A Memorable Teacher

by   January 31, 2023 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Did you have a favorite teacher in school? I did. Mrs. Cowan, our chorus teacher was amazing. But she scared the life out of me. First of all, I took her class as an elective because I wanted something easy. But mostly I figured chorus would be one class where I could goof off with my friends.


Boy was I wrong. That woman was tough.


But! She taught those of us who had very little vocal talent to sing the harmony part. I was definitely in that category and was happy to be placed in the alto section. When it came time for our exam, I was NOT happy to discover that we would be expected to perform in front of our peers. Oh, we could have one or two classmates sing with us for their exam too. But holy cow I was nervous. Together me, Rhonda Parks and Renee Overcash sang the very somber folk song Blowin’ in the Wind.

These were the days of the Vietnam War. The song spoke of young girls crying for their dead and something about flowers and the answers to life blowing in the wind. The only problem was that I got so nervous during our performance that I started laughing. It was Mrs. Cowan’s fault. She accompanied us on the piano and played so fast and loud I could not keep up. Me and the girls had practiced together without music and were used to dragging out each note with sorrow. I think she just wanted to get it over with. But when I started laughing, though she shot daggers from her eyes, I could not stop. My poor friends got tickled too and the three of us laughed until Mrs. Cowan banged out the last note. I just remember hurrying off the stage with tears running down my face, probably my legs too, from laughing so hard. It was not pretty.


I ended up taking chorus the next year too. Bless Mrs. Cowan’s heart. That year she taught us a song taken directly from the Psalms. I still think of her when I read it.


“Create in me a clean heart O God. And renew a right Spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence. And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12
At the time I did not know the Lord. But singing that song stirred something inside. The seed was sown. A year or so later I trusted Him to seal me with His Holy Spirit.* And often I thank the Lord for the patience of a very faithful teacher.

*Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30 is a great place to read for more about the Holy Spirit.

Light and Dark

by   January 30, 2023 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

My family had spent the day at Black Mountain Campground with approximately 100 friends from our church. As the daylight began to end, we began to gather around the campfire, set up our folding lawn chairs, and joined the group to end our day with testimonies, singing, conversation and laughter. The darker it got, the more prominent the light from the fire became. As the darkness began to overcome, the light from that fire became even brighter. If anyone walked away from the circle we were sitting in surrounding the fire, soon they were in darkness. Our focus became the light from the fire — and we stayed there for hours.

Later, some children began falling asleep in the arms of mom or dad. The crowd began to dwindle and families began to slip away to their tents.

It had been a special evening, watching daylight be overcome by the darkness. Flashlights had been turned on and lanterns had been lit. (Yes, this was before we all had cellphones with lights.) Many of us chose to stay around the fire late into the night, soaking in the goodness of God with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The hour grew even later, the fire dwindled, and we sleepily headed into the darkness toward our tents. I settled in on my air mattress that was on the floor of our tent, and began the process of trying to sleep. I knew I would not be able to, and I was right. Lots of snores were coming from lots of tents. But…the snores were not what bothered me the most.

The main reason I could not get to sleep was because it was too dark! I held my hand in front of my face. I could not see it. Even with my eyes closed, I knew. If I opened them, it would be too dark to see anything. There was no way I could sleep in total darkness. My solution was to take possession of the flashlight from my snoring husband, so that I could flip it on and off anytime the darkness began to overwhelm me. At times, I turned the flashlight on briefly, just to make sure I was still there. I had zero sleep and was thankful to finally see the morning light return.

Light and dark — it is definitely in the Bible.

Darkness has always been a part of our world, but so has light! In the darkness, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable so that we could see the light! The wise men were in the darkness, when they saw the light from the star. The shepherds were working in darkness when the angel of the Lord shone on them.

First Peter 2:9 tells us that Jesus has called us out of the darkness into his marvelous light and John 8:12 tells us that Jesus is the light of the world.

That’s about all we need to know, isn’t it? No one wants to live in darkness, although sometimes we allow ourselves to do just that. I will repeat:

Jesus has called us out of darkness, and He has called us into His light.

That light is the light.

Do you need to come from the dark into the light?

Reach up.

The light switch is right above you and the power is always on! Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker.

Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

A Quiet Week

by   January 28, 2023 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            For many years I listened to Garrison Keillor on Saturday nights. He had a variety program on the radio that included music, comedy routines, and a story about the people living in a fictitious town. He would always begin his story with, “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Woebegone…”  Then he would proceed to tell a great story about all the happenings in his fictional hometown.

            Today as I sit at my computer contemplating the upcoming week, I think it will be a quiet week here at home. We only have one thing listed on the calendar for the week. That wasn’t the case last week. We traveled to Winston on two different days. There were a few other things on the calendar as well. I was glad when the weekend arrived.

            The weekend was quiet. I ran a few errands, but other than that it was a nice, quiet weekend at home. After such a hectic holiday season, I rather enjoyed a quiet weekend. I like being active and having something to do; but I also enjoy some quiet times. It’s nice when things are NOT expected. It’s nice just to be…

            I realize that there are always things that need to get done. You have to make food, clean the kitchen, do laundry, and go to work. These are the basic routines of life. After having an especially busy week or month it is nice to slow down and catch your breath. While it is good for the body to catch some extra sleep and slow down, it’s also good for the mind and spirit to rest.

            I have sensed the Lord’s presence in this recent quietness. Sometimes when He draws close it’s because there is something I need to work on. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything on His agenda. He was quiet, peaceful, and present.

            While I was walking I thought about the times I felt the presence of God draw close. Naturally, God draws close when He needs to convict us about sin in our lives. God wants us to live a better life not trapped in sin. His grace and mercy help us when we stumble and fall. His love draws us back into a right relationship with Him.

            God also draws close to us when we are going through a hard time. When we experience loss of loved ones or when we find ourselves sick or in need of His healing touch God always draws close to us. He is our comforter and our healer. Whether it is our heart or our body that is broken God wants to heal us.

            There are times in our lives when God draws close so He can mold us. God’s goal in our relationship is to make us into the image of Jesus. That means that sometimes He needs to bring His refining fire or maybe He needs to trim us back. Nobody likes these experiences but God is molding us to make us stronger. He is preparing us to be more fruitful.

            We also know that God draws close when He intends to work through us. God always wants to reach out to others and most of the time He chooses to work through us. So to reach people He will draw close to us to use our hands or our lips. We are His ambassadors to the lost and hurting.

            The one thing I don’t think we consider is that sometimes God wants to draw close to us just because He wants to be close to us. He has no agenda or purpose. He, like a loving parent, wants to draw close to His children. He wants to walk with us, talk with us, and just share with us about our day. He wants us to experience His peace, joy, and love. He wants us to know that we are accepted and that He is proud of us. Many times we feel bad about ourselves but He doesn’t feel that way. He sees us and He smiles. We are not a burden. He wants us to want to be with Him. No expectation on either side, just being together.

            I want to encourage you to think differently about your next quiet day. Maybe God isn’t worried about changing you. He just wants to be with you. That is something to consider…the God who made the whole universe wants to stop and just hang out with you. God wants you to experience His love, peace, joy, and total acceptance of you…warts and all. It’s been a quiet couple of days here and to be honest, I hope it continues…

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

Stewards

by   January 27, 2023 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

Since my wife Mary Ann had an entry for the annual Chili-Cookoff, we arrived early  at the Family Life Center in order to set up the crockpot of her sure-fire winner. But when I entered the FLC before 5:30 for an event scheduled to begin at 6 P.M., I was surprised to see 10-12 round tables, each fully decorated and set with napkins and spoons, gracing the center of the room. Over to one side another table was loaded with condiments to enhance each bowel of chili. In short, long before the big event, the room had been prepared in style and substance. All we participants would need to do was sample from the 16 entries, listen to the music–alas, no Willie Nelson or Trisha Yearwood– talk with table mates, and combine with them to give answers for the trivia quiz. (By the way, did you know that grapes are the most produced fruit in America?)

As I talked with others at our table, tried to answer Pastor Vern’s trivia questions, and sampled bowls of chili, I kept thinking of stewardship, the incredible first gift that God gives us in Genesis 1:28. And somewhere between the Cowboy Chili and the No Gas Chili, I realized that what was on display in the FLC was stewardship at its best.

When the topic of stewardship comes up, we tend to think: Money. However, in the era of Genesis 1:28, there was no currency, so God must have had a view of being good stewards that did not include dollars and cents. Yes, later in the Bible the topic of a tithe is mentioned, but that is only one dime out of every dollar, and it is an undeniable need in today’s world. But being good stewards entails more than monies, and the work that took place in order for the chili cook-off to happen so well, is a great example of stewardship: Time, perhaps each person’s most precious possession, was given by some folks so that we all could enjoy the event —time to purchase goods, time to plan the room, time to set up the room, time to clean up, and more time.

There are many needs at St. Mark’s but fortunately many talents. Please examine your gifts and find a way(s) in which you can be a good steward of our church. As my Granny Susie was fond of saying, “If you want to get, you have to give.”

40 Years of Winter Flight

by   January 26, 2023 with No Comments

By David Freeze

Salisbury and Rowan runners have known about the Winter Flight races for a long time. Most races have a much shorter lifespan, simply because there are challenges to put just one event on. This race has a life of its own and to keep it going for 40 years through sickness, weather, course changes and more as it has evolved into one of the best races in the Southeast is quite special. The year, Feb. 5 is race day and momentum is building for the historic event.

At present, we know that it is at least the fourth oldest race in the state, and I suspect it will become the third oldest this year. Definitely the oldest 8K (4.97 miles) in N.C. status keeps bringing back some of the best competitors, a fun environment and some wonderful personal stories.

Here are just a few highlights over the years. The first Winter Flight was held in 1981, not held in ’82 or ’83 and was then reborn in 1984 as a combination of 5- and 10-mile races. These races originally started and finished at the mural in downtown. The race was moved to Catawba College in 1986, also the year that the venerable 8K distance was introduced. The 8K events were very popular then but have been replaced by the shorter 5Ks as the main race distance over the years since.

The races were postponed by a measles epidemic in 1989, and heavy snow in 1996 and 2005. I remember SRR members having to call race registrants with a plan for the postponement and new race days due to the snow.

In 2001, SRR went online with races and registrations. In 2002, the only course change since 1986 occurred due to new construction for Shuford Stadium at Catawba. The race was actually moved to Millbridge and the Sloan Park area due to COVID for only the 2021 version.

Course records remain with Olympians Hans Koeleman of the Netherlands with his sizzling 23 minutes and 34 seconds in 1988 and Joan Nesbitt of Chapel Hill in 1992 at 26.48. A Kenyan runner took the male record several years ago but was disqualified for illegal substance abuse in various races more than two years later, so it has reverted to Koeleman, a former Nike executive.

In 2003, the Salisbury Rowan Runners began making significant charitable contributions from the race. All proceeds from the 2023 event will again go to Rowan Helping Ministries.

This year’s New Sarum Brewing Winter Flight event kicks off on Feb. 5 with a free half-mile fun run on the track and open to any age at 1:30 p.m. Wheelchairs hit the street at 1:58 p.m., followed by the 5K and featured 8K race that will start at 2 p.m. Registration is available at www.runsignup.com and by printing the form at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org

Winter Flight offers tremendous opportunities for participation to runners and walkers of all abilities and age. The fun run is open to anyone, the 5K is a moderate distance open to anyone while the 8K is geared to those who can complete the course in 90 minutes. Special thanks to the City of Salisbury for services provided that allow us to have the race!

The SRR/Sidekick Karate Self-Defense Seminar is set for Jan. 21 from 10 a.m.-noon at the Sidekick Karate dojo on Main Street. To reserve your spot or for any questions about Winter Flight, email me at david.freeze@ctc.net

And finally, there has been a huge amount of conversation during the last week about vitamin D deficiency after last week’s column. Signs of low vitamin D levels include fatigue, bone and muscle pain, hair loss, anxiety or depression, and lingering sickness. Sunlight is the best source of D, while food sources are salmon, cod, eggs, and fortified yogurt, orange juice and milk. Vitamin D3 is readily available locally where vitamins are sold.

For more information on these events and others, go to www.salisburyrowanrunner.org.

Trusting

by   January 25, 2023 with No Comments

By Ed Traut

Psalms 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

  • If we knew what God was doing and understood all things, we would not need to trust Him.
  • We depend upon Him completely, because He is our defense and just by His faithful and wonderful nature alone we can depend upon Him.
  • Just because of who He is and His greatness we can be full of gladness and praise Him, regardless of how things seem.

Prayer:  Lord, I lift my hands in praise and thanksgiving to You today because You are the almighty God.  No matter what I am going through I trust in You, because You have never let me down.  I worship You.  Amen.
 

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Struggling

by   January 24, 2023 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

Even though God is love, our refuge and our strength, there are times we still struggle.

There were often rainy days when my sixth grade students could not go outside for recess, so they would play games in the classroom. It was normally a low-key event, with students in small groups playing board games or talking with friends. But on one of those days, two students ended up rolling around on the floor, struggling with all their might to be the winner of what had become a fight.

I walked toward them as I said these two very magical and effective words: STOP IT! Even though they were fully engaged in this fight, when they heard the voice of authority — which was me — they stopped.

“What’s going on?” I inquired.

“Why are you fighting?”

After some shoulder shrugs and mumbling, the look in their eyes spoke volumes, as they tried to regain their composure and stop the tears from falling. They both looked at the floor and whispered, “I don’t know.”

It was over. A few minutes later, they sat together at lunch. They did not know what had caused the beginning of their struggle, but they knew it had been of their own creation. They also knew that together they could fix it. There had been no real thought of why — or what — they were fighting for or about. But for some reason, they had thought the struggle would be worth it.

A struggle can mean that one makes forceful efforts to get free of restraint or constriction. It can refer to having problems handling or coping with something. Struggling can also mean that one is making his or her way — but with difficulty. How do we get through our struggles?

We need to remember that we can make our way — but there will be times of difficulty. John 16:33 says, “In the world, we will have trouble, but we can be of good cheer. Jesus has overcome the world!”

• We need to remember that Christ lives in us. We need to dwell on that! First John 4:4 says that we are of God, little children, and we have overcome: because greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world!

Even though we may feel we are struggling,

God is with us all the way! We win in the end!

There will be victory through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker.

Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

Cast it Away

by   January 23, 2023 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

This thought is deeper than I usually venture and longer too. So if you’re not into searching out the Truth of God’s precious Holy Word, stop here. See what I did there? If you quit now you obviously don’t love Jesus. Just kidding. But I wanted to warn you ahead of time that this is a different kind of article.


So here’s the thing. I have questions about an oft quoted verse. The writer Paul says in Philippians 3:13 to forget the things behind and instead reach forward. Did the man really forget the past? Apparently not. Just before that, he lists off key experiences from his life. Within that were memories that surely brought him shame.


As I thought on this, I recalled things that used to haunt me too. Guilt and shame for things in my past tormented my life. In fact I used to live in so much fear that I finally gave in to counseling. Guess which passage we covered? Philippians 3: 13,14.
The jist of it says, “I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on…”
Maybe an underlying message behind the challenge to forget and press on is that it is a process. Letting go takes time as well as conscious effort.


Two verses I use to help me with that contain the word ‘casting.’ Not like casting a fishing line or net where I would draw something back to myself; but instead casting like hurling or throwing so hard that it takes a while for that fear to float back my way. The next time is a bit easier since I recognize it as a sin that weighs me down and refuse to allow it in. Listen to this good word.


“Casting all your care upon Him for he cares for you!” * And,
“Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” **


The Lord Himself had to set aside the shame of the cross in exchange for the joy ahead.*** We can press on too beloved. Cast aside your hurtful past. That load of guilt and pain was never meant for you to bear. Your bright future, your influence for Christ and your sound thinking depend on it!
*1 Peter 5:7 **2 Corinthians 10:5 ***Hebrews 12:1-3

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