It’s cold this morning.

After three years in Florida, 1+ in the Philippines, and 1+ in South Africa, cold feels cold. We started at 36 degrees this morning, and when I just went out to mail a couple of letters it had moved to 35 degrees. Why should it be colder at nine AM than it was at six AM?
We have family members who never seem to be cold. That is hard to understand. I like the changing seasons, but I don’t like some of the things that come with that change. I feel like I like all the changes that come in the spring, some of the ones in the fall, less of the ones that come in the summer, and very few of the ones that come in the winter. Paul, the great apostle, tells us that we should be content in whatever state we find ourselves. Does that mean whether hot or cold, poor or rich, old or young, or hot and cold?
I think the passage has some specifics in it. Paul is saying that we should learn to do with what we have. Paul talks to Timothy about Godly contentment. I guess that means I should be satisfied with the cold weather and not complain. Complaining about the weather is such a fruitless occupation. Becoming satisfied with the weather should remind us that God does care for all of our needs.
It is a little hard to figure out why it is that He seems to withhold rain for our crops. It may be even harder to figure why He sends too much rain at times. I guess we like to feel that in a perfect world there would be a perfect amount of rain. It is a good thing to know that He knows what is best and what is a perfect amount of rain. Only God really knows the meaning of the word, “perfect.”
Can it be that “perfect” describes what God knows to be best for us? We had a wonderful service in that church in South Africa when we returned and the first Sunday saw the temperature rise to over 100 degrees F. It did not seem perfect, but we were satisfied that we were where He wanted us to be and in that we were satisfied.
We may think that we do not have just the right temperature or all the money we would want to have. We might wish for a better job or a nicer house. Our car may not be as nice as our neighbor’s car. We need to remember that He is still in control and He is the one who is caring for all of our needs. He knows just what is good for us and we should be satisfied to know that.
I still felt cold this morning, but when I came back into the house, I had a nice warm place. Our 1000 square feet seems just right for the two of us. Our money makes it through the month in covering our needs. Our family loves us and does great things for us. We live in this great land and know that whatever the outcome of the soon coming election, we trust God for what is best for us. So—have a great day. If you don’t know the Lord, drop me a line at drdkd50@hotmail.com or go to the blog, Scriptureteach.blogspot.com and look at the “good news” blog. This would be a great day to know that you are on your way to heaven and have the prospect of a “perfect” life down here.

THE BIRD HOUSE IS BURNING

I remember the day well. There were four of us who lived a carefree life in a little building in the garden of the Lexington Home where the King’s College had moved from its original home on the New Jersey coast. We had been fortunate to receive a new pot belly stove for our little home and we thought that was wonderful.
We had established a pattern in the days before of stoking the stove with coal and opening the draft and heading out to breakfast and our classes. I had settled in to a very boring psychology class and was somewhat drifting off into another land beyond the classroom when a person broke into the building and loudly announced, “The Bird House is burning.” This was our home that was going up in flames.
We all rushed out of class just to get to the burning building in time to grab one desk from the doorway and then watch the rest of the building disappear in flames. As a sophomore in college, I did not have a great amount of worldly goods, but it was all that I had. I had cleaned out my room at home and brought it all with me to college.
I had not dressed well for the morning. I was wearing a pair of pants that had a hole in the back. My feet were clad with a poor excuse for a pair of sandals. My shirt left a great deal to be desired. One of my roommates was having his picture taken that morning so he had on his best suit, a great shirt and tie and his finest pair of shoes. I guess I should not complain. I could have cut class and slept in that morning and then what would have happened?
That new stove was the culprit. Perhaps I should say that the way we stoked it was the culprit because it was different from the old stove we had and made such a great flame that as it traveled up the flue, the heat ignited a fire in the ceiling and that was it for the Bird House. We called it the Bird House, but we really should have called it the Byrd House because it was named for the gardener, Mr. Byrd, who had kept that lovely garden at Lexington.
It was Friday when the fire took place. I headed back to my home in New Jersey for the weekend, and even wondered whether I should finish out the school year. I was not home very long when my pastor called and asked me to come and see him. Pastor Leach was a man who just impressed you as being godly. He was the pastor of our church for 35 years. Not many people can weather a 25 year tenure as pastor of a thriving church.
When I arrived at the church we sat down together and almost his first words were, “Don, I suppose you are wondering why this happened to you.” As I reflect on those words, I should say that they were a pretty obvious observation, but his next statement was not. I remember his words to this day. He said, “Don, you are expecting to serve the Lord in the days to come and you are training for that service. How are you going to show people how to trust the Lord in bad circumstances if you have never had to trust him in a difficult time.” Wow! I had not thought of the fire and the loss of all of my goods in any other way than a persecution. I had not thought of it as a time of testing and training.
It is a good thing to learn that when someone comes into our lives and shouts, “The Bird House is burning,” there is a lesson to be learned. We need to ask God, “What should I learn from this experience and how can I better serve you because of it.”

Some info about us

We moved to North Carolina in 1967 which means that our lives have been almost evenly split between 40 years in the north and 40 years in the south. Catherine and I both had some schooling in the south so we really have a couple of more years as southerners than as northerners. The picture at the top was our home, and now belongs to our oldest daughter and son-in-law. We live in an apartment on the end of the house.
I am afraid that our accent still betrays our northern heritage, but that is much less of a distinction than it was in 1967. We have enjoyed our southern years and it looks like we will complete our lives here and be buried not far from our main home for most of the last forty-one years.
Our children are mostly here in the area. Three daughters live very close to us. One is in the same house. One is a mile away. Our single daughter Martha lives about six or seven miles from us. Six of our ten grandchildren are here in town. Add to these two sons-in-law, two granddaughters-in-law, and one great granddaughter, you find that our clan totals about sixteen in this community. Our son and his family have been the odd ones who have not seen the light and moved to Winston. They have resided here for a very short while, lived in Indiana, France, and now Richmond, VA. Their next move will be this coming summer when they change their residence to Florida.
I was a part of what is now Piedmont Baptist College for twenty-two years. Since heading for retirement, I have been at Tennessee Temple University 1 ½ years, Bible Basics International 18 years, the Philippines over 1 year, two seven month tours in South Africa, and now back in North Carolina.
It has been a great life. We have been able to visit, mostly in ministry, over twenty different countries, teach the Word, work in administration, do radio broadcasts, earlier run a hotel, and a variety of odd works during these years. This is one of ten blogs we are maintaining currently. There are also two book stores on line.
That is a quick summary introducing us a little more. How about letting us know who you are? You can leave a comment on the blog or you can write me at: drdkd50@hotmail.com. Have a great day.