Listen as Steve Hartman shares a wonderful story about a gift and its impact.
A Stranger’s Gift
December 17, 2022
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Love
December 17, 2022
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By Doug Creamer
I have been thinking about the word love since Sunday school last week. I will get to the spiritual side of my thoughts in a minute. I have been thinking about how often we use the word love. I think by its overuse we have diluted its meaning. Love is a profound word that deserves a special place in our hearts and our vocabulary.
I heard myself say to someone recently, “I love being a teacher.” It’s true. My boss told me recently that being a teacher was what God created me to do. Naturally, I love doing what God made me to do. Nothing excites me more than seeing a student learn something, apply it, and find success in executing what they learned.
I love all the food we eat during the holiday season. Starting with Thanksgiving through the New Year, we eat some of the best food that is served all year long. My mouth waters just sitting here thinking about all the great food. I love eating the food and sharing some special time with family and friends.
I love snow! I do NOT want to live in a place that gets six feet of snow inside of a week. Well, let’s be honest, I love anything to do with weather. I follow storms year-round because I find them so fascinating. I love snow, thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and even beautiful sunny days like today.
I love reading and writing. I am reading an excellent book right now. I love how the author is spending so much time on character development. I have several writers who captivate me with their stories and characters. I love writing and trying to create stories and columns that people will enjoy.
I love praying. It’s hard to imagine that the God who created the entire universe has time and wants to hear from me. Yet every time I turn to talk with Him, He is right there. It’s like He is waiting for the opportunity to talk with me. It is amazing to think that my prayers reach God and He cares enough about me to answer them.
I love gardening and going for walks. Except for a few barking dogs, I live in a quiet neighborhood. I really enjoy being out in the garden working the soil and planting seeds or seedlings. I love watching things grow and enjoying the fruits of my labor. I love walking peacefully and enjoying God’s presence. I love talking with Him and treasure the quiet moments in His presence.
Do you see how often we use the word love? I think when we do that we diminish what the word love really means. Consider that God so loved the world that He gave His Son, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. God loves us. If you have been going to church for any length of time you have heard it. You know about God’s love and you might even know some related scriptures, too.
The deeper question is do you understand it and believe that God really loves you more than you could ever imagine? My Sunday school teacher said something on Sunday that I already knew, but the deeper reality hit me. Before God created anything He already knew that we were going to blow it. He made plans to send Jesus to make a way for us to have a relationship with Him. He knew I would blow it and still loved me enough to fix it.
In the parable of the prodigal son the father lets the boy go and blow everything but all the while the father still loved his son. As soon as the son was visible the father took off running to meet him. God knew mankind was going to blow it and He put the plan to fix it in place before He created us. That is love. We can’t do anything to earn His love. We already have it. We can’t fail so badly that He would turn His back on us. If we choose to walk away, He stands there looking for us to come home. Why…because He loves us!
I want to encourage you to open your heart this Christmas to God’s love. If you have turned your back on Him, walked away from church, think you have committed too many sins, or believe you are unlovable…turn around and see His great love. He is waiting for you with open arms. He loves YOU! His love, grace, and mercy are waiting for you. Come to the manger. Come back to God. Let His love envelop you.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
His Birthday
December 16, 2022
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By Roger Barbee
For the secular and non-Christ followers in America, Christmas most likely is a season of gifts, a season of colorful lights, a season for a trip to share time with relatives, a season for a tree decorated with trinkets and heirlooms, a season for parties, and more. It seems this observer that “the season” has begun earlier and earlier in order to take full advantage of the commercial side of this birthday.
However, for this Christ-follower, the substance of this birthday is more. Yes, I have always given and received gifts, had a decorated tree, and such. But I am aware of the power of the commercial world during Christmas and work to “be in the world, but not of the world.”
Jesus’ birth mystifies still. Yes, he was born of a virgin, but what of the arduous journey that his parents made? What of the smelly shepherds informed of his birth by angels? What of the Roman military occupiers of the land who wanted the child killed? What of so much surrounding this birth of one small child? Luke writes in 2: 18-19 that Mary, after hearing from the shepherds that folks wondered at their story, “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” Since Luke was not present at that time, did the young virgin, who was cast like Job into an unasked-for role, tell him how she felt at that time? We know so much with so little, and our faith must take over for much of Jesus’ birth.
But we are a culture that likes and expects concrete answers. So, I offer to the reader a poem by the English poet, U.A. Fanthorpe that may explain this magnificent birth:
BC:AD
This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future’s
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.
This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.
This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.
And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.
May peace reign: Vrede, Salām, Paz, Shalom, Peace to us all.
How Quickly Can You Lose Fitness?
December 15, 2022
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By David Freeze
Most runners and even some dedicated walkers don’t like to miss a day of doing so. What happens when we take time off and how fast does it take to lose fitness? Sometimes there is an injury that needs to heal or some otherwise important medical reason to stop for a while. Rarely, there is a certain staleness in training where none of the runs are fun and nothing else has worked.
I had my own concerns about missing time earlier in the year when I had a kidney stone and a resulting blood infection that caused a hospital stay and only minor exercise for a month. I began to research how long we can retain our normal fitness level once we stop.
Turns out that the fitness decline starts to happen within just a few days. Runners World posted an article that said, “It only takes a few days to get out of shape. That’s right. Stop running for just a week, and your maximal aerobic capacity (max VO2), one of the key indicators of performance potential, begins to decrease. Take two to three weeks off, and you’ll add a minute or more to your 5K time. Stroke volume, the amount of blood pumped by the heart per beat, also wanes by 10 percent or more in just three weeks. Even your muscles’ aerobic enzymes (key chemicals that help produce the energy you need to run) fall by 25 percent or more in 21 days.”
And here is their suggestion on how to stay in shape while taking a break not associated with injury or medical condition. Don’t stop training but do it on a limited basis and you won’t lose fitness. Dr. Owen Anderson said, “During your break, run just once a week if you ordinarily train three or four times, or twice a week if you usually work out five to seven times. For each session, complete mile repeats at your 5-K pace (the speed at which you would have run the 5-K before your break started). Divide your customary weekly mileage by 10 to determine how many reps to do. For example, if you ran 30 miles per week before your break, do three 1-mile repeats per workout. The mile repeats will almost completely prevent losses in running capacity. In other words, you’ll get a break without losing fitness.”
After years of running almost daily, I felt like I was starting over after my own period of downtime. We’ve worked too hard to give away so much fitness by choice.
I mentioned meteor showers in a previous article. Look for two more chances to see them, the first being across the sky on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 13, into the early hours of Wednesday, Dec. 14, as the Geminid meteor shower peaks at as many as 100 meteors per hour. A bright moon could limit visibility.
The last possibility is on the longest night of the year, Dec. 21, when the Ursid shower seems to come from the Ursa Minor or the Little Dipper. I will be out looking for both!
Our next running event on Dec. 10 is one of the friendliest events of the year, Santa’s Run for Hunger 5K and Fun Run. The Millbridge Ruritans host Santa annually on this day and all proceeds will benefit Rowan Helping Ministries. Held in conjunction with the Holiday Bigfoot Reunion, camping and “meet and greets” are scheduled with the big furry creatures along Kerr Mill Road. A human bigfoot shoe contest will be held following the race with all runners and volunteers eligible by wearing shoes over size 10 for women and 12 for men. A pancake breakfast will be held following the run/walk and all participants can wear jingle bells, presumably to keep from startling any visiting Bigfoots near the camping area.
Look for more information on this and other upcoming events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org
Jesus’s Helping Hand
December 14, 2022
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By Ed Traut
Mark 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
- Often when we are down, it seems there is no getting up.
- But when the Lord, our Master, stretches out His hand and we take it, everything changes.
- He lifts us. We don’t have to do it on our own. He is our helper.
Prayer: I praise Your holy name today, because You are my helper and You give me strength when I need a helping hand. I can always look to You. You will never let me down or disappoint me. Amen.
Ed Traut
Prophetic Life
We Can Do It
December 12, 2022
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By Lynna Clark
Can you keep a secret? There’s stuff going on at church. Big stuff. Does it scare you to hear that? It does me. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s a lack of trust.
Now for the secret: There’s definitely stuff going on at church. Good stuff; the kind of stuff that God stands up and applauds. The kind of stuff He blesses. Good ideas and plans to reach out to people in a whole new way. Is the leadership perfect? Good gracious no. Do they fail? Often, just like the rest of us people who are made of dust. Does our ministry rise and fall on mere men? Thankfully the answer is NO! Praise God!
So where are we going on day five? Just a reminder that our leaders will have ideas that are not always mainstream. God placed them in leadership to give us a direction and a purpose. Are we to blindly follow and eat poison and drink beer? [Still trying to make a sermon out of the mouse story on day four] The answer is of course a resounding NO. But here’s a lesson from Nehemiah 2. Verses 11-16 tell about Nehemiah’s discretion. Everything will not seem logical to everyone at all times. Discretion is key. So if you hear of a plan in the works, trust the leadership of those God has placed in position. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Pray often for them. And when a new idea is presented, you will have prayed ahead of time, and it will be easier to say, like the folks Nehemiah shared his vision with in 2:17-18, “’Good! Let’s rebuild the wall!’ So they began the good work.”
Wouldn’t you hate to be named with the guys in verse 19, who, when they heard of the plan, “scoffed contemptuously?” Sounds like some business meetings I’ve attended. So today, pray for your leadership, for exciting plans, for stepping out where no one has gone before. The sky really is the limit. God has no need of one more church that sits around holding hands with each other saying, “We’ve never done it that way before.” The world is watching to see if we care.
More Nehemiah 2:9-20
Prayer: Lord please strengthen us today with positive words, and support for our leaders. Help us when we doubt, to look to You, knowing You love Your church way more than we do. Give our leadership great wisdom, and wonderful ideas for reaching a world that has no hope. They need You so badly. Help us to love them enough to risk a little change in order to meet them where they are, for Your glory.
Joy
December 10, 2022
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By Doug Creamer
I store most of the outside Christmas decorations in the attic. When I was putting the things away in the attic last year I decided that it would be my last trip up there. I am getting older and pushing all those decorations up there has become quite the challenge. When I pulled down the stuff this year I got everything Christmas out of the attic…no more trips up there for Christmas for me.
Twenty-plus years ago my mother made each of us kids a wooden reindeer planter that held an arrangement of poinsettias. He is Rudolph complete with a cute red nose. Several years ago as I was lifting him out of the attic I lost my grip and he fell on the concrete floor. He hit his antler and one of them broke off. Rudolph hasn’t made it in the house since. As I lifted everything out of the attic this year Rudolph made the flight down, too. I pulled him out of the bag he was in and still think he is cute. The flowers had seen their better day and I pulled them out. He couldn’t come in looking like that. He needed to get his antlers fixed.
One of my neighbors has taken up woodworking. I sit on my porch and listen to him sawing, sanding, and nailing things together. I wondered if he could fix Rudolph. He was out talking to another neighbor one day and I picked up Rudolph and headed in their direction.
He saw “us” coming. After a bit of laughing and teasing about what really happened to old Rudolph, he studied the situation. He said he thought that Rudolph would survive an “operation” and said he would give it a try. The three of us laughed and my neighbor carried him home like an injured pup.
That evening I was walking when he and his wife started to pass in their car. They slowed and he rolled down the window. “Doug,” he said solemnly, “Rudolph is on life support. I sure hope he makes it.” The three of us burst out laughing and they drove away. The next day he saw me leaving for a walk and called out, “Rudolph is on the operating table now and I think he is going to pull through.” We both laughed again.
My neighbor brought Rudolph home the other day. His antlers have been repaired. I thanked my neighbor and we shared another laugh. He told me that I would have to see a plastic surgeon to fix his puff ball nose and tail, which made us both laugh again. What a silly thing to get two grown men to laugh so much.
I decided later I would send some pictures of Rudolph getting his tail and nose fixed to my neighbor. Then I thought I could take other pictures of Rudolph sitting by the Christmas tree, outside practicing flying lessons, and looking up the chimney waiting on Santa Claus. I kept laughing and thinking of all kinds of things Rudolph might do.
Rudolph has sparked some holiday joy for me. But all this fun can’t compare to the joy that should surround the Christmas season. Why are Christians joyful at Christmas? It comes down to the fact that our sin separated us from God. He is holy and couldn’t be intimately connected to us. So God in His love decided to fix the problem. He asked Jesus to come to earth, live a sinless life, and then die on a cross as the perfect sacrifice to make it possible for God to reconnect with mankind. Jesus agreed and fulfilled the mission.
God, full of joy, can now reconnect with us. We can be filled with joy because we had this debt for our sin that none of us could pay that Jesus paid for us. In essence we won the lottery. All our sin is cleansed; we win a relationship with our loving Heavenly Father. On top of that we can be assured that we will go to heaven and be with Him for all eternity. That reality should fill all our hearts with uncontainable joy.
I want to encourage you to receive the greatest gift ever given: a baby born in a manger. If you will open your heart to Jesus I promise that you will discover a joy that will overflow your life. You will still have to go through hard times, but now you will have Jesus and the Heavenly Father on your side to see you through. Open your heart now and accept Him.
Follow Rudolph’s adventure at encouragingu.com. Look on the home page and scroll down…. You will enjoy his adventures!!
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
Paw-Paw and More
December 9, 2022
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By Roger Barbee
Over his almost eighty years of life, James Hilton served many roles. Younger than James and a hopeful football player at A.L. Brown High School, I stood in awe of his gridiron powers. He and Jimmy and all those players were the ideal for all of us younger boys. Their school mascot was the Wonders and that name described them well because they were wonders. But because James dated and eventually married one of my older sisters, Linda, I was privileged to watch him grow into much more than the fellow who hit a Wyncoff player so hard that his hit not only caused the runner to lose the ball, but he also lost his helmet. One James Hilton hit produced three flying objects.
James always was present but never in the way. His strength was quiet because he was secure in his abilities and he had no need to be loud and obstructive. His still water ran very deep, and James did not tell us what he could do but in his quiet manner showed us how to do. In the late 1970’s when he was renovating a house that he and my sister had purchased, I was helping him. A small upstairs bathroom needed a floor covering, so James studied the room. He then measured for the tub, the sink and its two pipes, and the toilet. He then took a piece of linoleum into the hallway, turned it upside down, and marked it for cutting. After that he turned it right-side up and placed it in the bathroom where it fit snugly around all the pipes, tub, and toilet. He said to himself as he walked out of the room “That oughta’ work.”
Waste was the enemy of James. About fifty years ago when Linda and he lived in Tarboro, my family visited them. In his shop I noticed several boxes of broom handles, but none had the broom still attached. I remember that the bright colors of each had been worn off by use, and I asked James about them. “Oh,” he said, “the plant (where he then worked) was going to throw them away, so I brought ‘em home. Somebody might need ‘em.”
In As You Like It, William Shakespeare writes,
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,”
James did have many parts or roles during his time on our stage. All the people gathered in West Point Baptist this past Saturday knew him in some of the same roles and in different ones. Some that he “played” like the revered football player we all shared. Some roles like Paw-Paw are cherished by six grandchildren. Some roles were that of older brother, or father, or husband. But all the gathered in his family church knew James as a kind man who never refused a request.
In his poem To An Athlete Dying Young, A. E. Housman writes,
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
Today, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Fortunately for us, James Hilton lived a long life unlike the young man in Housman’s poem, and when we finally had to bring him home we are better for having known, loved, and shared James’ life.
Cross Country
December 8, 2022
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By David Freeze
This past weekend was another exciting one for Catawba’s freshman phenom Madison Clay, their girls’ cross-country team and Frank Adams IV. I promised an update and there is plenty of good news.
Between the men’s and women’s teams last Saturday, Catawba had five All-Region selections, all finishing in the top 25 individuals. Coach Jason Bryan said, “That’s the most in school history for us, making a very special day. Both the men and women ran with everything they had.”
The men just missed out by one spot on qualifying for nationals for the second year in a row, but sophomore Oussama Ajala (Gastonia) finished 7th and qualified as an individual. Other All-Region selections were Erick Ramirez (Dobson)(15th) and EJ Threatt (Pageland, SC)(20th).
Bryan continued, “The women had a historic day with Morganton’s Madison Clay becoming the first Southeast Region Champion in school history while leading the women’s team to a national championship birth with a 3rd place finish. Clay claimed SE region runner of the year honors as a freshman. Raina Andrews (Rock Hill, SC) finished 4th with another All-Region selection while Natalie Almond (Oakboro)(26th), Mikayla Jones (Aurora, Ohio)(27th), and Aislynn Reagle (Nashville, Tennessee)(30th) all finished in the top 30 to round out scoring.
The top three teams in the region get an automatic bid and the men’s team just missed out on an at-large bid. The national finals will be held in Seattle, Washington, on Dec. 2.
Madison Clay said, “I’ve been running on and off ever since I was very young, but I didn’t really get into the sport until my high school sophomore year. I had a wonderful coach who made everyone feel important, even if they weren’t overly fast. That really motivated me to keep going.” Clay dropped her 5K time from 29:58 during her sophomore year to 17:38 this year.
She continued, “On average, I usually run around 60 miles a week depending whether it’s a training or recovery week. I used to really enjoy biking and bike workouts, especially when I was injured for a period of time in high school, but I haven’t needed any cross training in a long while. In all honesty, I really just love the training, going outside and being with my teammates. The achievements and awards are more so an added bonus than anything else.”
Clay is much more than a runner and excellent student. She said, “Outside of running, I love music and art. I started playing the violin when I was 5 years old and the piano when I was 6. Then in middle school I picked up trumpet and ended up being in band/marching band all the way up through high school. I even auditioned and made it to the district level for trumpet (not to toot my own horn). To this day, I still love playing all three instruments and it brings me a lot of joy when I learn a new song.”
Frank Adams also loves running and has become a local favorite. He’s been training with a group out of Concord and has continued his improvement while running in the 8 and under USATF 2K division. Adams has won three consecutive races including the state and regional championships. He posted a time of 8:07.80 to win the regional in Greensboro last Sunday and has qualified for a trip to the Nationals in Texas.
Adams said, “This race was a challenge! I was competing against most of the boys I had raced against the last two races, and they were coming for me. I knew I had to go out fast and take the lead in order to win.”
Mom Allison Dupree Adams said, “Frank did a great job with his race plan. He got out to a fast start and made the others run his race. He pushed hard in the cold to get his personal best time in a 2K, equivalent to a 6:30 per mile pace. Frank definitely has the love of running, just like my dad (Ed Dupree), and works hard to achieve his goals.”
Next up for local runners and walkers is the Freeze Your Buns 5K in Spencer on Dec. 3. Look for this and other events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org
Seek Him
December 7, 2022
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By Ed Traut
Psalms 63:1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
- Sometimes we go through dry patches which seems so hard but it only makes us become more dependent upon Him and appreciate Him all the more.
- He is our God and when we seek Him we focus on Him continually. He becomes our main goal and purpose in life.
- A happy place it is when we seek Him, because He will be fond of us as He promises us.
Prayer: I do long for You Lord continually and I seek You because there is just no one like You. You have never let me down or disappointed me and I love You with all my heart. I bless Your holy name today. Amen.
Ed Traut
Prophetic Life