In a Word

by   January 9, 2023 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

This is the year! 2023 is when you will FINALLY read the Bible cover to cover. Even the maps! But not the Concordance. That would just be weird. As it turns out, it’s a LOT of reading. You’re five days into the new year and already you find yourself three days behind. But you’ll catch up! Honest you will!


May I humbly make an observation? If not, stop reading here.


This is your exit. This is where you will jump off the guilt train. When reading Scripture becomes a chore, then you might need a different plan. Can I make a confession? I’m not sure if chemo caused it or just plain getting old. But currently I am dealing with a large amount of brain fog. For whatever reason, I have a really hard time hearing the words coming off the pages. I seem to have the attention span of a puppy in a yard full of squirrels. Focus is just not happening.


So! Here’s what I’m trying and it seems to be working. I hold my Bible to my chest and get as still as I can. Since it’s all I can do not to look out the windows at the birds on the feeder and the neighbor’s cat and the plethora of squirrels jumping from limb to limb and my bottle tree as it catches the light…


Wait. Where was I.


Oh! I was clutching a real Bible with honest to goodness paper pages which have notations of trials past and answered prayers. I was hugging it to my chest with my eyes closed and I was waiting. Silently asking God for the Words. This week the word Philippians came to mind. One “L” and two “P’s.” Philippians.


So I opened there.


After the intro I read one small paragraph and didn’t hear a thing. So I read it again. Then again. It began to be clearer. So I read it again and asked God for help. More meat was found on that bone. So I stopped and wrote the blog Certain of the Good Work. It wasn’t astounding but it was definitely a word from the Word.


Here’s the thought for today. Let’s not go through the motions in our relationship with God. Let’s not start the day by giving Him His marching orders or by instructing Him on how to handle the things on our mind. Let’s rest in Him. Let’s listen. Let’s pay attention as best we can. Let’s go so far as to ask God for this from Philippians 1:10a.


I want to understand what really matters.
Bless the Lord!

Safe Arrival in 2023

by   January 7, 2023 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            We were all freezing for Christmas. One week later, I walked the beach with my sister on a beautiful New Year’s Day. There were very few people on the beach. The sky was an incredible blue and the water was calm. It was so incredibly peaceful as I watched a pelican gracefully glide through the sky. The fresh salt air does wonders for the soul.

            My sister and I caught up on all the family news. She has three great kids; two are in college and one is ready to be all grown up. We talked about our parents and health issues that various ones are dealing with in the family. We talked about our jobs and daily routines. It was a good day.

            Later that evening I sent her a picture of us on the beach. She sent a text back, “Who are those old people in the picture?” We both laughed. I told her that I didn’t see anyone old in the picture, but later realized that this year I will be adding a zero to my age. Maybe I better look at that picture again?

            It has been nice to see our family over the holidays. Life is precious and I want to enjoy each moment because we really don’t know what the future holds. It has been nice to catch up with some friends over the Christmas holiday, too. It is interesting to hear what people are up to and how life has been treating them. The holidays give us the opportunity to catch up with those that we love.  

            I have read about people making predictions for 2023. Some have made dire predictions about a difficult year. Others have predicted natural disasters. Still others have predicted war and great suffering.

            To be honest with you, I do not put much stock in that kind of thinking. I can assure you each one of us will have some good days and some bad days this year. How am I so sure about that? I have walked with the Lord for many years and I know that He is good. He keeps a close watch on us. He will allow some difficult moments to test our faith. He will also send us some great blessings if we will keep our eyes of faith open to see and receive them.

            The Bible teaches us that God makes good plans for a hope-filled future. I don’t hope for bad things, I hope for good things. God, our Father, wants us to have a good trip through life. That does not mean that there won’t be any bad or sad moments, but it does mean that we will not have to walk through those moments alone. Like a good Father He will walk with us and if necessary, carry us through the challenges in life. He promises never to leave or forsake us. God keeps His promises.

            I believe God is planning great things for 2023. He wants to see us grow stronger in our faith. He wants to see us overcome and succeed. He wants us to be healthy even though we face challenges. I believe He is still in the healing business. Some of us are facing financial challenges but God has unlimited resources. I believe God wants to help us financially so we can invest more into His kingdom. Some of us are struggling with relationships. God has a way of restoring broken relationships, but we have to be humble and work with Him to experience His intervention.

            I believe that God is planning a good year for you no matter what your situation. He wants to help you. He sees the good and positive in your life. He knows all your challenges and has solutions ready to be revealed to you. He has blessings sprinkled throughout the year; some are hidden and will require effort on your side to discover. Others are waiting in plain sight and He is so excited for you to discover them. He sees the best you and wants to bring it to the surface in your life. He will bless your life beyond what you can imagine.

            I want to encourage you to believe that God has a hopeful future for you. God is planning things that are bigger and better than your dreams. We don’t need to walk in fear but have a heart filled with faith. We can lean back into the loving arms of our Father and trust that He is making good plans for 2023. I believe we will all discover more of the goodness of God in 2023.

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

Carter the Fox

by   January 6, 2023 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

In Ilkestonb, Derbyshire, England, Jane and Phil Carter looked at their garden and what they filmed has been shared many times. A fox with only two front legs was walking about the garden as it looked for food. The fox appeared in good health and showed no signs of the awful mange from which many urban foxes suffer. After the video had been viewed many times, one wildlife expert stated that he had never seen anything like that, and he thought that the animal had most likely been born without hind legs.

In the days since I read about the tow-legged fox, I have waited for a rebuttal telling how the video and photograph that I viewed is a fake, perhaps being altered by a computer expert to fool folks like me. But no such correction has emerged, so I am left to marvel at this animal’s resilience.  I have begun referring to the fox as Carter in order to give it some additional identity and a reference for me.

Nature is a good teacher, if allowed to teach. But like in any classroom, a learner needs to focus on the lesson, which means all secondary interferences must be silenced. So, if one wants to learn from Nature, he or she needs to silence the cellphone and any other modern-day gadget. Then the learner must look, listen, and linger. In other words, stay put and observe and be patient for the lesson or lessons can come in various ways and places in nature. The nature classroom need not be a large one and even a small garden of flowers and shrubs offers lessons, but the student must come prepared to learn.

Since we have forty-two large long leaf pine trees in our front yard, I pick up pines cones most every day and a fair number of fallen branches. Many mornings as I tool about cleaning our yard, I am kept company by the chatter of Carolina chickadees as they flutter from tree to tree searching for bugs in between the bark of a tree. They create quite a volume that if I were listening to music or talking on my cell phone, I would not hear. But in the silence of our “forest” the chickadee chatter takes dominion and teaches me another lesson about the balance of nature in our small front yard: Long leaf pines and their heavy bark give space in which insects thrive which means the chattering chickadees have a food source. One small space teaching about balance in life.

And balance is what Carter has. Visualize a person balancing on his or her hands and you have a visual of Carter walking across the garden in Derbyshire. While I have asked many questions about this fox, such as how does it get up to its front legs without the use of hind ones, I let them go and just sit in awe of Carter.

So much in our world disfunctions because so many of us lack balance.  The Ancient Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi was inscribed with three maxims: “Know thyself,” “Nothing too much” and “Make a pledge and destruction is near.” They are quotations we should follow all these years later, in our minds as well as our souls. Yet so many of us don’t know or want to know ourselves while wanting or expecting too much as we pledge what cannot or should not be granted. If you doubt this just look at the present mess in the United States House of Representatives or Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

 On the BBC site and others is a video the Carters made. However you view this marvelous animal—look, listen, linger, and learn. If Carter the fox can, then so can we.

Kindness Goes Viral

by   January 5, 2023 with No Comments

Steve Hartman had a special on TV about kindness going viral. Watch some great stories of human kindness and how it could actually change the world….

Life in the Word

by   January 4, 2023 with No Comments

By Ed Traut

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

  • The Bible is real.  Many have set out to disprove it and for 2000 years it has been established as God’s un-faulted word.
  • All scripture is beneficial. From Genesis to Revelation.  Let’s study it!
  • We have been trained in our walk with Him and be equipped to be fruitful and effective in every good work.

Prayer:  Lord, I love Your word and I pray Holy Spirit that You make His word alive to me that I can always be fruitful and effective and learn so much from the word and about my King.  Amen.

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Rest Well

by   January 3, 2023 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Because we live on a busy road and headlights tend to disturb a good night’s sleep, we hung room darkening shades in our bedroom. Over that we added thick drapes. Now it’s so dark in there at night I can’t tell if my eyes are open. Purposely we removed anything with lights, like the alarm clock, television, etc. Cell phones are our only reminders that we have not entered our eternal rest. Purposely they are turned face down. Plus two different fans stir the air with background noise.


I love it.


One night the whole room illuminated with an eerie glow. In my deep dream state I gazed at the ceiling wondering from whence the light came. It took a bit but I realized that my Kindle tablet had come on by itself. Weird. That never happens. I had put away the novel I was reading on it a few hours earlier. Several scenarios tumbled through my brain. Perhaps some unknown entity could be studying our sleep habits. Maybe they listened in to gather evidence that we are prejudice or politically incorrect. Or maybe they just want to get a jump on which ads will be most beneficial to pop up on my emails. I went from deep restful sleep to panicked paranoia.


Then it occurred to me.


I am way too tired for this. So I turned off the Kindle, flipped it over face down, and picked up where I’d left off: snoring like a freight train. Study THAT you crazy meddlers!


So our verse for today is found in Psalm 4:8. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord will keep me safe.”
May your brain shut down tonight long enough to rest in Him. Sleep is a gift from God and a wonderful blessing. Rest well!

Low Iron Prevents Blood Donation

by   January 2, 2023 with No Comments

By David Freeze

Sometimes things get a little more complicated, especially when I back myself into a corner. That is just what I did when I wrote Part 1 of this column and submitted it for printing last Sunday. All I needed to do was give blood and then write specifically about what happened with my running, and to give a short list of other benefits worth mentioning for having done so.

I have given blood something over 30 times by my best count. Not once have I been refused from doing so, until this past week. I was originally scheduled to give blood on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Civic Center. My morning run was completed at 6:45 a.m., which is normal. My iron level was low on both attempts during the mini-physical, and I was not allowed to give.

Immediately, I scheduled to give last Sunday afternoon at St. Luke’s Lutheran. I had run hard and well that morning, but I got bumped again because my blood pressure was too high. Twice checked, that’s all the opportunities you get.

Few challenges cause me to give up, so I committed to an appointment at Fieldstone Presbyterian in Mooresville on Monday. My iron, hydration and blood pressure had checked out well since mid-morning. This time all went perfectly, and total time for check-in, giving and getting a snack was about 50 minutes. I had a great experience, especially once the pressure was off and I knew the donation was going to happen! The church and Red Cross volunteers were wonderful, especially after I told them I was a competitive giver. Total time— 4 minutes and 9 seconds of actual blood flowing, greatly helped by proper hydration.

The Red Cross website says to not do strenuous exercise before giving, and on Monday morning I did not run. I did eat and drink water for 15 minutes before leaving the donation site, and never felt dizzy or lightheaded. That has only happened to me once, and admittedly I left the snack area almost as soon as I got to it. Again, proper hydration is important, and the small amount of food helps stabilize your blood sugar. Donors are told to eat and hydrate well that night and do nothing overly strenuous for the rest of the day.

As I mentioned last week, an exerciser should only notice decreased performance for a day or two as the body makes up the pint of blood taken that quickly. Red blood cells take longer, but again after a couple days exercisers should feel normal.

By giving blood:

  • You will have an opportunity to potentially save the lives of three people.
  • You get blood pressure, pulse, iron, and body temperature checks, all possibly making you aware of a health situation.
  • Regularly donating blood helps build new blood cells which help with overall health.
  • Donating helps regulate iron stores which in excess can harm the liver and the heart.
  • The psychological benefit of knowing that you are helping others. Similar to volunteer work, simply giving of your time to benefit strangers. Getting out of your usual environment to do this leads to positive thoughts as does your interaction with the Red Cross staff.

The moment of truth was Tuesday morning as I went out for my usual morning run. I decided to just let the run come to me instead of pushing the pace or distance. I felt good from the start, so good that I decided to go a normal distance for me, ending at 5.13 miles. My effort was easy and nearly as good as the last run on the day before the blood donation almost 14 hours before.

Bottom line, you can give blood and feel good that your exercise will only be minimally affected. Please consider joining me in giving blood by going to www.redcrossblood.org and clicking on “find a blood drive.” It’s easy, fun and good for others.

Our next race locally is just ahead on Jan. 2 with the Bradshaw Financial Planning Resolution Run 5K. Look for it and other events, including the next Self Defense Seminar at Sidekick Karate on Jan. 21 at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all! 

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