Rebekah's First Steps

Yesterday Cynda told us that Rebekah had taken her first steps. I had selfishly hoped that she would take her first steps this weekend while she was here visiting us. I wanted to be there for that moment. It is still very exciting. I can hardly wait to see her, and see those steps for myself.

I remember when Autumn took her first steps. Gina and I were visiting in Baton Rouge. While we were there I had a very special time. Even though Autumn 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 have 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, standing across the room from our Father and taking wobbly footsteps towards Him as he calls to us from a distance "Come to Daddy," and falling 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, right? After all, you 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 goals for us are 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 boy 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 the restrictions that holding His hand puts on our life. 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? You know I love you and I don't want to disappoint you. How could you let this happen to me?" And 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. Keep your hand in mine."

We don’t know what is before us. Our only safety is in walking with Christ, our hand in His.

I Like Ike

Hurricane Ike made it's way through Mena last night. It wasn't as big an event as had been predicted. We did have heavy rains, and there was water running in the streets, but I haven't heard of any flooding. We received between 3 and 4 inches of rain. The winds weren't as powerful as they were predicted to be. We had small branches down in the yard but I didn't see any damage as we were driving around town.

We had a busy day as I helped Gina prepare for Steve and Stephanie's wedding shower. Thankfully it was a beautiful day after last nights storms.

I am sure ready for the Presidential election to be over. I do not get too involved in politics. I believe it should be a personal decision, and my thoughts on the candidates should have no bearing on your choice. You don't have to worry about me telling you how you should vote. It does seem that as I've grown older, each successive campaign has gotten dirtier and dirtier. I never seem to hear what's right with a candidate, only what's wrong. Both candidates positive points, according to their supporters, seem to be that they are not the other one.

Because Hurricane Ike has been so much in the news for the last few days, I have been thinking about President Eisenhower and his I Like Ike campaign slogan. How different his campaign was to they way campaigns are run today. Take a look at a TV ad from his 1952 Campaign.



I Like Ike. It just makes you want to sing along. It takes you back to a kinder gentler time.

One of Ike's major accomplishments was the interstate system. People traveling through the United States today may find it difficult to imagine our country without the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. It was not until June 29, 1956, when President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act, that interstate highways began to meet the challenge of the growing number of automobiles on the nation’s highways. While in Europe during World War II, then General Eisenhower viewed the ease of travel on the German autobahns. That, along with the experiences of a young Lt. Col. Eisenhower in the 1919 Transcontinental Convoy convinced the President of the overwhelming need for safer and speedier highways. The President also felt that the newer, multi-lane highways were essential to a strong national defense.



I don't know if he thought about it, but the interstate highways are very necessary when evacuating from hurricanes. I wonder if anyone evacuating from Hurricane Ike stopped to thank Ike for his foresight in pushing for the interstate highway system.

The Great Storm

Hurricane Ike has been affecting not only the Gulf coast, but also western Arkansas. Yesterday morning the price of gas was 3.52. During the day a rumor that there would be no more gas shipments to Mena caused a panic that saw most of the stations in town run out of gas. The price jumped to 3.89. When I went to Wal-Mart yesterday evening, there were long lines at the gas station, and the police were there. Inside Wal-Mart there were large crowds, even more that normal for a Friday evening. By the time I was finished and went to my car, the gas station had run out of gas.

We are supposed to have heavy rains this evening, and Ike is supposed to hit with full force sometime during the night. 40 to 60 mph winds are forecast.

I watched the weather channel last night as Ike approached Galveston. I was reminded of the terrible hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. Several years ago I read the book "Isaac's Storm", that told about the hurricane by telling the story of Isaac Cline. Isaac was the chief meteorologist at the Galveston, Texas office of the US Weather Bureau from 1889-1901. Some friends of mine from church, Dave and Fay Wiebe, heard me refer to the "Great Storm" of 1900 in a sermon. They brought me a hand typed account by a relative of theirs who survived the storm. The account was dictated and signed by Carrie M. Hughes, and copied by Irby B. Hughes August 9,1957 in Palestine, Texas.

The story tells tells of how 19 people took refuge in the house. As the water rose, they went to the uppermost room in the house. This is what Carrie Hughes wrote about what happened next. "The tremendous wall of broken houses and debris had struck our house, like a battering ram and crushed the underpart, letting the upper part into the water. As it settled down I felt the ceiling touching the back of my head with the water just under my chin. Instantly the roof of the house seemed to blow over from the south throwing little Mattie and me into a corner of it. The next thing I knew I felt ourselves slipping out. I clutched at the ceiling or walls but could catch hold of nothing. As we slipped into the water my hand was grabbed by Eliza Williams, a colored woman whom I knew well. She drew me partly onto the raft upon which she and her daughter Hattie Banks were floating."



Five members of this family made it through the ordeal and 2 did not. As I read the story, waves of emotion swept over me. I have read many survivor stories before, but this one seemed different, as it was a remembrance recorded so that family members would know what happened that night. Because of my friendship with the Wiebe's it seemed real, like I knew the person telling the story.

This is the way that Carrie finished telling her story. "How gladly would we have lost every dollar we possessed could we have kept dear Mattie and Stuart with us, but we do not morn them as one without hope, knowing we shall meet them again. It is such a comforting thought that they were Christians. We do not know where their beloved remains are resting. It may be in one of the numberless unknown graves that dot the whole face of beloved Galveston. It may be they are resting in the depths of the bay or gulf, or their ashes may have mixed with the earth from which they sprung. Whatever may have become of them we know they are safe in the arms of Jesus."



My prayers today are for all of those who have faced the fury of Hurricane Ike.

Why?

Yesterday was the 7th anniversary of 9/11. It was an emotional day for many people. Most Americans can remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the awful news that airplanes had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was at work when Gina called me to tell me what she was seeing on TV. I turned my radio on, and listened all day as the news reports came in. I think that most people wonder why God allowed something so terrible to happen.

Yesterday, I didn't think about that horrible day until I first wrote out the date. We never refer to that day as September 11, it is always 9/11. What struck me about yesterday was not so much remembering 9/11, as how many times someone talked to me about bad news in their life.

Wednesday evening we got a call from Adam and Felicia who live in San Pedro, Belize. Felicia has been very sick, and the local doctors have not been able to find out what is wrong. Yesterday they were traveling to Chetumal, Mexico to see a doctor there. Felicia is very frightened. She has been too sick to work, so has lost her job. The loss of income has put them in a financial bind. Gina prayed with Felicia over the phone. We hope to hear from them soon to find out what the doctor in Mexico said.

Yesterday my Fed-Ex driver shared with me the situation that his family is going through. Wednesday evening his brother in law was involved in a fatal one vehicle accident. He left behind a wife and 2 children. Now the wife is going to have to find a way to make a living and support herself and her children.

A small business owner that I deal with called me yesterday to let me know that he had to take a couple of days off to go to Little Rock for tests. His heart is giving him problems, and the doctors are talking about bypass surgery. His business is operated by just his wife and himself. He is afraid that he will lose his business.

A friend stopped by my shop to visit. He has gotten himself into some financial trouble. He had a signed contract on his house, and on the strength of that contract started building a new house. The contract fell through at the last minute, and now he fears that he will lose his house if he can't sell it soon.

All of these individuals are good Christian people. Why does God allow these things to happen. I think that is one of the biggest questions in Christianity.

There are many events that have caused people to ask, "why". I don't have the answers as to why so many tragedies happen. I do know that ever since sin came into this world through Satan there have been terrible tragedies. I suppose that Adam and Eve asked "why" when Cain killed his brother Abel.

The only promise that a Christian has in this life is that there will be trouble. Our trouble free existence will be in Heaven where God will wipe away all tears.



When a tragedy happens, God says ask your questions, but don't stop there. God has given a much greater opportunity. God challenges us to turn to Him for answers. God challenges us to argue with Him. God challenges us to trust Him explicitly.

Bad things happen in this world, to good people, and to bad people, although it seems like the good people get the worst. Murphy's law seems to be all too true. Why do bad things happen to good people? More specifically, why do bad things happen to me? God rarely answers that question. He would pour out only goodness on us all the
time, if He could, but because we live in a sinful world, He can't. Men have free will, and God will not override it.



Why do bad things happen to good people? Because we live in a sinful world. I know that's not the kind of answer we like, but there is no better answer available.

Once you have learned this and deepened your faith that God has everything under control, then maybe there is a better way to approach the bad things that happen. Don't ask "Why Me, Lord?" when something bad happens. Ask God how He wants you to respond, and then leave the consequences in His hands.

It is all in the response. God can always bring good out of bad, but He needs us to cooperate with Him to bring out the greatest good. This is why Paul can say "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Rejoice when good things happen, rejoice when bad things happen, because we can trust God to do what is for our
eternal best.

Eye Of The Hurricane

Hurricane Ike is headed for the Texas coast, and expected to hit sometime Friday. It is interesting to me how people view hurricanes. Before Cynda moved to south Louisiana , I didn't really think too much about hurricanes. Now I have a reason to watch them carefully. I have a friend who doesn't think that they cause much damage, and that the news media blows them out of proportion.

As I was talking to people at work yesterday, the main concern about Ike was that it might affect the Texas Arkansas football game. Last night I read that the game has been postponed. That gave me an insight into human nature. We are basically selfish creatures. Millions of people might be affected by this storm, but I am only worried about what affects me. I am not worried about the football game, but I still act the same way.

ME AT TIGER STADIUM

I am selfish in my prayers. I have been praying that Ike will not hit Louisiana. I want my family to be safe, and not have to deal with the hardships a hurricane can cause. When I analyze my prayer, what I am actually saying is, "Lord please let this hurricane hit someplace where I don't know the people". I don't know how to deal with that.

In a hurricane, the most dangerous winds are in the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weather occurs. In the human soul the most dangerous conditions are in the "I". I realize that "I" am born naturally selfish, and that God has asked me to think about him and others more that about me. "I" cannot accomplish that, only "HE" can accomplish that in me.

Let There Be Light

PHOTO BY GAVIN LAWRY



Cynda called last night and told us that the lights were back on at their house. What a blessing electricity is. We don't think much about all of the blessings that we have until they are taken away from us. 40% of Baton Rouge is still without power, and the estimated date for full restoration of power to all of Baton Rouge is Sept 24. Some outlying areas may take as long a 2 more weeks to restore.

I am making a special effort in my life to look for the blessings. I spend too much time on the negative. While I'm thinking about the negative, the blessings that are everywhere in my life don't seem noticeable.

Let there be light, and let it illuminate all the blessings that God showers me with.

Grandkids Are The Best

I think that grandkids are a gift that God gives us to take our minds of the aches and pains and other unpleasantness related to growing older. My granddaughters are the cutest kids on the planet. As my cousin LeRoy says"every old crow thinks his is the blackest". The girls have been even more on my mind than normal since Hurricane Gustav knowing that their world has been turned topsy turvy. Autumn doesn't like the dark, so being without power is hard on her. With no power, you can't watch Frosty the Snowman or Winnie the Pooh.


HERE IS AUTUMN AT SABBATH SCHOOL




REBEKAH PLAYING AT THE MALL PLAYGROUND


In less than two weeks Cynda and Dave will be coming to visit us, and i will get to see Autumn and Rebekah again. I am sure looking forward to it. Rebekah is ready to walk anytime now. Maybe she will take her first steps while she is visiting us. I'm sure that Autumn will want to sleep with her Grandma. While we were visiting over Labor Day weekend, Gina was laying down with Autumn to get her to go to sleep. Autumn put her arms around Gina'S neck and said' "Grandma, we love each other so much, don't we". Gina said that moment alone was worth the trip.



SLEEPING WITH GRANDMA