In a Loop

by   February 8, 2022 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Aw man! I missed my opportunity! Yesterday was Ground Hog Day. Not only that but the date was 02.02.2022. How many times will we witness that in a lifetime? One of our favorite movies has Bill Murray and Andie McDowell in Groundhog Day. Just so funny. Poor Bill gets stuck in a loop and wakes to Sonny and Cher singing “I Got You Babe” every. single. morning. Each new day continues like the one before except he can change the outcome. So he tries.


He experiments with piano lessons, robbing a Brinks truck, saving lives, and best of all romance with his lovely and noble co-worker. Each new day he tries different ways to woo her. Sometimes he wins a smile, or a laugh, but more often than not he gets his face slapped. Little by little he falls out of lust and into love. But how can he win her in only one day? For when he awakes the next morning, all is forgotten and he has to start over again. Not only are his mistakes not held against him because nobody remembers them; but he also can’t build on the relationship either. So everyday he wakes with a better plan to start again, to be the best he can be in order to win his lady.


I’m sure you can draw your own spiritual parallels to the story. So one verse seems wise for today.
Psalm 90:12 says “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Okay, so one more verse comes to mind. “Forgetting those things which are behind and looking forward to those ahead.” -Phil. 3:13


Everyday is a precious gift. May we learn to offer each one back to the Lord Who gave it.
“Only a minute, but eternity is in it.”

The Beggar

by   February 7, 2022 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

Another day. Just like yesterday. And the day before. Going out to beg for money. He had found a pretty good spot to beg, and he returned there each day. Actually, he was carried there each day, because he had been lame since birth.

His location for begging had probably been given some thought. It was at the temple -and the gate where he laid each day was named Beautiful.

The lame beggar’s expectations would have been no different on this day than on any other day. Sometimes a few people heading into the temple to pray may toss a coin or two his direction, but he also had days when no one seemed to even notice him.

But on this day – he got a whole lot more than the financial help he had hoped for!

Next, in this account from Acts 3:1-11, Peter and John walked up, and even though Beautiful Gate – their intended location – was right in front of them, they stopped. Peter fastened his eyes on the beggar, and said, “Look on us.”

Powerful words. That is when the beggar probably sensed something was going to be different about this day, as he humbly looked up, preparing to hear their words. He paid attention. He listened with expectation.

For Peter and John saw not what the beggar was at that moment, but who the beggar was… Peter then spoke, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee: In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk.”

What a beautiful prayer said at Beautiful Gate! He reached out to the beggar – oh did he reach out! He lifted him up! The beggar’s feet and ankle bones began to receive strength – so of course – he leaped up, stood, and walked. He could have run home right then, but instead he chose to enter the temple – walking and leaping and praising God!

Walking! Leaping! Praising God!

The people took notice! They knew him – they knew exactly who he was – the lame man who came daily to the gate. The one who was hoping for a few coins… but on this day had received so much more!

 In the name of Jesus – he had been healed!

The people were filled with wonder and amazement. When they saw it, they RAN to Solomon’s porch to hear Peter speak about believing and receiving Jesus as their Lord.

 A beggar.

 At Beautiful.

 Blessed beyond belief.

A lame man.

No longer a lame man.

Need healing?

The lame beggar came EVERY day to the temple.

 And…ONE day was THE day he was healed.

 For with God – nothing shall be impossible.

 Nothing means nothing.

Old Movies

by   February 5, 2022 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            I like to watch a variety of movies. Naturally, as a guy, I enjoy action movies. I liked the Jason Bourne series, and who doesn’t like a good James Bond movie? I enjoyed the Indiana Jones series, but that does go a ways back. Westerns are high on the list, especially a number of the old ones. Yes, I enjoy some science fiction movies, too.

            There are some movies that I have watched numerous times. Some Christmas movies I watch every holiday season. Honestly, there are too many to mention by name in this space, and some of them might get me quite a ribbing from a few friends. I will admit that there are some rom coms on the list, but you have to remember I am married and I enjoy watching movies with my wife.

            Since the beginning of this pandemic we have watched a number of movies. We watch a movie every Friday night and sometimes another one on Saturday night. If you count the weekends since this pandemic began, you will come up with quite a large number of movies we have consumed. I don’t think we are alone in our movie consumption since the pandemic began.

My wife has found many movies that weren’t blockbusters that we have really enjoyed. We both enjoy movies with quirky characters. We have also enjoyed movies that are thought-provoking. Some movies have challenged our beliefs, or at least made us consider things from a different point of view. She has introduced me to some British movies and programs that we have really enjoyed.

            We have watched a number of black and white movies. There are some great ones from way back. They move slower, but we enjoy the pace. There are some old comedies and mysteries that hold up well. We both like some of the stars from back in the day. We also enjoy that the movies were less graphic in those days.

            We both enjoy a great story. We have watched plenty that were based on real life. Some people have lived very hard lives and their stories offer a sense of hope. If they can walk through those trials, then I can endure the things that I face.

            The Bible is filled with many of those kinds of stories. We see over and over again that people faced insurmountable odds, but with God’s help they overcame. We see people who made mistake after mistake, and God still used them to accomplish His purposes. That means that He can use someone like me to do His will, too.

            I have been reading through the Psalms and I love how the psalmist calls out to God from terrible circumstances, and then God intervenes. Sometimes the palmist ends the psalm with a declaration that he will wait and trust in God, while other times God has already shown up. It seems the psalmist catches a vision of his great big God and loses sight of his terrible circumstances.

            I like that the Bible tells us of David, a man after God’s own heart. David was one of the greatest kings, yet David made plenty of bad mistakes that weren’t swept under the rug. He counted the troops against God’s will and many people lost their lives because of that mistake. We all know he committed adultery, yet God used him in mighty ways. So yes, God can and wants to have people like that in His family.

            I love that Peter is included among Jesus’ disciples. While Peter had great faith, he also committed many big blunders. He said and did the wrong thing it seems, more times than he said and did the right thing. Yet Peter was among Jesus’ closest men. Peter is the rock upon which the church was built. Peter walked on water and healed many in his life. Peter led the church and wrote some of the books from the Bible. Peter is a hero of the faith.

            I want to encourage you to read about these and many others in your Bible who were ordinary people with ordinary faith in an extraordinary God. God is looking for someone just like you and me to be light in this dark world. He wants us to tell our stories of our journey of faith to those who don’t know of His marvelous deeds. The stories from the Bible are truly inspiring, but your story can be equally inspiring to others who are struggling. Share your story; who knows, maybe they will make a movie out of it one day.

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

Used Razor Blades

by   February 4, 2022 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

The innumerable ways that things have been done in the past, like during the 1950’s of Charlotte, will make sense if examined and thought about instead of criticized.

For instance, in 1957 Charlotte, citizens desired convenience just as they do in 2022. So,  in order to keep fathers from having to find a safe means of disposing of the double edged, still sharp razor blades, manufacturers of metal medicine cabinets provided an easy fix.

Since the metal medicine cabinets were recessed between wall studs, the makers of up-scale bathroom fixtures placed a small, downward pointed slit in the upper middle back of each cabinet. The slit was just large enough for one of those used, double-edged razor blades. Since the space between the studs and back-to-back sheets of  drywall was large and the blades small but still potentially dangerous for a child or unsuspecting adult, it was a good solution. Shave with it, then drop it in the slot preventing any finger from being harmed by it.

However, it must have been a slow news day in Charlotte on January 28, 2022, because our local paper ran a story of a realtor making the discovery of such a medicine cabinet. It seems the realtor was assessing a partially renovated home when the electrician told him about what was sticking out of a wall. He rushed to see what had been found and then researched the phenomenon (on Google?) and learned something: Things were done differently, often for a sound reason, in the past.

But it seems the Charlotte realtor is a late comer to making this discovery of what he describes as a “weird” way of the disposal of used razor blades. In 2020 it seems a Los Angeles woman made the same discovery in her home and posted it on TikTok. Her post had 3.8 million views and almost 3,000 comments.

Now, I understand that not everyone is knowledgeable of residential life during the 1950’s, especially knowing about such details as bathroom medicine cabinets. I applaud the Charlotte realtor for conducting what passes for research in today’s Internet world. I am also pleased that he has the character for admitting that he had learned something. However, what I object to is the Charlotte realtor saying/thinking about the way of disposing of razor blades, “It’s just weird, and we would never think of doing it at all today, at least I hope not.”  All I can say in response to him is that patients at one time were bled as a cure for illness. And as far as the Los Angeles woman, all I wonder is: Are we such a bored society that over 3.8 million folks are entertained on TikTok by a tiny slot in a medicine cabinet?

Sometime in my expanding tenure as a teacher as I aged, I realized how many years began separating me from my students. Aware of my own experiences and sensibilities, I began each new year searching the events of my students’ birth year. In that small way, thinking of the year they were born, I was more aware of their experiences and their exposures. This small knowledge helped me be more sensitive to the time that had helped form my students. From that hallmark, we moved forward as I taught them to fill in any gaps in their historical knowledge and to think critically of their time and times past.

These episodes concerning the renovation of a Charlotte and a Los Angeles home  and the attention they bring should serve as a “real-life example” of the importance for teaching critical thinking skills and history because it matters that our children be made aware that the world has not always been as it is for them. And that looking something up on the Internet is not research, just exploration.

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