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! 

The New Year

by   December 31, 2022 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            Was Christmas cold enough for you? It looks like New Year’s Day will be mild. The weather in NC is constantly changing. Friends have asked when we might see some snow. There is nothing on the immediate horizon, but you can be sure that I am watching for any chance.

            It’s hard to believe that we are putting 2022 to bed. It seems the year passed by so quickly. It was one of the busiest years that I can remember, and I am partially retired. Much like any year, there were moments that I will treasure, especially those spent with family and friends.

            There were some new experiences that created some great memories, like starting my new job at the community college. The most treasured moments were those when students succeeded and earned their GED. Hopefully, we have all had some moments that were great, moments we will remember many years from now.

            Conversely, I can easily imagine that we have all had moments in 2022 that we would rather forget. Every year brings with it trials and struggles that challenge us. Some are designed for our growth as humans and others are sad, even tragic, creating scars that we will carry with us the rest of our lives. It’s those moments that we would rather forget and leave behind.

            Whatever 2022 held for us doesn’t define what we will experience in 2023. That will only be defined by time and how we interpret the experiences we have in the coming year. Our attitude has a profound effect on the coming year. If we perceive the year negatively then we are setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy. The year will be what we imagine it.

            I believe we need to enter the year believing and expecting good things to come our way. I am realistic and know that there will be some tough and difficult moments in the coming year. Every year has them. But I am choosing to believe that God is planning some good things for me in the coming year. I believe God is excited, almost like a little child at Christmas, to bring me into the things He has planned for the coming year.

            So we have to turn our eyes on God in faith. We have to trust Him with a future we can’t see. God, who is not bound by time, already knows all that is going to happen. He has gone before us to prepare the way for us. He knows about the challenges that we will face and has already put things in motion to help us through those situations.

            He is also planning many blessings along the way for us. Pray that our eyes will be open to see them and appreciate them. I hope we aren’t distracted and miss the great things. God has also hidden some treasures along the way for us. I hope we take time to discover them. He loves to see us unearth His love and kindness.

            There is often one thing we fail to consider as we gaze into the new year. God is busy planning opportunities for us to be a blessing to others. Your story and scars might be just the thing that encourages another to keep pressing on. You have a testimony of God’s goodness in your life and He wants you to share it with others. When you share your story with someone who is struggling it’s a great blessing. God is delighted when we share His goodness.

            The coming year is going to be filled with great things for all of us. There will be good things filled with God’s blessings. There will be hidden treasures waiting for you. There will be opportunities to be used by God for blessing others. There will be opportunities for us to grow our faith and become stronger. 2023 is going to be a good year. We must believe it, proclaim it, and trust God with all the details.

            I want to encourage you to enter 2023 with hope in your heart. Hope that God will reveal His love to you in new and wonderful ways. Hope that your faith will not waiver but grow stronger and deeper. Hope that you will see brighter days filled with God’s blessings. Hope that you can be a blessing to others. Hope in a God of the impossible who will intervene in your daily life to reveal His unfailing love for you. I declare that 2023 is going to be a year of unstoppable faith, irrepressible hope, and overflowing love. Welcome 2023, a year of faith, hope, and love.  

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

Just a Pale, Blue Dot

by   December 30, 2022 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

            Every few days, a new photograph appears on my computer sent by some server I signed with years ago. As far as I know, the service is free, and I do enjoy looking at the stunning photographs of the natural world—I decline ones of cities. The photographs of mountains, lakes, shorelines, all the usual natural views are terrific. Sometimes people are present in them, but they are secondary to the magnificent scenery. I enjoy guessing the location of the photos and have come to understand that there is, at times, little difference between a mountain view in the United Kingdom to one in France. Over the years I have learned that our world is not that different from one location to another. Now, I appreciate that The Sarah Desert and Death Valley are two different deserts with their own ecology, but even the differences do not discount how much alike our earth is in its varied locations. A field of wildflowers in Germany often resemble one in America. It seems that we are, in the natural world at least, more alike than different.

Over thirty years ago, on February 14, 1990, NASA engineers turned the cameras of Voyager I toward our solar system just as it was to exit it on its way to explore other solar systems.  Voyager I was 3.7 billion miles from our sun when its cameras took sixty photographs of our solar system and one picture became known as the Pale Blue Dot because of a pixel sized dot sitting in a bent ray of sunlight. Scientist Carl Sagan used that image in the title of his book,  Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, in which he writes, “Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.”

Looking at that pixel recently on my computer screen caused me to close that screen and go to the most recent photograph sent to me by the unknown provider which was of a lake with mountains in the distance. In the clear and shallow water of the foreground can be seen smooth stones and on ragged, peaked mountains are evergreens that eventually thin out and gave way to bare rock. The jagged peaks look like they could be in the Rocky Mountains, but they are in Germany. (Wrong again on knowing where a photograph is taken). But being wrong about any location of a nature scene, does not upset me,  and  I still marvel that so many physical areas of our earth closely resemble other locations. Despite differences, it is the earth on which all of mankind lives and much alike across its rivers, lakes, mountains, deserts, forests, and more.

            The  KJV of The Letter to the Hebrews has in 2:7, “Thou madest him [man] a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hand:” I understand that to mean we are the stewards of this earth, and that is a task that we seem to have chosen to forget or ignore the responsibility for a myriad of excuses.

            But I ask the reader to go to the computer and type in Voyager I and look at Sagan’s pale, blue dot that looks so small and isolated and alone in that beam of sunlight. But after looking at the pixel-sized dot, remember his words: “…That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.” It is all we have, so we should take care of it, that pale, blue dot.

What Happens When You Give Blood?

by   December 29, 2022 with No Comments

By David Freeze

Giving blood is always needed, and there are lots of blood drives going on during the holiday season. One of the concerns for some who don’t give is they are unsure what will happen with the body, especially if they exercise regularly. I’ve been giving for many years and plan to continue for as long as I can.

Giving blood is especially easy these days since you can look at all of the upcoming blood drives within a specified area at www.redcrossblood.org. Once you schedule to give, then you will get the opportunity to do the rapid test. It is a quick summary to make sure you are eligible to give currently and takes less than five minutes. You get a QR code to print or save on your phone to show the Red Cross volunteers upon arrival. Or you can choose to do the quick summary when you check in.

You will also get a quick check for blood pressure, pulse, body temperature and iron upon arrival too, all useful in case you didn’t know about an issue. If all is well, you’ll go wait for the volunteer who will actually draw your blood. The blood draw takes from 5-15 minutes. Our running club has several competitive givers who time the process and try to shorten it if possible. Squeezing the little ball and being hydrated are helpful, especially if you want to get done quickly and move on to the snack table. You get a small gift from the Red Cross, and once listed, you will be notified about opportunities to do it again.

Donating blood is a noble act and helps save lives. Athletes and regular gym goers should not shy away from this opportunity due to fears of affecting performance levels. By following the recommendations and planning when you donate blood to suit your training program, you can help save lives just as you would hope others do if you need blood.

Here is what happens to the body when you give blood. Donating one pint of blood (the typical amount drawn during a whole blood donation) reduces blood volume by about one tenth. Since oxygen travels throughout your body via the bloodstream, having less blood on board can affect how you perform during your workouts. It only takes about a day for your body to replace the fluid portion of your blood, called plasma. It can take four to six weeks for red blood cells to reach their pre-donation levels, but several studies show there’s only a 24- to 48-hour dip in exercise performance after donation.

There’s a short-term dip in maximal oxygen update (how much oxygen people can inhale and use), but it seems to return to normal within a day or two.

“When testing elite athletes, their uptake, measured by what’s called VO2 max, might be down 3, 5 or even 8 percent compared with pre-donation levels. Most everyday athletes and fitness fans won’t notice any significant lingering effects after giving blood. For most of us, it’s not something you or I could sense after a couple of days.” said Dr. Jed Gorlin, vice president and medical director at Innovative Blood Resources in St. Paul, Minnesota.

And no matter what exercise you do or don’t do after donating blood, always listen to your body. If you notice any dizziness or lightheadedness, end your workout right there. Sit or lie down, wait for it to pass and then gradually get back up and get some fluids and food in you.

A few more good things happen, and I’ll address those next week. I’m scheduling to give blood this week and will report on that too, plus how I altered my running and other exercise to make it happen.

Our next race locally is the Bradshaw Financial Planning Resolution Run 5K at the Forum on Jan. 2. Look for it and more events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org.

A Memorable Teacher

by   December 27, 2022 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.

Adoptive Parents

by   December 26, 2022 with No Comments

At the Christmas season it is important to realize that God loaned us His son. God sent His son to Mary and Joseph… they were called upon to adopt and raise Jesus. That is a HUGE job and it requires faith and love. Here is a story by Steve Hartman about a woman who had to give up her son for adoption. The story gets better….

Welcome Christmas!

by   December 24, 2022 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

Welcome Christmas Day!

            As I sit down to write, it is a few days before Christmas. I know that as you read this it will either be Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The anticipation of the day’s arrival has reached a peak and now it is time to enjoy the celebration of the birth of our Lord.

            I just came in from a walk. I really enjoy seeing all the Christmas decorations in my neighborhood. I enjoy talking to the Lord as I walk and He encouraged me to be still and listen. I noticed several sounds: the squirrels rustling in the leaves, birds chirping in some trees, and the sound of distant traffic. Once I identified the sounds I then recognized what He wanted me to hear…peacefulness. It was so peaceful and quiet. My heart and mind leapt for joy at the sound of peacefulness.

            The sky was a milky blue. The clouds are filtering in, a sign of the rain that is to come. A few days ago the weather models were hinting at the possibility of a white Christmas. We will be plenty cold but it looks like we will miss the magic of a white Christmas this year.

            I was thinking about the struggles some are facing at what we call the most wonderful time of the year. Some travelers are likely to spend Christmas stuck in airports. Some people are struggling with health issues at home while others are struggling with them in the hospital. Some folks are struggling with sadness because as they sit down to the Christmas feast there is an empty chair because a loved one as gone to their heavenly home.

            Can you imagine the struggles that Mary and Joseph faced? They had to walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  It was roughly a hundred and fifty miles and Mary was nine months pregnant! They arrive and can’t find a place to sleep. Then Mary goes into labor and she needs a clean, warm place to have her child.

            They could not find a decent place to bring the Son of God into the world. How were they feeling? Do you think Joseph felt inadequate? Were they worried? Were they struggling with fear? They must have felt like they had failed God because the only place they could come up with was an animal stall.

            The baby arrives. They are both exhausted from the journey and the process of having a baby. Joseph the carpenter had a beautiful crib back at home but the best he can come up with is a feeding trough. He probably feels he has failed God and Mary.

            Then, just as they catch their breath and the baby falls asleep, some shepherds come rushing in. They are trembling and begging to see the child. They share a tale of angels singing out in the fields and the news that the long-expected Savior was born. They fall on their knees and gaze in wonder at the baby lying in the feeding trough. Mary and Joseph watch in wonder.

            The shepherds leave. They are alone with the baby. They look in wonder at his beautiful face. Maybe they haven’t failed God after all. Maybe He was with them, guiding them all along. The warm cave… the midwife… was God watching over them? Was God meeting their needs? Could God actually be pleased with them?

            I want to encourage you this Christmas season to take a deep breath and set aside all the worry about making sure everything is perfect. Look around for those you know who are struggling with challenging circumstances. Consider how you might share your joy with them. It can be as simple as listening, sharing a hug, or even an encouraging word that can help lift another soul. Sometimes we all find ourselves like Mary and Joseph, wondering if we got it all wrong only to discover that God is right there with us.

            It’s Christmas and I believe God wants to give you some very special gifts. He has a box of peace for your heart and mind. He has a stocking full of joy that is far better than happiness because joy is focused on Jesus and our eternity with Him. His heart is full of unconditional love for you. If you will open your heart and lift up your head He’ll pour it right in. He has a plate full of mercy and forgiveness because Jesus came to restore your relationship with God your Father. Jesus loves you and Christmas is the proof of it. Life isn’t perfect, but God’s love for you is. Open and accept His gifts. Press on! I know you are going to make it. Merry Christmas and God bless each and every one of us.

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

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