Fathers Day

             Fathers Day is kind of an afterthought to Mothers Day.  During the first part of the last century sputtering efforts were made at having a day for Fathers.  It wasn’t until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed the third
Sunday of June as Fathers Day.  In 1972 President Nixon signed into law the observance.

            Fathers don’t receive the same outpouring of praise or love that mothers receive.  But this is to be expected.  Looking back, it was mom that took care of the children.  She was there to cook their meals, wash and iron their clothes, kiss their “boo boos,” read to them, teach them, get them to school on time, help with homework, ferry them to a multitude of activities, and to counsel them in times of hurt, fears and stress.  Most of the time mom is the “rock” of their existence.

            To be fair, dads now are doing many of these things, in contrast to many dads in the past.  In previous generations fathers were there to provide the material things necessary and to exercise discipline when things got out of hand.  In those generations father’s left the “mothering” to their wives.  Even though dads are doing more of those things, it is still mom who does the primary nurturing.

            The tragedy of our generation is the multitude of single mothers raising children without the support of a husband.  I don’t have the statistics, but I am aware of the epidemic.  This is not to say they cannot do the job well.  They deserve a double dose of praise and thanksgiving.

            But if you have (or had) a father who stands beside you, provides for you, and is part of your growing years, be thankful unto God and express gratitude and honor to him on this Father’s Day.  And if your father has gone on to the next life, give thanks to God for him.  And, men, let the lord lead you to become a father figure to some child who does not have a father in his life, for whatever reason.

Grace and peace.

The Good Ole Summertime

     Theoretically, summer will not be here for another week. In reality, Summer is already here. We are in a drought and the daily temperatures have been in the upper 90s. Earlier we had the furnace on one week and the air conditioning the next week.
     I thank the Lord for air conditioning in our home and in our vehicles. We retreat to one or the other as often as we can. But I also marvel that we lived without it in former years. When I was a child, no one’s homes was air-conditioned, so kids spent as much time as possible outside. Some of my favorite memories are of the whole family sitting in lawn chairs in the back yard in the evenings and into he night At our house we had a whole house window fan which helped us sleep at night. But some nights that was not enough, so we sweated through the night.
     In those years the only place in town which had air conditioning was the movie theater. A big selling point for the movies was that air conditioning. And I can remember the shock and the relief of walking off he hot sidewalk into the dark air conditioned comfort.
     Not even our church, which was relatively large, had air conditioning. What we had were hand held "funeral home" fans. I remember many a Sunday sitting on a pew and fanning for all I was worth. Sweat would stick our Sunday dress shirts to the back of the wooden pew.
     Except for church on Sunday, we kids went barefoot all summer. I remember hopping along our way on sun heated pavement, especially asphalt. Often this was to the neighborhood city operated swimming pool, when we had the admission price to go. It was only four blocks from our house, but those could be a tortured four blocks, walking on grass when we could and pavement when we had to do so. When we went, we would spend three or four hours in the water.
We welcomed thunderstorms and played in the rain, ignoring the danger, if we were even aware of it.
     I’m sure it got as hot as it does now, but, looking back, we dealt with it better and enjoyed the good old summer time.

Grace and peace.

A Message From God?

     A couple of weeks ago we received in the office at Central Park Baptist Church (the church I am serving as pastor) a letter from a lady in Rome, Georgia. Her husband and sons were hunting turkeys, she says, when they spotted a white envelope which they brought home. The envelope was from a long past drive by the church, and "Early Debt Retirement Commitment." The tornadoes that swept through our neighborhoods picked up the envelope from someone’s home and bore it across the state line. This and many more stories illustrate the power of those storms. (I have an asphalt shingle from someone’s roof on top of my garage.)
     The lady reported that, being a strong believer in God, when she saw the envelope God touched her heart for Central Park Baptist Church. So she wrote a letter, enclosed the envelope and a check for twenty dollars for the debt retirement fund. This was all she could afford to send, she said. The church staff redirected her gift to the Tornado Relief Fund.
     She is just one of hundreds of thousands God has touched concerning the plight of the tornado victims all over the country. They may not see it as God’s initiative or God moving in their lives, but most of them do. And I certainly do. And I praise God for sending armies of volunteers to help the folks in our area as well as other areas. I trust He will continue to do so. It will that months to sort things out and years to rebuild. (Volunteers are still going to New Orleans to help the victims of hurricane Katrina.
     Tragedies will come, They are part of life in this world. But we are not alone. God sends His multitudes, or in some cases, his one or two, to stand beside us and to help us. Be open to Him sending you.

Grace and peace.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was begun to honor those who were killed in the Civil War, and known as Decoration Day.  After World War One it was expanded to remember all who have died in war.  The name was changed and the date of the last Monday in May was established by congress.  During the past century, the celebration gradually expanded to include all the deceased and the day became a popular time to clean the church yard cemeteries.  

On Saturday the 14th I attended two visitations/memorial services.  One was for a preacher acquaintance the same age as me. The other was for the wife of a preacher who was a school mate of mine in college and long time friend.  These joined a growing list of my family and friends who have moved on to the next life.  So Memorial Day becomes more and more a personal event.                                                      

Also, Memorial Day is a reminder that this life is not forever.  No matter our age, life can come to an end quite suddenly, as it did for my minister friend who preached on Sunday and was gone before the following Sunday; and as it did for those victimized in the tornadoes.

I turned 76 years of age a few days ago.  This means, I have to admit, that I must be classified as “elderly,” although I don’t think of myself as elderly.  But I recognize that, being past three score and ten, the time I have left is growing shorter.  So, as I remember those family and friends who are gone, I am grateful to God for my continued survival and for His current purpose and leadership to me.  And I also reflect on what I have been given.  I am thankful for family and friends I have had and now have.  I am thankful for the journey on which the Lord has led me.  I am thankful for the prospects of each new day and the opportunities it presents.  And I am thankful, that when my time comes, I know where I’ll be going and that I will experience a wonderful new life we cannot now imagine.         

                       

What about you ? 

Grace and peace.

I Still Don't Believe It

            I still don’t believe it!  Returning to Birmingham on Wednesday, a week after the tornado outbreak, I drove over to Pleasant Grove to the street where Ronnie and Clydene Charles lived.  After finding their badly damaged house, I stood in the yard and looked in front of me at an area which looked for all the world like it had been bombed into oblivion.  I was looking at it with my own eyes, but my mind wouldn’t believe it.  I have never seen such destruction.

             I am so grateful that, although their house is a wreck, they came through the storm safely.  And I am also grateful other Pleasant Grove families related to the church I'm serving, Central Park Baptist, came through safely, although some had damage to their homes.

            When I look at Pleasant Grove and realize that this is only one spot devastated by the storms, that great swaths of cities and whole small towns were blown away, I can only imagine the totality of the destruction.  And because well over two hundred people in Alabama lost their lives, I know there is  great amount of grief for the families and the friends of those who were lost.

            I praise God for the tremendous outporing of concern from all over the nation and, particularly by Alabamians, for those who were hit; providing money, shelter, food, water and other goods.

              The dead will be missed for a long time, the injured will heal over time, the homes and neighborhoods will be rebuilt; but the lives of those who suffered and the lives of all of us who stood with them will be changed forever.

            In spite of all that happened I still stand by a statement that our daughter has all over her house, “Life is Good.”  It’s good because God is good.  We may not understand, but we know without a doubt that God is good.  More about this later.

Grace and peace.

Mothers Day

       Sunday is Mothers Day.  We will honor our mothers as we do every year.  Mothers come in all shapes, sizes and dispositions.  Some are talented in special ways, intelligent and innovative.  Others seemingly are without a clue and muddle thrrough motherhood.  Regrettably, some are biased, mean spirited, cruel, substance addicted, i.e. very poor examples of motherhood.

       The commandment in the Bible is clear, however, "Honor your father and your mother." (Exodus 20:12)  There are no conditions or exceptions given.  One's parents may have dropped the ball, may have made life for iyou miserable, and in the eyes of the world and in your eyes, are not worthy of honor.  This does not change the commandment, however.   With the commandment, God gave Moses a reason or motivation; "that yoiu days may be long on the earth."  A broader understand of the promise is, honoring your parents will ultimately bless you.

       Gratefully, most of us have or had mothers who are or were absolutely worthy of honor, respect and love.  It makes for us a day of celebration.  To all of you who are mothers,

                        Happy Mother’s Day.

                        Grace and peace. 

The Merry Month of May

The first day of May has been for centuries a day of celebration in England and for some communities in America.  It has no religious significance and its origin was a Celtic celebration of the beginning of Spring.  It is a day celebrated with maypoles, dancing and other activities.            

On a site on the internet called “Important Dates in History” you may discover what happened in any month of any year.  Checking the year 1935, I discovered that in May of that year the Hoover Dam, the greatest engineering feat in the world up to that time, was completed.  Also that month the Canadian government began circulation of the last Canadian silver dollar.                                                                                         

One very important event to me is not there, the birth of a baby boy in a duplex apartment in Ensley, Alabama.  As you may guess, that baby boy was me.  If you look at June, 1944, you will see that the allies stormed the bearch at Normandy during the Second World War.  But another date important to me is missing.  It was then that a nine year old boy gave his life to Christ during Vacation Bible School at Ensley Baptist Church and was born again.  I could list other dates significant to me, such as graduations, marriage, and births, for example.  But the most important event of all is yet to come.  That is the day I will be born from this world into the presence of Jesus Christ.  I don’t know that date and hope it isn’t near.  But it will be great and it is a time I can anticipate with joy, because I know that it will be a promotion and a heavenly celebration. How about you?                        

Grace and peace.