My Dad was a member of the group that was flown to Washington DC as a part of the NC Honor Guard. The trip was paid for by local sponsors to honor the men and women who have served in our armed forces. They got the opportunity to tour the memorials in DC. I want to thank all the people who made this trip possible for my Dad and the 95 others who were honored. Here is a news clip about the story…. ENJOY!
By Doug Creamer
We need Hope
Last Sunday the Emmy Awards were on. My wife and I try to watch the Emmys and the Oscars. It is fun to see the stars dressed up and looking their very best. It’s nice to hear them express their appreciation to those who helped them along the way. I also enjoy the good-natured roasting the hosts give the stars.
This year as we watched I found it very interesting how many of the winners came from shows that are not on the big three. Many of the shows are on premium cable and streaming services. I guess I am not the target market for some of those shows. Maybe I need to expand my TV horizons…or maybe not.
I imagine some people thought that maybe the stars shouldn’t have appeared on the show with so many people in our country suffering after the hurricanes. How could they dress up in such expensive clothes and be in such an elaborate place? When people are suffering, should they be showing off, laughing, and having fun?
Oddly, I believe they should. When people are suffering they need hope. Nothing can help to lift our spirits like seeing people we invite into our homes each week up on stage being honored for their hard work. Watching their shows entertains and touches us in some way or the shows wouldn’t be on TV. The audience loves or hates the characters in their shows and we want to see what happens to them.
When you think about it, the shows we watch become a part of our lives and the characters and their experiences a part of our own. So we root for our characters. These shows provide us a few moments of escape from our lives. People care passionately what happens to their favorite characters on their shows. So the award shows allow us to continue the escape as we root for our favorite shows and stars to win.
In much the same way a good movie can transport us into another world for a few hours, so we can forget the problems we are facing in our own little world. When we are going through difficult times, it helps to go to a ball park and get a dog and a soda and root for the home team. We can enjoy sitting in the stands at a local high school football game, cheering the home boys to victory while we enjoy the band’s half-time performance and the cheerleaders stirring the crowd.
I firmly believe that the people in the hurricane ravaged areas are not the only ones that need a little shot of hope. Many people are struggling with the bills and the many challenges of everyday life. We need a few hours of laughter and cheering to help lift us up. These kinds of things can help to stir the hope within us.
One of the best places to find hope when we are struggling with hopelessness is in the Word of God and in God’s house with God’s people. We have all struggled with discouragement. God’s word is full of hope. God’s word reminds us that we are not alone and that God is always with us. God sees the way out of our troubles. God will lead us along the path to joy and peace.
I assure you that no matter what you are facing, others in the body of Christ have been there and know what you are up against. They have overcome and found victory and they can help you through your pain. They have the scars to prove that they made it so you can make it through to your promised land.
There is nothing like letting Christians pray and intercede for you. It is awesome to have your brothers and sisters standing around you, fighting for you and helping you stand. The next step is to find God’s promises to you, which are hidden in His word. These promises can be a great source of comfort and hope in dark times. God’s word can be a lamp to your feet to guide you through and out of the storms of life.
If you find yourself facing hopeless moments, I want to encourage you to find the promises in God’s Word and hold on. Call some friends and ask them to pray and stand with you as you walk through the storm. Pray and talk to God because He knows your every need. Let Him lift your spirit as you lift your head to Him. He loves you more than you can understand and will see you through your storm into a brighter tomorrow.
Doug Creamer’s books are at Amazon. Contact him at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
By Roger Barbee
The other morning I was scratching the grey-haired head of Nolan, my wife’s hound dog who found her twelve years ago at the county animal shelter. I talked to him as we humans like to do and scratched his head and behind his large hound dog ears, and something about the time caused me to remember Fred, a cocker type black dog that I found wounded under the house in which I lived while a sophomore in college. He had been hit by a car and his left back leg was damaged. After coaxing him out from under the house, I took him to a local veterinarian who repaired the long-ago damaged leg as best as possible. However, for the rest of his life Fred walked with a distinctive limp, but his damaged leg never kept him from living a full, rich, and loving life. As I remember, I kept him for the rest of that school year, and he went home with me for the summer. After those few months living with my younger sister and mother, he decided not to return to the college, but to stay with them and live their way. While he and I shared times together when I came home on vacations after that, he was now their dog, and when I left my hometown to begin a career, he remained where he had chosen to be. So, when I thought of him on that recent morning, I asked my sister to fill in the gaps of his life with them.
“You know,” she said, “after you went back to school, Fred became my dog. Yes, he and mother liked each other, but until I enrolled in Western Carolina, he was mine. But, after I went to college, he and mother formed a special bond because they both were now alone. She worked the second shift then, but they shared each day, and he stayed awake until she got home after her shift in the mill. He would ride with us when she drove me back to Western, and when he heard the mailman step onto the porch, he thought it was me coming home for a visit and would run to the front door. But, the most remarkable thing about mother and Fred was his leaving.
“He was not blind, but he could see only shapes. For instance, often he would mistake the white bathtub for the storm-glassed door and wanting out, he would walk into it, mistaking the white porcelain for the light of the door. Like us all, he aged, and mother sensed that his life was ending. For three nights she stayed home from work, but eventually had to return to her shift. But each night of that time, when she got home, she would sit on the floor and hold him in her lap, they loving each other as they had for their years. But, he grew worse, and one morning when she let him out the back door, he would pause on each step and look back towards her, then step to the next and look back. Finally, out of steps, he looked back one last time to her, hearing her tell him it was okay, before he crawled under those steps to die. Later that morning she called the mill refuge department telling the man who answered how there was a dead dog under her back steps. Could he come and remove it?
“You may not understand, brother, but I see mother’s act of letting her beloved Fred go the way he wanted as a courageous and loving act. As she had always done in her life, mother knew that she had done her best with Fred over the years and even now, so she had no regrets. He wanted to go his way, and she let him, no matter her pain with his choice.
“That’s what happened to Fred, and I hope when Nolan’s time comes, he will be given as much grace as was Fred. No dog’s last day should be his worse.”
By Lynna Clark
Chapter 5 of Nehemiah tells the plight of those in debt so heavy that they had to sell their children. Let that thought sink in a little. Can you fathom selling your own children? I can’t imagine ever being so desperate, although I’ve met some children that would make that option attractive.
These poor folks were working as hard as they could, with no end in sight, no hope, no future. We think our economy is bad. I am certainly not making light of where you are. Our family has been through some stuff. All the Larry Burkett and Dave Ramsey courses in the world could not rescue us from financial trials when God is in them. Sometimes we have to come to the end of our own plans in order to recognize that the Lord really does know what is best for our family, including our finances.
The gist of the story in chapter 5 is that the uptown crowd continued to make more than they needed off those who were already poor. Nehemiah appealed to them to do right by their neighbors by reaching out and giving them a hand. Has anyone ever done that for you? It happens to us all the time. God reaches down and takes care of all we need day after day. Many times it is through the generosity of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And you know what it makes us want? We want to give, give, give! Suddenly there is nothing out there more important than what God wants us to invest in. No house, no toy, nothing. What joy! So the prayer for today is that each of us will be wise financially, and that even our finances will be used to the very best for His glory.
Dear God please strengthen us with true Godly wisdom, as in what can we do to honor You with our gifts. Help us to say with King David, when he was looking for a place to build an altar, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord, that which costs me nothing.” -2 Sam. 24:24
Help us take an honest look at all the stuff we have, and see it the exact same way You do. Then we can say with Jesus, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done!”
More: 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Listen to Bill Johnson share on the importance of waiting on God. Listen….
By Doug Creamer
Recovery
The storm has passed, and for our area we are lucky because it didn’t require too much recovery. I saw that power was out for about 300,000 across the state at the height of the storm. While most of it has been restored, it can be rather frustrating if you are the one waiting for your power to come back on. I read that some people in Florida’s hardest hit areas could be without power for another week or more.
I see piles of limbs and branches everywhere I look, but that is minor compared to what others have gone through from this storm. I have seen pictures from across the Carolinas of trees fallen, with some hitting people’s houses. Naturally, there was some flooding down at the coast. The coastal areas always have more cleanup after any kind of tropical storm. In comparison to other storms, I think the Carolinas faired pretty well.
Have you seen some of the pictures coming out of Florida, where the hurricane caused the most damage? I saw some aerial shots that showed before and after pictures. In the after pictures there were no green plants or trees at all. Some pictures show no evidence of a house or business even being there. There are many pictures of boats piled up in heaps. There are some boats that are far from any water, sitting on the ground.
For some people recovery will take a couple of weeks or maybe a month, but for others it could take a year or longer to get back to a “normal” life. A friend of mine lives about 100 miles from where the hurricane hit and things were back to normal within a couple of days. The area of devastation is not very wide, but if you were one of the people there your world has been turned upside down. There are many people who need more than our thoughts and prayers.
I read a story that says the people in the storm’s path are not only struggling with the physical losses, but the mental and emotional trauma that stains people who have endured such traumatic circumstances. Some people are facing the loss of loved ones, neighbors, and friends, which only adds to the heartaches. The scars that some people have suffered are not always visible. While most will find paths back to a normal life, others will struggle to discover the path to healing and restoration.
Recovery is something we all do differently. The trouble I find, and I am guilty of this, is that we don’t allow ourselves the time that is required to recover. We get a cold and hope to shake it in a few days and be back to full speed. Our bodies need more time to rest. I know some people who had Covid and it was just like the sniffles for a couple days, and then they were back to their normal selves. Others were in the hospital and had a long road to recovery. In either case, we need to allow our bodies time to heal and recover.
Recovery from surgery takes time. We have amazing bodies that can recover from all kinds of trauma. I’ve had a number of friends go through open heart surgery and you can be sure it took some time to recover from that. The surgery on my arm to remove a cyst took a while to heal. Whenever we have some kind of medical procedure done we have to allow time for the body to heal and recover.
The need for recovery is not limited to medical procedures. When we experience the loss of a loved one, we need to give ourselves time to heal and recover. Losing someone close to us, whether family or friend, requires that we give ourselves permission to grieve and the space and time to do it. This applies to losing a family pet, too. Sometimes the hurt we need to recover from is not physical but emotional or spiritual.
I want to encourage you to give yourself permission to recover the next time you go through something. If you find yourself in that place now know that it is okay to slow down and rest. It is okay to disengage and allow your mind and body to heal and recover. Some recovery only requires physical healing, while others include emotional healing. It takes a while to get over something. Don’t expect yourself to recover super-fast because true healing is a slow and gradual process. Invite Jesus into your healing process. He will guide you each step of the way.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
By Roger Barbee
Mill Workers
They emerge from the mist of cotton spun,
pale cheeked, hungry eyed souls staring ahead.
Spent men in mended bibs and misshaped shoes
rushing from what was, not to what should be,
followed by women in worn-thin dresses,
too tired to rush for what waited at home.
All carry the burden of too little
and the responsibility of too much
as they trudge from their lint-filled stations
only to return in two-thirds of day
to burden the owner’s load like his mule,
each breath filled with fibers of work and death.
Watch Steve Hartman talk with his kids about compassion. These four stories will touch your heart. Enjoy….
By David Freeze
Back in 2007, though it feels like yesterday, I got to spend a week in London. It had been a dream for quite a while to run the London Marathon and I finally made it happen. I flew over on an all-night flight to Berlin, then connected to London early on Saturday morning. The marathon was on Sunday, my first tour of the great city. I thought of this memorable adventure often while watching Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday morning.
Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the Thames River and so many more great sights of London just made for a fabulous week. I rented a room in the YMCA and walked nearly everywhere, interacting with interesting people and had yet another mountaintop experience. A few years afterwards, I taught a seminar at the South Branch of the Rowan County Library on finding your own adventure and I wanted to share some of the key points.
Adventure definition — an exciting or unusual experience, a bold and sometimes risky undertaking, often taking a chance while out of your comfort level. The most important thought related to this definition is that an adventure is something you may have thought about but haven’t done. Maybe your adventure scares you a little, or maybe you just keep putting it off. I’m fortunate to get to talk with people I meet almost daily about having adventures. But finding your own adventure doesn’t have to mean something physically hard and scary.
Why experience adventure? Because adventure is a form of play and nearly always includes some fun. Experiencing an adventure adds joy to life and will almost assuredly provide new perspectives and expand your personal freedoms. Once some boundary is opened, an adventure often breeds thoughts of more of the same. Or better yet, an even higher level of adventure. My first long-distance bike ride was an example of overcoming a boundary, then wanting an even greater achievement. I drove to West Virginia to ride along the Greenbrier River for three days in 2011. After falling off the bike before I rode out of the parking lot and then an exhausting ride in snow and rain, I fell in love with an adventure on two wheels. Totally worn out when driving home, I decided to seek a much longer and challenging cycling adventure. My next ride was 54 days across America.
More good things happen when we seek out adventure. Psychological benefits are numerous. We can supercharge learning and problem-solving plus adventure often stimulates imagination. Adventure also builds self-esteem, sense of well-being, refreshes the mind and body and increases energy. Often, I’m physically whipped at the end of long day, yet a boundless energy from somewhere within pushes me out the door the next morning.
Defining success when seeking and then planning your own personal adventure is easier than you think. Make sure your activity isn’t overwhelming, does match your interests and your available time frame, while meeting physical and financial constraints. Work through why you want to do this and who will go along. Seeking your adventure means getting more information, so getting started means doing your research, contacting experts, having an open mind and a willingness to adjust. Plan for leaving work behind while you seek adventure.
Some ideas from seminar attendees included skydiving, an African safari, visiting London, Paris, Ireland and Scotland, learning to waterski, pilot a plane, backpacking, beekeeping, hiking the John Muir trail in California. It might be as simple as visiting a new town or state, or camping outside on a rainy or chilly night. The possibilities are endless! Start researching and planning now and go find your own adventure!
The best thing to do with life is to live it!
The next race locally is the T-Man’s 5K in Mooresville on Oct. 8. Look for more information on this and other events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org.
By Lynna Clark
Now that our hearts are giving, it’s okay to ask God for a blessing. It’s a beautiful cycle giving, receiving, blessing and being blessed until it’s hard to tell which is which. We bless our community with what we can to meet their needs. They are encouraged and in turn give back to the church. We are enabled by those gifts to reach more and the blessings continue. Wouldn’t you hate to miss all that? Galatians 6:2-10 sums it up by saying, “Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody.” [Come on Paul. Don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel.]
“Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else; for we are each responsible for our own conduct. Those who are taught the Word of God should help their teachers by paying them. Don’t be misled. Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow! Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death.” [Designer shoes are looking pretty worthless right about here.]
“But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters.”
WOW! Did you hear all that? Or did you revert to some sermon you heard years ago that caused you to think the Lord is waiting on you to mess up so He can take your stuff? Look at the part where we reap a “harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” Sounds bountiful! Sounds like a big ol’ cornucopia [thank the Lord for spell check] spilling out blessings we cannot even begin to ask for! Some basic principles of sowing and reaping are:
Easy illustration: You plant corn, you get corn. You get it later and you get more than the few kernels you dropped in the dirt. In ministry it works the same. Plant; receive; harvest; increase.
Prayer for today: Let’s ask the Lord of the harvest to bless our sowing and multiply our reaping. We can plant and we can water, but only God gives the increase. Now watch out! Fire up those John Deere and get ready for the bounty. The barns are about to explode!
More: Ephesians 6:6 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
“Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.” –Nehemiah 5:19