Doug’s Columns

By Doug Creamer

            The temperatures were finally cooler last weekend and the desire to get outside and work kindled deep within me. I got outside last Saturday and I was going in every direction. I was literally working on three things at once.

            I decided I needed to get focused if I wanted to complete anything. There were so many projects screaming at me that needed my attention. I don’t like to be out in the heat and humidity, but once it cools off and the humidity gets in check, I’ll work until dark and beyond. Spring and fall are my favorite times of the year, if I can keep my allergies under control.

            A big tree limb had fallen right in my path to the woods. I needed to trim the branches off and open that path up. Saturday’s cooler weather motivated me to get it cleaned up. It is so nice to have an open path to take limbs and garden waste deep into the woods.

            I surveyed the garden. The beans, corn, peas, and broccoli that I recently planted are up and looking good. There are some other things that need to get cleaned up. The squash plants finally bit the dust. Some of the tomato plants have dried up. And yes, there are some weeds that need to be pulled, too.

            There are plenty of fall projects on my list to do. We want to clean out the garage. We have to make room for the plants to come in for winter. I want to clean out the shed, too. I want to get my nephew’s pressure washer and do some work outside. I need to cut some dead trees down and clean up along the edge of the woods.

            There is also some painting and fixing up that I would like to get done before winter. There are also some inside projects that we want to tackle. They will have to make their way on the list. I guess some of the inside things can get done on rainy days.

            It seems like there is always work that needs to get done. On Sunday, my pastor talked about the need to rest and live a balanced life. I would hate for my pastor to find out that spring and fall are not restful times around my house. I tend to burn the candle at both ends. However, at my age, my body is making me rest more often.

            Learning to live a balanced life is important. We need to get proper rest to stay healthy. We need to watch what we eat and we need to work on getting regular exercise. Our spirits need a regular intake of scripture and communion with God through prayer. In that way, we can live healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

            I like to work hard outside because it makes me feel good. I like seeing the results of my hard work. I sometimes wonder if we allow that mentality to be carried over into our spiritual lives. Do we think we have to work hard to be loved by God? Do we think that He holds a measuring stick up to us and that we better measure up or He won’t love us? Do we think that His love for us is based on our performance and how well we live our lives?  

            I am not sure where those thoughts come from, but they do not originate in heaven. God loves us so much that while we were His enemy living in our sin, He died for us. God made a way for us to be in a relationship with Him through Jesus. He loves us unconditionally. All we have to do is turn from living life our way and accept His love. He loves you when you are at your worst or what you consider your best. He loves you so much that He knows your name, He knows everything there is to know about you, AND He still loves you. His love is not based on your performance, but on His character.

            I want to encourage you to open your hearts and spirits to God’s wonderful love. He knows all about your past and still wants you as His son or daughter. The choice is yours to accept His unconditional love and forgiveness or to walk away and live with the feelings of rejection and failure. You are not rejected or a failure in God’s eyes. Your Father in Heaven loves you. You don’t have to work for it, just accept it.

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

By Doug Creamer

Faith, Hope, And Love

            It’s been a rainy, lazy Monday. I sat quietly on my front porch listening to the falling rain. It has been a peaceful day and I have enjoyed some extra time with the Lord. The rain- cooled day has been a welcome change to the hazy, hot summer days. The extra rest is appreciated because I know some cooler fall weather is on the way and I will become very busy working in the yard.

            I did a little extra reading today. I was near the end of the book and wanted to get it finished. I always hate to come to the end of a good book. I don’t want to say good-bye to the characters that I have grown to enjoy. When I finish a book, I will take a few days off to savor it.

            One of my favorite authors has a signature style that I really enjoy. His books begin with male and female characters who have recently become broken people due to some tragedy in their lives. The author pens a pulse-racing story that throws the characters together as they travel around the world to save humanity. They are constantly being chased and always seem to narrowly escape. In the end, the two accomplish their mission, find healing for their broken souls, and yes, fall in love.

            The author I finished today writes well. I have enjoyed reading his books. This author takes on issues that are difficult to stomach. He has tackled such issues as human trafficking, extreme poverty, the foster care system, betrayal and infidelity, and he has a beef with the traditions in churches that keep people from connecting with Jesus in a personal way.

            My personal beef with him as a writer is that his stories’ climaxes are often gut-wrenching human tragedy that you can imagine pages before you read the events. He describes these events in detail, leaving me wrung out. He then adds a final chapter that tries to put a positive spin on the lives of the characters that are left behind. Somehow I keep coming back to this author because he writes such a good story that challenges me to remember that faith requires action and that the church needs to do something about the issues he raises.

            As a writer, I know the importance of creating conflict to write a good story. While I strongly prefer books and movies to have a “happily ever after” ending, I realize going in that there must be challenges and difficulties before we arrive at the end. A good writer knows how to weave those together to craft a well-written story.

            I want to read a story or watch a movie that gives the audience hope at the end. The world is full of plenty of difficulties; I want to escape into another world. I want a book or movie to take me away, and in the end, I want to be lifted up with a sense of hope.

            Every one of us has our own set of challenges in life. We know life isn’t perfect and that sadly, there are many tragic things that happen in our world. Simply turn on the news for plenty of examples. In books and movies, the author has an opportunity to show the kinder, brighter side of humanity. I want to find some kernel of faith, hope, and love.

            I have read books and watched movies where people have risen above unbelievable circumstances with the help of faith and hope. When I look back at my own life, I know my faith has pulled me through many dark places and times. Leaning on God and having hope that tomorrow will be a brighter day can give us the strength to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking.

            I know that many people feel like their circumstances are overwhelming. If that is you, then I want to take this opportunity to encourage you to stir up your faith. The difficult place that you find yourself in today is not the end of your story. You believe in a God who is greater than your circumstances. Your God has made good plans for a better and brighter future. You are loved, not only by your family, friends, pastor, and church family, but you are loved by the God who created the entire universe. He knows your name. So I say it again, stir up your faith because you are loved and you serve a God who will give you hope and a good future.

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

By Doug Creamer

A Check Up

            I just came back from my annual physical. I don’t like going to the doctor. What interests me is that many of my doctors have told me that they don’t like going to their doctor, either. Even though I do not like going to the doctor, I have always liked my family doctor.

            I have had three family doctors since I have become an adult. I have been fortunate to have doctors that take time to talk with me about my health. Many years ago, I started to write a list of things I want to discuss with the doctor. Since I try never to go, I want to make sure I discuss anything that is on my mind.

            Each year before I go, I work on my list. I review previous years’ lists and make sure I don’t leave anything out. I spend a couple of days thinking about any concerns or questions I want answered. I refine my list and make sure I am as concise as possible.

            I am thankful that through the years I have a family doctor who will take time to go through my list and answer my questions. I know some doctors are in and out in less than five minutes. I feel lucky that mine have all taken time to talk with me. I have always felt like my doctor cared for me and that I wasn’t just number 7 for the day.

            While my list is for my doctor’s eyes only, I will tell you that I asked about his thoughts on COVID-19. We have all heard so much through the media about it, but it was interesting to talk with my doctor about it. He says it is still mysterious in some ways to the medical profession. It acts so differently from one patient to another. The bottom line being we all know what to do to keep safe and that it is not something we want to get if we can avoid it.

            The good news to me is that my physical is over for another year. I am in good health. All my concerns have been discussed and I can rest easy for another year. I will follow his advice and recommendations, be careful to avoid COVID, and do my best to try and stay active, which he says is key to continued good health.

            I wonder how a spiritual doctor would evaluate my health. I wonder what questions I would want answered from a spiritual doctor? How would the doc take my spiritual pulse or temperature? Would I lie down? Clothes can stay on, right?

            The Bible encourages us to examine ourselves. We know that if we look and can see sin in our lives, any way in which we are walking contrary to God’s plan for our lives, that the prescription is repentance. We all have sin and need that prescription daily. It’s best to ask God if there is anything in us that displeases Him and allow Him to take it out.

The doctor would want to know about our nutrition. What are we feeding our spirit? If your Bible is covered in an inch of dust, your spirit can’t be very healthy. We need to read and think about God’s word; what is it saying to us? I like all kinds of music, but I need to feed my spirit with some Christian music.  

            Next, the doc wants to know if we are exercising our faith. Some people are bloated with God’s word but have never done anything with it. God’s word is intended to be active in our lives. Faith without works is dead. We have to move our faith muscles. We have to believe God, trust Him, and walk with Him.

Finally, the doc wants to know if we are talking with God. We need to pray and talk to God. It is vital that we listen; God wants to talk with us. He wants to share with us His good plans for our future. He wants to guide us through the tough places in life. He wants to comfort and encourage us.

            I want to encourage you to honestly examine your spiritual life. Jesus is the kindest doctor you will ever meet. He already knows all about you. He will be patient with you as He helps to restore good spiritual health. He wants to lead you into a good future filled with His promises. He already sees the trials, failures, and difficulties in your future and He wants you to have the kind of faith that will persevere. We can all achieve good spiritual health with Doctor Jesus. Check-up, anyone?

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

By Doug Creamer

            It has been a hot summer. I tend to stay inside in the air conditioning when summer reaches its peak heat. Recently, I have noticed a few breaks in the swelter. One afternoon, between thunderstorms, I went for a walk. We had a pleasant breeze for a few evenings and we got out and did a little yard work. I even sat on the porch and had lunch one day.

            Something about being outside revives my spirit. Even working out in the yard helps me feel better.  I like to step back and see the results of my labor. Maybe I like the sense of accomplishment. That’s something both my parents drilled into me.

            The other day I looked out the window and saw my wife working on her plants. She was pulling weeds, trimming back dead leaves, and cutting off spent flowers. I asked her why she was doing the work. She explained that cutting the plants back causes them to grow fuller and trimming off spent flowers encourages the plant to grow more flowers.

            I guess that is why the Lord likes to prune us back from time to time. He wants us to live full lives. He wants us to produce more flowers, which will ultimately lead to more fruit in our lives. I think He must work with a twinkle in His eye, pruning, fertilizing, and watering us.

            I have said numerous times that I am not a fan of weeding. I will do it but weeds and volunteer plants have a good fighting chance around here. Since my wife was out weeding, I decided to go out and give her a hand. There were plenty of weeds out front that needed my attention.

            The flowerbed out front has brick chips for mulch that was there when we moved in. Every once in a while, we will get a volunteer pansy or viola in this bed. I admire the tenacity of these volunteers and often leave and enjoy them.

            This year we got a volunteer vinca. It is in a harsh location, but it is blooming beautifully. It is under an eave, has poor soil, and is surrounded by the brick chips. In spite of all the challenges, there is grows, sharing its beauty with the world. I have watered it a few times. I can’t help it, I love the underdog.

            When I finished weeding around the vinca I sat and looked at it and listened to that still, small voice. We don’t always get to pick where God plants us. About two feet away there is a container full of vinca growing in rich soil. This volunteer vinca has to put down deep roots to find the soil and water it needs to survive.

            Sometimes we complain to God about where He has planted us. Our jobs, schools, or sometimes even our churches just don’t feel like the best location. If God has put us there, He can help us grow, bloom and be fruitful in that location.

            There is darkness and hopelessness all around us. People need to see the light in your eyes, the hope in your heart, and the faith that keeps you afloat. There are parents praying for their lost children. What if God decided to send you as the answer to their prayers? Your light might be just the thing they need to guide them home.

            When we become born again Christians we have pledged our lives to His kingdom. God has plans and purposes that we don’t always understand. One of God’s major goals is to win the lost souls. Someone reached out to you, loved you, and brought you into the Kingdom. Now God needs you and me to do the same for those who are living in darkness.

            God needs you to bloom in the harsh conditions where you are living. He needs you to let His light shine brightly through you. He wants you to have the aroma of faith, hope, and love, so others will be attracted to your life. If you can bloom where you are, then God must be real. Your bright light in the darkness will guide them home to Jesus.

            I want to encourage you to bloom where God has planted you. If you are praying for a change and God opens the doors, then go where He leads you. In the meantime, dig your roots of faith deep into God’s word. Let His word water your soul so you can offer hope to those around you. Help that desolate place look beautiful with your flowers and fruit. Your warm smile will seem like His to those around you.

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

By Doug Creamer

He Needs Us

            I was talking with a friend the other day and was reminded of the first couple of years of our married lives. When we got married, we moved to the quiet town of Kenansville, in rural Duplin County. We loved our first years in Kenansville. Being young, we often wondered why we weren’t living in a bigger city.

            We got involved at a local church and worked hard at our jobs. One day in Sunday school class, the teacher asked me if I knew why we were living in that small town. With a smile, she said that she prayed for a godly man to be a teacher in her daughter’s school. The next school year, I taught her daughter.

            It’s great how God answers our prayers. In order to answer our prayers, God has to find someone who is willing to say “yes” to Him. Our willingness to say “yes” allowed this woman to realize that God really hears and answers her prayers. God needs us to do our part so He can answer people’s prayers.

            I imagine that every one of us is praying for friends, neighbors, and loved ones who are lost and don’t have a personal relationship with God. I often find myself praying, “God, please find someone who will spend time with this lost soul and will help to bring them home and into a personal relationship with you.”

            For God to answer that prayer, someone is going to have to say, “Here am I Lord, send me.” It is amazing to me that God limits Himself to getting someone to go for Him. He knows who the best person is who can help lead the lost sheep back to God. The trouble is, sometimes that person is unwilling to go.

            God made each one of us with unique talents, skills, and abilities that allow us to reach people in places that other people just can’t go. I have never been very athletic, so for me to reach athletes with the love of God is a bit farfetched.  I am not saying God can’t use me, but I am not the best candidate for the job. I have several friends who love Jesus and who coach sports. They use that open door to reach kids. I know that they are the answer to many parents’ pleas with God for their children.

            Throughout my teaching career there were many opportunities to talk with students about faith, hope, and love. Sometimes the doors and hearts were open, and other times they were closed. Sometimes the opportunity developed because of a personal crisis a student was facing. Other times it was a major world event like 9/11 or the tragic death of a student that opened the doors of opportunity to share my reason for having hope.

            For most people who meet you and me, it isn’t anything we might say or do that will influence and change their hearts. It is the way we live and lead our lives. People are watching us and looking to see if Jesus really makes a difference for us personally. We may never know if or when we will make a difference, but it depends on how we carry ourselves that gives us the ability to speak into situations and people’s lives.

            God wants to use you. You may not feel qualified or ready for service. He just needs you to be available. My pastor often says if we are willing, then let God take care of the rest. He doesn’t need you to be perfect. He needs you to be genuine. You will have good days and bad days, but do you live humbly, full of grace and mercy, and make people feel like they can approach God, with whom you have a personal relationship?  That’s all it takes.

            God needs you. You might be the very person who will share your life and faith with someone’s son or daughter and be the answer to many prayers. Opportunities happen almost every day. There are brokenhearted people who need to know that a loving God really exists and cares about them.

            I want to encourage you to look at the people in your life differently. They need you to be a light in their darkness. God wants every person to be saved. He needs you to be real, your genuine self. Live, love, cry, laugh, and just be available to the people around you. They’ll see that beautiful, attractive light in you and if their heart is open you might get the highest privilege of all…introducing them to your Heavenly Father.

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

By Doug Creamer

By Doug Creamer

            When the weather is so hot I have very little desire to work outside. I will cut the grass. I will also spend time watering, but other than that, I stay inside during this hot weather. But there comes a point in late July or early August that I have to bite the bullet and do some work in the vegetable garden.

            Last weekend I decided that if I wanted to have a fall garden, I would have to get out there and work. It was the possibility that we might get some good rain from the tropical system that pushed me out the door. I needed to get the work done before the rain.

            I started by digging my potatoes. I wasn’t expecting much of a harvest due to the heavy rains back in May. Many of the plants drowned, but I did get a small harvest. I cleared that area of weeds and got the soil ready to plant. Then I pulled all the corn stalks.  

            Some of my squash plants had bitten the dust, so I pulled them out. There was a healthy supply of weeds that I pulled, too. I think I filled the wheelbarrow four times with weeds and debris. The garden was clear and ready to begin again.

            I thought for a while about what I wanted to plant. I put out five new tomato plants, as that May rain hurt my tomato crop, too. I planted a small area of corn and some mammoth sunflowers. I put out two kinds of beans. I had some potatoes that had sprouted, and thought why not see if I can get a fall crop? I have one more area to clean out and then I hope to plant some peas and broccoli. We will probably try to plant some lettuce and spinach too, once the weather cools.

            The good news is my plan worked. I beat the rain and got it done. There are always more things to do in the garden and I hope to get back out there soon. There are about 90 days left in the growing season and I want to see what I can do while there is still time.

            As I stood out there looking at the garden before this major transformation, I wondered if our lives look like that mess to Jesus. I wondered if He sees us as weed-infested and full of dead vegetables. What do we say to Him? I mean, there is always stuff in our lives that we need His help fixing. We can’t do it alone. Do you think that Jesus is angry, disappointed, and sad at the state our lives?

            The revelation I got this weekend is that He is not, much to my surprise. I was excited about the opportunity to get out and clean up my garden. Jesus is excited when He sees our heart ready to work with Him. Those ugly old weeds don’t bother Him. He is just so glad to spend some time with us. In fact, He is humming and singing while He works.

            You see, He is glad to get those life-sucking weeds out of our lives. He sees the potential for Kingdom fruit in our lives. If you are ready to work with Him, He is anxious to get started.

            While I was planting the seed, I stopped a couple of times and just looked at the seeds in my hands. There was something about those dry seeds that stirred hope in me. I guess it was what those seeds represent, the possibility of a harvest. I am hoping they will produce a crop for me before the first frost.

            That’s why Jesus gets excited to work in our lives. He sees our potential. He plants those seeds of hope in us, knowing that He will get a harvest from us. Jesus knows that the seeds have to sprout and grow in us. He will tend the garden because He is intent on tasting the fruit.

            I want to encourage you to open your heart before God and ask Him where He wants to work in your life. Don’t try to fix something on your own. It is a futile attempt to fix something in your life without God’s help. We tend to focus on sin, and He is much more interested in heart attitude, conviction, endurance, perseverance, faith, hope, and love. One thing I have learned recently is that if we will work with Jesus where He wants to work, He will take care of the rest. God loves you and only wants the best for you AND a spiritual harvest for the Kingdom.

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