Blooms In Mena

I spent this beautiful sunny morning taking pictures of the spring blooms in my hometown of Mena, Arkansas. I was struck by the beauty of Mena this time of year, especially given that one year ago the town was devastated by a tornado. Even though Mena has changed a lot because of last years tornado, springtime brings a renewal that is refreshing.



The wisteria is in bloom around town. Wisteria is such a beautiful flower to come from such twisted vines. They seem so exotic.









When the redbud trees bloom I feel that spring is really here. I look forward to their blooms each year. This year the redbuds have been simply beautiful.









The most famous blooming tree in our area is the dogwood. With it's big showy flowers the dogwood is beautiful. There is a legend about the dogwood tree being the wood used for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Even though the legend is not true (the dogwood does not grow in Palestine) it is an interesting story. The legend says that Christ caused the flowers of the dogwood to be a reminder of the cross on which He died. He allegedly did this by giving the flower two long and two short petals, and to have what look like nail prints on the petals to remind us that Christ suffered on the cross with nails through His hands. Even though it is just a legend, every time I see a dogwood in bloom I am reminded of what Jesus did for me. Right now there are many reminders here in Mena.











All wild dogwoods are white, but cultivated dogwoods have also been developed with pink blooms. There are many pink dogwoods around town.







Mena is basking in the glow of springtime. I am lucky to be able to live in a community that has pulled together to rebuild after last years tornado. When we are going through winter we know that spring is coming, just as Mena has gone through a winter experience, but now spring is here and Mena is beautiful.

Tornado One Year Ago

MASONIC LODGE AFTER THE APRIL 9, 2009 TORNADO

One year ago today the face of Mena changed drastically. An F3 tornado damaged a large section of town. 100 houses were destroyed and 600 damaged. Over 10,000 trees were destroyed. Although the community has done an awesome job of rebuilding, it will never look the same.

I wrote the following paragraphs a few hours after the tornado hit.

Tonight at around 7:30 the tornado sirens sounded here in Mena. Gina and I went to the safe place in our house, the downstairs hallway. About that time our electricity went out. The storm passed without damage here at the house. We were thankful that we were spared.

After the storm passed and the stars came out, I decided to drive into town to see if anyone had electricity. When I got to downtown, I started to see storm damage and saw that the authorities were not letting people proceed to the north side of Mena.

I drove to my parents house to see if they were OK, and they were fine with no damage to their house or property. I drove on to the church but saw no damage there. I thought that the storm may not have been to bad, but by the time I returned home, the phone was ringing off the hook with reports of severe damage.

The first news reports stated that the Polk County Sheriff's Department reports one person was killed after a tornado swept through the town Thursday night.

Severe storms moving through the area shortly after eight o'clock tonight spawned the twister.

As damage assessment began, KARK was told a 25 block area that included the Polk County Courthouse and Mena City Hall took a direct hit from the tornado. There are 12 minor injuries in the city.

Governor Beebe has sent 30 National Guard members to the city for help.

The Arkansas State Police tells KARK 4 there is extensive damage to homes and businesses throughout the city of Mena.

We received a call from a friend telling us that our good friend Deanna had a lot of damage to her house, and her car was totaled. Just before the storm him, Deanna was on the phone with Gina telling her that she was in the closet and she was scared. We have not been able to talk to her since. We don't know what we will find when we are able to get into the the area. Just a couple of blocks from her house, there were 20 or more people in the Masonic Lodge when it collapsed. There is one known fatality on the street where Deanna lives.

We have had friends staying with us this evening, because they were not able to get home. The National Guard is in town and not letting anyone into the severely damaged area. There was damage at RMCC, the community college, and at Wal-Mart. There is damage at U.S. Motors where Gina operates the Credit Union. We have not been able to find out the extent of the damage.

I need to go to sleep, but probably sleep won't come. I don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Tulips, Tulips, Tulips

This weekend Gina and I visited Garvin Woodland Gardens. The Gardens were the dream of Verna Cook Garvan. The site for Garvan Woodland Gardens was purchased in the 1920's. In 1956 Mrs. Garvin 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.



The peak tulip viewing times at the gardens are March 15 through April 10. Garvin Woodland gardens are beautiful anytime of the year, but I think that the tulip season is quite possibly the best.



Garvin Woodland Gardens is the largest remaining undeveloped tract of land on Lake Hamilton, the Mid-South's most popular recreational Lake. There are nearly three miles of recreational trails.





There are enough ornamental trees to plant an avenue over two miles long with a tree every twenty feet. There are 65 different varieties of Asian maple.



Garvin Woodland gardens has over 2,000 azaleas of 160 varieties, or enough to completely cover over an acre spaced five feet on center. There are 128 species of ornamental native shrubs and wildflowers and over 300 varieties of flowering perennials and groundcovers.





But the tulips are the best. Tulips, tulips, tulips.

Unforgiven

When I was growing up in Colorado, my pastor was Pastor George. I can still remember him teaching on the scripture 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. 1 John 1:9 became a favorite verse.

THE LONGMONT COLORADO SDA SCHOOL WHERE I TOOK BAPTISMAL CLASSES FROM PASTOR GEORGE

Over the years I have come to realize that there is a problem with this verse. The problem is not actually with the verse, but that many Christians don’t believe it. They say they believe, but their actions show they don’t feel forgiven. This idea isn’t new. Jesus addressed it in a parable found in Matthew 18.

While settling his account with his servants, a man was brought before the king. He owed the king 10,000 talents. When it was decreed that he and his wife and children were to be sold for the debt, he begged for patience and promised to pay the debt. The king forgave his debt and released him.

The servant then went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii and demanded payment. The man begged for patience and promised to pay the debt, but the servant had him thrown in prison. When the king found out what the servant had done he told him, “shouldn’t you have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you”?


When this story is told, the point that is usually brought out is “You can’t be forgiven unless you forgive.” It is a very valid point. The idea is found in the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”.

As important as this idea is, I want to look at this story from a different angle than you may have before. The first thing we are made aware of is that the man in the parable has a large debt of 10,000 talents. Just how much is 10,000 talents? A Greek talent was 82 pounds or 1,312 ounces of silver. A denarii was a workers daily wage and was about 1/10 an ounce of silver in weight.


Let’s do the math. One talent equals 13,120 denarius. The man owed 10,000 talents. The man’s debt was 131,200,000 days wages. It would take 360,000 years to pay off. Are you getting the idea that this is a LARGE debt?

An entry wage worker in the United States makes approximately 16,000 dollars a year. 16,000 times 360,000 is approximately 6,000,000,000. The man owed 6 billion dollars. There was absolutely no way this debt could be paid. The people listening to Jesus tell this story knew that this was an impossible debt to repay. You would never know that to listen to the man.

In Matthew 18:26, he says, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’

BILL GATES

What was the man thinking? Unless his name was Bill Gates, there was no way he could ever repay 6 billion dollars. There are only about 100 people in the world that have those kinds of assets. Fortunately the king was compassionate. But very soon after having his debt forgiven the servant goes and finds someone who owes him a few dollars and demands payment. How much was the servant owed? The Bible tells us that the debt was 100 denarii. A denarii was a day’s wages. If we use 60 dollars as a day’s wages, the debt was 6,000 dollars.

I want to introduce another concept. Forgiveness is two way street. Not only do we have to forgive others to receive forgiveness, to be forgiven we have to accept forgiveness. There have been cases in the United States where people have rejected pardons. According to the law a pardon can be rejected, and must be affirmatively accepted to be officially recognized by the courts.

PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON

George Wilson was pardoned by President Andrew Jackson. Strangely, Wilson refused to accept the pardon. The case went before the Supreme Court in which the court stated: "A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it is rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him."

I don’t think that the man in the parable accepted the pardon. Even though he was forgiven a 6 billion dollar debt, as far as we know he never said thank you, he just walked away. The first thing he does instead of falling at the feet of the king in gratitude, was to go out and try to collect a debt owed him.

Why do you think he did that? Maybe he was simply greedy. His huge debt had been forgiven, but he wanted the money that was rightfully his. I think there is another possibility.

What if he hadn’t really accepted the king’s offer of pardon? Maybe he was intending to pay the money to the king on his debt. He had pleaded with the king to have patience and he would repay the 6 billion dollars. Maybe he didn’t like charity. Maybe he didn’t want to live with the sense of obligation that the forgiveness might give him.

He had a hard road ahead of him if he was going to pay off 6 billion dollars, 6,000 dollars at a time. Just 999,999 more payments like that and the debt would be gone.


As ridiculous as that seems, there are many Christians who have the same attitude as the man in the parable. They have a terrible debt of sin. It is even more than 6 billion dollars. Paul tells us in Romans 6:23, ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’.

Even though the amount of the debt is so clearly stated, some Christians feel that they can repay the debt by their works. Jesus has promised to forgive our sin debt. 1 John 1:9 tells us, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’.


It is my job to install windshields. One day a customer was watching while I was installing his windshield. The urethane that I was using seemed irresistible. He just had to touch it. He got urethane on his hand. He didn’t want me to know he had touched it. I noticed he was quietly rubbing on his hand with a shop towel. If you try to wipe urethane off, all it does is smear and make a bigger mess. When I noticed his problem, I offered him some solvent that helps clean the urethane up. He said that he didn’t need any.


As I worked I noticed him continuing to try to clean up. By this time he has it on both hands and has gotten it on his coat. Urethane doesn’t come out of clothes. Finally I just got a shop towel and soaked it in solvent and gave it to him. By trying to clean it up himself he had made a monumental mess. Have you ever made a big mess of your life by trying to clean things up yourself? I know I have.

Jesus has offered to forgive us of our sin debt, no matter how ridiculously large the debt is, and he has promised to clean us up. Let’s take him at his word. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.

Car Art

I enjoy manipulating photos that I have taken to make them look like paintings or drawings. Here are some of my favorites


This is a 1939 Lincoln that we sold a few years ago.



1950 Cadillac that we used to own.



The 1942 Desoto was so wild and unusual with its hidden headlights, that it lends itself to this psychedelic interpretation.



The 1959 Edsel was supposed to lead us into the future. This futuristic outer space depiction fits the Edsel well.



This 1933 Plymouth street rod was built here in Mena, Arkansas and is still seen on the local streets.



I took a picture of this 1950 Studebaker street rod at the Wilhelmina Rod Run.

Purple Day - Epilepsy Awareness

Purple Day was started in 2008, by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26, people from around the globe are asked to wear purple and spread the word about epilepsy.

Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide. That's more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease combined.

When I was a boy I suffered from a mild form of epilepsy. I had episodes called petit mals. A petit mal seizure is the term commonly given to a staring spell, most commonly called an "absence seizure." It is a brief (usually less than 15 seconds) disturbance of brain function due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain. I had no idea that other people did not experience them. I could feel them coming on and knew to sit down or hold on to something for a few seconds.


MY SCHOOL PHOTO CIRCA 1967

The first time that my Mother witnessed one of my petit mals she was very scared. I guess that my eyes rolled back in my head. I knew that for those few seconds that I could not see, but did not know that my eyes rolled back. I didn't think that it was a big deal, but we had to see the doctor as soon as possible. The doctors were able to control the petit mals with medication, and told me that I would most likely outgrow them by the time I was 20. Fortunately I did, and was taken off of the medication by the time I was 18 or 19.


The main reason for my Purple Day Epilepsy Awareness post is because of my blog friend Michele over at Rocky Mountain Retreat Photography. Take a look at her blog and you will see some of the most outstanding photography you will find anywhere. I always enjoy her blog. Michele is an excellent photographer, but she battles epilepsy and suffers from tonic clonic (gran mal) seizures.



Michele says that she has been suffering seizures since she was a young person. People with seizures often suffer more from the attitudes of those around them than from the seizures itself. Michele is in my prayers daily as she battles the seizures.

Please take the time to learn more about this condition that affects over 50 million people worldwide. Based on recent surveys, The Center For Disease Control estimates that nearly 2.5 million people in the United States have epilepsy, with 150,000 developing the condition each year.


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I am very involved in my local Relay For Life. You can view my Relay For Life Blog here.

Richard Lawry - A Part Of The Relay For Life

CITIZEN OF THE WEEK
March 10,2010 Polk County Pulse
Article written by Michael Reisig

Richard Lawry enjoys traveling with his wife, he loves tinkering on old cars and spending time with his son and his daughter, but one of his passions in life is promoting awareness about cancer and raising funds to defeat this dreaded disease in all it's aspects, so that his grandchildren can grow up in a world with less risk of cancer.

Lawry was born in Tennessee but he was raised in Colorado, in the Loveland area.

"My dad had a used car lot and a body shop," he recalled. "When I graduated from high school in 1973, I went on to take over my dad's business. My parents moved to Polk County in 1977. I got married to my wife, Regina, and we visited my folks in Mena several times. We decided it would be a great place to raise kids so, in 1981, we moved here.

My wife had lived in Denver all of her life, so there was a degree of culture shock in the transition, but we settled in and came to love the place," he continued. "Now we wouldn't be anywhere else. My dad had a car lot here as well, so after we settled in, I opened a glass and auto-body shop (Richie's Discount Auto Glass) at his location. I've done that for the last 30 years. In the process we raised two children, Cynda and Gavin, and we now have two grandchildren."

Lawry said that over the years his wife developed a passion for promoting an awareness about cancer, because her family has been stricken by the disease several times. Her mother, father, brother, and three sisters have all had cancer.

"Regina chose this as her mission - to help foster awareness on this disease and to help combat it," he explained. "She became involved with a program called Relay For Life, which is sponsored by the American cancer Society. She first learned about it when visiting her sister in Washington State. They promoted the Relay there which is a relay team event wherein participants walk to show there support for cancer survivors, and honor those lost to the disease.

"This may have its sober moments but it's really a feel-good event because everyone is there to celebrate survival - the survivors are the stars of the event," he continued. "There is great entertainment and it's a fun time - it's a celebration.

Lawry said in 2007 Polk County held its first Relay For Life, and when he and his wife heard about this, they wanted to be part of it all.

"The first year we had one of the relay teams, which is really the fund-raising part of the event, Lawry explained. "Each team does their fund-raising for about a three month period leading up to the relay, then continues fund-raising at the actual event by selling food or participating in other activities. It's an all night thing.

"This year's event is April 23 and right now we have 23 teams and over 350 people signed up to participate in the fund-raising and the Relay itself," he continued. "The Relay shows community spirit because we are honoring individuals from this community."

Lawry continued by saying that it's necessary for people to understand that survival rates have increased dramatically in the last 30 years, and that's due in large, to cancer research, and much of this cancer research is funded by The American Cancer Society and its Relay For Life program.

"I relay for my children and my grandchildren, so they will face a world with far less risk of cancer," he said. "We have to continually make advances against this challenge. We would really like to have the community come out on April 23 and share this celebration with us -- to spread awareness and understanding. Anyone interested in being a part of this can contact me at 394-6172.

"We are also having a 'Bark For Life' Dog Show on Sunday, March 28, at the Polk County Fairgrounds at 2 p.m.," he added. "This is a fun sort of tongue-in-cheek affair, with awards for the ugliest dog, hairiest dog, best dressed, etc. Come out and join the fun, and be part of a wonderful, important mission."