Considering what to write about in preparation for this column is often times challenging. Writing this column is a personal opinion piece. It doesn’t represent the newspaper or the editor, yet I strive to always write something that the editor will find appropriate, timely, and of interest to the subscribers. I have addressed local topics that are a “hot button” for some and I’ve had readers who disagreed and took issue with a position I shared. There are so many things to write about that need a voice or a shout from the back of the room. Sometimes in life we simply want to get along, make no waves, and just mind our own business. Yet if you live long enough you realize that to remain quite all the time is a path of least resistance that may make those around you happy, but it will not create change that is so necessary for advancement.
Had Jesus never turned the tables over in that great Bible event, I wonder what our opinion would be about those money changers that cheat others through deception? Had Jesus not written in the sand would we think that our demand for justice is always right? Had Jesus not taken time to stop the pushing crowd to ask who is was that had touched Him, would we believe a simple touch has no importance? Or finally what would we think today had Jesus taken no time on the cross to tell his co-convicted that he would be in paradise today?
I am of the opinion that these single moments make a difference today. It could be that some reading will not know any of these situations I’ve recalled while others will know exactly the characters involved in each story. In either case it doesn’t make you a good or bad person, and your knowledge and ability to remember doesn’t elevate you to a higher position of respect from the community. I have been asked questions before by others who like to show off their knowledge by saying things like, “that’s what the Bible says doesn’t it preacher”. Personally I am always slow to answer such statements because most folks don’t quote scripture very well at all. We are good however at twisting words to satisfy our conscience and position.
Cheater is fighting words. If you don’t believe me, just tell someone you are dealing with next time you believe they cheated you and see how mad, angry and fight ready folks get. Doing wrong to others isn’t acceptable in my world, but then again not everyone plays by the same rules. Selfishness is always easily seen in others yet for us to just remain silent and allow time to prove integrity isn’t in our standard way of thinking.
The power of believing is vital to the pursuit of hope, but to finding individuals who encourage others to reach out for that which they believe is hard to find in the open.
There are many things that should not be ignored by those of us that identify ourselves as Christians. Simply being a friend to others doesn’t cost a lot, but if you believe what others say behind your back is valuable then I doubt you will ever been seen where you need to be when friends are in need.
When I think about Jesus talking to those that hung on their cross with Him at His crucifixion I am reminded that I have a long way to go to be like Him.
Until then
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Barnyard Learning
What do you call someone who attends events but seldom is observed taking a role that others clearly see? How would you describe someone who is fluent in the language of the culture and through words, phrases, and actions appear to be engaged and knowledgeable? Thinking about clothing and accessories do you think it is safe to say you would have a good idea of where someone has been or what they are involved in based upon how they look? Honesty is one of those self evaluating traits others will see in us especially when we exhibit good judgment and understanding about others and the position and condition they might be experiencing. Caution, just because the truth maybe known doesn’t always mean we should express it publically. Yet, working through the areas of black, white and gray will demonstrate respect we have for others and confidence they will build in us.
I know individuals who sit on porches to observe to see who is driving up or down the road on Sunday and based upon the clothing folks are wearing we attempt to confirm our suspicions as to whether or not someone is headed to church. If you see someone with a Bible in their hands we think they must have been to church, or they must be a preacher. After all, we know only preachers and evangelist carry Bibles, right?
Listening to someone that quotes a Bible verse or tells a Bible story is all the evidence necessary to confirm if someone is a Christian, right? Honesty is always tough, but I’m confident most of us would agree that we can spot a Christian by the clothes they wear and their actions and mannerism right?
Many individuals would say I don’t judge people that way, but if we were to be honest with ourselves, we must say yes, we know folks that do. The expressions “going to the chicken house doesn’t make you a chicken and going to church doesn’t make you a Christian”. A true expression, so a good question to ask is what does make you a Christian. Certainly if you look like a chicken, lay on your eggs and eat scratch feed, you are no doubt a chicken. I guess we could say the real test is to “ring your neck” remove the feathers, clean you up and after cutting you into pieces and frying you that would prove if you were a chicken or not for sure.
When it comes to Christianity there are many different signs one should look for, but the real evidence of your heritage is when your actions and words match up. I remember as a child running around after the chickens in my grandfather Hobert’s barnyard. I would chase after the chickens up to the hog pin, into the barn where the cattle were, and even on the front porch where my grandmother Stella and I would sit in her green chairs. One fact for certain, even though the chickens had been chased into a lot of different places there remained chickens.
As a Christian we should be reminded in watching others that the place folks become a Christian is in the heart. It would be nice if everyone that confessed the name of Jesus allowed their heart to speak in actions and words, but it’s not always the case. I remember watching my grandparents chickens walk among the cows and even the bulls in the field and stalls, seemly unafraid of a kick or being stepped upon.
Today, the world could use some folks who can be distinguished for who and what they are, no matter where they are. Life is a big farm with lots of different characters doing their thing, as they should but with a clear self awareness of who they are in the picture of things. A cow is a cow, a chicken is a chicken and a Christians should be a Christian.
Until then
I know individuals who sit on porches to observe to see who is driving up or down the road on Sunday and based upon the clothing folks are wearing we attempt to confirm our suspicions as to whether or not someone is headed to church. If you see someone with a Bible in their hands we think they must have been to church, or they must be a preacher. After all, we know only preachers and evangelist carry Bibles, right?
Listening to someone that quotes a Bible verse or tells a Bible story is all the evidence necessary to confirm if someone is a Christian, right? Honesty is always tough, but I’m confident most of us would agree that we can spot a Christian by the clothes they wear and their actions and mannerism right?
Many individuals would say I don’t judge people that way, but if we were to be honest with ourselves, we must say yes, we know folks that do. The expressions “going to the chicken house doesn’t make you a chicken and going to church doesn’t make you a Christian”. A true expression, so a good question to ask is what does make you a Christian. Certainly if you look like a chicken, lay on your eggs and eat scratch feed, you are no doubt a chicken. I guess we could say the real test is to “ring your neck” remove the feathers, clean you up and after cutting you into pieces and frying you that would prove if you were a chicken or not for sure.
When it comes to Christianity there are many different signs one should look for, but the real evidence of your heritage is when your actions and words match up. I remember as a child running around after the chickens in my grandfather Hobert’s barnyard. I would chase after the chickens up to the hog pin, into the barn where the cattle were, and even on the front porch where my grandmother Stella and I would sit in her green chairs. One fact for certain, even though the chickens had been chased into a lot of different places there remained chickens.
As a Christian we should be reminded in watching others that the place folks become a Christian is in the heart. It would be nice if everyone that confessed the name of Jesus allowed their heart to speak in actions and words, but it’s not always the case. I remember watching my grandparents chickens walk among the cows and even the bulls in the field and stalls, seemly unafraid of a kick or being stepped upon.
Today, the world could use some folks who can be distinguished for who and what they are, no matter where they are. Life is a big farm with lots of different characters doing their thing, as they should but with a clear self awareness of who they are in the picture of things. A cow is a cow, a chicken is a chicken and a Christians should be a Christian.
Until then
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sally Elizabeth Hale - Remembered in Love 08-05-1935 - 04-01-2010
If I were asked to name one characteristic about mountain folks that I believe set us apart from all others in the world that answer would be simple. It is the manner in which we view our families. My world view changed in 1971 because my parents made a decision to pack up and move from city life in Warren Michigan to mountain life in Arjay, Kentucky. To be more exact, my parents loaded up the Pontiac Bonneville and down Interstate 75 we came. Leaving behind family members who years before had also made the journey, as my parents did, from Stinking Creek to Detroit for jobs.
The City of Detroit has remained home for many including my cousins, Gobel and Sally Hale. Now I don’t have the word space in this column to explain first cousin, and second cousins once and twice removed, but that’s what I love and admire about mountain folks. Fact is most of us in the mountains view our families all on the same level. We don’t care if they are 3rd Cousins or 4th Cousins, we claim them and generally speaking, we are proud to call them all family. That makes us very unique as a culture and it also provides us with a rich history of individual and family accomplishments to share with others when we explain where we are from and who are family is.
Gobel was raised at Mills, Kentucky on Stinking Creek and Sally was raised on Road Fork. Simply turning left at the Dewitt Baptist Church in Knox County and you will drive straight to her family home place. She was born on Monday, August 5, 1935. Her parents were Garrett and Lena Allen and she two sisters, Carmen Allen and Shirley Hampton and one brother, Rex Allen. Gobel and Sally made Warren Michigan home and they added three girls to a growing list of cousins: Denise (Centers); Elizabeth (Bay); and Sally (Pauls);
On Thursday, April 1, 2010, Sally entered into eternal life leaving behind a large extended family to support her family and to morn her loss. Sally and Gobel would have been married 58 years in May. There were partners on a successful team as parents and as husband and wife. Sally had always encouraged me. She enjoyed being a part of people’s lives and she believed that you could be successful in life no matter where you were from or how hard “times were” when you were born. Sally was someone that was proud of her heritage and while Michigan was home, in her heart Kentucky was home too.
To quoted Edith Mason Cawood from Middlesboro, Ky: “Love leads the way; Love soothes the soul; Love marks the path; Love sets the goal; Love casts out fear and love makes us brave; Love is the ship that scans the wave; Love brings sweet peace; Love makes us calm; Love brings us joy; Love gives a song; Love is the theme for life’s brief story; Love is the way from earth to glory;”
Of all the things we could demonstrate in our lives love must be king. As a Christian the most important characteristic must be love. 1 Corinthians 13: says now abides faith, hope and love and the greatest is love. Being able to share His love with people is a great honor and being able to tell His story of love with our family is a privilege we should not neglect. Honoring our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and long list of great cousins that grows with every generation should be clearly marked with our story of heritage and faith.
I believe every road and every turn of life is an opportunity for each of us to smile, make a difference in the lives of others and contribute a verse to the powerful play of life. One day when I have passed into eternal, I pray my story will include the fact that He Touched Me, and that I sang How Great Thou Art in tribute to the mercy and the Amazing Grace He showed me.
Until then
The City of Detroit has remained home for many including my cousins, Gobel and Sally Hale. Now I don’t have the word space in this column to explain first cousin, and second cousins once and twice removed, but that’s what I love and admire about mountain folks. Fact is most of us in the mountains view our families all on the same level. We don’t care if they are 3rd Cousins or 4th Cousins, we claim them and generally speaking, we are proud to call them all family. That makes us very unique as a culture and it also provides us with a rich history of individual and family accomplishments to share with others when we explain where we are from and who are family is.
Gobel was raised at Mills, Kentucky on Stinking Creek and Sally was raised on Road Fork. Simply turning left at the Dewitt Baptist Church in Knox County and you will drive straight to her family home place. She was born on Monday, August 5, 1935. Her parents were Garrett and Lena Allen and she two sisters, Carmen Allen and Shirley Hampton and one brother, Rex Allen. Gobel and Sally made Warren Michigan home and they added three girls to a growing list of cousins: Denise (Centers); Elizabeth (Bay); and Sally (Pauls);
On Thursday, April 1, 2010, Sally entered into eternal life leaving behind a large extended family to support her family and to morn her loss. Sally and Gobel would have been married 58 years in May. There were partners on a successful team as parents and as husband and wife. Sally had always encouraged me. She enjoyed being a part of people’s lives and she believed that you could be successful in life no matter where you were from or how hard “times were” when you were born. Sally was someone that was proud of her heritage and while Michigan was home, in her heart Kentucky was home too.
To quoted Edith Mason Cawood from Middlesboro, Ky: “Love leads the way; Love soothes the soul; Love marks the path; Love sets the goal; Love casts out fear and love makes us brave; Love is the ship that scans the wave; Love brings sweet peace; Love makes us calm; Love brings us joy; Love gives a song; Love is the theme for life’s brief story; Love is the way from earth to glory;”
Of all the things we could demonstrate in our lives love must be king. As a Christian the most important characteristic must be love. 1 Corinthians 13: says now abides faith, hope and love and the greatest is love. Being able to share His love with people is a great honor and being able to tell His story of love with our family is a privilege we should not neglect. Honoring our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and long list of great cousins that grows with every generation should be clearly marked with our story of heritage and faith.
I believe every road and every turn of life is an opportunity for each of us to smile, make a difference in the lives of others and contribute a verse to the powerful play of life. One day when I have passed into eternal, I pray my story will include the fact that He Touched Me, and that I sang How Great Thou Art in tribute to the mercy and the Amazing Grace He showed me.
Until then
Sunday, April 4, 2010
History verses Today
Not sure if you have ever considered the battle of history verse life, but I have discovered it to be quite a subject for review. Christians love to talk about growth in our churches, we like to share about all the happenings and activities, but what about our personal growth as a Christian?
As I consider history and this past Easter Weekend celebration it is amazing how things change and how we allow things to be played out different with the passing of time. Consider the last week of Jesus’ life. He had that great entrance into the city with the waving of palm leaves, the gathering of people, the shouting of praises and honor, yet in days He was crucified. Consider that historical fact with our response today of becoming a Christian by asking Jesus to come into my heart. When I was a child you would always get a new outfit in the spring and you would wear it for the first time on Easter Sunday. Last week that still occurred including folks with new hats, and a big family meal or a buffet somewhere no doubt, but what about our public stance as observed by those watching our parade of actions. Interesting how historically the crucifixion of Jesus was an event that sent the disciples hiding in fear, but today here in America we have no fear of being associated with Jesus at all. There is no thought that occurs that we could be arrested for following Him. There is no thought that we will experience reprisal for bearing the name that would cost us anything we cherish or possess. Historically for the disciples of Jesus there was an extreme cost they paid once they stepped out of that upper room but what is the cost for us followers today?
It is interesting and certainly worthy of discussion to ask how the historical event of the death of Jesus and His resurrection impacts us today. Today do we have urgency because of His experience on the cross for us? His mother was certainly moved with excitement after her encounter with Jesus as her risen Savior. Thomas was a doubting following and I would think many of us could identify with a time in our lives that we questioned and maybe decided to stand still in a defiant position. If we no longer believe or if we refuse to see beyond the experience of the moment, then we may forever remain in a stale status that would render us useless to the kingdom.
Easter Sunday is for many, it appears today, a once a year event that will set the record for another year that we are a follower of Jesus, but I don’t believe history will judge us that way. Historically writing it is clear that the followers of Jesus were motivated by His actions once their minds grasped His teachings, and they pieced together His actions He was authenticated as the Son of God.
In our modern age, what have we pulled together from our personal hearts witness of the power of God in our individual lives? What have we decided should be our action plan because of what we have witnessed in the lives of others? It could be you are looking for a special Sunday or maybe a new parade to signal a new direction that will ignite your Christian fire of service. Not sure if that recognizable day will come, so why not make this coming Sunday that day and make a historical impact that will help change the lives of people today?
Until then
As I consider history and this past Easter Weekend celebration it is amazing how things change and how we allow things to be played out different with the passing of time. Consider the last week of Jesus’ life. He had that great entrance into the city with the waving of palm leaves, the gathering of people, the shouting of praises and honor, yet in days He was crucified. Consider that historical fact with our response today of becoming a Christian by asking Jesus to come into my heart. When I was a child you would always get a new outfit in the spring and you would wear it for the first time on Easter Sunday. Last week that still occurred including folks with new hats, and a big family meal or a buffet somewhere no doubt, but what about our public stance as observed by those watching our parade of actions. Interesting how historically the crucifixion of Jesus was an event that sent the disciples hiding in fear, but today here in America we have no fear of being associated with Jesus at all. There is no thought that occurs that we could be arrested for following Him. There is no thought that we will experience reprisal for bearing the name that would cost us anything we cherish or possess. Historically for the disciples of Jesus there was an extreme cost they paid once they stepped out of that upper room but what is the cost for us followers today?
It is interesting and certainly worthy of discussion to ask how the historical event of the death of Jesus and His resurrection impacts us today. Today do we have urgency because of His experience on the cross for us? His mother was certainly moved with excitement after her encounter with Jesus as her risen Savior. Thomas was a doubting following and I would think many of us could identify with a time in our lives that we questioned and maybe decided to stand still in a defiant position. If we no longer believe or if we refuse to see beyond the experience of the moment, then we may forever remain in a stale status that would render us useless to the kingdom.
Easter Sunday is for many, it appears today, a once a year event that will set the record for another year that we are a follower of Jesus, but I don’t believe history will judge us that way. Historically writing it is clear that the followers of Jesus were motivated by His actions once their minds grasped His teachings, and they pieced together His actions He was authenticated as the Son of God.
In our modern age, what have we pulled together from our personal hearts witness of the power of God in our individual lives? What have we decided should be our action plan because of what we have witnessed in the lives of others? It could be you are looking for a special Sunday or maybe a new parade to signal a new direction that will ignite your Christian fire of service. Not sure if that recognizable day will come, so why not make this coming Sunday that day and make a historical impact that will help change the lives of people today?
Until then
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