A Weight

When I got out of bed this morning there seemed to be a weight on me which I had no explanation for. It may just be concern for my Dad, as he is having problems with his foot once again, and they want to amputate, but he doesn't.

Dad believes that the Lord has assured him that he is going to keep his foot. If Dad has that assurance I believe him, and that is how I prayed last night as we met and had prayer.

We, ie., my wife Madge, Mom and Dad, Judy (my sister), her husband David, Dave and Edna Eaton (David's Mom and Dad), Duffy and Dawn Guyton (David's sister and her husband from Memphis, TN.) got together at the Eaton's home and had a time of prayer specifically for Dad's foot and leg. I am believing that God is going to renew that foot and leg.

Dad has said he is willing to receive God's will in the matter, as am I. God's will and plan is the most desired plan of all.

As for that weight on me; I really just don't know why it is there. The spiritual condition of the Nation, the world. I am anxious for the return of Jesus for His Church. I pray that the many whom I am praying for for salvation will be saved.

It is not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

May the Lord help me with this weight. As I write this and express it I can feel some of that weight lifting. Thank YOU Lord.

If you are a Christian; in your time of prayer would you pray for my Dad. I would appreciate it, and pray for God's will and glory.

One more item I want to write about is that I drove the School bus for the last day of Summer School. My cousin Marie called a couple of days before and asked me if I would fill in for her on Friday. I told her I would. I drove the bus my granddaughter Naomi rode for Summer School. She will be in Kindergarten when School resumes in August. She will not be riding my bus at that time. When Naomi got on at the morning run, she gave me a great big hug. Those hugs are great.

Another Funeral

On Saturday morning sometime before the rising of the sun, there was a deadly car accident in or near Rogers, AR., and it was the daughter of a cousin of mine. There was no alcohol or drugs involved, it appears just to have been the affects of a tired young lady.

I received notice of this on Saturday morning from my Mother while I was in Booneville, AR. helping our son and his wife move to their new home. It seems that my cousins daughter pulled out in front of an oncoming vehicle, and she died at the scene. She was only 26 years of age, not married, and had no children. She did have loving parents, a sister, and grandparents [my aunt and uncle], and they will all miss her greatly.

I attended the funeral today, and to me it was a sad event. They gave her all the accolades of praise they could think of, such as, "She always had a sunny disposition, was always smiling, and that she enjoyed life". I guess that is all they could say about her. There was no testimony of faith in Jesus, nor of any commitment to a church. I wept as they applauded her, and were silent about Jesus.

The pastor spoke a very good message concerning having the right foundation, and that foundation being Jesus Christ. I applauded. I hurt and I ache for my cousin, and her parents, and grandparents. If Sunni did not have Jesus, she is no longer smiling. I only pray that she met Him, but has been silent about it, if that is possible.

A Parable Continued

The story of a Certain Man, Speaks Out, and Sister Not Present; hopefully now is a story that can be put to an end.

When there is conflict in a family that is not good. The good Lord never intended conflict, at least not to the point of causing confusion, hurt and distancing one's self from the rest of the family.

The family met for its weekly gathering twice on the first day of the week. The Certain Man was calling for a time of talking with the Father of the family. Before going into the talk Certain man called out a couple of things which needed to be dealt with before addressing the Father. It was not a pleasant thing to do, but it was a necessary thing to do.

Certain Man mentioned the annual family outing to grow the family, and the charges which had been made, and was used to harm the feelings of Speaks Out. The charge was that Certain Man and Speaks Out had gotten together and planned the event without Sister Not Present. Certain Man informed the family that that charge was not true, that it in fact was a lie. The brother who did this was simply trying to cause a family problem.

Certain Man also addressed another issue which had recently came up. That is a charge that he was getting his weekly addresses from electronic devices. Certain Man made it clear that he had not, nor will not do such a thing, but in fact makes posts of these address outlines on the electronic device.

Will the problem be solved? Will the family begin to grow, and put aside all bitterness, wrath, malice, and anger? We can only rely on the Father of the family. He will give us peace.

Rain, Be Thankful for the Rain

For a few years around the parts of Missouri where I currently live and grew up it has been dry during these months with farmers bringing little crops of hay. Ponds have gone dry, and even heard of a well going dry now and then.

We have been getting rain. Today (June 11, 2007) it has rained nearly all day long. There have been flood situations near Joplin and some roads closed, and holding trucks back from making their important deliveries. Now, I can undertand their frustration, because that is their livelihood, and others are dependent upon their getting their good through to them. Let's all remember that many of those goods could not be delivered without water, and in some cases, actually in most cases, that means rain.

Even out in California, where they irrigate most of the time and some of the farmers don't even want it to rain, because that messes up their schedule of irrigation, that water they use comes from somewhere, and some of that comes from the Sierra Mountains, of snow run off coming down to them, and that snow comes from the same place rain does, and God Almighty gives it all.

The aquifer which is really the underground water supplies, [underground lakes, rivers, streams] are supplied by rain, which the good and gracious Lord gives to us all.

Whether we like it or not we all need rain. When it comes in too heavy for our liking or when it comes in little bitty doses; we must be grateful for it all. Without water, without rain, we die.

Rain, Be Thankful for the Rain.

Tilling the Garden

We have a garden this year. It is down at the place where my Dad grew up. There are several rows of Potatoes - yes I spelled that with e-s, because it is in the plural. It seems as I have mentioned this in a previous article. However, I have not mentioned this before.

Last evening I went and used a tiller, you know, one of those things that has two wheels behind some metal tines which spin under the power of a 5 horsepower engine, or whatever horsepower. It is supposed to really be an aid to keeping the soil around plants loose where it can receive and retain moisture, thus, grow faster and better. You may be thinking, 'This guy grew up on a farm, and he has never used a tiller'. That is because we always either used a hoe, or it was cultivated with another implement behind a tractor, set for the width of the rows.

This was the first time I ever used a tiller. I quickly learned that you do not just walk behind one of them. The operator must maintain control. It would be so much easier if you could just hold the handle bars and walk behind it, but then, what good would that do the garden. The ground does not get broken up that way.

This garden really needed a tilling too. It was weedy between those potato rows, and that was basically all I got done. I was ready to quit by the time I got to that final row of potatoes. Of course, I was ready to quit after the second row was finished, but there were about six more rows to do.

When I did finally quit for the time being, I was as wet as if I had jumped in a shower with all my clothes on, but it was only sweat. My hands, even as I am writing, are hurting from new blisters, and the muscles are acheing as well. I must say that I am thankful to be able to do this. I was there with my Dad, a couple of nephews, and they were planting tomatoes, and peppers, I think. I am not so sure about the peppers.

Just like a garden needs tilling once in awhile to get rid of the weeds, tear up the soil, and such as that, so too, do we who are Christians need to have our lives plowed and the weeds destroyed so that we might better grow, and produce fruit; that is, if the bugs don't get it.

Death - Not a Pleasant Topic?

My wife just had an older sister to die. I am not afraid of using that word die, because that is what happens when these bodies stop breatheing and the heart stops beating and the mind stops functioning. From the day we are born, and even before, our destiniy on earth will be death. It is not a pleasant topic, but it is a reality of life.

As I said, my wife's sister died on Friday, May 25, 2007 in Fairbanks, AK., and actually I should say in Two Rivers, AK., because that is where Estell and her husband Kidrick lived. Estell had been battling with cancer for several years, and when they sent her home from the hospital the last time they knew it was to die. All knew it was going to come. From all things that I heard of her and her battle with cancer, even to the final day, she held on to her faith in God.

We had her funeral today in Walnut Grove, MO.. It took them that long to get her body shipped on a cargo plane to Missouri. Isn't it amazing how slow a cargo plane is? Pastor Gene Terry preached a wonderful message of grace and everyone's need to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. At the gravesite he pointed out that Estell is not with us any longer, but that she is in heaven with our Lord and Savior, and the only way we will ever see her again is if we know Jesus.

I am very thankful for the grace of God and am glad to say, By the grace of God I know I will see her again, as well as her mother, my grandparents, and some friends who have gone on before me. Most of all I know I will see Jesus, my Lord and my Savior.

I pray all who comes here will know Him. Death isn't so bad, when you know it has been conquered by the resurrection of Jesus, and that He is alive today.

The Price of Gasoline

I am not one to complain; at least not too often. The price of gas, however, gets into the pocketbood, and I have very little there to spare, as many in this great nation of our do.

With Oil Companies making record profits - something I heard around 16 billion dollars in a quarter this year. They say they put those profits back into exploration, but let me say something; PROFITS ARE COUNTED AFTER ALL EXPENSES ARE COUNTED, and that includes EXPLORATION.

Until just a few days ago I had not thought much about that. Someone pointed it out to me, and that is correct. You count profit after all expenses are deducted. Is EXPLORATION not an expense. It is an expense.

There is no doubt that we are the most fuel consuming nation on earth; and we even have some of the cheapest prices, and for that we should be thankful.

These prices, however, are going to put the poor of our country completely out of commission. Maybe we don't care for the poor. Then, we are headed for a really big catastrophe. It will be more than a problem with Oil; it will and is a problem with our Creator.

When gas reached 2 dollars per gallon I had to start watching where, when, and how often I drove. Now that it is 3 dollars plus it has become even more necessary.

I don't guess there is anything that can be done about it. I can be thankful for what I have and realize that God is still in control, and He supplies my every need. I do pray that I can and will be a better steward of His resources. How about you?

Let Me Tell You About My Days

Today is the first day of Summer vacation from driving the School Bus. I am so glad for Summer vacation. Now, it is not that I dislike kids (and I mean no offense by using the word kids; because I was always called a kid, and it never bothered me), it is just that they have a way; especially when they are screaming, fussing, fighting, playing; and all when they shouldn't be; on getting on your nerves. After nine months of driving them I am ready for this break.

During school my days started on most days at 2:30 to 3:00 a.m. No! I did not have to get up that early to go and drive the bus. I get up that early to have a quiet time with the Lord, pray and read His Word, and to also write articles, and maintain the blogs that I have. I try not to do much, if any blogging during the daylight hours. I leave to drive the bus at 5:15 a.m., then drive approximately 17 miles one way to the bus garage, arrive there at around 5:50 a.m., do the pretrip, and leave to pick up the kids at 6:05 a.m. I have about a twenty five minute drive before I pick up the first student/rider. We then, arrive at the High School to drop off riders at around 7:45 a.m. and then, to the other shortly thereafter. The bus is parked by 7:50 a.m.

Most times I return home for breakfast with Madge (my wife), and after breadfast I am back in the office for studying the Word preparing for Wednesday night Bible Study and the sermons for Sunday morning and evening. I break for lunch around noon, and after lunch, I may take a short nap or return to the office to study some more. It is probably about an even split between which one I do.

At around 2:00 p.m. I return to the bus garage, to return the riders to their homes or sitters. I usually arrive back home around 5:30 p.m. or shortly thereafter. My evenings I usually spend relaxing, watching television news, then, programs Madge and I enjoy watching together, and there are times that I feel I need to update a blog or something like that.

There are some days that I will stay in town, or go down around Carr Lane and visit our church members.

Since School is out my plans are to spend two days other than Sunday and Wednesday on the church field visiting members and the people of the Carr Lane area. I am still planning on arising before the chickens at around 3:00 a.m., during my Summer vacation

Looking Forward to Summer

Here it is that we are nearly two thirds of the way through Spring, and I am looking forward to Summer. Spring and Summer are my two favorite times of year. Spring because everything starts coming back to life. The trees begin to grow their leaves again, the grass begins to green and grow - now if you hate mowing your yard you will hate that part of it - and the air begins to warm and the blood begins to flow through the veins again. There is life. Summer, because it is warm and sometimes hot. I like heat, but not too much heat. I can stand the heat, and endure the cold, but when it comes to cold, that is all it is enduring.

One thing I am glad of about Summer is that School will be out. It is good that whoever set up our school system to have a Summer break was wise. It is too hot for children to be in classes in July. It is also good, because it gives teachers, and bus drivers a break from the hustle and bustle of those large and tiny voices. Teachers, I do not mean to demean your work, it is a good one, but you are mostly standing facing your students. The bus driver has them all at his back. Remember, someone once said, "A school bus driver is someone who has all his troubles behind him." I like that. Kids are great. They all need teaching and direction. They all need Jesus as their Lord and Savior as well.

I like Summer. I am looking forward to our Fourth of July get together down at the Old Swimming Hole. I am looking forward to my immediate family getting together on my wife's birthday. We have started making that an annual event. The kids will all be here and having fun, barbequeing, eating, drinking sodas, tea, water and juices.

Another thing I am looking forward to this Summer is trying to be the pastor to Carr Lane Baptist Church that I should be. We have Vacation Bible School coming in July 16-20, and we are waiting to here from Angel Food Ministries, and hopefull will be starting that ministry to our area. Making visits in the homes of the people. Visiting homes in the area of our church, and prayerfully pointing some folks to Jesus.

This Summer will be great.

Time To Be Born

The title is of course one in which we ourselves cannot decide. If I did not say that clear enough, let me say it like this. We have no say concerning the time we are born. That time is determined by God Himself, and no one else. He also determines the other end of life, and that is the day or our death.

I did not write the above to be morbid, or frightful. On May 04, 2007 Natalie Joyce Blankenship was born into this world. Her parents are Philip and Sarah Joyce Blankenship.

Natalie is our tenth grandchild. We have eight living and two with Jesus in Heaven. We claim them as our grandchildren, even though we never saw them, but we believe we will when we enter those blessed portals of eternity and see our blessed Savior Jesus Christ.

It is a joy and a blessing to be a part of this life. Without living here there would be no Heaven. We would be none existent. Before we were made we were in the heart and mind of God, and the day of our birth, as well as the day of our death is determined by Him.

I am thankful for these things, for knowing that the future is in the hands of our Almighty God and Father. Thank Him for His sovereignty over all things. Bless His holy name.

God Changes People

It is amazing how God works and changes people. When people are called to faith in Christ by the Spirit of God they believe, trust, obey, and just become all around better people.

Take myself for an example. I was saved at the age of eleven years. God's grace has continually been with me, even though, when I was in my teen years I did things for which I am not proud. I am gravely afraid that I offended the One who loved me enough to give His life for me. I also know that I have even since becoming an adult. It is wonderful and great to know that I am His, and He is mine.

Something has began to happen to me which I really never thought possible. I am enjoying do some garden work. I never enjoyed working in the dirt as a boy, and even into adulthood, and now, here I am fifty two years of age, and I have been riding a tractor, plowing a garden, digging that garden to tear up the sod patches, and smooth the ground using a harrow. Harrow, that is a new farming implement for me. Never used one until today. Got the garden ready for planting.

As I have mentioned in a previous article; I have not plowed ground in many years. The old blue Ford tractor still does not have power steering, and now it definitely wears me out; and probably quicker than the soil gets ready.

God is so good, His mercy is everlasting, and His grace is so full and free.

A Journal

"I don't know why, but there has been a new hope come in my heart. I don't physically see any hope, but at least there is some in my heart. This hope is for a better financial situation. That maybe all it is, and that is just wishful thinking.

It seems that I have always been a dreamer, but I have never worked toward those dreams. Most of my dreams have always been material oriented, I believe. Even when I have dreamed things in spiritual matters it seems, they have been for my good, and not God's glory. I do not believe I have ever seen any spiritual fruit come from my "spiritual" dreams.

Lord, give me YOUR visions and dreams for YOUR glory alone. AMen."

This was written in my own personal journal by hand on April 22, 2007. I find it rewarding to write thoughts and feelings onto paper. This is the first that I will have shared with the public. I don't think it will be the last. And, BTW, I know you are not supposed to use contractions in writing, unless it is in a quote, or something like that. To Everything...A Season.

The Smile of God

My wife, Madge and I were getting near home this evening and I had been noticing the moon. You can't see much of it; there is the faint outline of the whole moon, but in darkness; with the exception of a long curved lighted bottom. I had thought that was rather odd.

I do not remember ever seeing the moon in that phase. I said something to Madge about it, and she said, "A smiley face". I told YEAH!, I had not thought of it that way and then, I said, "It's as though God is smiling down on us.

I still think that is a pretty neat moon; especially if it is a reminder of God's good grace toward His people, and a smile to the world of His mercy.

He is smiling down on you. He loves you. Love Him by loving His Son Jesus Christ.

The Return

It was here for quite a bit of the month of March, at least two weeks. It brought pleasant temps, the ground was warmed, and most people I know loved it. The grass turned green and grew. Flowers blossomed and bloomed. Tulips were popping up in gardens everywhere. Even the oaks were beginning to spring forth with new leaves.

I am, of course, speaking of Spring. It was here and then, it went on a two week vacation. We were left with remnants of Winter. There were mornings when I went out to get in the car, go drive the bus, and the windows were covered in frost. I even started wearing my jacket once again. I love this time of year. Spring and Summer are my favorite seasons. The Falls of the Ozarks are beautiful when the trees begin to change. The colors are beautiful driving through the hills. Winters have their own beauty too, but I cannot stand the cold. I can tolerate, but only because I grew up here and live here.

My wife and I lived in the Northern part of Southern California for 16 months, and I could enjoy that type of Winter for a long time. We moved back here, though, and we love it here.

Like a good, old and faithful friend Spring has returned, and I am hoping he stays around ; at least until Summer arrives.

Welcome back Spring.

Plowing Along

Many have heard someone say, "I am just plowing along", meaning, of course, that they are struggling along with life, but they are progressing. That is not what I mean by the title.

I did something on Monday April 09, 2007 that I had not done in many years. First of all I rode the old farm tractor that I ran into a tree when I was a boy of about twelve years of age. That is right - I ran it into a tree, or maybe I should say, it rolled into a tree after I jumped off to catch my horse or something, and I did not set the brake, and it ran into a tree. It was a brand new tractor at the time. That is not what this is about though.

The reason for riding the tractor was to take it to the old home place where my father grew up, and plow the old garden spot. My Dad told me several months ago that he would like for the family to have a garden spot down at the old house, and nothing was ever done about it. So, I was setting out to do something about it. With my brother Steven's help, we got the tractor and plow ready, and then, I headed over there.

It was a little tough plowing a little piece of ground that had not been plowed in probably thirty five years or more. Old fescue roots build up in that sod, and just make it plumb tough. I don't believe I did a very good job. It had been twenty five years or more since I had plowed anything. The old tractor has no power steering, never did, and it is harder to steer now than it ever was.

Anyway when I returned home I was really tuckered out. I did not do anything all evening. We will be planting some things there soon. Now some reading this may think, "Shouldn't things have been planted already?" Most usually, yes. This year; NO! We have had a freeze the past week. The first week of April has been quite damaging to the things that came out and bloomed. This freeze has even set the oaks back some for sure. So NO! We are in good shape for planting a garden.

Until next time.

Tim A.