Moses, Kitty Kitty

Today, we are without a pet for the first time since 1975.  We had to put our cat Moses to sleep.  He had a tick disease and there was nothing that the vet could do for him.  Over the past few years Moses had decided that he was an outside cat.  Because he didn't like it when our grand dog, a yellow lab named Sally, would come to visit; Moses spent most of his time with the neighbors across the street.  When they had to move away, Moses wasn't sure what to do with himself.  I think that it may have broken his heart when they moved away. 

We never intended to have a cat, but sometimes things happen that you just aren't planning for.  My daughter Cynda helped me write this story of how Moses became our cat.

Meow, Meow, Meoooooooow, "Do you hear that" my wife asked. Yes, it sounds like a cat.Meow, Meooooow, Meooooooooow.  Richard, you better go check it out. It sounds like it is in trouble.

We walked down the hill to the creek behind our house. The pitiful cries grew louder and louder. They were coming from a small gray kitten. He was caught in a tangle of roots on the creek bank. The kitten was on the far side of the creek. This meant that I had to walk down the creek to a place narrow enough to cross. I found a place where I could wade across the creek, then I fought my way through a mass of bushes and briars. When I finally reached the drenched kitten, he frantically held on to the roots. I had to pull with all of my strength to get him out.

I was afraid that the kitten would fight like a little tiger because of how fiercely he had struggled; however when I held him close, he melted into my chest. Almost immediately I heard a soft, gentle purring. Hello, Moses I said, Your name will have to be Moses because I drew you out of the water.

What were we going to do with a kitten? Our family had never owned a cat. We had always been dog people. Our dogs have always been pampered pets. Some people have even said that our dogs are the masters of the house. Now we had a tiny helpless kitten. What was to be done with it? I guess it was ours.

We carried Moses to our back porch. My wife Regina brought towels and an old pet taxi. We dried him off and made him a soft bed in the pet taxi. I put Moses down and he immediately climbed up my leg and perched on my shoulder.



MOSES AS A KITTEN

Our back porch became Moses home. He was firmly attached to it. The world beyond the back porch was a strange and scary place that he would not venture into. He would not leave the back porch. If I carried him into the front yard, he would begin desperately clawing, fighting, and basically freaking out. He wanted down so that he could get back to the safety of the back porch.

As I remember how Moses came into our lives, it reminds me of how my relationship with God developed. I remember being in the creek. In Psalms 69:1-3 David wrote about his experience in the creek. "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry."

When Moses cried out someone came to rescue him. God has made a promise to us.  "Call to Me, and I will answer you".(Jeremiah 33:3) When God answers our call he will bring us to a place of safety.

Moses found a place of peace and safety on the back porch. He knew that as long as he was on the back porch nothing bad was going to happen to him. God has provided a place of peace and safety for us. "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble." (Psalms 119:165) We need to look at God's law the way that Moses looked at the back porch. He realized that it was his place of peace and safety and he wanted to be there. Anyplace else made him very uncomfortable.

Many times we look at God's law as a jail. We feel that it creates uncomfortable restrictions. We need to ask God to give us a love for his commandments, to instill in us a desire for the peace and safety of His law. No one forced Moses to stay on our back porch; he stayed because he loved the feeling of security. That is how we should view God's law.

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3)

Identity Theft

"Who am I?" I can show you my driver's license, social security card, passport, a birth certificate, credit cards,  – and they all prove to you that I am Richard Lawry born in Madison, Tennessee. There is no one else in the entire world who can be me.

That is unless I become a victim of identity theft. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In fact, you or someone you know may have experienced some form of identity theft.

I recently experienced this problem when I noticed some charges on my bank account that I knew I had not made.  After numerous calls to the company, and promises that the money would be refunded it never was.  Identity theft is a serious problem.

A few months ago I read in the news a bizarre identity theft story.   Jakadrien Turner ran away from home in the fall of 2010 when she was just 14. She left home under duress caused by her parents' divorce and her grandfather's death. Jakadrien made her way to Houston, where she was soon arrested by police for shoplifting a white shirt, black vest and jeans.

That's when things took a bizarre turn. Jakadrien gave the police a false name and her new alias just happened to match up with the name of a 22-year-old Colombian citizen who had been in the United States illegally. To compound Turner's plight further, the Colombian national had a warrant out for her arrest. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement then deported Jakadrien in April 2011.  After Jakadrien was deported, she was given a work card in Colombia and released onto the streets.

 Her grandmother, Lorene Turner, had been looking on her computer every night for clues to her granddaughter's location, and was cooperating with Dallas police as she carried out her search.  She spent months monitoring Facebook postings she believed to be her granddaughters that led her to think that she was in Columbia. 

When the story was reported in the U.S. media, The Colombian Institute for Family Welfare confirmed that Turner was in its custody.  After a joint investigation by U.S. and Columbian authorities, Jakadrien Turner arrived back in Texas, eight months after she was mistakenly deported to Colombia.

As sad and disturbing as this story is, Jakadrien brought these problems upon herself by using a stolen identity. 

Now I’m sure that you or I would never think of being identity thieves.  A person’s identity is the most important thing that they own.   How does the Bible identify you?  In 2 Corinthians 6:18 The Bible tells us, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”

You are a child of God, but someone wants to steal your identity.  We read in Rev 13:16,17 “ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads  and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 

Satan knows our true identity as sons and daughters of God, but he wants to give a new identity.  He wants to give us his name. 

There is a passage in Exodus 34 where the name of God is equated with his character.  We read in verses 5 and 6, “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.”

God has given us his name just like a father passes on his name to his children.  God’s true identity is His character.  He wants our identity to be His character, but Satan also wants our name, our identity, to be his character.

Satan’s character, the name he wants to give us, is outlined in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 where it says, “this know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.

If we see ourselves anywhere in this passage we are guilty of identity theft.  God’s character, the name he has given us, is found in Galatians 5:22,23   The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 

Don’t be like Jakadrian who stole the identity of someone and ended up being deported.  You are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.  You are a child of the king of the universe.  With an identity like that why would we want to be an identity thief?  

Valentine Weekend

 
Last weekend we went to Harrison, Arkansas for a Valentine's getaway.  When I first heard about the concert package that the Seville Hotel had put together I booked the weekend.  The Seville is a beautiful old hotel that was built in 1929 and completely renovated in 2008.


HOTEL SEVILLE AT NIGHT


HOTEL SEVILLE LOBBY


HOTEL LOBBY CHANDELIER

We had a very nice stay at the hotel, but what I really went for was the concert.  One of my favorite groups was playing at the Lyric Theater.  3 Penny Acre has been a favorite of mine since they played in Mena a couple of years ago.  They were playing with another Northwest Arkansas group, Still On The Hill.  They each played a set and then finished the concert playing a set together.  The concert was amazing.



THE LYRIC THEATER
3 PENNY ACRE AT THE LYRIC


STILL ON THE HILL AT THE LYRIC


3 PENNIES ON THE HILL

The finale was a rousing version of an old English folk song, "The Cuckoo".


THE CUCKOO

On our way to Harrison we took the Scenic Hwy 7.  I had never driven it before, but I will certainly drive it again.  It is one of the most beautiful drives you can imagine.  One area visible from Hwy 7 is called the Grand Canyon of Arkansas.  It really is nothing like the Grand Canyon, but it is very beautiful and is the deepest canyon in Arkansas.


GRAND CANYON OF ARKANSAS


GRAND CANYON OF ARKANSAS

I have lived in Arkansas for over 30 years, and have heard of the Buffalo River, but I had never seen it.  We took a couple of side trips off of the Hwy back to the river.  The Buffalo River is amazing.  The bluffs along the river are breathtaking, and the river itself is green in color.  Although it was very cold we walked along the river and took photos.  When the weather is better we are planing a return trip.


GINA WALKING ALONG THE BUFFALO RIVER


ICICLES ALONG THE BUFFALO RIVER


BUFFALO RIVER BLUFFS


BUFFALO RIVER SANDBAR

We had a memorable Valentine's Weekend Getaway.  It left us wanting to explore that part of Arkansas more.


HOTEL SEVILLE 1929 LOBBY

Walking With Papa

Over the Christmas holidays I got to spend a week with my granddaughters.  Although I had seen my youngest granddaughter take a few steps previously, this was the first time that I had seen her walking.  Once she started walking she couldn’t be stopped.  She seemed to be walking constantly every waking minute.  She especially liked to walk up and down the stairs. 

Watching her walking everywhere and trying to keep up with her reminded me of the time when my oldest granddaughter first learned to walk.  Although she could take a few steps, what she really wanted to do was to hold my hand and walk.  She wanted to go outside and walk up and down the sidewalk holding on to one finger. Holding on to my finger she had all the confidence in the world and could walk for hours. One afternoon we spent an hour walking outside as fast as her little legs could go. I kept expecting her to get tired of it, but she wanted to keep going. If I even tried to walk toward the door of the house she wouldn’t go that way.

 

When we went inside after more than an hour of walking, she kept going to the door and pounding on it. She wanted to go back outside and walk some more. Because I was the one who would take her walking she wanted to spend a lot of her time with me.

I had always loved my granddaughter, but getting to spend so much time with her made me love her even more. Walking together made us both closer to each other. I think that there are a lot of parallels between her experience learning to walk, and our experience being born again. When we are born again we are baby Christians and we have to learn to walk spiritually.

God used that illustration in Hosea 11:3 where it says: “I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms”. In many places in the Bible the idea of God helping us walk with Him are brought out. In Psalms 37:23,24 the Bible says:  “The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” What a beautiful illustration of the Christian life. We are to walk with God and he has promised to hold our hand.

Do we learn to walk with God in the same way that we learned to walk as babies, by trial and error?  Do we stand across the room from our Father and take wobbly footsteps towards Him as he calls to us from a distance "Come to Daddy”.  Do we fall down repeatedly as we try to get it right? God has a different plan for us. Psalms 56:13 says “You have delivered my soul from death. You have kept my feet from falling, so I will walk with you in light among the living”. God doesn’t want you to fall. He wants you to hold his hand.

As parents we want our children to learn to take care of themselves; to stand on their own two feet.  We realize that we won't be there for them forever. They need to learn to take care of themselves. So from babyhood to adulthood we are continually learning how to take care of ourselves.  God's goal for us is very different. He is our Eternal Father; He is always available to us. Instead of wanting us to become increasingly independent, He wants us to learn to be increasingly dependent on Him. He wants us to walk with Him, our hand in His. He doesn't want us taking off on our own two feet. I believe that as human beings this is one of our hardest lessons.

Have you ever taken a walk on a busy street with a two year old? You point out to him the pretty gardens you are walking past; the beautiful flowers, the scampering squirrel, the pretty song bird; but he's not interested. He's too busy trying to pry free from your hold. He can't stand holding your hand. He's a big kid now. He wants to walk on his own.

We as Christians are often like that. Instead of clinging to our Father's hand, we have this tendency to take off on our own two feet. There are so many charming things that take our attention from Him. Sometimes we don't like to be restricted by holding his hand. Some of those Bible principles cramp our style. Sometimes we let the cares of this world pull us away from Him, and instead of holding tighter to His hand, we let go.

Whenever we let go we inevitably fall down and hurt ourselves and then we sink into discouragement and we look to God and we say "Father, what's this all about? Why did you let me fall?  Why didn’t you stop this from happening to me?" And then He looks at us sadly and says "Child, you let go of my hand. You took off on your own. I am able to keep you from falling, but you must keep your hand in mine."

We don’t know what is before us. The future can be a frightening thing.  Our only safety is in walking with Christ, our hand in His.

2011 In The Rear View Mirror Part 3

2011 marched by quickly, with many memorable events.  Here is a retrospect of 2011 in photos.

In September Gina and I attended the Mid South Relay For Life Leadership Summit in Birmingham, Alabama.  While Gina and Cynda were at Scrapfest in Mandeville, Louisiana; Bekah got to come spend some time with Papa.  Bekah and Papa visited Cossatot River State Park and Queen Wilhelmina State Park.


ARKANSAS RELAY VOLUNTEERS


NIKKI CRYSTAL AND GINA


THIS WAY PLEASE


BEKAH MAKES FRIENDS WITH A BUTTERFLY




PAPA AT COSSATOT FALLS



BEKAH THE TRAIN ENGINEER

October was a very busy month starting with Deanna and Leonard's wedding in Branson, Missouri.  Gina was chosen as a Hero of Hope by the American Cancer Society and traveled to Birmingham, Alabama for training.  I was asked to be the weekend speaker at the Arkansas Louisiana Pathfinder Camporee held at De Gray Lake.  At the end of the month we traveled to Castor, Louisana to celebrate our grand daughters birthdays.


DEANNA AND LEONARD'S WEDDING


MR. AND MRS. LEONARD PROWANT


CAMPOREE SABBATH SERVICE




SPEAKING AT CAMPOREE


BEKAH AT CAMPOREE


ELISABETH AT CAMPOREE

 
ARKANSAS HEROES OF HOPE


MID-SOUTH HEROES OF HOPE


PAPA GREAT CARVES THE PUMPKIN


PAPA GREAT'S JACK-O-LANTERN


MAKING ICE CREAM WITH LIQUID NITROGEN

We started November with a trip to Branson where we met Deanna and Leonard.  We attended the Ozark Folk Festival in Eureka Springs  where we heard 3 Penny Acre, Still On The Hill, and Split Lip Rayfield.  Gina gave her first Hero Of Hope speeches and we had a great time visiting Mulberry Manor in Castor, Louisiana


THE PROWANT'S AND THE LAWRY'S


MUSIC AT BASIN PARK


3 PENNY ACRE


STILL ON THE HILL


SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD


GINA, MY HERO OF HOPE


TEACHER GAVIN


RESIDENTS OF MULBERRY MANOR


PAPA AND BEKAH

In December we had a Relay For Life float in the Mena Christmas parade.  We had a great time meeting my sister Jeannie and her family in Branson to go to Silver Dollar City.  Christmas was great with a houseful over the 3 day weekend.  Our family presented a Christmas program for church.


WORKING ON THE RELAY FOR LIFE FLOAT

 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!


DEWEY KELVIN AND JEANNIE


SILVER DOLLAR CITY


PLAYING CHECKERS


A CHRISTMAS CAROL


CHRISTMAS AT THE KEETER CENTER


BEKAH AND AUTUMN SINGING IN CHURCH


AUTUMN AND HER POINSETTIA


CHRISTMAS MORNING


PAPA GREAT AND ELISABETH


GIRLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY

2011 is in the rear view mirror, but there is a reason the rear view mirror is so small and the windshield is so big.  Where we are going is so much more important than where we have been.  Happy 2012 everyone!