Future Things

by   January 15, 2025 with No Comments

By Ed Traut

Jeremiah 33:3 NLT Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

  • God is omnipresent.  He is in the past, He is in the future, He is in the present.  He knows all things to come.
  • All we have to do is ask.
  • He will tell us things that are unknown (secrets) but there is a purpose that we may be devoted to Him and full of confidence in Him.

Prayer:  Lord I do ask that You reveal and show me the way and things to come that I can be prepared in my heart.  I am confident in You that You are in control and that I am not to be afraid.  Teach me and show me Your ways.  I belong to You.  Amen.

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Feisty Woman

by   January 13, 2025 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Twenty years ago today, my mama passed from this life to the next. Oh how we miss her. At 72, she was the strongest, healthiest person I knew… until she wasn’t. She died of a rare disease which at the time doctors said affected only 3 in one million. Praise God, her suffering was over within two months. I think of her often.

Sometimes I send her little messages through the Lord. I’m not sure how things like that work. I don’t think she can hear me, but according to our faith, she IS with the Savior. So I ask Him to relay to her things of home and how good the great. grandbabies are doing. Stuff like that. She probably smiles that beautiful smile and hopes I know that her new home is just as wonderful as we thought it would be. She and my mom-in-law Nina are probably yukin’ it up so much that Jesus can’t get a word in edgewise. After she passed, I remembered a verse she sent me in a letter while I was away in college. To me it was perfect. She had been so worried about my finances when I left home. But this verse she copied from Scripture had obviously comforted her.

“In the multitude of my thoughts, Thy comforts delight my soul.” -Psalm 94:19

I love it. Even now, twenty years later, in the middle of all my thoughts, He comforts me. Mama is truly doing just fine. And though I miss her, so am I.

Shared Stories, Changed Lives

by   January 12, 2025 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

Holidays sometimes provide unique opportunities to hear grand stories of someone’s life. You may have collected some new ones yourself over the past couple of months: things you never knew about a person, hints into mysteries of family ‘lore, retellings of big stories that are almost legendary. But then, there are those important stories that were forever life-changing. 

While visiting my folks’ home on Christmas I happened upon my mom’s devotional books and Bibles resting on a table in the sitting room where she often read. Tucked inside a book, I spied a couple of sheets of lined notebook paper. I fingered the folded sheets, gently opening them, as though I was trespassing upon something sacred. I instantly recognized the handwriting. Though she rarely journaled and only signed her name “Mom” on birthday cards, I remember her handwriting from all those years of notes left conveniently on my bathroom counter reminding me to complete chores that she listed (boy, did I try to avoid going to the bathroom early on a summer morning – ignorance is bliss!). 

Though not a lengthy note, it briefly detailed her life’s story – at least the most significant parts she found worth sharing. It was a story of searching, finding, getting off track, and finally feeling freedom from the chains of sin – freedom still felt even while going through great tragedy and sorrow. The details are private, but the idea of writing out or sharing a testimony is priceless. 

I shared photos of my newly discovered treasure with my son, interning at a retreat and camp center in Western NC. Even through a text, he felt more closely connected to who she was. He felt closer to home. The timing of sending it was divine: he had been dealing with a particularly trying weekend. Sharing testimonies is encouraging. 

Another week, a young missionary shared a brief testimony during our Sunday service. She related an encounter where she had to ask God to move in hearts and open the door for her to speak the gospel when a door seemed almost impossible to maneuver. God answered that prayer. An hour after that service, my son called asking for prayer to connect with a young camper uncertain of his eternity. I shared the missionary’s testimony with him, cautioning him against manipulating moments but rather waiting on the Holy Spirit to do the work He promised to do of convicting. Sharing testimonies is encouraging and can give direction.

It’s not a new story. The Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 8 in the Bible, who ministered to Elisha, the Lord’s prophet, and whose son Elisha raised from the dead, had a remarkable testimony. It was so moving that the king of Israel heard about it, met her, and was so astounded that he restored the land and produce she had left while escaping a famine. Testimonies are powerful!

Many years ago, I remember my mom being on a personal mission to gather testimonies from friends – friends whose stories had been forgotten or remained unshared a generation later yet were a big part of who they became. I am so thankful for those stories she shared with me and even more thankful for the one I stumbled upon on Christmas evening.

Testimonies of the Lord’s transformation in lives, His presence and direction, and His mighty power move lives. They are not meant to be kept to ourselves. Sharing them empowers and encourages others, often when we have no idea they need to hear them. Maybe you need to hear one. Ask someone who you see walking in peace and joy. Perhaps you have one that needs to be heard or retold. When you feel a prompting, share it with someone who may not know the path you have walked.

A Change of Routine

by   January 11, 2025 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

A Change in Routine

            I went for a walk the other day and noticed that most of my neighbors had taken down their outside Christmas decorations. I also noticed twinkling lights coming from inside a number of homes, evidence that the Christmas tree was still up. Mine is still up and I am still enjoying it. It has been nice to just enjoy it without all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

            With the holiday season behind us, people are beginning to think about the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day. While many might be hoping to bypass winter and move right into spring, I am looking forward to some snow. I am also looking forward to spring and a new gardening season, but I am content to look out the window for some snow for now.

            I know many people are glad to be getting back to the routines of life. The holiday season brings a welcome break from routine, but after all the travel and craziness many find themselves longing to return to the routines of life. People want their children back on school schedules and bedtime routines. People want to get back to work so they can pay all the bills from the holiday season. People want to get back to their regular routines.

            I think this is a good time to break away from the rut of our routines. If we are honest with each other, there are some routines that need to change. The trouble is that it is difficult to change our lives and routines. But after having a break from them during the holiday season, maybe now is a great time to assess and change some routines.

            What needs changing? I know that I need to work on not staying up so late at night. I did some reading before bed over the holidays and I liked that. I would like to add that routine. Maybe we need to look at what we have been eating. While the holidays lead all of us down temptation alley, there are probably some things we need to change in our regular eating habits. We probably all need to move our bodies more. Exercise is good for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

            I enjoy scrolling through social media, watching videos, especially weather videos, and watching TV. We all need down time, but can we limit that in order to do something else like reading, writing to a friend, or spending more time with our family. Speaking of the family, imagine the positive impact on your family if you chose to spend time together as a family or spending one-on-one time with your children. Pick something the two of you can do to connect.

            Simple changes do not mean we have to give up the things we enjoy. It means we might do those things less in order to do something we want to do. That was how I started writing my weekly column. I wanted to write and I decided I could give up TV one night a week in order to write. It’s been over thirty years filled with great rewards.

            One area we can all work on is spending more time with God. God wants to be invited into our lives. He wants to know that our relationship with Him is a priority. Some people like to spend time with Him at night, but sometimes He only gets a few minutes before we fall asleep. Others choose to spend time with Him in the morning, but some mornings He is squeezed out because we have a busy day scheduled. God is jealous when we ignore Him. He wants one-on-one time with us AND He wants us to invite Him into our daily routines. We often invite Him when we face a crisis but He wants to be involved in every moment of our lives. He wants to connect with every area of our lives.

            I want to encourage you to incorporate a few small changes that will allow you to connect more with God. He wants a closer and more intimate relationship with you. Pray that God will help you become more aware of His presence. Open the doors to connect with God while you are exercising, running errands, taking the kids to their activities, and while doing routine things. God wants to connect with you. He wants to speak through you. He wants to demonstrate His love for others through you. Make more room for Him in the midst of your routines. Welcome a deeper relationship with Him this year.

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

Just a Paperback Copy

by   January 10, 2025 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

One advantage for me during the pandemic is that there is more time for reading. While it is true that I, as a retired person, did  not have the pressures of a job and young family before the pandemic, there was time for outside activities, such as church and meals in restaurants. The pandemic has caused those activities and others to be curtailed, so more reading has filled the slot.

One day this past week, I decided to re-read A Month in the Country, the delightful and powerful novel by J.L. Carr. The author states in the foreword that he was trying to write  “a rural idyll along the lines of Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree.” Carr accomplishes that and more in his story of Tom Birkin’s brief time in a remote Yorkshire village after the Great War as he restores a church painting depicting the apocalypse and his own re-healing seen through his eyes years hence.

In 2000 or so a fellow teacher recommended Carr’s short novel, and since then I have read it several times, given copies as gifts to fellow teachers and friends, and even owned a signed first edition. However, I gave that copy to my friend Druin who lives near Oxford, England. I had introduced Druin to Carr one summer while working in Pembroke College, and he is the one who pilfered my copy of The First Saturday in May, Carr’s nostalgic remembrance of a cricket match in 1936. Over the years, every time I mentioned First Saturday, Druin admitted his taking of the book while refusing to return it; so when my wife and I visited him and his family in 2010, I decided since he had one he might as well have the other, so I gave him my signed first edition of Month-one pilfered, one gifted.

Another friend that I shared Carr with was Joy, a lady and poet who I worked with at NCS for ten years. She was quite a literary person who enjoyed a strong poem, a well-crafted story, and chocolate. She was my best editor until her death, at age 90, in January 2020. (I often think that her death from heart failure was a foretelling of the dreadful year to follow.) Years ago I had introduced Joy and Druin via email and read many of their literary discussions with awe. One, a writer in Northwest DC and the other in Oxford, England, both sharing their delight in writers such as Carr and many more. Druin and I enjoyed Joy’s pleasure when she received, unannounced, a copy of Druin’s latest book, The Shape of Things to Come.

Now here I was removing the thin paperback from a bookshelf before I settled in to read a bit before the urge to nap took control. But I quickly became puzzled  by what I saw on the insider page when I opened the book,  However, the puzzlement soon evolved into a pleasing appreciation for life’s unannounced moments.  In the upper right-hand corner was a pasted label with Joy’s full name and address. A neat, diagonal line crossed through the label and below it in Joy’s neat hand was written: “From Roger B. 2/14/01” but below that line was written: “To Roger B. 9/23/15.” I had given her this copy of Month not long after I had “discovered” it, and she returned it for some reason fourteen years later. I flipped through the book and noticed pencil highlights that I had made during some reading but stuck between pages 22 and 23 was a bright colored piece of paper on which Joy had written these words from the novel: “And, at such a time, for a few of us there will always be a tugging at the heart, knowing a precious moment gone and we not there.”

I am writing this on Christmas Eve afternoon and wondering at how good literature and good friends intertwine in our lives. This past year, such a difficult one that has been full of toil and trouble and death, is also the one of Joy’s death. But the lines she copied onto that sheet of paper tell much about her and all of us. James, the brother of Jesus,  writes, “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

I did not nap, but instead placed Joy’s copy of Month beside my signed copy of Carr’s What Hetty Did in the class bookcase.. No longer will the small paperback sit on the shelf for reading copies.  Once in her last year, Joy told me that she was having too much fun living to die. That was all! No fear of death. No tugs of her heart.  Just a recognition and appreciation for life’s “precious moments.”

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