Toot! Toot!

I was born in Danville, IL, in 1925 and lived there until 1935 when Dad move Mom, me and my

two sisters to Wallace, IN, where Dad grew up. In Danville we lived most of the time very close

to the C&EI railroad tracks and heard train whistles day and night. After 1929 those were the

Depression days and Dad worked hard to provide for us, working for a wholesale grocery house and at one time out traveling for a couple of days or so on the road each week. Well, there were lots of "hobo Willies" traveling, too ... up and down the railroads ... and Mom was afraid those nights when Dad was away. So the lonesome "toot" of those big steam locomotives instilled in me a sad, woeful feeling when- and wherever I heard them. Living in Wallace, 9 miles from the

closest railroad, gave me some respite, but in winter we often could heard the whistle even that

distance. Serving in the Navy in WWII and making several train trips, however, awakened that

sorrowful feeling again, especially when returning to base after a leave. Right after discharge

in spring of 1946 I headed over to IL with my friend Kenny to meet with another old buddy to

celebrate the occasion. Kenny was driving his cool Ford Model A (real muscle car - ha!) west on highway 136 alongside a railroad track and I was chatting away with him from the passenger seat, totally absorbed, when we heard a loud sound that TO ME sounded exactly like TRUMPET announcing the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:51,52)! And I wasn't

ready to meet Him! I went silent, the hair stood up on my neck, and Kenny asked me what was

wrong. I had no answer ... then. Guess it was the teaching of our Youth teacher who had had

some training at Moody Bible Institute and the truth of the imminent Coming of Christ had been

embedded in my sub-conscious! By the way, coming home that night after too much "celebrating" we flipped the Ford over and I got a nice gash on my forehead. God used that "toot" and the trauma to make me think about eternity and, as stated before, after a few weeks

of conviction, including that little farm gal witnessing to me, I received the Lord as my Saviour.

Now we have diesel locomotive whistles within a mile of our "Super 80" residence, and I do get

momentarily "blue" on hearing them, UNTIL I remember that sound may NOW be announcing

the Rapture and I'm ready, praise the Lord! I prayer every reader is ready, too.

2008 - Year of Change

On every hand, especially in the political realm, we're hearing that word "change" so much. That is, America needs a change or to change, but - in what way or ways? What we're hearing loud and clear is a call to change political leadership and direction, and that this will solve all our problems and bring us to true greatness again. Over 100 years ago a French leader visited our country and wrote later that America's greatness lay not in its beautiful landscapes and thriving
economy, but in its pulpits "flaming with righteousness"! During a time of challenge to national
leadership in Israel, King David observed that "the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. ... Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men!" - Psalm 9:16,20. We need a change alright -- from the inside out; or, as the Lord
Jesus Christ put it to a very religious person: "You must be born again!" through heart faith in
Him (John 3:7). And born-again ones must be further transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit
in order to please Him and to be like Him in a decadent culture; that is, to "put off the old man...
and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24.) I came home from World War II with a heavy heart, so loaded
with the conviction of sin, and I'm so glad for that little Christian country gal who helped me to
turn from sin and begin a new life with and through Christ. I praise God for the change He made in my life, and trust and pray that I may be changing to be more like Him daily. By the way, I later married that farmer's daughter and she is my "co-sage" on this blogspot!