Perspective

by   December 26, 2020 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            As I sit down to write we are just a few days away from Christmas. You are now just on the other side of Christmas. I am in the anticipation state, while you have already experienced it. Our perspective on any event depends on where and when we look at the event. Our perspective can also be impacted by our past experiences.

            Our perspective on 2020 from December 31 of last year is very different from our perspective on it today. We have experienced the year and can now look back on the good and the bad. Most of us could never have imagined the impact that this virus has had on our lives. If you had told me that I would be wearing a mask in public I would have told you that you were crazy.

            I try to enter every year with a degree of hope. People who know me will tell you that I try to always find the good, even in difficult moments. It didn’t take long for that hope to get crushed as 2020 began to unfold. There have been health issues and concerns throughout my whole family and they continue to challenge us.

            Even in the midst of all the health problems of 2020, I think there are some positive things that have happened. Many families have grown closer together. At some point it was forced upon us when we were under lockdown orders. Many people have made efforts to connect or reconnect with family and loved ones.

            If we weren’t able to gather together, we made more efforts to touch base through calls, emails, and video chats. These were not ideal situations, but we made the efforts to stay in touch and to check on each other. Life has a way of getting busy and it is easy to allow ourselves to drift apart. I think COVID has reminded us of the need to stay in touch.

            I have heard that some people have reconnected with their faith because of COVID. Sadly, many churches have closed because we can’t have large group gatherings. Maybe we need to remember what Jesus said, that where two or three are gathered He is right there with us. Gathering as a church is very important for our spiritual health, but we can encourage and challenge each other to a deeper walk with God when 2 or 3 gather together, too. When churches can re-open again, we will all have to encourage each other to reconnect.

            Our perspective on God is highly influenced by the circumstances of our lives. I have seen many high school girls raise children on their own. I can easily imagine that those children would grow up thinking that God is distant. He doesn’t care about our daily needs. While I know that is not the truth, experience has taught these children that their earthly father was distant so their Heavenly Father must be, too.

            If your dad or mom was harsh, cruel, or abusive, then you may believe that God is the same way. If you were lucky enough to have great parents, then it is easier for you to imagine that you have a good, good Father in heaven. If you grew up in a church, your image of God could be influenced by your childhood pastor and Sunday school teachers.  

            The truth is the Bible tells us that we have a good, good Father who loves us. He knows every detail of your life and He loves you AND likes you, too. He knows what you are up against right now and he cares about your situation. He believes the best about you because He created you. He is actively planning a great future for you. He knows there will be good days and bad days, and is already planning to send you the help you need.

            We need to examine our perspective on God. He is the savior born in a manger for you and me, but He is also the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The entire universe is under His control. There is no detail of life that escapes His notice.

            I want to encourage you to re-examine your perspective of God. Are you allowing your experiences to shape how you see God? I challenge you to consider what God says about Himself in the Bible. He is loving, kind, merciful, forgiving, and a good, good Father. No one truly knows all about God. We can all learn more through God’s Word. I believe that will help give you a fresh perspective on the positive possibilities and the hope for 2021.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

Core Strength Makes for Better Running

by   December 22, 2020 with No Comments

By David Freeze

It’s been about a month since I took a day off from running. That isn’t much to a guy that once went four years between days off. Ed Dupree did 21 years of streaking, another term for not missing a day. Over the last few years, I’ve taken a day off from running about once every 2 to 3 weeks. Nearly always this comes after I have a couple of lackluster runs back to back.

Just recently, I have tried something new that is causing a boost to my morning runs. Vac and Dash is a running/vacuum store from Albemarle and is the printer for all of SRR’s race shirts. The store started a “Werking through the Holidays Challenge” early in November, not something that I usually would do. But this one caught my eye and now with six weeks complete, I wanted to share the positive results.

My mornings are usually hectic and always start with a run by about 5:30 to 6:30 a.m. That means getting up before 5, 4:40 a.m. to be exact. I’m not advocating that early start, but mornings are my thing! I cram the early morning full and didn’t think I could find time to add more exercise.

In October, I had already added a prayer walk that starts when the run’s finished at my driveway and continues for about five minutes. This works well unless its bitter cold or raining steadily, then those prayers take place in the house. Running and prayers just as the new dawn always get my day off to the best start.

Additionally, the “werking challenge” has been just that. Back in the house, I head upstairs for pushups, planks and then downstairs for situps. November called for at least 20 pushups and 20 situps, plus two minutes of planks. December pushed the minimum to 30 pushups and situps, with three minutes of planks, the very popular exercise when the clock hand barely moves.

It’s getting easier every day to do all this and amazingly, I can do the complete run plus workout comfortably in about 65 minutes. The final piece is two cinnamon Pop Tarts as I reflect on the effort and relish any soreness. The “werking challenge strengthens the core, the middle area of our bodies including the abdomen and lower back. The core, in my opinion, is the key to strength and balance. Mine is significantly stronger and usually a little sore after just six weeks, a good thing. Sore means that muscles are being tested and strengthened. And my average run is just a little faster and stronger too.

This challenge ends for me officially on Jan. 1, but I don’t plan to stop. A neighbor, Brian Jones, helped put the new Christmas lights on my farm’s windmill on Monday and he told me about mixing bunches of crunches, a two-mile walk and some upper body twists as his early morning workout. He’s building his core too.

Resolution time is just around the corner. Getting a head start on all your friends and neighbors with some sort of core workout should make you happy. Do it more than seven days and you just might have a new habit and be on the way to better health.

The next two races are the Resolution 5K on Jan. 1 and the 38th Annual Winter Flight, Salisbury’s premier participatory sporting event. On Thursday, SRR and The Forum confirmed that the Resolution event will be held at Salisbury Community Park at 9 a.m. This run/walk is like no other race all year. Entry is just $10 or $5 with three canned goods. Everything benefits Rowan Helping Ministries. Participants get a posted time and a leftover but still new race shirt. They also get refreshments following a low cost fitness challenge to start the year.

We’re still hoping to have Winter Flight at Catawba College with the date changed to Sunday, Jan. 17. This event also benefits Rowan Helping Ministries.

Look for more updated info at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org .  

Light of the World

by   December 21, 2020 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

For many, going to a Christmas play is a holiday tradition that helps us visualize the story of the birth of Jesus, so we can hold it more tightly in our hearts.

As a young teenager, I participated in a Christmas play at church. As an angel, my role was to stand near baby Jesus and hold my arms up in praise — like angels are supposed to do. The lights were off and the sanctuary was totally dark, but a light shone brightly over the manger scene where I stood. That moment is one of the few memories I still have of Christmas plays — and is also a powerful one.

My heart was touched and tears filled my eyes, although at the time, I was not sure why. I am sure words had been spoken, but I do not remember hearing them. I do, however, remember feeling them. That night’s spiritual connection had a lifelong impact. As an “angel” I had been allowed to stand in the only place there was light in the room. I was standing in the light with the light of the world, and everything around me seemed to be in darkness.

I realized that the manger would have been a much darker place as baby Jesus was born than it was portrayed that night. The shepherds would not be as neatly dressed. The sheep would not be pure white — but grayish and dirty. The other animals milling around in the stable surely would have been unsettling.

After I got home from the play, I remember standing in my front yard and looking up at the stars in the sky. That’s when I knew. I believed in Jesus. And maybe the star that was shining down on my life that night was the same star that was shining down on the manger the night Jesus was born.

Look up. The light of the world is with us.

Jesus is the light of the world — and we are his light in the world.

John 1:5 says the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

I don’t know about you, but something about that verse gives me heavenly peace.

Gazing up at those stars became something I did often and I still do, for if the bottom of heaven is that beautiful, how much more beautiful will heaven be?

Lord, may we know that the story of the birth of Jesus is not just a story — but is his-story.  Help us see the light of the world and hold tightly in our hearts. Amen

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at  annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

Merry Christmas 2020

by   December 19, 2020 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

Merry Christmas 2020

            I read Lynna Clark’s fictional retelling of the birth of Christ in “An EncouragingU Christmas.” She did a good job making Mary and Joseph come to life. I enjoyed the story so much that I plan to read it again next year. When I finished, I sat quietly and allowed my spirit to drink in her story.

            That’s when I had a very unique thought that has never occurred to me before. I have always thought that Joseph must have struggled with doubt about the conception of Jesus. No one prior to Jesus had ever been conceived without two people coming together. Why wouldn’t Joseph struggle with doubt about Mary’s story?

            Two things struck me. Mary was pure and virtuous and not prone to telling wild stories. She was honest and innocent. Joseph could and did trust her. Second, Joseph had a dream where he saw an angel. I’ve had powerful dreams that I knew were from heaven and no one or nothing can shake those dreams from me. Joseph had a dream that he knew was from heaven and he trusted God…completely! Faith and trust in God leaves no room for doubt.

            Joseph and Mary had a deep faith in God and they needed it to endure all that life threw at them. We know they lived about two years in Bethlehem. We don’t really know how long they lived in Egypt, but it is most likely more than a year. During this time, other children must have come along and Mary and Joseph continued to trust in God.

            Walking with God requires faith and trust. Over my lifetime I can look back and see times when God called me to move to a new school. I had hoped that I would start at one school and stay there for my whole career. But that wasn’t the path on which the Lord led me. Each career move we made challenged our faith and required us to trust God. God has always been faithful.      

Following Jesus requires faith, especially when the path isn’t clear. But God sends some gifts along the way to help us. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Before He ascended back to heaven He told the disciples that He was giving them His peace. His peace is perfect and helps to quiet our spirits when the world seems out of control. His supernatural peace goes beyond all understanding. His presence inside of us gives us His glorious peace that we all need.

            Another gift God gave was His love. God’s love came in a package lying in a manger. God sent His son in the most approachable way possible. God wants all mankind to know the depth of His love for us. Jesus makes a way for each person to connect with God in a personal and intimate way. God’s love is perfect and unconditional. His love guides us. His love comforts us. His love assures us of a place with Him in eternity.        

            Another gift from God is hope. When Jesus arrived on the scene the Jews were being oppressed by the Roman Empire. He birthed in His people hope that God heard their prayers. The answer came in an unexpected way, even though the scriptures foretold the coming of Christ. Hope often comes in unexpected ways. Hope gives us the courage to press on. Hope allows us to believe in a God of the impossible. Hope has the seed of expectancy, that we know God will deliver us.

            Jesus’ arrival in that little manger 2000 years ago signaled a change. We all know life is full of challenges; we only have to look at 2020. Seeds of doubt can sprout in our minds. But hope lifts us from those doubts into our loving Heavenly Father’s arms. When we look into the eyes of Jesus, we experience God’s unconditional love, that assures us that He knows where we are and what we are enduring. When we open our hearts to His great love, His peace floods our souls and reminds us that we are called to be overcomers. And with His help, we will.

            I want to encourage you to open your hearts, minds, and spirit to God’s great love this Christmas. Allow the child of Bethlehem to be born in your heart. Let the joy of His presence overtake your fears and doubts. God loves you and He is bigger than anything you face. Jesus came for you. Allow your spirit to be renewed and refreshed. I pray that love, joy, peace, and hope be yours…Merry Christmas!

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

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