All contributing writers
Have you ever given someone a High Five? Many people will fist bump now. It’s all the same. Two friends meet and they High Five! This is a great story about why it is important to have such good friends by Steve Hartman… High Five!!!!
By Ashlie Miller
One evening this week, amid a gentle rain shower, I stretched out on the couch on our porch and drifted off to sleep to the steady lullaby. My weary body and spirit craved the refreshment of the rain. Earlier that morning, I had walked in the humidity, noticing water running off lawns into the storm drains. What a waste! Yet, the parched ground is thirsty for water, and sprinklers will have to suffice in the absence of precipitation.
The earth knows what it is like to be thirsty. But do we? Physically, I wonder. I laugh at myself upon recovering from the sounds of thermal double-wall bottles clanging with a heart-stopping shatter to the floor. I am amused and confounded by the status symbol, even among tween girls, over having multiple Stanley cups. If ever a generation lacked the sensation of physical thirst, it would be the age and culture in which we live.
However, can you go back in time with me to a more dehydrated generation? Remember running through the oscillating sprinklers and then panting to grab a hosepipe? What about enduring PE laps or the long class that seemed it would never dismiss and gathering in front of the water fountain for your turn for a drink? We can remember being thirsty and longing for that moment around the shiny silver bowl. If you had access to a water cooler with individual cups, you were in heaven!
When was the last time you were spiritually thirsty? You woke up in the morning desperate for answers or the presence of a God. Perhaps sleep alluded you as you wrestled through the night until you flicked on a low-watt light to read a few passages from a large, well-worn book to speak peace and comfort. You set your calendar by what was happening at church. You longed for fellowship with your brothers and sisters – to worship, share hope, and hear the truth. Maybe you have never experienced the latter but long for some community and being known.
But things have changed. Life is so busy. Like grabbing the Sundrop, the extra tall latte, or a canned energy drink, you have filled your life with other things to quench your thirst and keep you moving. Self-care can mask deep hurts and spiritual thirst. Focusing on our emotional and psychological selves and taking ownership of our identity can even get in the way of quenching our souls. The mesmerizing LED screen is not filling it, nor is the constant stream of activity, workouts, or other substances. Even an educated listening ear can only sometimes get to the bottom of it or offer what will truly satisfy.
Like David in Psalms 63, let us be seekers, realizing our thirst can only be quenched in God through His Son Jesus because His “steadfast love is better than life.” What a statement! David likely wrote it in the wilderness when being hunted down mercilessly. Yet, he knew what could quench his thirst.
I still say there’s nothing quite like a gulp of cool water from a hosepipe after a strenuous activity, and there is nothing as refreshing as Jesus in my life. When have you last experienced something sustaining that is “better than life”?
Ashlie Miller and her husband, Chad, are recipients and givers of grace among their church family at Mission Bible Church in Charlotte.
By Doug Creamer
Life has been challenging recently. We have both been dealing with some personal issues that have dragged us down. I feel like we are both running in low gear. There are things that need to be done but neither of us has any energy to get them done. We are staying afloat but we are just not seeing any headway. We also see God’s hand of grace and help.
When I step back and consider the challenges we are facing and overcoming I realize that we are fortunate. I have neighbors who are facing far greater challenges. They are having to dig deep and trust God in far greater ways to overcome their challenges. Often when we are facing trials and challenges we try to make it on our own. Those are moments when we need to lean heavily on our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to draw on the energy of the prayers of those who stand with us as we go through our trials and storms.
In moments of great challenge, especially when we are dealing with health issues, we have a tendency to pull back from our church family. We feel that resting at home will do us more good than being together with our church family. When we are struggling, we need to be with our church family so they can see our struggles and know how they can better pray for us and stand with us.
That leads me to another way we struggle. It is hard for most of us to allow someone else to do things for us. When someone comes to help us in practical ways or make us a meal we struggle to receive that help. I am not sure what keeps us from being on the receiving end of a blessing. Most of us are good at blessing others but find is hard to receive blessings.
I recently asked my Sunday school class: how do you see God in the middle of your struggles? Some look to God like Santa Claus, asking Him for everything without really wanting a relationship with Him. God has a deep desire to connect with mankind. He wants a relationship with each one of us. He doesn’t want to be Santa or a Genie in a bottle.
The Bible teaches us that God has many names and I want to explore a few of them with you. First, He is Jehovah Jireh, God our provider. He meets our needs. Many think that is limited to our financial needs. God cares about ALL your needs and wants to help you discover how to meet them. It’s okay to express your needs to God. He cares about your situation and needs.
He is also Jehovah Rapha, God our healer. I know that many of you need a touch from God in your physical body. I encourage you to let God know about your health needs. I believe God is still in the healing business today. I also believe that God will lead us to doctors who can help us and bring healing through procedures or medications. Our part is to trust Him as we walk through the process. He will be with us all the way!
In our turbulent world, many struggle to find peace of mind. If you watch the news on a regular basis it is easy to see why you are struggling to find peace. There is no peace in our world. We all desire peace but it eludes us. The good news is one of God’s names is Jehovah Shalom, God our peace. Shalom is wholeness and peace of the body, mind, and spirit. We can find peace in God. When we turn our hearts and minds over to Him, He can give us an inner peace that helps us overcome the anxieties and worries in this world.
There are so many other aspects of God that I have not even touched upon, but I want you to know that we have a great big God who is on your side and with you whatever you are facing. I want to encourage you to take your needs to God and then wait in His presence. Listen for His voice to guide you through your circumstances. He has a plan. He will see you through. He is greater than your circumstances. He will guard your heart and mind. Trust Him with the details. His love for you is greater than you can ever imagine. Let God surround you and meet your needs, Jireh; heal your body, Rapha; and give you perfect peace, Shalom!
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
By Roger Barbee
For a Christmas present, Mary Ann gave me a book titled The Upward Path, which was published in 1920. It is a small, blue book with just 250 pages of text, but each page is packed with information still useful today. In the Foreword, the editors write: “It is the hope that this little book will find a large welcome in all sections of the country and will bring good cheer and encouragement to the young readers who have so largely the fortunes of their race in their own hands.” The “good cheer and encouragement” the editors wish for comes from the essays, stories, poems, myths, life-stories, and histories that follow in the book’s pages.
As I read the collection compiled by the editors, I recognized such names as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Booker T. Washington, Charles W. Chesnutt, and James Weldon Johnson. However, there were many I had never heard of, and I was glad for the Notes section which holds a short biography of each writer. While it was a pleasure to read their short biographies, it was a joy to read what they had written for this small volume. Topics of every nature had been written about. I sense that because The Great War had just ended, the editors included many stories of bravery exhibited by American soldiers in the horrible trenches of France or Belgium. Tales of animals abound as do stories of schools and the acquiring of an education. The lives of Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln are held up as examples of how to live. One myth written by Fenton Johnson, The Black Fairy, is an explanation of how Africans came to the United States and like many selections, it is beautifully illustrated by Laura Wheeler. The selection, Behind a Georgia Mule, is a delightful tale of how a mule wins out over James Weldon Johnson showing how a seemingly lower animal can outsmart a man. Each selection has wisdom of living as its base, and one of my favorites is a four-line poem written by Cordelia Ray titled Charity:
I saw a maiden, fairest of the fair,
With every grace bedight beyond compare.
Said I, “What doest thou, pray, tell to me!”
“I see the good in others,” said she.
Since reading the little book, I have thought of it and talked of it with Mary Ann. As a teacher of English, I have pondered its selections and intent. As a reader, I have learned from it. The editors had a definite audience in mind and a purpose that is elegantly expressed in the words “bring good cheer and encouragement to the young readers….” Yes, the audience is the young blacks of the 1920s in America, but as I read and thought, I saw how the idea and intent behind the little blue book could be used for young readers today? I wondered, “Can we not find literature today that will teach valuable life lessons while bringing “good cheer and encouragement”?
When I choose a story, poem, novel, play, or other genre of literature to teach, I examine its potential for inspiring readers. That does not mean that a reading need be “happy”, but that it gives an honest look at the human spirit. That is what the little, blue book does—it shows how the human spirit can overcome obstacles—world war, slavery, lack of education, or any number of trials that are faced and then defeated by the characters in the book.
So much of accepted reading today, it seems to me, is trite, overly violent, sappy, poorly written, or just not that good. Too many characters in novels and stories read today are one dimensional. Seldom do we ask students to face a demanding task such as learning how to give a text a close reading or to learn to explicate a poem. We seem content to accept that any reading is good reading, and I think that attitude does our youngsters a dis-service. When we accept graphic novels as equal to Beowulf or use a serial of modern vampire novels as equal to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we lie to our students and ourselves. Just as some foods are better for us than others, so it is with literature.
We should, in my mind, do as well today for our young readers as did the little, blue book for its readers.
By David Freeze
Making the most of your hot weather run or walk!
Two of my own favorite running stories and my best biking story involve extreme weather. I haven’t been afraid of extreme weather on the run but sometimes determination can override common sense. I worked for a winter, December through mid-March, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I had no idea about real cold until we walked off the plane not properly dressed for a 20 below zero wind chill factor on a December morning.
I had packed my running clothes, not enough of them, but desperately wanted to keep up my running while there. A new company friend was a runner too and helped me with proper gear. Good thing he did, because I survived a 5 mile run in 40 below wind chill. Locals said, “Don’t even try it, your skin will freeze!” It didn’t but thankfully I was much faster then and was only outside for about 35 minutes.
We’ll not see that kind of cold here, but the heat has been the source of much running discussion the last week and more is ahead. I don’t care for the hot and humid days either, but any day with a run (and now with a walk) is better than the alternative. Here are a few tips worth sharing on keeping your daily run or walk going. Most runners and walkers head out with a goal pace or distance in mind and are willing to compromise on one or the other. On a hot and humid run, it’s better to be willing to compromise on both.
I’m a morning runner or walker and I try to get the best temperature of the day for summertime exercise. But the trade off is that early morning exercise has potentially the highest humidity in the summer. High humidity, a nearly everyday companion in the summer south, can be a real anchor. Hot humid air feels thicker due to the amount of moisture in the air. Your body then must work harder to breathe. This makes you feel short of oxygen, which not only increases heart rate further but makes your effort feel harder. Sometimes I tell others that I just had “nothing” on my run. If this is the case, try switching to run/walk intervals or slowing down to allow your body to take in more oxygen. Particularly if the humidity is so high the sweat just won’t evaporate off your arms. Dial it back and you’ll still get a good workout.
Your workout is likely doomed in these conditions if you haven’t hydrated. The worst and hardest workouts of the year can come on a warm and humid day especially if your hydration goals aren’t met. I find best results with emphasis on building hydration late in the evening and through the night. Some people say, “I don’t want to get up late at night to pee.” A serious runner or walker would be OK with getting up a couple of times, drinking enough so his or her pee is clear, the only proof that hydration has been achieved.
I have often lost 3-5 pounds on a long summer run and every bit of it is sweat loss. One thing I tell my beginning runners classes about hydration, “Without proper hydration, your workouts will be much harder.” Simple water and summertime fruit will achieve proper hydration for most runners and walkers. Keep drinking!
Whether you run early morning or not, don’t stop because its hot. Find shade if you must run during the day. Don’t be afraid to get up at 4am to run in the dark, usually the coolest times. Wear light dri-fit clothing and socks, never cotton which will collect your sweat. Use a treadmill if you must, but don’t stop running.
Rowan’s next 5K is the Run for the Greenway 5K and Fun Run at the former Knox Middle School site. We just changed the course for a downhill start and a flat finish. I hope to see you there, runners and walkers all.
Look for this 5K and other events at www.salisburyrunners.org.
Luke 24:32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Prayer:
Lord I do not want to miss any of those opportunities. Help me to be
alert Holy Spirit and mindful of Him. Help me to not always be in such a
hurry that I hurry pass some of those very important moments that You
have set up for me. Lead me Holy Spirit, I yield to You in Jesus name.
Amen.
Ed Traut
Prophetic Life
Here is a story about a young man who is willing to listen to an old lady tell her story of the Holocaust. She is an actual survivor of that horror. We MUST remember what happened and as the young man says make sure we never do it again! Listen as Steve Hartman shares a great story…..
By Ann Farabee
Rest? That short four letter word sure can be elusive.
My favorite definition of rest is to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or to recover strength. Most any definition that includes the words relax, refresh, and recover is a word I want to include in my vocabulary and in my life. Rest is significant in the Bible as it is found over 250 times.
Many of my readers are aware that there are four of us living in our home – two almost adult grandsons, my husband, and me. At any given moment in any given day, there is the likelihood that there would be others in our home, as well. I wouldn’t want it to be any other way. People hanging out together from a barely walking infant to a barely walking 70-ish year old. That was a joke – Charles exercises every day. We have bonus family, too, who are the students I tutor in my home.
What a great life! Family is around often, and I also still get to be around my students, even though I am retired.
No matter how hard I work every day, if I am at home, I am at rest.
I do not count work done at home as being work.
Being home feels like being at rest – in spite of the work that has to be done.
It is home because it is the place I am most comfortable.
There are a couple of chairs in my home that I think each person understands are my chairs..
There is a blanket that is taken from room to room, but only belongs to me.
No one would even think about using my pillow. One year I decided that I was going to buy myself a really good pillow, and I have had no regrets, and I dare say that no one else has ever laid their head on it.
Even though I share my home with family, there are some things that belong just to me.
That pillow. That footrest. Those bedroom shoes. The flannels. The chair. My place at the table. Even if a storm cloud is hanging over my life, if I am in one of my spots, I am at peace.
Because – I am at home.
I can cuddle up beside anyone who lives there.
I can be myself in every way.
I can be at rest – even when I am busy.
Maybe that is why Dorothy tapped her heels together 3 times and dreamed of home as she said, “There is no place like home.”
But – the rest we can attain at home – is in no way comparable with the rest we can attain in God’s Presence.
One recent Sunday afternoon, I laid down for a minute. Yes, just for a minute.
I knew it was too late to take a nap, so I was just going to rest. No one else was around, but when I closed my eyes, I felt a mighty wind enter the room. It was rest of a different kind – it was the kind of rest that only the Holy Spirit can send our way. With my eyes closed, Jesus came to my mind, and I began to focus only on Him.The wind blew – not the wind outside my window – but the wind in my soul. How can it be a mighty rushing wind and it come in like a soft whisper to my soul? I was at rest in the presence of God. I never went to sleep, but my mind, body, and spirit was at rest. My focus was only on the presence of the Holy Spirit living within me – speaking tenderly to my heart in that quiet moment of the peace of God within me.
Quiet moments? We sure do need them.
Matthew 11:28 says this:
Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened. I will give you rest.
Ready? Set? Rest.
By Ashlie Miller
Like many NC walkers in the summer, I try to get my steps in early – and it seems that “early” gets earlier each day with the increased humidity. Inevitably, I stop in my tracks at least a few times a week because something, usually minuscule, is stuck in my socks. There is probably a seed of some sort that I have not yet recognized, but without fail, there it is, poking through my sock onto my ankle. It is not quite the “thorn in the flesh” that the apostle Paul describes, yet it does leave me pondering.
Naturally, I pause to remove this tiny sliver and carry on so that I may enjoy—or, lately, endure—my walk. Although I almost anticipate this regular occurrence, I often attempt to press on, assuring myself that I can get accustomed to it. Perhaps I could, but I am certain that allowing it to remain will, at best, mess with my thoughts as I try to have a peaceful walk or, at worst, actually cause a scratch that I would later have to tend to.
I notice that I am prone to pick up and carry other things with me unnecessarily on my journey – worries, concerns, and anxieties. I am not always as prompt in removing them from my focus or redirecting my gaze. They begin to wear at my spirit and emotions from time to time. They can even wear on my mind, causing me to make irrational judgments or decisions if I am not careful. Does that ever happen to you? What little things seek to take over your focus, emotions, or spiritual direction? Are you pressing on, assuming you will get accustomed to these nagging worries?
Just like this little sliver slips into my socks on my walks, so do cares and worries creep into my thoughts even while listening to uplifting music and looking at the flowers that adorn my walk. The physical irritation has become a prompt for me to cast my cares on Jesus daily.
I have been reading Psalms this summer with some of my neighbors. There are several songs of ascent, which were often shared while pilgrims traveled up to Jerusalem. So many times, these Psalms point us to look up and redirect our gaze despite the obstacles along our path. On my walks, with this sliver in my shoe, with Psalms echoing into my heart both as I ponder readings and listen to Psalms set to music, I am given regular opportunities to look up to heaven and cast my cares and worries to the One who perfectly made me and perfectly cares. He can hold these for me, mold them, and remake them into trust and peace.
Have you been on any walks lately? How is the journey going? What slivers might affect your pace or focus?
Ashlie Miller walks her nearby neighborhoods in Concord, NC, usually by herself, but sometimes accompanied by her husband or one of their five children.
By Doug Creamer
Time Flies
Why does time move so quickly when we are on vacation? I just had a little time off from work and it seems like it went by so quickly. We stayed busy most of the time. Time doesn’t fly by like that at work, but it sure moves quickly when you get some time off.
A chunk of the time was devoted to traveling to visit family. It is always nice to catch up with family and to enjoy some good food. I spent one glorious afternoon sitting on the beach with my sister, who lives just a couple of blocks from the water. We shared about our busy lives. We laughed about all kinds of things. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day on the beach.
There is so much that has to be done before we travel and then there is always much to do when we get home. That time flies by so quickly. I also scheduled a couple of doctor appointments while I was off…more time evaporated. I could have scheduled those doctor appointments for another time, but that makes work weeks feel so busy.
The Fourth of July fell during my time off. That was a great day that went by too quickly. My family gathered at my brother’s house for our annual feast. There were burgers and dogs along with all the traditional trimmings. The best parts were enjoying a meal with my brother and sister, spending some time with my parents, and cheering for the fireworks.
I stayed behind to help my brother clean things up. When everyone was gone I asked my brother if he wanted to shoot a game of pool. My brother is competitive and very good at pool. I mainly enjoy the time we get to spend together. Basically, my brother always beats me unless I hit a particularly hot streak. I lost the first game. He accidently hit the eight ball in on the second game, so I won. Then fate pulled a fickle trick on my brother and allowed me to win. I was up two games to one. I quit while I was ahead. I am not sure if that is a rare event or if it ever happened before, but I can assure you that I will not let my brother forget it.
I am really glad that I got to spend some quality time with my family on both sides. I realize that we are all getting older and that time truly does move quickly. Maybe it is not just vacation time that moves so fast but it’s time in general. I think we have a choice in the midst of time’s movement. We can choose to enjoy and connect with others and learn to treasure the time, or we can let it slip through our fingers and miss the memories.
My Dad pointed out that my beard is mostly white. I told him that I am getting older. My brother and I talked for a little while about some decisions we were making and he said he appreciated my wisdom. The passage of time does afford us some wisdom and perspective if we will glean it along the way. We have to choose to learn the lessons of life as time moves along. Age is no guarantee of wisdom; we have to acquire the lessons.
It is hard for me to understand that time does not exist in heaven. God saw my birth before it happened and He has seen my ending. He has an eternal perspective that is not restricted by time. When we pray about something and it seems like God is not answering, it only seems that way to us because we are living in time. He has answered our prayers and has worked everything out…we just have to wait to see the results.
Whatever situation you are facing right now that seems to have escaped God’s attention… let me encourage you that God knows every detail of what is on your heart. It’s on His heart too! He has already acted on your situation. He sees it as done, fixed, and complete. He sees you on the other side. He sees you as overcoming. He has already answered your prayers. I know you can’t see it yet…but the key word is YET. Trust Him. Believe in Him. We live with time and yes, I do believe it flies until we are waiting for an answer from Him. Fear not! Your Father loves you and He will come through for you. It just takes a little more time.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com