Growing up in the 1960's was interesting. It was a time of potential nuclear attack. In our small town of Hamburg (population 2,500), we had two “Official” Civil Defense shelters, the Post Office and the County Courthouse, that would shelter 200 people. This was the national strategy. Every community and school had a Civil Defense …
Tag: jesus
It Sounded True But…
It was mid-August 1968 in one of my Basic Training classes. The class was composed of two training groups of 50 young men each, Flight 217 & 218. We had our next assignment and with only weeks away from graduation, we thought we knew life in the military. Then, a stone-faced Sergeant walked into the …
Puppies & People
It dawned on me as I stood in the rain with our new dachshund puppy, Lizzy-Farrar, how much I have in common with her. In short week we have had her, she is still learning to mess (pee & poop) in the yard & not in the house, that gnawing on the electrical cord cannot …
Feeling Forgotten & Alone?
It can happen in a crowd, at work, at a party or sitting alone on your couch. Being forgotten hurts. Good news, God tells us He has not, nor will He ever forget us. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she …
New Ground…The Process
Much of the beautiful farmland in Arkansas was once forest. When it was cleared, we called it “New Ground”. I remember the process. The first stage, the huge D8 Caterpillar bulldozers, came to cut & pile the trees to burn. That took a few weeks. It may have looked like the field was cleared but …
Who Do You Imitate?
When I was a young boy, I wanted to be like Gene Autry. I had two of his 45 rpm records I played almost every day. When I went outside, I would ride my stick horse “Champion” everywhere, singing, “Back in the saddle again.” A cowboy with a great smile that took care of the …
A Life Choice, Imprisoned by the Past or Free for the Future?
It was my first job off the farm during the summer of my sophomore year of college. I was a “helper” on a Coca-Cola delivery truck in Shreveport, LA. I was assigned special duty to work at a busy grocery store that was running a big sale on Coca-Cola. It was at this store I …
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The Rice Shovel
There is nothing more basic to a rice farmer than his shovel. It goes where he goes. If it’s not over his shoulder as he walks across the field, it’s in his pickup. He uses it to open the levies to flood the field, to repair broken levies, to drain the field, and to kill …
Do You See Value?
I believe we are in God School until we take our last breath. I remember this particular God Lab Lesson. I will call it, “Do You See Value?” It was a mid-morning Friday in 2000 at Civitan Services, where we provided habilitation & therapeutic service for men, women and children with developmental disabilities. I was …
Simpleness of Focus
For a farmer it always begins here…the field and his shovel. For the farmer there will be no clock to punch in & out to get paid…no vacation break or boss to complain about. The farmer must relentlessly put first-things-first by not allowing any distractions. For the farmer knows if he misses the narrow window …
Today's Good News 