An Arkies Musings

Grace seems to often pop up in places that I never expect it. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that simply stated "Grace Happens." It is true. Grace happens. It happens all around us. Often we are too busy to notice. Today is Halloween. My wife has bought lots of candy in preparation for the kids she is expecting to come to our door. She is prepared to give candy, and lots of it, to anyone who rings her doorbell. She loves to see the kids in their costumes. I remember a Halloween several years ago. The doorbell rang for the first time. My wife went to the door and opened it with a bowl of candy in her hand. There stood two kids, but they didn't have anything to put candy in. They didn't say trick or treat. They stood there with a long stemmed rose in their hand. "We are not asking for candy", they said. "We want to give you a rose." GRACE DISPENSERS Unexpected grace. Out of the blue. I never thought that on Halloween someone...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the October 26, 2016, issue of The Mena Star Recently I went to see my family doctor for my yearly check up. Well, maybe I was eight or nine months late. And maybe I went because my wife made an appointment for me. But what is important is that I went for my check up. Why was I so reluctant to see my doctor? I can give you a list of excuses, but none of them are more important than my health. Maybe I don’t really want to know if there is a problem with my health. Fortunately, I received a clean bill of health. I don’t need to go to the doctor for a check up for another year. I know that routine checkups are important because they can find problems that if undiscovered could grow to be serious health issues. I know that giving my doctor permission to find hidden health problems is best for my long-term health. King David realized that spiritual check-ups were important. Asking God to search for hidden sin, he prayed, “Examine me, O God, a...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the October 19, 2016, issue of The Mena Star Recently I had one of those experiences at work that you just never want to have. After working on a customer’s vehicle, I moved it from my work area to our parking lot. I was in a hurry to start the next job. As I was working, I heard a thud! I looked up and saw that the vehicle I had recently moved had rolled back against another car. I ran over to see what had happened. The left front fender of the vehicle was damaged where it had run into the rear bumper of another car. When I had shifted the vehicle into park, it didn’t stay, and when the transmission slipped out of park, the vehicle rolled back. My heart sank as I looked at the damage. I wasn’t looking forward to telling the customer that I had damaged his truck. When the customer arrived at my shop, I immediately told him that I had something I needed to show him. I showed him the damage and told him that we would do whatever he wanted us...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the October 12, 2016, issue of The Mena Star A few days ago I received a call from a friend. “We are at Wal-Mart,” she said, “and our battery is dead. Are you busy right now? Can you come and give us a jump start?” I grabbed my jumper cables, put them in my little Rambler, and headed for Wal-Mart. My friend had left the headlights on, and the battery had run down. It didn’t have enough power to start the vehicle. When I arrived, I ran the jumper cables from the battery in my little Rambler to the battery in my friend’s vehicle and in just a few seconds the engine came to life. A couple of months ago I had a similar experience in my wife’s car. While my wife and daughter were shopping, I stayed in the car with my granddaughter who was not feeling well. While we were in the car, my granddaughter wanted to listen to her favorite podcast, Tales from the South. The podcast features true stories told by the Southerners who lived them, in front of ...

Last weekend my wife and I attended the Viking Festival held at Heavener Runestone Park in Heavener, Oklahoma. The most prominent feature of the park is a large, vertical sandstone slab (ten feet wide and twelve feet high), bearing strange carvings.  The Heavener Runestone is veiled in mystery and controversy. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, "the stone was first discovered in the 1830s by a Choctaw hunting party and was reportedly seen by white trappers in 1874. Locally it became known as Indian Rock, because it was generally believed that American Indians had made the markings. In 1928 Gloria Farley of Heavener saw the stone and realized that the carvings were similar to characters of the runic alphabet. Since 1953 she has led a group of individuals who believe that Vikings traversing the Mississippi, Arkansas, and Poteau rivers made the inscription. Over the years scholars have given various opinions as to the possibility of Scandinavians having passed throu...

Even though it is less than twenty miles from my house, yesterday was the first time I had explored the Caney Creek Wilderness Area. We were out for an afternoon ride on a beautiful day and ended up at Caney Creek. We had no destination in mind and were just exploring back roads. The United States Congress designated the area of the Ouachita National Forest as Caney Creek Wilderness in 1975. The protected area consists of over 14,000 acres in this rugged portion of the Ouachita Mountains. Caney Creek and Short Creek flow through the wilderness area before joining the Cossatot River and are separated by steep ridges with stunning views. We explored an area that is used as a swimming hole. The water was so clear that we could easily watch dozens of fish swimming in the area. I want to go back next summer with my granddaughters. I know they will love the area.

My An Arkie's Faith column from the October 5, 2016, issue of The Mena Star On a recent trip to the Oregon coast, my wife and I visited the Astoria Column. The city of Astoria, Oregon is located at the mouth of the Columbia River and has a population of about 10,000 people. The Astoria Column is one of the most visited parks in the state of Oregon and is the city’s most popular attraction with more than 400,000 visitors each year. The Astoria Column is part of a series of 12 historical monuments that Ralph Budd, president of the Great Northern Railroad, erected in the early 1900’s between St. Paul, Minnesota and Astoria, Oregon. In 1925, he announced that he wanted a memorial in Astoria that would, “properly salute Astoria’s explorers and early settlers for their critical role in the United States’ stretch to the Pacific Coast.” The final design for the monument was modeled after the Trajan Column, a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman empero...