In Times Like These

So many people have lost so much money in the last few days.
The economy is tanking.
So many killings in the city that I live next to.
So many are happy or sad about the baseball season,this is all fun but not life changing.
How many are behind in paying bills,mortgages and all.
How many will lose their homes this year?
These times are very hard for so many,imagine the depression taking place in their lives.
I have even seen my own neighbor abandon his home,take off for parts unknown with his car packed full.Kids in the back seat among groceries,chairs,bedding and all the stuff you need to live.
Many are unhappy in their jobs,their marriages,just life in general seems to be one unhappy life.

My own life has been happy,but I have to watch myself carefully.
If my work is slow,I am down.
If my wife and I have a disagreement it bothers me a lot.(This happens much less the longer we are married.)
Sometimes an old hymn comes to mind,sometimes a verse from the Bible.
Tonight it is this:
In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these I have a Savior,
In times like these I have an anchor;
I'm very sure, I'm very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

Words and Music by Ruth Caye Jones

For My Maddie

Dearest Maddie,
I heard that you were baptized recently.
My health has been a bit on the down side so I could not see it.
A few things I wanted to say to you,and writing them last lasts longer than me telling you in person.
Baptism is truly a wonderful thing,it is one of the things Jesus said to do.
I was baptized when I was a baby and obviously have no memory of it.My parents meant well and for them it was a form of dedicating my life to God.
When I was about 35 or so I was baptized again.How well I remember it.
You have made a wise decision,this is something you will remember for the rest of your life.
When tempted by life's bad things you can bring your baptism to mind and say to your self,I am baptized,I followed the Lord Jesus by doing what He asked.I am His and nothing can change that.I have the Lord Jesus living in my heart and I have no use for evil.
My dear granddaughter,this shows a great maturity in your life,it shows how your life in Jesus has grown.You have touched me in a great way and reminded me of my own commitment to Jesus.
How often I have prayed for you,how often you are in my thoughts.
You are continuing the legacy of our ancestors who also loved and lived for the Lord Jesus.
May you grow always in Jesus,and I know He will always be with you,like He is with me.
You have made me very happy and very proud.
Your papa loves you very much.

Sadness

I have written about losing a pet before.
Now once again we are losing another Golden Retriever, Norma Jean.
A most loyal and loving companion.
She can longer eat.We thought maybe it was just a passing virus,but this time it is serious.
It is time for me to make a decision.I don't think I am brave enough.
I hope she goes peacefully in her sleep,very soon.

Chicago Killings

More kids killed this weekend in Chicago.
One was killed in a park, one killed in his home.Stray bullets.
Chicago you sicken me.
I pray for you Chicago,hoping and praying that there still is hope.
I do not believe there is any thing man can do.Al Sharpton Jesse Jackson,continue with your rhetoric.Continue talking about the problem.Nothing will happen.
The murder rate is now 18% higher than a year ago.

Now only a miracle can change this horrible city.
May God intervene.

History

History makes us who we are.
If my great grandparents/ancestors were Roman Catholic would I be Catholic today?
They were not,so here I am with protestant beliefs.There are my children and grandchildren with their protestant beliefs.
This is history that could not have been changed.

Everything in our lives would have been different.

Somewhere,somehow some long lost relative,probably in France took a stand.
He or she could no longer believe in Catholics and their tradition.

The family fled France and went to Holland.
So for many years we called ourselves Reformed, Christian Reformed or Dutch Reformed.
The family has few ties now with the traditional Reformed churches.
Changes are now happening,the families churches are now varied.
We are all what the world would call just Christians.
In my eyes this is not a bad thing though it may be sad for my ancestors who believed their way was the only way.I am sorry my old grandparents,but this is a better way.
Your faith had sustained you for so many years,but now we seek a freedom in Christ that you never knew.I certainly mean no disrespect for without you and your faith we would be lost.
Time will come when you greet me, and we will rejoice and be very glad for that one lone ancestor in the south of France who was seeking freedom.

Soon and Very Soon

Many of you know I make service calls for a living.
When I was younger I would go anywhere to make a service call,I had 4 little mouths to feed and money was tight.
A call came in, I was wanted in the ghetto,somewhere about 35th street in Chicago.
The neighborhood was bad,getting there was bad and I was worried.This was in the 1970's.I was about 25.
How the people got money to pay for the call I never knew,but I went.
I parked in the lot of the high rise,I was a nervous.
A black guy in a phone service truck pulled in,I decided I would follow him.
We got on the same elevator.He got off on the third floor.
The people lived somewhere about the 25th floor.
The ride continued to the floor I wanted,the elevator stopping every few floors to let more people on.
It seemed like it was the most crowded elevator in the history of the world.

I got off on my floor,looked for the apartment I needed to go to.There were no numbers on the doors.The place smelled bad.Music was blaring.
Young guys followed me,watched and made me more nervous.
I was carrying my large tool box,it weighed about 20 pounds and seemed to get heavier with every step.
After much searching I found the apartment.I talked to the lady who lived there as she casually smashed a cockroach with her thumb.Right on the wall.
The service call was over,I left knowing I had a long ride down.
At least 5 guys were following me now,into the elevator,they pressed the numbers on the wall for every floor.
I was sweating,thinking this is not worth it.
Comments were made,"What was he doing here? What's in the box you are carrying?"
I ignored them,I just tried to be cool.
At the fifteenth floor the ride down became really bad,I was more nervous,sweating,and hated this place.
A young girl got on,the guys got quiet,She was exceptionally pretty.
The doors closed. we continued down.
She started softly singing..Soon and Very Soon We Are Going to See The King.She sang quietly but all were listening,She looked me right in the eyes,smiled at me and then I knew.I was God's and He was with me.
Many years later I think of this.Some told me maybe she was singing about my demise,Soon and Very Soon..
So, who was this girl? An angel? I think so.
I got out of the building,got on with my life.
But I still remember.

Things That Happened

As a kid,I had a train set in the basement.
I think it was Lionel,with other cars and engines I inherited from my brothers.
My dad bought this set for me and one of my special engines was a orange one.Dad called it a worker.
I remember it was a powerful engine and I had a lot of fun with it.
Hours were spent in that basement,playing with the trains.

I once dicovered a walkie talkie set in the base ment that my dad had planned to surprise me with.
It was mentioned by me that I had found this,my brother Bud covered for dad by saying it was a gift for my dad's partner's kid.
I never got the walkie talkie set.

There was a milk man's door on our back porch.As a small kid I could wiggle through.
I did this to the amazement of my mom.Maybe I could get my head through now.

My grandfather John lived with us.He would always burn garbage even though we had regular garbage pick up.
Once when burning garbage he put in an aerosol can.Of course it exploded in the heat and hit him just above the eye. Mom was very mad.

Once I cut school for the day, I think I was 15.Mom came home.I panicked and hid in the attic.
I heard her coming up the steps,more panic...
As I was hiding,I heard the attic door open,I hid in the corner.
She never saw me.I guess that's what you call hiding in plain sight.

more to come