Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
When we commit and abandon our hearts to Him we can expect these things;
Goodness and love to be a natural way of life without having to be pursued, just happen naturally.
‘Dwelling in Gods house’ is to always be with the Lord and continuously putting Him first and being a part of His kingdom, always in heart, mind and deed.
Prayer: My Father I bless Your holy name today in praise and adoration and declare to You that I am Yours and totally devoted to You. Thank You for Your kindness and mercy. You are my shepherd and I do expect these things (goodness and mercy) to follow me. Amen.
Dr. David Jeremiah tells us what faith is and explains how important faith is at this point and time. Many believe that we are in the last days and we need faith to make it to the end. I want to finish this race of faith well. We must turn to our faith. Listen as Dr. Jeremiah explains…
If you have heard of all the destruction in western North Carolina, then let me share a story of hope! It reveals the kindness of people in the midst of tragedy. People can be very amazing especially after horrific events. Steve Hartman found one of those stories and I encourage you to watch it. It will lift your spirit.
How do you define love? Is it a feeling? How do you know when you have it? Steve Hartman shares a beautiful story about love. Get the tissues…watch it and enjoy!
Do you have times when a theme or word pops up prevalently in your life? Hope has been that word for me recently. I first noticed it while helping my daughter work through an AWANA book (AWANA is a Bible study and memory program that has been around for a while.) “What is the difference between hope as we see it and hope as the Bible explains it?” Do you know the difference?
The same question came up about a week later while I was at a celebration of life service for a dear lady who had recently passed away. The minister there asked the same question about hope, and he too had the same answer my daughter read a week earlier – earthly hope is the sort of wishful thinking we all have. You may have seen or experienced it last week – “I hope my loved one is ok.” “I hope they can get cell service so I can hear from them soon.” “I hope someone can get fuel, water, and food to my loved one.” “I hope they will be able to rebuild their lives.”
My family and I have lived in a wishful kind of hope not fully realized as we waited for contact with my brother in Clyde, NC. We hoped he was well. We wished he could get power and water, reach the inaccessible main road, and reunite with his family, who had been visiting with family here in Rowan County before the hurricane hit.
As humans, many of us are doing all we can to make those wishes and hopes come true. My brother-in-law’s moving company has been stationed at Walmart all week to shuttle collected hurricane relief supplies to the Concord Regional Airport for Operation Airdrop. I asked fellow volunteers I met if they had connections to Western North Carolina, and almost everyone did. I usually could tell the answer before their mouth replied as their eyes welled up with tears. “I came because I needed to feel I was helping them in some way” has been the common response. Some who have donated also do so for similar reasons. One lady I thanked for her donation shared that she had a loved one who had perished in the floods and family members who had to climb to the roof and even survive by holding onto a tree. Unable to be there to console and help in person, giving supplies is the closest thing many can do to provide a sense of hope and care.
All this does so much to offer hope and to fulfill many wishes for relief. However, there is a much greater hope, which is a sure thing. As my daughter’s study book says, “The Bible tells us that to hope for something means that we WILL get it because God told us we would.” These “somethings” are beyond temporal material things that, as we have witnessed, can be washed away in a flash. We can have access by faith into grace (Romans 5:1-2) – a gift we all need to receive what we have not earned nor deserve. We can hope and receive righteousness – the only guarantee to an eternal life with God rather than an eternal separation (Galatians 5:5, Titus 1:2).
I hope my brother’s family gets power and water soon. I hope my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew are able to get to him (if they haven’t by the time of this printing). I hope the community they are in can recover soon. I have no control and neither do they. But one thing we are sure of, our eternal hope in Jesus is secure.
Most of you know that I am a weather fanatic. I am watching storms days before weathermen on TV mention them. I watch the long-term models and keep track of current developments. My parents thought that I might pursue becoming a meteorologist, but for me it is more of an obsession.
I was watching Helene when it was just a cluster of thunderstorms down in the Caribbean. I was amazed at how consistent models were with the path of the storm and how the storm followed the predicted path. Very few storms show such consistency between model runs and between the various models.
The suffering that people are enduring from this storm is unimaginable. They desperately need more than our prayers. People need physical assistance to help them recover. The recovery effort will take months. For some roads and many bridges it could take years. The mental and emotional anguish the victims are experiencing is incomprehensible.
The damage from this one storm runs through multiple states. Helene is not a name that many people will soon forget. Some of my readers have suffered from this storm, whether it was the loss of power or trees down in your yard. We all probably know people who are going through some very rough times right now.
I woke up Friday morning to the strongest winds and the heaviest rains. I watched out my windows as the storm raged. In the end, we had standing water in our yard and the cable and internet were out. We were among the lucky ones. The lack of news and internet kept us unaware of the devastation that others were enduring.
When our services returned, we were stunned by the pictures and videos of all the damage in the mountains, especially in the Asheville area. I reached out to family and friends and was relieved to know that while they may be struggling, they are okay. The images I have seen have kept me praying late at night and very early in the morning.
While those who suffered the huge losses need to be a priority in our prayers, we also need to remember to pray for the front line workers, utility workers, rescue workers, emergency and firefighter workers, and now the organizations who going in to offer aid and support. Pray for the supply chains to get resources into these hard hit communities. People need the basics of life. They also need a loving and caring shoulder to cry on.
If you are planning to offer help, please research and make sure you are supporting reputable organizations. Sadly, there will be many scammers out there trying to take advantage of people who are already suffering. There are many ways you can help people you have never met through churches and other aid organizations who are on the ground helping in practical ways. Don’t forget that there may be neighbors or people in your own community who are also suffering and in need of your help.
The people who are suffering right now need faith, hope, and love. Jesus is broken-hearted over the loss, pain, and suffering of the people who have been affected by this storm. This is an opportunity for THE CHURCH to rise up and show those who have been affected that God cares deeply about what they are experiencing. We get to be His hands, feet, and mouth to the broken and wounded. We need to bring the light of hope to their dark world. We need to let them know that they are loved by coming alongside them in their hour of need. They need an impartation of our faith that will help them endure and make it through this tragedy.
I want to encourage you to do your part, whether it is prayer, buying and sending supplies, donating money, or finding another way to help show the love of God to those in need. Helping a neighbor in need is just as important as sending aid to an unknown victim. Listening to someone’s story and offering words of love, compassion, and encouragement can be just as valuable as sending aid. Both can change the life of another person and demonstrate to them that they are not alone in their hour of deepest need. Many people who are suffering wonder, “Where is God in the midst of my suffering?” The answer can be in the eyes of His people. We have the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love by both our words and actions. Be light in the darkness. Show love through your deeds. Share your faith and hope. Be THE CHURCH. Pray!
Growing up in North Carolina, we seemed to always have a dog for a family pet, but I was not a hunter of any kind, so I never trained or owned hunting dogs. Some uncles had beagles and coon hounds, and as a young boy I shivered around many campfires as they talked about which dog was leading the pack. A few duck hunting relatives used retrievers such as the golden, the Labrador, and the Chesapeake Bay on their duck hunts, so this is my knowledge of retrievers. Therefore, when I met Manny after his family moved from the rocky Atlantic coast of Rhode Island to Lake Norman, N.C. I was unfamiliar with his breed—the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. That’s quite a breed name for a dog weighing at most fifty pounds.
Curious about Manny and his breed, I conducted a simple Internet search and discovered the interesting heritage of Manny. His long, roan colored hair, similar to that of the Irish Setter, not only protected him in the cold waters of Nova Scotia but caused him to appear like a fox. The hunters/breeders in Nova Scotia had discovered that ducks were fascinated by foxes, so they would come close to shore if they saw one. Thus, Manny and his kind, all energetic dogs, were bred to run along the shore looking like a fox and the curious ducks would be lured within gunshot range of the hunter. Then the strong swimmer would retrieve the shot ducks. The luring action explains their name because tollen is derived from Middle English which means, among other things, “to summon.” They literally summoned the ducks for their masters.
Unfortunately, I did not get to know Manny that well or long because he was already thirteen when I met him. I missed his young days of swimming in the cold waters of Rhode Island while playing with his young owners. I like to think that he thought nothing of jumping into the northeast waters of the Atlantic when he was lured to it by one of them. I missed those vibrant days of his youth, but I would see him moseying along on an early morning walk in his front yard. Sometimes he would “slip away” from his human companion and walk in his cul-de-sac and sometimes try to make it all the way to our shared road. But better than the yard or road, he liked the lake. After all, that is what he was bred for. Water.
While I did not get to know Manny that well, I have gotten to know the middle child of the family. Gabby is in her mid-twenties and works in Boston. She is an independent, strong young female who carries herself well. She has a fire that I greatly admire and holds her family, boyfriend, and Manny close. So when her parents told her that Manny was fading, she and her boyfriend flew from Boston to the lake to be with her family, and she cherished Manny.
My wife Mary Ann holds that no pet’s last day should be its worst, and Manny’s masters had watched him closely to ensure that he was now just old, not suffering, but fading in body and spirit. This week they decided that it was time because he was losing control of his bowel and bladder; he slept most of the time, and his days of swimming in the wild Atlantic had passed. The preacher writes in Ecclesiastes that “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” It was Manny’s season.
Manny’s last day was definitely not his worst. His family fed him his favorites, they cuddled him in his blanket, and as for the past fifteen years, they unconditionally loved him. Gabby, the grown middle child, honored him and his breed by taking him for a last swim in the lake. After all, Manny was a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who was bred for the water. It was her last gift to a cherished member of their family.
More State Parks Starting with the Black Water River
Last week on Labor Day, I was able to visit four parks and had grand ideas about including all of them in last week’s article. Only three made it, with the Black Water River left out because I ran out of available space. This week, we start with the Lumber River, full of beautiful black water.
Named for the huge amount of timber harvested and transported during the late 1700s, several towns were settled along its banks. The upper river was designated as the state’s first recreational water trail in 1978, then a national canoe trail in 1981, then the state canoe trail in 1984. In 1989, the Lumber River was established as a scenic river and as a state park.
The second town in Robeson County, Princess Ann, was established in 1796 near where the park’s headquarters are now on a bluff that was safe from flooding. The town gradually disappeared and only a few signs of it remain.
The park now has 11,250 acres and is nearest Orrum, NC. The park has five designated sections and 24 primitive campsites, plus multiple paddle launch points. The Princess Ann section is where I visited. I found the office door locked but passport stamps in a box outside. I also found a wonderful, shaded section of the river with extensive picnic areas. This was one of the coolest and most peaceful sites I have seen under the huge trees with a light breeze. No canoe or kayak rentals are available so bring your own.
Fishing is reported to be excellent with bass, catfish, black crappie, bluegill, chain pickerel and redbreast sunfish. The 1.5-mile Princess Ann Trail follows the river and visits the area where the town once existed. Other parts of the Lumber River State Park include Buck Landing, Piney Island, Pea Ridge and Chalk Banks Access.
I started another trip east on September 9th. My first stop was Haw River State Park, but it was very different than any I have seen before. The park is centered around the Summit Environmental Education and Conference Center. Conference guests use eight indoor meeting spaces, 47 motel style guest rooms and 10 cabins. Other amenities include planned meals, hiking trails, athletic fields, gymnasium, outdoor pool, a 6-acre lake for fishing and paddling, disc golf, and two amphitheaters.
Summer camps and the very popular Grand Camps are also offered. Grand camps are for grandparents and grandchildren and meant to enhance their connection. Programs are also available on animal adaptations, wetland ecology, soils, orienteering, wilderness survival and team building.
After seeing all of this, I was not exactly sure what to expect when I stopped at the visitor center. I got my passport stamped and picked up a map, then asked about available walking trails. They have three available trails of .4 miles, .6 miles and 1.4 miles. I walked the Wetlands Boardwalk trail which has the boardwalk suspended over extensive low growing plants and sometimes flowing water. I was told at the desk that this trail ends at an overlook of the headwaters of the Haw River, somewhat disappointing in size. I remember thinking the same thing when I first saw the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
The park opened in 2003, a newer member of the state park system, and is still developing. The park has 1,485 acres and is closest to Browns Summit. The Haw River flows 110 miles to the Jordan Lake Reservoir. Farther downriver, the Haw River is rated as the most popular for whitewater paddling in the Piedmont. There is also a six-acre lake for fishing called Robin’s Nest Lake.
My next park was the Medoc Mountain State Park, 2,893 acres and nearest Hollister. The park was established in 1973 and is a remnant of a mountain range from the Paleozoic Age. The highest point of the park is only 325 feet, so no mountains remain.
There is wonderful hiking in the park through hardwood and pine forests, and a beautiful creek called Fishing Creek. There are nearly 11 miles of biking trails, 7 hiking trails that total 29.85 miles and 10 miles of equestrian trails. Next to the visitor center is the Habitat Adventure Trail, .75 miles with for the whole family with educational signs. The campground has 34 sites, 12 of those with electric hookups and a nice bathhouse. There is a large playing field for games, a wonderful playground and a large pavilion. Kayaks and canoes have two areas of access to Fishing Creek.
Colossians 2:19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
It seems even when we are saved we can loose ‘connection’.
Jesus is the head and when we disconnect we do not have life – He said we are to remain in Him (John 15).
There is no evidence of growth or fruitfulness without being connected and even though we are born again we are to remain continually connected and watch that nothing disconnects us.
Prayer: Lord I thank You that You have saved me and that I belong to You. I pray that You help me stay connected and always in contact with You and not neglecting my relationship with You in anyway that I can be fruitful and grow all the time in You. Without You I can do nothing! Amen.
