caused me to be cautious about my behavior.
“You can’t do wrong and get by no matter how hard you may try. Nothing hidden
can be everything He does see. You can’t do wrong and get by.” The words of
this song rang true in my heart. Why did I feel the truth in that song?
Mother’s eyes had often caught me when I misbehaved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">What a difference in other children’s lives. Many do not believe that
anyone knows what they do. They seldom have had to “face-up” to wrongs they
have committed, so they also have little fear of the consequences. I often
ponder the void that must be in the hearts of children whose mother’s do not
watch them carefully or who are not with them during their waking hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Some mothers who are with their children seem not to observe what the
children are doing. Others ignore their children’s actions so they will not
have to deal with them. I will confess, it is easier, at the moment, to ignore
unacceptable behavior. I’ll admit to having yielded to such temptations, and
have reaped the result of this lethargy. Reaping is embarrassing and often
painful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Is it easy for a mother to keep an eye on a family of children? No, a
thousand times no. However, if mothers could look down the road into their
children’s lives and see the pain they could save themselves and their children
by watching over and training them in their formative years perhaps it would
help. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Was it easy for my mother to keep an eye on me? Certainly not! I was a
hyperactive child, full of energy, running here and there from early morning
until night. They tell me that as soon as I could walk, I was climbing. One day
Mother heard me calling, “Lookey at me horsey.” She went outside, and found me
straddling the smoke house roof. It’s still a puzzle how I got on that roof.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Some old wise sayings helped me through those years when I struggled to
be diligent about keeping a watchful eye on my children. One was, “Nip it in
the bud.” The bud is just a little knot on a branch. However, it has the ability
to become an enormous branch from which sprout many limbs. Buds show there is
potential power, power to bring forth flowers, leaves, or branches on a tree.
To keep a tree from having low branches we pluck off the buds and no branches
will grow in that place. If we pinch off flower buds, no flowers will appear.
Children are developing habits as they grow. If we encourage good behavior,
good habits will grow like flowers to brighten the child’s life. When the
possibility for a bad habit first shows life, a parent should pluck off the bud
by not allowing the behavior to continue. That will stop the development of
that habit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Take stealing for example: a stealing habit is preventable if young
children are disciplined for stealing from siblings right in the home. Nip any
habit, (disrespect, talking back, wastefulness, anger, laziness etc.) in bud
form before it grows strong enough to control your child. In years to come you
will be thankful, and you won’t find yourself standing in a courtroom wringing
your hands as you helplessly watch your child being escorted away to prison.
Pr. 16:32 “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that
ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> “A stitch in time saves nine,” is
another old saying that helped me. Mothers mended their family’s clothing back
in the olden days, before it was fashionable to wear ragged clothes with
unsightly holes. Sewing up a small tear was easy and took only a few minutes.
If the rip was left untended, it would soon be large. Repairing it would take
nine stitches to one compared to the small tear. Children’s behavior is
somewhat the same. Those little acts of stamping feet, arching the back,
slapping, taking a siblings toy, or speaking a defiant “no” can be corrected
without severe discipline, however if left unattended, a habit will develop
that could take much time and effort to break. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Another wise saying is, “As the twig is bent.” This is relating to
forming good character in children. A tree will seldom grow straight without
protection. In forests, the surrounding trees protect the young ones from
strong wind. In fields and yards, men drive stakes in the ground and connect
the young tree (the twig) to these stakes so the young twig will grow straight.
Since good character cannot be developed by being tied to a straight stake. The
parents’ constant vigilance (watchful eyes) is needed to protect the child from
evil influences that could develop into a depraved character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Mother and fathers must also perceive that evil influences come from
within as well as from without. Every child is born with a self-preservation
personality. The more this personality develops, the more self-willed the child
will become. Selfishness causes problems
of many sorts, two are unhappiness, and rejection by others. A parent can help their child enormously by
teaching them how to deal with these inter desires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">In years gone by, children and young adults arose and offered their
seats to elderly persons, gentlemen and boys gave their sitting places to
females. Today selfish children will ask an adult for their chair. Teaching a
child to offer their seat to another person is one simple way to help develop a
respectful, unselfish character, neither does it damage the child by giving him
the feeling that he is not as important as the other person. Instead, it will
cause the child to feel better about himself. (The praise and admiration he
will receive from others serves to develop a better self-image.) Teaching respect for others, is teaching principles
of God. “Before honor comes humility.” “Do unto others as you would that they
do unto you.” “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">At what age should we start nipping the bud of unacceptable behavior?
While the baby is still in your arms is the best time. When he or she arches
his back in rebellion; that is the time to begin correcting this developing
habit of “having things my way.” When
the baby in your arms screams at you when he doesn’t get what he wants, that is
not the time to guess what he wants and try something until you satisfy him. It
is your opportunity to “nip in the bud” a habit that could destroy your child’s
character. You must be careful to use these opportunities. If you don’t correct
this habit, some day his or her blood curdling screams will be heard across the
super market. That will be embarrassing. On the other hand, it could be
disasters when he or she is making important decisions for life and your advice
is not accepted. Parents should realize that what seems like “innocent” habits
can develop into monsters. When this happens, the child cannot be the person he
or she wants to become, because some habit was allowed to grow until it is
controlling him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Bad controlling habits remind me of the Kuszu vine that was introduced
into the U.S. around 1875. In cold northern climates, it can be contained in
favorable growing conditions. However, in the warm Deep South it has covered 7
million acres of land, killing many trees, covering, abandon vehicles,
buildings and whatever is in its path. I believe that over 7 million young people
are suffering (many in prison) because no one kept a watchful eye on them when
they were in their formative years; and therefore they developed self-destructive
habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">We thank God for mothers who will sacrifice their personal goals to
attend to the children God has put in their care, also for fathers who support
these mothers and provide life’s necessities so that mothers can be with their
children. Remember: “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to
himself brings his mother to shame.”Proverbs 29:15.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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