Off to India

At the moment of this writing our son is in New York waiting for the plane that will take him to Delhi, India so that he can become familiar with the work that his new mission is doing in that significant country.
India is a land that has been what we might call “Gospel-resistant” for many years. It was under the control of the British empire for a long time. It had been touched by people who would know much about the Word of God, but once the land became independent it has been virtually closed to the outside influence of missions.
That is not to say that there have been no Indian Christians. Some of the finest believers that I have met over the years have been Indian Christians. At least two Indian students have touched my life in a most unusual way. They have been young men who have shown startling commitment and significant passion about their service for Jesus Christ. In both cases they have had a wife that shared that vision and were really a beautiful Christian lady.
To add to these contacts I met George and Pat Moodly in South Africa. They were both South African Indians who had sacrificed greatly to serve their Lord and their people.
Even thought the danger to foreign Christian workers was always great, it seems as if there is a movement that makes it very dangerous for Indian believers to live in this large country. Persecution has taken on gigantic proportions and believers have had their lives threatened, their homes burned, and their jobs taken away.
Persecution in the name of religion is an unthinkable thing. What kind of a god would inspire, murder, rape, and beatings? It is never right to persecute a person because of what he or she is. I don’t say this because in thise case the ones persecuted are Christians. It is true in any circumstance for any people.
Our son is going to minister to people who have faced this kind of persecution where they are laboring for Christ. Many of them will have paid a price that none of us has been asked to pay. Ministering there will not be easy for him and will be challenging to say the least. Those Indian workers to whom he will speak will be hurting, discouraged, and disheartened by what has been taking place. Evan (our son) will need wisdom and a special touch by the heavenly father to be sensitive, caring, and challenging to these believers.
He can well face dangers he has never had to face before. I am proud that he is willing to go. I am concerned that he could be in danger. I am convinced that God has a purpose in his going that will revealed in the days to come.

Nature and Disney

In early 1965 our family spent a week in the Denver area. I had meetings, but fortunately the days were pretty open and we were able to do some very pleasant sightseeing.
There was a missionary by the name of John Schlener who was in the conference with me. He took a shine to our kids as he did to all kids. He tried to convince our children that they should pressure me to take them to California after we finished in Denver. His biggest incentive was that he lived within a few miles of Disneyland and they would be able to go there if we came to his house. We left it up to the children to decide if they would rather go to Disneyland or Grand Canyon, etc. They decided on the natural wonders much to our pleasure.
We were pulling a trailer and we parked that in Flagstaff and did some things from there without the trailer. Needless to say, Grand Canyon was no disappointment. We marveled as we travelled around the south rim of the canyon. My children say that I took over a thousand pictures, but that is an exaggeration. I did take a lot thought because it all was breathtaking. My foolishness was thinking that I could capture any of the beauty of the canyon with the camera I was using.
After going to Oak Creek Canyon, Walnut Creek Canyon, and a wild trip up Schnebley Hill we picked up the trailer and headed for Lake Powell. All of these experiences were amazing. We parked right near the edge of Lake Powell and spent a restfull day there enjoying swimming in Arizona and Utah at the same time. Everything about Lake Powell was a veritable “fairyland,” and we were amazed at its beauty.
We left the trailer parked at Lake Powell and rode over to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. That meant another “thousand?” pictures and whatever breath we had left was taken away all over again. Attempts to describe the beauty and awe of all of that area are futile. It was the experience of a lifetime for all of our family. Catherine and I have returned to Grand Canyon on several occasions and each time it is a fantastic experience, but the first time is always the best.
I don’t think that our children were at all disappointed at the choice they had made. I have never been to Disneyland, (I have been to Disneyworld) but the things that are natural inspire me beyond any manmade attraction.
We don’t really know how it is that there is a Grand Canyon. I have heard some very well qualified people indicate their feeling that the canyon was formed during the time of the great flood of Noah’s day. As one looks at the way that the layers of rock and sand are so inconsistent it seems that a catastrophe better explains that. The fossils and shells certainly seem to indicate the presence of the affects of a great amount of water. I am happy to go along with these men and women who recognize the hand of God in Creation and the presence of God in the daily events of life.
We are very thankful that we as a family were able to experience this trip in 1965. We went to some of the area again in 1970 as we assumed that it might be the last time that we would get to do something like this with our whole family. Now that our children are grown, it is great to have these fantastic memories. I still love to look at some of the “thousand?” pictures of Grand Canyon and other places. They may not qualify for any photo contests, but they do inspire this old man, and provide a reminder of the good things that we can have in this life. As good as they are, think what it will be like to spend eternity in that glorious place being prepared by our Lord.

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.

Fantastic Arches

Those people in Washington who decide what sights and areas will be designated as national parks or national monuments really must know what they are doing. We have learned that when we are traveling, we will stop when we see the sign indicating that it is a national site of some sort.
The Arches National Monument is no exception to that. As you ride through the park and view one fantastic sight after another, you have to marvel at the various places we have to see in our own country.
The arches in the picture are amazing. They are small in comparison to Rainbow Bridge at Lake Powell, but I have not been to Rainbow Bridge. I really wanted to go there when we were at Lake Powell, but the price for the six members of our family was too high for us to pay at that time. I listened to the guide tell about this solid bridge that the Indians called a rainbow because they thought that a rainbow had come to earth and become solid there. It is big enough to have the capital of the United States underneath. It would have fit side to side as well.
I had to settle for the beautiful arches in the picture,

A Special Family Stop

Most of the places we have gone we were with one or more of our children. We stopped at the Tetons with all four as seen in the picture. Although we enjoyed the foreign travel very much, many of the wonderful sights we saw were in our own country.

It is wonderful to live in a country like the United States. We have so much as a people. In addition to all the beautiful places in our land, we have freedom and opportunity. We have the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship, the freedom to train, and we have the opportunity to work and improve our circumstances.

Something that we often fail to appreciate is the freedom to travel around our land. We don't have to have special identity papers or permission to move around. We can just enjoy the beautiful sights that are all over our land.

It was amazing to travel around Yellowstone and see how large it is. Not long ago I watched a program about the Appalachian National Park and they said on the program that it was larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Glacier Park combined. Just about the time that sank in I thought about Alaska and its size. I once heard about an Alaskan who threatened a Texan that he would have Alaska cut in half and make Texas the third largest state. This is a big and awesom land.

The freedom to travel is both educational and a blessing. Add that to all the other benefits of being an American and you really have something.

Looking Back

The date was December 20, 1952. Add up the numbers and you will find that it will be 56 years ago this coming December 20.
Those 56 years represent:
4 years of graduate school
13 years with ABWE
6 years of hotel management
Uncounted messages given to small (20 or so) people to 6000
20 years of Bible chapels
20 years of college classes taught
Many seminars held
22 ½ years of college administration
15 years of missionary radio broadcasts
Three books written and published
Four children born, three married, ten grandchildren, one great grandchild
17 foreign countries visited
49 States visited
Over 500 chapel messages
4-500 faculty meetings
Countless interviews about greatly varied subjects
Whew! Compiling such a list makes me tired. The years have been great. God has been good.(That should come as no surprise). Our children and grandchildren have made us proud. Those with whom we have worked have been an inspiration to us. We have moved from being the novices in the family business to becoming the patriarchs of the family.
You come to this place in life when there is much less time left than has passed and you have to say, “Was it worth it?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
Letters come to us all the time telling of how the Lord has dealt with those writing. They are not all what you would call success stories, but they tell of salvation, needs met, God’s leading, and God’s faithfulness. One such letter came just a few days ago and told of using a method of helping the children with memory verses. She learned it in a Bible Club during those first days of our marriage.
We think of a missionary in Germany who took Catherine into his study and showed her his flannelgraph materials and thanking her for teaching him how to reach children. We remember a missionary of 40 years who had at the end of a semester said that he was so thankful for the course in missions because he now could not go out under the board he was considering and having that realization applied to a much better board and had a fantastic record of reaching people, starting churches, and training people in three different countries. We think of school administrators, mission leaders, college administrators, and so many other faithful workers that our hearts swell up in thanksgiving for letting us be a part of the development of people who are being used by God to do His work.
It is easy to remember the three chapels Catherine would teach at Grace Christian School in the Philippines. Would you believe she had 800 Chinese children in each of those chapels. They wanted her to come every day, but we could only make it once a month, but think of it. She was able to teach the good news of the Gospel to over 2500 Chinese children on each of those days. It made going to airport, shopping, and caring for the finances of about sixty missionaries seem sort of insignificant, but it wasn’t. It was why we were there.
Today we are limited to what we can do from our apartment here in Pfafftown. That is all that the Lord asks of us. He wants us to do what we can. We could ask Him to give us bigger crowds and more exciting venues, but that is all up to Him. Big crowds and beautiful buildings don’t matter. Listening to that still small voice and doing what it asks is all that we can do. Isn’t it great that He cares about us here in the quiet of Pfafftown? Our challenge to you is: “Are you doing what He wants you to do?” “Do you even know what He wants you to do?” “Do you even care if you hear from Him?” Lift your heart to heaven and ask Him, “Lord, what is it that you want from me at this time in my life?” I can guarantee you that if you ask Him, He will tell you.

A Modern day Monalisa

A number of years ago, a widow in our church contacted us and asked if she and her daughter could meet with us.
She came to the house here and told us that the reason she was here was that her daughter, Lisa, was going to be home alone during the summer and she was worried that Lisa would get into trouble. She said that our children appeared to be trouble free so that made her want Lisa to live in a home like that.
Lisa had been giving her mother some problems already and she knew that we would be able to know what to do when Lisa acted up. We told her that we did not know what to do because we were blessed with children who didn’t give us any trouble and we wouldn’t know what to do if they did. That answer did not satisfy and she was sure that we would know how to handle this girl when she acted up.
We had a family meeting and told our children about the request. We said that we did not want to do it if they were not willing or they felt that it would just ruin their summer. They were terrific and gave us some words on “pure religion” and its implications. So it was decided that we would take Lisa in for the summer. Of course we had told Lisa that she would have to live by the rules of our house which weren’t a great number but they were important. It included such things as no drugs, alcohol, smoking, etc. Lisa agreed and it was not long until she arrived at our house.
She was a pleasant visitor living with our family. I don’t know what problems she had before coming here, but we had virtually none for the whole summer.
We had planned a trip that would take us to Fort Lauderdale for some meetings and a visit to the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. Shortly before we left for Florida, Lisa came down with Mononucleosis. We were afraid that it would mean we could not make the trip. The doctor put her on medicine, and she seemed to be fine.
It was not long before I gave her the name Mono-Lisa. It just seemed the right thing to do. She really liked being called Mono-Lisa. I enjoyed calling her that.
While we were on the island of Bimini, we went swimming one day. We had taken the boat to a small island and were swimming around that. We did see a lot of things in the water that we did not see very often. Lisa and Martha and I were swimming together when we realized that we were being pulled by the current and as we tried to swim against it we were not making much headway. In fact, Lisa was wearing out completely and looked like she was about to go under. Someone had told us that we should go with the current and it would take us right around the island. I grabbed Lisa and the three of us did just that. The current did carry us around and we were able to make it to shore.
As we sat along the shore we were very happy to see that Lisa was doing fine. Even though the medicine was covering her illness, she still did not have full strength and we were very fortunate that something very bad did not happen to her that day. It alerted us to be very careful that she did not overdo for the rest of the trip.
That was many years ago and we don’t know what happened to Mono-Lisa or to her mother. We are thankful that we had her company for one summer and trust that our lives impacted her life in a favorable way.

News from the Appalachian Trail

A View From the Appalachian Trail

I reported that my grandson, Spencer, and his wife, Jenny, are in the process of walking the Appalachian Trail. They have not completed about two weeks of the walk and have covered about 1/3 of the State of Maine. They have covered about 100 miles and have about 2400 to go. Our grandson, Brian, who is a captain in the USAF is endeavoring to obtain some of the new type of rations that the military has available in order to give them something more satisfying than oatmeal for breakfast each day and trail mix for dinner.
All the family sits in amazement as we hear about the intense walk that they are undertaking. They have seen a variety of wild animals including one they did not see. They were awakened on a recent morning to hear something rummaging around outside of their tent. From the sound, they assumed that it was a moose, but they wisely stayed in the tent and did not test out their theory.
The walking is hard, but the scenery is beautiful. The trail through the mountains of Maine leads them past some lakes of great beauty. They are lakes that most of us do not see because we don’t undertake the difficult hike for ourselves. They don’t stop to fish or camp along the lakes, but they plod on so they can conclude their walk between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The beautiful lakes combine with the mountaintop views that they have as they walk along. As they gaze out on the spectacular vistas, sore knees and hungry stomachs fade into insignificance. Laying down the burdens on their backs at the end of the day must feel really great, but just think of the ability to close your eyes and go to sleep and the reward that all of this brings.
Life is a little like walking the long trail. There are difficult spots along the way and it may not bring pain to our knees, but the difficult places may bring pain to the heart. A broken relationship, a harsh word spoken, or a flare up of tempers may cripple our walk for the Lord. We can let the external detract from the eternal. We need to be able to lay down our heads and hearts at the end of the day and know that the walk was worth it.
A life of victory is what God intends for each of His children. He doesn’t want us to be defeated by the walk, but He wants us to grow as we walk. He has cool beautiful lakes to refresh our souls along the way. He has vistas beyond our imagination that He wants us to see as we grow in Him.
We don’t know if Spencer and Jenny are going to make it to the end of the trail they are on. There is no reason they need to do that because they are only doing the walk because they want to. If they only go half way, they don’t have to apologize to anyone. It is different with life. God expects His children to cross the finish line victorious. They are not just on a self imposed walk. They are under marching orders from God and He expects us to be victors in the Christian walk. We are very fortunate that we have resources for this walk that are not available along the Appalachian Trail. Jesus stands at the finish line ready to say to us, “Well done.” Because we have listened to His instructions, followed His leading, and allowed Him to carry our burdens, rest our souls, and strengthened our bodies through it.
Recently a man in Georgia saw what looked like a foreign object in the sky. He was sure it was a UFO, but it wasn’t. It proved to be the moon itself. He focused on that object and became obsessed with it. We need to be obsessed with the one who calls us from the sky and wants us to focus on Him for the walk that is before us. He is not a fancy of our imagination, but Jesus is the real thing. The writer of Hebrews says in chapter two concerning running that race:
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We don’t know when we will cross that finish line. I know that I am much closer to it than at any other time in my almost 81 years, but the timing doesn’t matter. We may cross it close to our birth or close to our three score and ten. God wants us to be ready to cross it at any time and His Word promises that Jesus will be there whenever we do cross that line

Enjoy life’s vistas. Fill up on God’s portioned rations. Don’t lose sight of the goal where Jesus stands ready to welcome us to our eternal home. What will it be like in heaven? No one knows all the details. We only know that it will be wonderful, fulfilling, and joyful. What more could we ask for?

Hooray for the Fourth of July

Yesterday was the Fourth of July. We had a cookout at our house with only about half of the potential family members attending this annual amount. That meant that we were twelve in number. Other family members were as far away as Michigan, Virginia, Florida, and Maine. We missed the absent ones, but were thankful that we knew they would have been here if they were not someplace else.
The Fourth is a special time of the year for us as Americans. It is a time to remember how we came to be a nation in the beginning. We have never been a nation without fault, but we have always been a nation on the right track. People have paid a high price for us to have the blessing of freedom.
The flag is the symbol of that freedom. Catherine and I are the glad owners of a very special flag. It was given to us by our grandson, Brian, when he returned from his first tour of flights above the country of Iraq. It was very special when we opened this flag last Christmas and saw that Brian had bought the flag and took it with him so that it had actually flown over the nation of Iraq. That certainly made it very special.
We are in our eighties so it should be expected that we would cherish the heritage of our country, but think about what an encouragement it is to know that a captain in the Air Force would know what a special thing that flag would be. The only way that he could know that was for it to be just as special for him.
We should never take being an American for granted. Millions of people in this world have no comprehension of what real freedom is. Our forefathers put their lives on the line in order to establish this free nation. They may not all have agreed about just how it should work, but they all agreed on the subject of freedom. Men in the south fought for this freedom when they still held slaves. How could the compilers of the Constitution do that? How is it that the people of this free nation can see the inconsistency in that today when people lived with it back then?
We need to thank God for the gift of freedom. We look at the prosperity of our nation and think that we are a wealthy nation because we are free. Let us never presume on the goodness of God. He blesses those who follow in His ways and He even blesses those who don’t know Him. He makes the rain to fall on the good and bad. It is great to be able to celebrate freedom like we do. Enjoy it today. There are those who would take it away from us and that is sad. It means that they do not appreciate this great gift.
We cannot allow people to enslave us with power or thought. More people have been enslaved by ideas than those who have been conquered by armies. My freedom requires that every other person must be free so we can enjoy it together. The Fourth of July is a great reminder that we live in a great nation of people bound together by great ideals and great ideas.

A Great Substitute

A Great Substitute
This December 20th Catherine and I will celebrate our 56th wedding anniversary. I always thought that people who reached their Golden Anniversary were ancient and decrepit. Somehow I have difficulty thinking of myself in those terms, but I do know that 56 years are a whole lot of years.
We were married on a Saturday afternoon in Hackensack, NJ. It was a great day and there are so many wonderful things that stand out as memories, but there is one part of the wedding that was intensifying. We were standing around waiting for the ceremony to get under way when a phone call came to the church. It was from Dave Curtis who was coming to sing at our wedding. Dave had left the New Jersey Turnpike at the wrong exit and was lost in a section of the area that meant there was no way he could be to the church on time for wedding.
One of the ushers (groomsmen today) was Joe Sastic whose father was on the police force in Clifton, NJ. He also sang in churches and youth meetings in the area and was known as the “Singing Cop of Clifton.” Joe’s dad was at the wedding and we made contact with him asking him if he could fill in for the wedding. He had a case of laryngitis, but he said that he would do the job. He did a fantastic job and Catherine didn’t know that it wasn’t David Curtis (whom she had never met) until after the wedding.
It took a special friend to forget his laryngitis and fill a special need. We still feel in debt to the “Singing Cop of Clifton” who did something so special for a good friend. He was only a substitute, but no one except Joe and me knew that fact.
As great as that was, there is one who is a much greater substitute. Jesus came and took our place on the Cross. He gave His life that we might have a new life in Him. The Bible tells us that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He was a substitute for those who had turned their backs on God and desperately needed to establish a relationship with God. There was no way that we could find peace with God, but He could do it for us. I am very thankful to have Him for my substitute.

On the Trail

Our grandson and his wife, Spencer and Jenny Brown, came to us a few weeks ago and gave us a startling announcement. They informed us that they had decided to walk the Appalachian Trail. They said that they were not planning to start seminary training until January and they had about six months where they could do something that they would not be able to do again during their lives.

It did not take long for this dream to come to fruition and today or tomorrow they will go to Mt. Katahdin and start a journey that will bring them home some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They left here last week and gave every appearance of being ready for the journey. Their pack was ready. Their supply route was prepared. They had read everything they could gather to be prepared mentally for the journey.

There is something impressive about a young couple having a dream that is different than most. It is encouraging to see them pursue that dream and try to make its accomplishment a reality. They could wear out and stop before they leave the state of Maine, but they would have tried. There are any number of reasons they could stop, but they would know that they had tried. The great expectation is that they will not wear out and they will not stop, but they will come down the last mountain in Georgia and come home with a glow on their faces that will demonstrate a sense of accomplishment for them.

They have a much greater goal in life and that is that they are planning to serve God in some capacity once they have finished their graduate training. Walking the trail pales in comparison to accomplishing what God wants in their lives. That walk is a great goal. Walking with God is a goal that supersedes anything else that we can dream. I will try to update their progress along the way.

Pleasing God in family matters

Don and Catherine speaking in Manila church on Family Life in 2004

Recently we were asked to give some comments on the best things to do in order to have your children become what God wants them to be. The following is a list of some of the keys that seemed to be important for our family. It is important to understand that every child is different and must be treated as an individual. You may notice that we have included “love” both at the beginning and the end. That is not an accident. It is vital because God says “love” never fails

1. Love the Lord with all your heart.
2. Love each other with all your heart.
3. Love your children with all your heart.
4. Remember that loving them is not just saying it.
5. Believe in your children.
6. Never promise them anything you can’t fulfill.
7. Never promise them any punishment you know you won’t execute.
8. Give them the best of your time possible.
9. Let them fight their own battles—school, friends, etc.
10.Have confidence in the teachers, group leaders, and others who work with your children. Be realistic about problems.
11. Let them do their own homework, projects, etc.
12. Don’t hide family problems, needs, ambitions from them. Make sure they are really an integral part of all that is happening in the family.
13. Endeavor to always build pride in their church, school, and other groups. Do not have roast preacher for Sunday dinner. Do not develop bad attitudes about programs, people, and activities at church.
14. Endeavor to set the example of faithful attendance at church functions.
15. Try to be consistent in your lifestyle. Be fiscally responsible, morally exemplary, and modest in your apparel so the children do not think you are inconsistent when you expect them to be modest in their dress, responsible with their money, and morally above reproach.
16. Try to be sure to have family meals together. Try to make the meals really good so the children will feel that their home meals are better than any place else.
17. Make sure that you really deal with the important things and don’t get hung up on what really doesn’t matter.
18. Love them with all your heart.
19. Love the Lord with all your heart.