A Brand New Year

by   January 9, 2021 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            I think that most people are glad to see 2020 come to a close. It was a tough year by most standards. We watched the famous ball drop in Times Square, and welcomed 2021. My wife and I rejoiced to see the New Year born. We are hoping and believing for a better year.

            I woke up New Year’s Day hoping to see the Rose Bowl Parade. The floats are always stunning and the work that goes into them unbelievable. I wasn’t totally surprised when the parade didn’t happen. But I was pleased that the networks put together a program that celebrated the Rose Bowl tradition. It was nice to see how the floats are created. Then they showed some beautiful ones from previous years. It was a good beginning to the new year.

            One of my least favorite tasks of the new year is taking down all the Christmas decorations. I love putting them up, and hate taking them down. I usually begin outside and pack all the boxes and get them back up in the attic. It is a nice feeling to get all the boxes out of the garage and have everything all cleaned up again.

            My pastor asked the congregation on Sunday if we had made any new year’s resolutions. It was at that moment that I realized that I hadn’t even thought about it. I am not suggesting that there aren’t things that I need to improve and change. I just hadn’t given it much thought at that point.

            I did start something new this year. I am reading a new version of the Bible. Sometime in early December I decided that I wanted to try a new translation. It makes me consider God’s word and what it means in my personal life. Over the years I have read several different translations. While my standard is the NIV, this year I am giving the Passion Translation a shot. It already has my attention as it contains many footnotes. It explains why a particular word was chosen and the meaning of that word. These details really grab me and help to deepen my understanding of God and my faith.

            When you stop and think about it, a goal or resolution we should always have is to deepen our faith. I believe it is very important that our faith grows from year to year. That means we have to invest time and energy into our Christian walk. That can include many things, from Bible study to reading books, and especially, engaging with other believers, who will encourage and challenge us to a deeper walk with Christ.

            Besides growing our faith, we ought to plant some seeds of hope in our lives. I always enter a new year believing that good things are going to happen. I believe that God is going to bring good things into my life because He is a good Father. I also believe that if I am looking for the good I will find it. The reverse is true too, if we are looking for bad, we will find it. I make a conscious choice to stir my faith and base my hope on the goodness of God. God does not and will not disappoint me.

            When we think about the future, there is a bit of mystery. We have a blank canvas set before us and I choose to see that as exciting. While the year is a mystery to me, it’s not to God. He is not bound by time and He already knows what is going to happen. I am not naïve in thinking that nothing bad will happen. I do believe that God can work all things out and bring good into my life. He is planning and working on it. My job will be to listen and follow His guidance and to place all my trust in Him. Then at the end of this year, I will be able to look back and see His fingerprints all over my life.

            I want to encourage you to walk with me in faith, believing that God is planning good things for our lives. He is a creative and wonderful Father. He wants what is best for us. No situation we encounter is too big for Him. So if I put my hand in His and hold on tight, I will have a spectacular ride. 2021 is going to be a great adventure. Let’s keep our faith, hope, and trust stirred up for all the good things God has in store for us.

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

The Skill That Mattered Most

by   January 5, 2021 with No Comments

By David Freeze

  In the past week, I’ve lost two women who meant the world to me. Two women who have touched my life in many different ways. But although they didn’t know each other, they both worked off the same script. They taught me a lesson that’s worth sharing today. The second funeral is tomorrow, and they are both on my mind tonight.

   Ollie McKnight was 90 and had lived across the road from me since I bought our farm. Well over 30 years ago, I moved in with a wife and five blended kids. Our farm needed a lot of tender loving care and that included a house built in 1900. Most of it looked bad. My own mother passed away shortly afterwards, and Mrs. M took over. I didn’t think I needed scolding much, but she sometimes did. I grew to love her just like my own mother. Thankfully, we had a nice conversation the evening before she went to the hospital for the last time.

    Patsy McBride, only 73 at her passing, came later. I didn’t know Patsy until I made my first cross country bicycle trip in 2013. I began to get short supportive texts from her along the way from Anacortes, Oregon to Myrtle Beach. Over 4200 miles and 54 days, I wondered how Patsy knew when I was struggling because she always seemed to send a message when I needed positive thoughts. Patsy was a talented musician who had lived in lots of places, even including a stint in Hawaii. I finally met her in person when our local newspaper hosted a reception following the completion of that bike ride. A brief interview with the editor got Patsy mentioned in the Salisbury Post the next day. She gave me a crocheted angel that has ridden along on every single long-distance ride since, now totaling well over 20,000 miles.

     Both these women had health issues that I discovered but seldom learned directly from them. They didn’t dwell on those things and always kept forging ahead. Ollie had heart, knee, kidney and other issues. She spent several years on dialysis until she was awarded a kidney much later in life than most can hope for. Patsy battled cancer since the time I met her. I remember that she could only stay a few minutes the night that she attended that first reception. Doctors kept finding ways to treat the cancers and Patsy fought right along with them.

      The world that knew these women as Ollie and Patsy didn’t hear complaints from them. What they saw was an incredible spirit and an intense desire to keep living life no matter the physical issues. Ollie kept the road hot in her car and truck. Church, grange, weddings, funerals and visiting plenty of friends. Patsy kept playing the organ and directing the handbell group at Shiloh Reformed Church, even when she told me that she could hardly feel the piano keys. She was on so many treatments that her days were a struggle, yet she said often, “I’m playing Sunday.” And she usually did.

      While my memories of these women are chocked full of so many things, it is easy to say that they inspired me. Inspiration comes in many ways, and I’ve already mentioned how they were steadfast in continuing their activities as long as possible. They lived and loved life.

      I realized over the last week that they both had a special skill that I’m determined to learn. One that few of us do well but some, just like these two women, have made into a world class trait. I haven’t documented anywhere near all the physical issues these women dealt with daily. I don’t know their complete list of struggles and here’s why. They hardly discussed them! I was fortunate to have long talks with both and regular discussions on numerous topics, those topics chosen because they didn’t want to burden others.  

      Here’s just a little sample of how our conversations went. I often knew something about the trials they faced, but most of the facts came from other sources. So, after just a brief description of their issues, both were gifted at shifting the focus to me or whoever else they spoke to. They genuinely didn’t want to linger over trials but quickly lifted the conversation to positive things and plenty of the how, when, why and what they genuinely wanted to learn about others. I didn’t realize it at the time, but they were pros at lifting spirits. I always felt better after talking to them! Help me Lord to learn from Ollie and Patsy!

Just Dust

by   January 5, 2021 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

I’m pretty good at hiding my crazy. But sometimes it’s a bit disconcerting even to me. For instance: I can’t stand to raise the blinds and leave them a bit cock-eyed. That won’t do even for a minute. I hate marking something out with an ink pen when I mess up. I just get a new piece of paper and start over; even on something as minor as a grocery list. And I really hate grammatical errors to the point that I have a hard time texting. While I’m trying to be all hip by getting used to abbreviations, I still think twice before using “lol.” Probably because for the longest time I thought folks were sending me lots of love.

Annyyywayyy…

I got a new day planner for 2021 as if my life is so busy I need to take careful notes. The only thing I have to keep up with now is all the doctor appointments. Like my mom-in-law used to say, “When you get to a certain age, there’s always somewhere to go; either the drug store, the doctor or the funeral home.” Sadly, I think I’m there. As I added the January appointment to my new calendar, I put it on the wrong stinkin’ date. My fresh clean planner is already messed up! It felt like a bad omen. As my hopes for the new year plummeted, I thought of the white-out stashed in my desk. Quickly I tried to cover up the mess. But alas. The cure was worse than the error. A crusty white blob stared back at me on my fresh new year.

Panic squeezed my chest until I realized the soiled date is also Winter Spruce Up. This magical day is celebrated throughout our small town by hauling all manner of unwanted junk to the curb. Diligent city workers will cart away discarded treasures for FREE! In our case it will be the 1980’s model washer and dryer that died simultaneously on black Friday. These faithful friends have been part of our lives longer than I can remember; much like the shoes of the children of Israel as they trudged through the wilderness. Those things just never went out of style. Another good thing about being crazy is that the word FREE covers a multitude of angst. PLUS now I have something to write over the white-out on my new calendar. Carefully I printed “SPRUCE UP” over my former mess. It’s not perfect, but it is better.

Last year taught me many things. Probably most important is that I am not in control. Who would have ever suspected that as organized and careful as we are we’d get caught with our britches down and nothing to wipe with.

No… I am definitely not in control. No matter how much I plan, stuff happens. Appliances will give up the ghost right before Christmas. Sickness will hit no matter how healthy we eat. There’s not enough white-out in the world to cover our crazy. However, God “knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die as though we had never been here. BUT! The love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him.” –Psalm 103:14-17

The best way I know to deal with crazy is to give my uncertainties to the Father. I function much better with Him in charge anyway. As it turns out, He’s really good at making some very useful things out of dust.

Faith, then Prayer

by   January 2, 2021 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

I received word before Christmas that a special friend of mine had been exposed to COVID. I prayed and prayed that she would not get it. When the phone rang the other day and I heard my friend’s voice, I just knew that she had it. But she reassured me that she did not. She had called to tell me that a very special couple in her life had tested positive for COVID.

            The couple in question both seemed to have bad cases. The husband had all the common symptoms you hear about and felt lousy. The wife was in the hospital and her health was declining. She was doing so poorly that they decided that she needed to go on a ventilator. My friend was beside herself because she feared the worst. She asked me to pray.

            After talking about their situation for a few minutes I decided it would be good if we prayed together. My friend liked the idea. Then I heard her say that if this woman is put on a ventilator it will be hopeless. I said, “Wait a minute, we can’t start praying if we think it is hopeless.” My friend painted a bleak picture of this person’s condition.

            I told her that we can’t pray if we believe it is hopeless. We have to believe that God is bigger than COVID. We have to believe that God can change impossible circumstances. My friend knows that God can work wonders when the odds are against Him. It only took a moment to stir her faith and then we prayed in unity.

            When we finished praying my friend was encouraged. She asked if I would do her a favor. I have a hard time saying no. Then she asked if I would call the husband and pray with him. I tried to wiggle out of it. I never know what to say to a person who is struggling or suffering a loss, but my friend pressed the issue, and I agreed.

            I waited before I called. We know each other, but I haven’t seen him in quite a few years. When I reached him we talked about his own case of COVID. Then I told him that our mutual friend requested that I call and pray with him about his wife’s condition.

            His response surprised me. He said he was rejoicing. I asked him to explain. He said that they were just about to put his wife on the ventilator when suddenly she began to improve. They gave it a few minutes and she improved some more. He called to check on his wife about that time and they said that she didn’t need a ventilator. They were going to give her some oxygen and some other treatments. Then they let him talk with his wife. She reported that the pain had departed. She was very weak, but her spirits had improved.

            When I called my friend to report the dramatic improvement, she was amazed. It’s been a few days since all this happened, but this couple is slowly beginning to improve. There have been some hills and valleys along the way, but the general trend is better. I wish I could report a miraculous recovery, but due to the severity of the case, we are glad to report improvement. We all know that prayer changes circumstances.

            I am reminded of what an old pastor of mine used to tell us. You can’t begin prayer filled with doubt. We have to believe that God is bigger and greater than the way things appear. I have two good friends whose hearts stopped beating for over ten minutes, but through prayer and the hard work of the EMS staff, they survived. Both of these people, through many prayers by many folks, have returned to full and normal lives. As I said, nothing is impossible with God.

            I want to encourage you to remember that doctors have a say in our health, but they do not have the final say. No matter the circumstances that you face in any area of your life, God is bigger and can change the outcome. You have to stir your faith in a God who is bigger than the circumstance. A huge mountain is simply a bump in the road for God. I believe God hears our prayers, and I expect He will answer us because He loves His children. It often requires persistence, but if we mix it with hope and faith, I believe we will experience God’s goodness and favor.

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

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