Sink or Float

by   July 28, 2024 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

Learning to swim has become a rite of passage in our home. Each child has desired swim lessons around the age of 5 or so. My youngest has not yet wanted that, though. He would rather figure things out on his own or with me, Mom. We get along swimmingly as we hold our breath while wearing our goggles to sit together on the bottom of the pool, compete to grab diving sticks (our favorites look like silly monsters), or jump in simultaneously, delighting in the myriad of bubbles engulfing us. 

There is one thing, however, into which I cannot completely coax him—resting on his back, afloat on the water. It is one of my favorite things—letting go, relaxing, and letting buoyancy do what it does best. I trust the water to hold me, almost thrusting me upwards to the surface of the water.

On a recent mommy-son swim, it occurred to me that lying on my back in the water was a great picture of faith. I never fully appreciated the object lesson of trusting a chair to hold me when I sit down to be a great picture of faith. Many use the illustration. But I can see that chair. I can probably even see if it looks a bit faulty – if screws or nails are missing or if joints seem to be coming apart. But floating on something seemingly invisible is different.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). In the pool, although I can see the movement of the water and reflection of the sun underneath, I cannot really see the forces that would hold me afloat. I hope I can float and the water will keep me in that position. I see no evidence that it will when simply glancing at the water. 

In the mind and eye of a child, it almost looks like levitating on thin air. My son has heard the story of his unsuccessful attempt to fly from the top of the flight of stairs when he was less than two years old. “Hey brother, watch me fly!” I heard him yell as I was in the kitchen that day. Upon hearing a THUD, I ran around the corner to see that he had landed hard near the bottom. What a lesson! Why would he assume that water would fare him much better?

But he can see that Mommy puts her faith in the water. She is calm and serene and eager to enjoy an all-too-brief moment floating, looking up at the Carolina-blue sky above. Will he also see my faith in things or Someone more important? 

I hope he will soon learn lessons of faith—not just in the water, not just in Mommy’s faith, but in real, meaningful, abiding faith for himself.

Ashlie Miller spends summer days playing at the pool, going on walks, reading books, and waiting for summer storms on the porch. You may email her at mrs.ashliemiller@gmail.com, and she will answer you while on the porch or by the pool.

The Dead Middle

by   July 27, 2024 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            We have been enjoying some nice rain showers at our house lately. After a long, hot, dry spell it has been a very welcome change. With the rain, we have enjoyed some slightly cooler temperatures. Anything under 90 for a high is appreciated. One of the real struggles with the really hot weather is maintaining my walking schedule. I love walking in the spring and fall but it is hard to make myself walk in the heat and humidity.

            Since I want to hibernate in the air conditioning, I don’t want to go out and work in my garden. I have gone out and picked tomatoes and some other treats from the garden. With the rain-cooled air I went out to inspect the garden the other day and discovered that I am losing the battle with the weeds. While I have been hiding inside, they have worked overtime to take over the garden. I pulled a wheelbarrow full of weeds the other evening and looked out from the house and I could hardly tell I had done any work at all! Bad weeds!

            I guess we are in the middle of summer. Some call it the dead of summer. I guess that comes before the Dog Days of August. I was thinking about the term “dead of summer” and realizing we have the term “dead of winter” for the middle of winter. There is no such thing as the dead of fall or spring, so why do we call it the “dead” of summer or winter?

            I guess it refers to the time of summer when most people prefer to be inside avoiding the most oppressive part of the summer heat. The dead of winter is the same, the holiday season is over and all we have to look forward to is the bleak winter while we wait for spring to emerge. The dead of summer and winter are the same in that we all stay inside waiting for the weather to change and become more tolerable. We can’t abide the extreme heat or cold.

            When we get to the middle of anything it seems hard to press on to the end. As runners get to the middle of a race they talk about getting a second wind. It’s a new deposit of energy to propel the runner to the end of the race. One runner friend says that sometimes as you hit the middle of a race there is a desire to quit but that the runner must persevere if they want to find the second wind.

            I believe there is a similar call to us in our Christian walk. We encounter struggles and challenges that try to push us down or knock us out of the race. In those moments God is calling us to dig deep inside and find the courage to persevere. Don’t give up. Keep trusting that God is in your situation and that He is fighting for you.

            I think that our ability to persevere is dependent upon where we have our eyes. Are we looking at the situations we are facing and feeling overwhelmed? Or are we looking at Jesus who is the source of our strength and keeping our eyes focused on Him? When we focus on our circumstances then we will obviously feel overwhelmed. If our circumstances are only minor inconveniences there is no need for faith to overcome. We will simply push ourselves through.

            However, when our circumstances seem overwhelming and our eyes are focused on them then we will find ourselves discouraged and feeling defeated. When the bills are greater than the income… When the medical situation is not improving… When loved ones are losing the battle with addiction… When worry, anxiety, fear, and depression are oppressing our minds… We have to refocus our minds and thoughts on how big our God is in EVERY situation.

            There is nothing too difficult for Him. There is no situation that He can’t turn around. There is no one beyond His reach. There is no bill He can’t pay. Peter walked on water until he looked at his circumstances and realized he shouldn’t be able to do that. He took his eyes off of Jesus. We have to keep our eyes on our Savior…Our provider…Our deliverer…Our victory!

I want to encourage you to press on, to persevere in and through your situation. We all need to remind ourselves of His many promises and allow them to propel us through our situations into His arms. We can persevere with His help. We can depend on our Heavenly Father. We just have to keep our eyes on Him and persevere.

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

Joy of the Ordinary

by   July 26, 2024 with No Comments

Roger Barbee

Joy of the Ordinary

 The review of One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle was more of a notice in my mind than a review,  but it was enough for me. I immediately ordered the book, and since its arrival I have read and re-read and pondered Doyle’s shared wonder expressed in this collection of essays. Until my encounter with this book, I had never heard of Doyle, a prolific writer who shares the amazing, yet everyday beauty in what he experiences. Doyle, who died of brain cancer way too soon, shares life’s blessings that he finds in a Memorial Day parade, a youth soccer game, birds, pants, Jones Beach, a song for nurses, his first kiss, a bullet, and more experiences that we all know and have experienced. That is the beauty of his book: He takes us inside ourselves through the common experiences we all share and peels back the worry and anxiety to reveal the joy.

One Long River of Song is a needed read today. Published in December 2019 one year before the COVID-19 pandemic, Doyle somehow tells us how to manage this unknown time we face. In the essay A Song for Nurses he writes: “And let us pray not only for the extraordinary smiling armies of nurses among us; let us pray to be like them, sinewy and tender, gracious and honest, avatars of love.” If there are any better words telling us how to manage in May 2020, I don’t know them. In the essay Memorial Day he remembers a Memorial Day parade from his youth and how his father, a veteran of WW II, always “declines politely every year when he is asked [to walk in the parade wearing his uniform]. Doyle goes on to write that his father says  “uniforms can easily confer false authority and encourage hollow bravado….” Like General Lee, Doyle’s father knew the horror of war and knew to put the uniform away after it had been worn “because the job had to be done,” so it was time to put all that away.

Any parent who has stood on the sidelines of a youth soccer game, watching the herd of five-year-old children move along like gazing gazelles with the slowly moving ball, will identify with The Praying Mantis Moment. Doyle shares how during a game in which his six-year-old twins were playing on a golden October afternoon, all the three-foot-tall players on the field formed a circle on the field. The ball rolled away, the teenage referee and some parents hurried to the circle for fear of an injury. But, the crowd of players began walking with a girl who, while holding a praying mantis in her hands, escorted the insect to a safer place. Doyle writes of this October moment as one of the most genuine he had ever experienced in watching sports.

In Illuminos Doyle writes “It seems to me that angels and bodhisattvas are everywhere available for consultation if only we can see them  clear; they are unadorned, and joyous, and patient, and radiant, and luminous, and not disguised or hidden or filtered in any way whatsoever, so that if you see them clearly, which happens occasionally even to the most blinkered and frightened of us, you realize immediately who they are, beings of great and humble illumination dressed in the skins of new and dewy beings, and you realize, with a catch in your throat, that they are your teachers and they are agents of an unimaginable love, and they are your cousins and companions in awe, …” This long quotationis not as much as I want to quote, but it is important, especially in our climate today, because in it Brian Doyle shows the joy  in so much of the ordinary we live each day. When we refuse to look and hear the glory of God’s world, we become one of the “blinkered and frightened” that Doyle writes about. Read the words of one man, who knew sorrow personally, but chose not to be blinkered or frightened by what he had to cross. Read this book and “be blessed beyond the reach of language.”

State Parks

by   July 25, 2024 with No Comments

By David Freeze

State Park Visits Begin!

    I’m excited to visit all the North Carolina State Parks, especially since I will miss the opportunity to go on another summertime cycling adventure. Bicycle riding will have to wait but there is plenty of energy remaining to get the party started. My back injury continues to heal, and walking is improving daily.

    Ken Beaver, a long-time friend, retired recently from the NC Prison system and his first adventure was to visit the state parks. He has shared pointers and information, so the journey begins.

    Last Sunday, July 7th, I drove first to Mayo State Park not far from Mayodan. After a 90-minute drive north, I found a very small quiet park with an unattended weekend office. There are two ponds in the actual park, but the river is not accessible here. This section of the park has large lawns, a large pavilion and several short trails. Fishing and swimming are allowed in the main pond. This is a perfect park for a very quiet nature getaway.

     The park was established in 2003 and encompasses 2,778 acres. The park is named after civil engineer Major William Mayo who helped survey boundary lines between Virginia and NC in the early 1700s and helped to map the region for the first time.

    Mayo River is accessible at five access points, the first being the Deshazo Mill Access where I walked to the Fall Creek Waterfall. Few amenities are provided at river access points.

     Next, I drove to Hanging Rock State Park, an area purchased by the state in 1935, and most of it constructed from 1935 to 1942 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park has 9,011 acres and is close to Danbury, which just happens to be one of the smallest, most interesting and historic county seats in NC. There is a new visitor center with an active information desk, where I met a wonderful attendant who told me about the must-see places in the park. I was wearing my back brace, and she immediately began to tell me about the easier trails, and the one can’t miss part of the park, The Lower Cascade Falls.

     There are currently 41 state parks and all of them have pages in a little passport booklet. The goal for those visiting all the parks is to get the specific park page stamped and signed while in the park. At the Mayo River Park, the park office was not open, but the page stamp was located beside the door. At Hanging Rock, I picked up the passport booklet and got it stamped. I will glue in the stamp from Mayo.

     Back to Hanging Rock Park, I think this was my first visit and was extremely pleased with the facilities and sights to see. There are 18 walking trails and nine bike trails. I did the Upper Cascades Falls and the Lower Cascades Falls Trails, along with much of the Lake Trail. I also got a good view of Hanging Rock.

     A huge 12-acre lake was busy with swimmers in a lifeguard area. A fishing pier is popular as are the benches around the shaded banks of the lake along the trail. Boats are available, as are concessions in an area that includes both a historic bathhouse and boathouse.

     I stopped to see Lower Cascade Falls and almost met my match with long rock steps down to the falls and pool area. This was a test for my recovering balance and leg strength. The rock steps were placed about 80 years ago by the CCC and to me are an engineering marvel.

     Hanging Rock State Park has so much to see and do, I could have easily spent a camping weekend there. It has the feel of a very good national park.

      My final stop for the day was Pilot Mountain State Park, the rock dome familiar to many driving north of Winston Salem on US 52. It is considered an isolated mountain and like Hanging Rock is part of the Sauratown Mountain Range, named after the Saura Indians. Pilot Mountain rises 1,400 feet above the valley floor and 2,431 feet in total elevation. The rugged mountain rock, quartzite monadnock, has survived for 500 million years while surrounding peaks were eroded by the elements. Tent and trailer camping are available, along with 11 trails ranging from a tenth to 6.6 miles. The views from the top encompass hundreds of square miles including the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west. Total acreage is 3,782 and the park is located nearest to Pinnacle, NC.  

     Pilot Mountain became the state’s 14th park in 1968 and was dedicated as a National Landmark in 1976. The mountain was used as a landmark for the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to Salisbury.

     Additional sections of the park are located about a 15-minute drive to the south. One centers on the Yadkin River and the Bean Shoals Canal, and the other is the Horne Creek Living Historical Farm, depicting farm life in the early 1900s. I found the farm closed on Sundays and Mondays, so I will return at a later date to visit these locations.

     Three state parks visited, 38 to go!

Gotta’ Run: State park visits begin!

He’s Got You

by   July 24, 2024 with No Comments

By Ed Traut

Mark 16:17-18  And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

  • God has given us miraculous signs that by faith we have to apply.
  • Demons and darkness will give way to us because we walk in authority that He gave us.
  • We have a shield against snake poison and deadly poison that we might unknowingly consume.  We are safe against all germs because these are the signs that should accompany us as we believe.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit help me to continually believe and to walk in faith and not to allow fear to grip my soul through negative reports, but to focus on Your promises and to have this applied to my life that miracles will always happen, demons will flee and no harm will come to me in anyway shape or form.  I bless Your holy name.  Amen.


Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Do you need a laugh?

by   July 23, 2024 with No Comments

We lost a true comedy legend the other day…Bob Newhart. I have some comedy records…yes, I mean real records, of Bob Newhart. They are absolutely funny. Here are two clips to give you a laugh and lift your spirits…. ENJOY!

Here is another one that is just audio…. Listen and enjoy!

High Fives Matter!

by   July 22, 2024 with No Comments

Have you ever given someone a High Five? Many people will fist bump now. It’s all the same. Two friends meet and they High Five! This is a great story about why it is important to have such good friends by Steve Hartman… High Five!!!!

Stay Hydrated

by   July 21, 2024 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

One evening this week, amid a gentle rain shower, I stretched out on the couch on our porch and drifted off to sleep to the steady lullaby. My weary body and spirit craved the refreshment of the rain. Earlier that morning, I had walked in the humidity, noticing water running off lawns into the storm drains. What a waste! Yet, the parched ground is thirsty for water, and sprinklers will have to suffice in the absence of precipitation.

The earth knows what it is like to be thirsty. But do we? Physically, I wonder. I laugh at myself upon recovering from the sounds of thermal double-wall bottles clanging with a heart-stopping shatter to the floor. I am amused and confounded by the status symbol, even among tween girls, over having multiple Stanley cups. If ever a generation lacked the sensation of physical thirst, it would be the age and culture in which we live. 

However, can you go back in time with me to a more dehydrated generation? Remember running through the oscillating sprinklers and then panting to grab a hosepipe? What about enduring PE laps or the long class that seemed it would never dismiss and gathering in front of the water fountain for your turn for a drink? We can remember being thirsty and longing for that moment around the shiny silver bowl. If you had access to a water cooler with individual cups, you were in heaven!

When was the last time you were spiritually thirsty? You woke up in the morning desperate for answers or the presence of a God. Perhaps sleep alluded you as you wrestled through the night until you flicked on a low-watt light to read a few passages from a large, well-worn book to speak peace and comfort. You set your calendar by what was happening at church. You longed for fellowship with your brothers and sisters – to worship, share hope, and hear the truth. Maybe you have never experienced the latter but long for some community and being known.

But things have changed. Life is so busy. Like grabbing the Sundrop, the extra tall latte, or a canned energy drink, you have filled your life with other things to quench your thirst and keep you moving. Self-care can mask deep hurts and spiritual thirst. Focusing on our emotional and psychological selves and taking ownership of our identity can even get in the way of quenching our souls. The mesmerizing LED screen is not filling it, nor is the constant stream of activity, workouts, or other substances. Even an educated listening ear can only sometimes get to the bottom of it or offer what will truly satisfy.

Like David in Psalms 63, let us be seekers, realizing our thirst can only be quenched in God through His Son Jesus because His “steadfast love is better than life.” What a statement! David likely wrote it in the wilderness when being hunted down mercilessly. Yet, he knew what could quench his thirst.

I still say there’s nothing quite like a gulp of cool water from a hosepipe after a strenuous activity, and there is nothing as refreshing as Jesus in my life. When have you last experienced something sustaining that is “better than life”?

Ashlie Miller and her husband, Chad, are recipients and givers of grace among their church family at Mission Bible Church in Charlotte.

How Do You See God?

by   July 20, 2024 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            Life has been challenging recently. We have both been dealing with some personal issues that have dragged us down. I feel like we are both running in low gear. There are things that need to be done but neither of us has any energy to get them done. We are staying afloat but we are just not seeing any headway. We also see God’s hand of grace and help.

            When I step back and consider the challenges we are facing and overcoming I realize that we are fortunate. I have neighbors who are facing far greater challenges. They are having to dig deep and trust God in far greater ways to overcome their challenges. Often when we are facing trials and challenges we try to make it on our own. Those are moments when we need to lean heavily on our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to draw on the energy of the prayers of those who stand with us as we go through our trials and storms.

            In moments of great challenge, especially when we are dealing with health issues, we have a tendency to pull back from our church family. We feel that resting at home will do us more good than being together with our church family. When we are struggling, we need to be with our church family so they can see our struggles and know how they can better pray for us and stand with us.

            That leads me to another way we struggle. It is hard for most of us to allow someone else to do things for us. When someone comes to help us in practical ways or make us a meal we struggle to receive that help. I am not sure what keeps us from being on the receiving end of a blessing. Most of us are good at blessing others but find is hard to receive blessings.

            I recently asked my Sunday school class: how do you see God in the middle of your struggles? Some look to God like Santa Claus, asking Him for everything without really wanting a relationship with Him. God has a deep desire to connect with mankind. He wants a relationship with each one of us. He doesn’t want to be Santa or a Genie in a bottle.

            The Bible teaches us that God has many names and I want to explore a few of them with you. First, He is Jehovah Jireh, God our provider. He meets our needs. Many think that is limited to our financial needs. God cares about ALL your needs and wants to help you discover how to meet them. It’s okay to express your needs to God. He cares about your situation and needs.

            He is also Jehovah Rapha, God our healer. I know that many of you need a touch from God in your physical body. I encourage you to let God know about your health needs. I believe God is still in the healing business today. I also believe that God will lead us to doctors who can help us and bring healing through procedures or medications. Our part is to trust Him as we walk through the process. He will be with us all the way!

            In our turbulent world, many struggle to find peace of mind. If you watch the news on a regular basis it is easy to see why you are struggling to find peace. There is no peace in our world. We all desire peace but it eludes us. The good news is one of God’s names is Jehovah Shalom, God our peace. Shalom is wholeness and peace of the body, mind, and spirit. We can find peace in God. When we turn our hearts and minds over to Him, He can give us an inner peace that helps us overcome the anxieties and worries in this world.

            There are so many other aspects of God that I have not even touched upon, but I want you to know that we have a great big God who is on your side and with you whatever you are facing. I want to encourage you to take your needs to God and then wait in His presence. Listen for His voice to guide you through your circumstances. He has a plan. He will see you through. He is greater than your circumstances. He will guard your heart and mind. Trust Him with the details. His love for you is greater than you can ever imagine. Let God surround you and meet your needs, Jireh; heal your body, Rapha; and give you perfect peace, Shalom!

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

An Upward Path

by   July 19, 2024 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

            For a Christmas present, Mary Ann gave me a book titled The Upward Path, which was published in 1920.  It is a small, blue book with just 250 pages of text, but each page is packed with information still useful today.  In the Foreword, the editors write: “It is the hope that this little book will find a large welcome in all sections of the country and will bring good cheer and encouragement to the young readers who have so largely the fortunes of their race in their own hands.” The “good cheer and encouragement” the editors wish for comes from the essays, stories, poems, myths, life-stories, and histories that follow in the book’s pages.

            As I read the collection compiled by the editors, I recognized such names as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Booker T. Washington, Charles W. Chesnutt, and James Weldon Johnson. However, there were many I had never heard of, and I was glad for the Notes section which holds a short biography of each writer. While it was a pleasure to read their short biographies, it was a joy to read what they had written for this small volume. Topics of every nature had been written about. I sense that because The Great War had just ended, the editors included many stories of bravery exhibited by American soldiers in the horrible trenches of France or Belgium. Tales of animals abound as do stories of schools and the acquiring of an education. The lives of Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln are held up as examples of how to live. One myth written by Fenton Johnson, The Black Fairy, is an explanation of how Africans came to the United States and like many selections, it is beautifully illustrated by Laura Wheeler. The selection, Behind a Georgia Mule, is a delightful tale of how a mule wins out over James Weldon Johnson showing how a seemingly lower animal can outsmart a man. Each selection has wisdom of living as its base, and one of my favorites is a four-line poem written by Cordelia Ray titled Charity:

                                                I saw a maiden, fairest of the fair,

                                                With every grace bedight beyond compare.

                                                Said I, “What doest thou, pray, tell to me!”

                                                “I see the good in others,” said she.

            Since reading the little book, I have thought of it and talked of it with Mary Ann. As a teacher of English, I have pondered its selections and intent. As a reader, I have learned from it. The editors had a definite audience in mind and a purpose that is elegantly expressed in the words “bring good cheer and encouragement to the young readers….” Yes, the audience is the young blacks of the 1920s in America, but as I read and thought, I saw how the idea and intent behind the little blue book could be used for young readers today? I wondered, “Can we not find literature today that will teach valuable life lessons while bringing “good cheer and encouragement”?

            When I choose a story, poem, novel, play, or other genre of literature to teach, I examine its potential for inspiring readers. That does not mean that a reading need be “happy”, but that it gives an honest look at the human spirit. That is what the little, blue book does—it shows how the human spirit can overcome obstacles—world war, slavery, lack of education, or any number of trials that are faced and then defeated by the characters in the book.

            So much of accepted reading today, it seems to me, is trite, overly violent, sappy, poorly written, or just not that good. Too many characters in novels and stories read today are one dimensional. Seldom do we ask students to face a demanding task such as learning how to give a text a close reading or to learn to explicate a poem. We seem content to accept that any reading is good reading, and I think that attitude does our youngsters a dis-service. When we accept graphic novels as equal to Beowulf or use a serial of modern vampire novels as equal to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we lie to our students and ourselves. Just as some foods are better for us than others, so it is with literature.

            We should, in my mind, do as well today for our young readers as did the little, blue book for its readers.

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