An Arkies Musings

Why did Jesus come to this earth? Here is what Jesus said in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Jesus said that he came to this earth so that you could have life and have it more abundantly. When He said have life, he was talking present tense. You can have it now. It isn’t a future reward; it is something you can have now. In The New Living Translation John 10:10 reads this way, “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Jesus wants to give you a rich and satisfying life, right here right now. He doesn’t say that you have to wait until later to get His rewards. Now I’m not talking about the prosperity gospel here. The rich satisfying life isn’t about money. It’s about being happy. It’s about being at peace. It’s about overcoming sin. Jesus has promised these things now. Television commercials claim that a rich and satisfying life goes along with drinking the right beer, wearing a certain ki...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 30, 2016 issue of The Mena Star. Recently we made a trip to Ashland, Missouri to visit my sister. My nephew was the lead in his High School play and we were excited to be able to go see him perform. He played the part of Shrek in Shrek the Musical. He and his classmates had worked hard, practicing every school night for weeks. The production was very entertaining and my nephew was incredible as Shrek. Ashland, Missouri is just a few miles from the Missouri River and is situated halfway between Columbia and Jefferson City. One morning while I was there I got up early to photograph the sunrise. I ended up at the little town of Hartsburg. It is a small town of 100 people situated on the Katy Trail, a 225-mile bike path that stretches across Missouri. I saw a sign that said Missouri River Access. I decided to check it out. The road to the access was called River Road. From Hartsburg Access to Wilton the River Road runs along the b...

Yesterday Gina and I along with my daughter and her family visited Garvan Woodland Gardens  in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Gardens were the dream of Verna Cook Garvan. The site for Garvan Woodland Gardens was purchased in the 1920's. In 1956 Mrs. Garvan began to develop it as a garden and possible future residence. She was intimately familiar with the land and laid out each path, marking every tree to be removed. She also personally chose each new plant and selected its location. When she died in 1993, Mrs. Garvan gave the property to the University of Arkansas Foundation. The Gardens are now an independent department of the University's Fay Jones School of Architecture and continue to flourish and grow. Every spring Garvan Woodland Gardens has a tulip extravaganza. Over 150,000 tulips line the walkways of Arkansas' premier botanical garden.  Every year that we can we visit the gardens during the tulip extravaganza. Yesterday was a perfect day f...

Today is Good Friday and the Easter weekend is approaching, My daughter and her family are coming to spend the weekend with us and my granddaughters will be spending the week. I'm looking forward to being with them. Because of the Easter season, I have been thinking about the final week of Jesus' life.  One of the stories that is recorded during that final week is of Jesus crying for the city of Jerusalem.  If he cried over the city of Jerusalem, can you imagine how he is crying over the world today? When I was growing up I attended a small church in Fort Lupton, Colorado with my family. The small church shared a pastor with another church. Sometimes when the pastor wasn't there for the mid week prayer service those in attendance would take turns reciting a favorite text. Being somewhat of a smart aleck, I thought it was amusing to say that my favorite verse was John 11:35 – “Jesus wept”. As I have been studying recently, it has actua...

My article from the March 23, 2016 issue of The Mena Star The Mena Fun Run will be held on April 9th at the Mena School Bus Loop at 10:00 a.m. A fun run is a friendly race in which participants take part for enjoyment rather than competition. It is a great chance to come together as a family and teach your kids the importance of health and fitness. The event is sponsored by the Quarters For A Cure Relay For Life Team and all proceeds will go to The American Cancer Society. All participants who have pre-registered by April 1st will receive a t-shirt. The adult pre-registration fee is 25.00 and the fee for children 17 and under is 10.00. There will be registration at the event from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The day of the event adult registration fee is 30.00 and the day of the event registration fee for children 17 and under is 15.00. The focus of the Mena Fun Run is on fun! There will be awards given out for “Best Dressed Individual” and “Best Dressed Group” so dress up in any...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 23, 2016 issue of The Mena Star. During the 1970’s as I listened to Contemporary Christian Music, Don Francisco was one of my favorite artists. Last year for my birthday my daughter gave me an album that had just been released titled, "We Will Stand.” It is a one of a kind live recording that includes 30 CCM artists who performed together on Jan. 21, 2015. Don Francisco was one of those artists and he sang his signature song, "He's Alive.” Don’s music often tells a story and “He’s Alive” is one of his best. The song tells the story of the resurrection of Jesus from Peter’s point of view. It ends with these words: “Suddenly the air was filled with strange and sweet perfume. Light that came from everywhere; Drove shadows from the room. Jesus stood before me with His arms held open wide. And I fell down on my knees and just clung to Him and cried. He raised me to my feet and as I looked into His eyes. Love was shinin...

Today, March 22,  is World Water Day. World Water Day is an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of over 600 Million people world wide that lack access to clean, safe drinking water.  World Water Day is a way of focusing on how important freshwater is to humanity. We all need water. For most people in the world, it's not as easy as turning a tap. It takes 5 gallons of water for all of our daily needs—basic hygiene, household chores, and what we consume! Most people around the world do not have access to 5 gallons of freshwater a day, yet the average American uses over 70 gallons per day. I looked at my last water bill, and with the two of us we each used 90 gallons per day. I never think very much about our water except when I pay the bill.  I found some statistics that made me realize how fortunate I am. Six hundred sixty million  people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do...