From My Heart to Yours

I was born blind and so were you. We are all born blind. Your ability to see has nothing to do with whether you have fully functioning eyes. Before I attempt to answer the "What happened to our sight?" question let me tell how I came to understand that I was born blind, even though I have always had two fully functioning eyes. Years ago while in college I came to the realization that I was blind and could not see what some could see. The first quarter of my freshman year did not go well for me. My blindness effected my ability to make good choices and as a result everything was off the mark, including my life, and grades. I sought help with my sight from other "blind" people. They too did not know where they were going. We all had to feel our way around, and still we fell into the same proverbial "pits" of life. My own foolish pride would not permit me to admit that I was blind. It was during this time that I went to have my physical eyes checke...

The Front Porch, and the Beginning of Wisdom Summer nights, sitting on the porch with my grandfather, was the beginning of my love for wisdom.  "Granddaddy," as all thirteen of his grandchildren affectionately called him,enjoyed sitting on the porch after supper, in his rocking chair, while he puffed away on a good cigar.  My Grandmother did not like his "cigars" thus banished his smoking from the house. I never minded the aroma of a g ood cigar, and grandmother's cigar rule created good one on one opportunities with granddaddy.  When visiting my grandparents there were times  when I had the opportunity to sit with my grandfather on the porch while he enjoyed his cigar. This usually took place after supper, or sometime we would go on occasional walks in the field behind his house checking out the mares and foals. My grandfather would puff away while we "studied" as he liked to call it, on various subjects. As granddaddy puffed away he wou...

I am complicit. It is my prayer we don’t condemn those who bought into the lies about abortion, rather help them find forgiveness. Both men and women carry a huge burden of shame and guilt like with any mistake in life. We each have places where we fell into a trap and wish we could change our past. I know I do and would fill shame if the wrong people knew the details of my journey. Jesus came to rescue all of us out of darkness. No one is righteous and without sin. Looking at the chart, I encourage you to do the math, you probably know someone who carries a burden from this and other present day deceptions. Grandparents, parents, children, who are complicit and hurting from their decisions. My sins are great but God’s grace is greater. I’m not a women but I am a part of the red slice of the pie chart by being complicit. How? By doing nothing to help those in need, or by judging and not showing mercy in word and deed when I’ve had the opportunity. Like all sin, love is...

You can't plow straight looking back On the farm there was a coveted tractor we called the "W-9." It was a beast of a machine and when started it sounde d like a WWII bomber ready for take off. The rumble of the engine and straight pipe for an exhaust made it a young man's dream machine.  This tractor had no power steering and it took strong arms to keep it in the road. The W-9 was used for big jobs around the farm like plowing a field. I always wanted to try my hand at plowing with the W-9, but that was not my job on the farm, so I had to be content watching from the sidelines.  Until one day my dream came true! I was allowed to plow a section of the field and told to "keep my rows straight," which I thought to myself  "I got this!" I made my first row, then a 2nd, then things unraveled on the 3rd row.  The problem started as I tried to look behind me to glory in my accomplishment of plowing 2 rows, not realizing that my steering got of...

Help my unbelief  The following passage from Romans is easy for me to tell others to believe, and can be the hardest for me to believe.    Rom:10:8-13 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Since my earliest of days I have always believed in God. I have always marveled at what He has made. The beauty, intrigue, boldness, color, variety, and the amazing sounds of ...

Anything built on a lie will crumble. In my 65 years I have observed the  cycles of: politics, business, markets, religion, nations, morality, education, science, theology, ministries, marriage, family, government, sports, fashion, etc. I have observed that anything that is built on the weak foundation of a lie, either intentional or by ignorance, will ultimately crumble, it won't endure. It can't because truth is absolute and no amount of denial will ever make something that is false true. Socialism, or any Utopian ideal, for example, built on the falsehood that man is inherently good is going to eventually disappoint those who hold to this worldview. The weight of evidence does not support this way of thinking. Every socialist or communistic form of government has failed miserably, and ultimately devolved into some form of tyranny before becoming totally bankrupt morally, spiritually, and financially. The same could be said of putting hope in democracy as a solution. ...

About 5 miles away It was a Sunday morning that my father read in the morning paper where the POTUS would be stopping briefly in Nashville that afternoon. He was to land at the Tenn. Air National Guard base, give a campaign speech, then be off to another destination. Dad asked me if I wanted to go see the President. The airfield was about 5 miles away and I had never experienced seeing a world leader before. We went and saw the President of the United States, and both of us w ere really awed by the experience, I will not forget it. In Micah 5 the Prophet Micah foretells about the coming of another world leader. This one would be the greatest and final world leader, "whose origins are from old, from ancient times." I.e. from eternity, this would be God Himself. Where would he enter the world? About 5 miles away from Jerusalem, in Bethlehem. Now fast forward several 100 years to the city of Jerusalem. A group of Magi (very educated men) from the "East" (pro...