A Brand New Decade

by   January 4, 2020 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            We only have a few more days left in this year and this decade. It is hard to believe that we are going to be in the 2020’s next week. It’s always hard for me to believe that a whole year has passed. Time seems to move faster and faster as I get older.

            My previous pastor always receives a poem from the Lord for the year. My current pastor always receives a single word that is our focus for the year. 2019 was “uncommon.” Well, I can tell you that 2019 was definitely an uncommon year for us. I retired, which was a very uncommon event. But the year was full of uncommon things. Some we hope continue to be uncommon, while others we invite and hope to make common in our lives.

            We are looking forward to 2020. I know the Lord has good things planned. One thing I am NOT looking forward to is the election. The event itself, voting, is great. My problem is the process we have to go through from here to there. There are all the political ads. Then there are the constant phone calls. If we could get more civility in our politics it might be more enjoyable, but that isn’t how elections are won or lost.

            As I reflect back on the last decade, we have experienced lots of changes, especially in technology. We went from flip phones to smart phones. Who could have imagined having the power of all that information right at your fingertips? We now have smart doorbells so we can see who is at the door and we may not even be home. My mother used to have intercoms at our doors. Times sure have changed.

            You can control so much now from your phone. You can turn your thermostat up or down. You can turn lights on and off. You can probably talk to your watch which will talk to your phone which will contact your house and make necessary changes. I imagine by the time we close out this new decade we will have cars driving themselves and many people will probably not even own cars, they will just call for a driverless car to take them where they want to go. I am not sure I am ready for that.

            Wherever technology takes us in the future, I am sure we will gradually all get used to doing things the new way. It might be nice to allow a vehicle to drive me someplace while I sleep, particularly if there is a zero percent chance of an accident. Personally, I prefer to put my life in God’s hands. He has a perfect record for helping people navigate life.

            The future can feel mystical and scary at times. No one knows what the future holds for each of us. The only way to know the future is to know Him who holds the future. He’s seen all the good things coming your way and He is not surprised when the bad things happen. He is ready to celebrate the good and comfort through the bad. The best thing is knowing we are in God’s hands when we enter the New Year.

            The secret to having peace when entering the New Year and new decade is knowing the Prince of Peace. He can help guard your mind from worry and fear as you cross into the unknown. You can know and believe that all things will work into something good for your life as long as you are trusting Him. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be sorrow or pain, it just means that He will be with you and that He can turn your sorrow into joy.

            There are parts of 2019 that I would prefer to forget, but God has used those situations to draw me closer. He felt more real to me as I walked through the fire. That gives me confidence. If He did it in 2019, then I know He will do it again in 2020.

            I want to encourage you to put your trust in God. 2020 is going to have some great days that we can celebrate. 2020 is also going to have some difficult days where it will be a struggle just to put one foot in front of the other. No matter what comes, I have faith in God that it will work for my good. We are entering a new decade and I believe that God is going to give us a good trip through this one, too. Happy New Year!

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

Resolutions

by   January 3, 2020 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

            At this time of the year, I cringe a great deal. I cringe at the Christmas cards consisting of too many family photographs. I cringe again because few of these carry any personal note or signature, just the implied message: “Look at how great and happy we are.” After that cringing, I suffer through the overflow of articles and newscasts looking back at the past year (name all who have died the past year) and the insufferable resolutions and advice for the coming new year ranging from a new diet to books that will change everything to ways of gaining a happier life. But while glancing at the New Year’s Day Charlotte Observer’s coverage of another local, random shooting in which an innocent, thirteen-year-old was murdered,  I saw a quarter-page advertisement for a jewelry store. I cringed. Not at the ad, but at the irony of its location. I also took a cell-phone photo of it and sent it to many contacts in my cell phone.

             The ad begins “resolve This Year” and then it lists 29, by my count, suggestions for all of us to do in 2020. And I think the list impressive, not necessarily because of the type of suggestions it makes, but by its language in making them. Strong verbs are used to state the imperatives we need to follow. An example such as  “Deserve confidence” places all the responsibility on the person desiring the confidence of another person . Those two words tell us, in order to have the confidence of others, we must act and do in such a way that another person will be confident about us. That is, we will be trusted because we have demonstrated trust.  

            Another suggestion that resonates is “Forgo a grudge.” I so admire the use of that somewhat archaic word “forgo.” As any poet knows, the perfect word is, well, just right.  I offer that to “forgo” is the perfect command for any of us living with a grudge.  Find “forgo” in your dictionary or cell phone. Learn it, and see for yourself why it is the perfect way to deal with a heavy emotion.

            Now, we are all busy in our world of convenience. Ask someone to support a good cause with a check and it likely will be given. Ask for an afternoon of labor for the same cause, and you likely will be given excuses of “I don’t have the time,” or “I’m  too busy.” Our time, even with all of it that we have, is guarded. Yet, here is the suggestion, “Find the time.” No explanations of what to find the time for, just find it. Oh, the needs are only limited by my excuses. But “Find the time” for a child, your house of worship, the local library, a soup kitchen, the local center for seniors, or so many other needs. Don’t wait for the time to appear, go out and find it. Once again, the ad gives a command. No wishing or moaning, but active verbs that will give results.

            “ Go to church.” Now, there it is said. Do not attend or visit or some other lesser verb. Go! Your mother may have said that to you long ago. That is strong advice but needed always and especially in our culture. You may easily substitute another word such as temple or mosque or synagogue for church. But, Go. You will feel better, and your world will be better.

            In the current climate, passive verbs relieve the speaker or writer of responsibility. As a teacher for forty years, I heard too many times a whine such as, “She (a teacher) doesn’t like me”, or “That coach likes only certain athletes”, or more and more. Parents, too, spoke in the passive voice to remove any responsibility from their child or even themselves. But this ad uses the active voice and that places all the responsibility on the one doing. Examine the suggestion, “Flount envy.” Once again, the perfect verb, but not one that I would want my students to commit regarding rules. But envy? Exactly. Grow up and be responsible for yourself.

            I wrote earlier that the placement of the ad is ironic. It is because the page it is on has an article about the murder of an innocent thirteen-year-old girl. She was killed by a stray bullet fired by an eighteen-year-old who was angry with someone he had argued with, and he did  not heed the first suggestion: “To mend a quarrel.” Instead of mending, he used a gun to rip at something trivial. Lives torn, including his.

            It is an ad unlike any I have ever read. But it is one I will read each day and follow its words. Strong words to help a weak world.

Billboard Changes How it Determines Top Songs

by   January 3, 2020 with No Comments

The question of how Billboard determines the most popular music in the country has gotten a lot harder in the digital age. It used to be a simple question of which album sold the most physical copies, but now Billboard needs to consider things like Spotify plays and mp3 downloads. Starting Jan. 3, it will also include YouTube streams. From All Things Considered.

Knocking the Cover off the Ball

by   January 3, 2020 with No Comments

By David Freeze

    I grew up idolizing my hero, New York Yankees baseball star, Mickey Mantle. Living on a small rural dairy farm, I really had to work to find someone to play ball with. My brother and sister didn’t care for sports much and still don’t. I couldn’t get enough of football or basketball, but baseball had that special appeal. At that time, I think baseball was truly America’s game. To me, it still is.

     Baseball on TV was rare then but sometimes I could get a game on the radio while sitting on the front porch swing during nice summer nights. We didn’t have air conditioning at home, so the cool night air was often a relief from a warm house. Just me and my small radio, searching for any game but especially grateful on the nights that the proper atmosphere allowed reception of a station carrying Yankees baseball.

     I had a cousin who often visited who loved the game as much as me. We could sometimes get my brother to play baseball games with us. I can never remember more than the three of us at home playing.

     Most fun of all was little league baseball that we played in Landis. I played on the Lions and my brother, along with our nearest neighbor, played on the Firemen. Our parents often shared the rides for the three of us to practices and games. There were only four teams in our league and we played twice a week.

     I remember my first time at the old Landis ballpark, originally used for semi-pro and high school baseball. The covered wooden stands and the field itself both seemed huge, especially to a small 11 year old boy. We had a team shirt, which I still have, and a ball cap. That shirt lasted a long time. Those games were more than 50 years ago.

      Another thing that lasted a long time were the baseballs. I remember how special we felt to ever see a new baseball. The pictures I have seen of early 1900’s major league players never included a new white baseball. All our practices were done with old balls, some of them heavy from getting wet previously. Those were also the days of the good little league teams only having three or four wooden bats. Yes, wooden bats just like the major league players used. Old balls and well-worn bats simply were baseball back then.

       Most games began with a new ball and a good used one as backup. We just needed enough balls as a team to warm up with. Should one of the game balls get lost, the home team had to put in play one of their best warmup balls. Someone was always sent to look for a lost game ball on the very big field at Landis. And they kept looking until the ball was found.

      My point here is that game balls were often used for a long time and could on occasion begin to show damage. First signs would be scuffs and occasionally the stitching began to break. Little red threads made those stitches and one break usually led to another. Still we played on unless the cover did actually begin to come loose. Each time the ball was hit hard, the cover would continue to unravel. The horsehide started to flap but only on the rare occasion could someone hit the ball so hard the cover actually came off. Usually a mammoth clout finished off the ball and another one from the warm- up bag replaced it. No one complained and we all thought losing the coverless ball was just a part of the game. But the mammoth clout wasn’t that common and took special effort.

      But how about that baseball, the one with the cover knocked off? Roy Hobbs, in the movie, The Natural, hit it so hard and well that the ball unraveled on the way to the outfield. In our life, should we always try our hardest for the things we believe in. The term, “Knock the cover off the ball”, today means going hard, giving our best and just simply making the best effort we can for the intended result. How we can go wrong when doing that?

    Do your best on your walk of faith. If God tells you to do something, work hard and do your best. God will do all the things you can’t do.

     Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25.

10 lists of 10 things…

by   January 3, 2020 with No Comments

At USA TODAY, lists are a way we report the news clearly and concisely, giving readers the story while cutting through the noise of the moment. To cap off the decade, here are 10 lists of 10 things that show how our country evolved over the 10 years of the 2010s. …From USA Today

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