Super 80 Sages

"ummmmm" and "um"

2012-01-21T16:12:00.007-05:00

It was late in my Navy career and, as best I can recall, I was home on leave or had been recently discharged from the service. At the invitation of my parents I went across the street from our home to attend the Sunday morning service at the church where I had learned and even served during my adolescent years. It was good to be back and to enjoy the hymn-singing and fellowship with some old friends, just like the "old days" before World War II. But this Sunday service was different. There was special music -- a nice-looking teenager playing a hymn on a marimba, surely the first time I had ever witnessed such an event! She was none other than Mary Kathryne ("Katie") Jackson who was a friend of my younger sisters Joan and Jean. I had met her briefly months before on a short leave and thought she was a good girl to hang out with my kid sisters. But this occasion was markedly different, or I guess I was! She was wearing a nice black dress and really making heavenly music! To myself I could only observe: "ummmmmm!" Nothing happened after the meeting, but some time later (as I recorded in an earlier blog, I think...) I was bored at home on a Sunday evening and asked my Mother if she knew any Christian girl I might take to church, she quickly recommended that I call Katie Jackson and ask her. Well, I did, and she agreed, believe it or not, and since our little home church did not have an evening service that Sunday, I took Katie some 15 miles down to the Waterman Baptist Church at Lodi, IN, where they were holding an evangelistic service, which gave me a little discomfort, praise the Lord! But I was still going"ummmmm"
in my heart to be in her presence ... and still am! You know the rest of the story...like this past December 18 marked 62 years of marriage. Well, I was reading in my old German Bible to start the new year and discovered that, when God was to create a helpmate for Adam in Genesis 2:18, she was to be "um" him for life. The word literally means she was to be "around" him continually as a help "meet" or suitable for him. So, I really think that, when God presented Eve to him
in that first wedding ceremony, he was thinking "um!" and "ummmmmm!"...and for 900 years or so thereafter! That said, we do wish all you lovers, young and old, a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Surely, "Many waters cannot quench love..." - Song of Solomon. 8:7.

Turkey Tale

2011-11-28T10:14:00.002-05:00

My stint in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II was concluded aboard the USS President Jackson, an "Attack Transport" that had been a cruise liner before the war. Our quarters were crowded and anything but luxurious, but we had to make plenty of room for the thousands of troops we and others were bringing home from the Philippines. So, on November 22, 1945, we were celebrating our first Thanksgiving after the war, out on the Pacific somewhere west of San Francisco. The "General Mess" holiday menu read: "Thanksgiving Dinner: ROAST TOM TURKEY...Thyme dressing...Spiced ham...Giblet gravy...Cranberry sauce...Mashed sweet potatoes...Buttered green peas...Sweet pickles...Ripe olives...Head lettuce with French dressing... Mixed nuts...Assorted candy...Fruit cake...Hot mince pie...Bread...Butter...Coffee...Cigars and Cigarettes"!-- really quite a scrumptious meal to please Navy crew and Army passengers alike! Later, on December 22, 1945, we radiomen up in the Radio Shack received the following message from the "Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific": "CINCPAC sends to the personnel of the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas his BEST WISHES for the Christmas Season, our first one in peace after nearly four years of a hard fought and successful war." We spent Christmas, then, in drydock near San Francisco, made more round trips to bring our soldiers home, and I was discharged at Great Lakes, IL, on March 10, 1946. This year (just 65 years later!) we rejoiced to celebrate Thanksgiving with loved ones at the Ole Home Place at Wallace, with sister Jean and brother-in-law Bob Larsh graciously hosting the event, and with "missionary kids" Phil and Mary Ruth Taylor (wrapping up a 9-month furlough from Brazil, S.A.) and daughter (our granddaughter) Rachel (visiting from Memphis, TN) as our special guests. We hope all of our readers had a great Thanksgiving...and we wish you all a BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR! Surely, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live (eternally) through Him!"- I John 4:9. May this promise be precious to you, too!

Indian Summer

2011-10-22T16:44:00.002-04:00

Recently I asked a fellow-resident if we were in "Indian Summer" yet. He said, "No, it arrives after the third frost!" Well, it did frost last night, at least for the third time, so I guess we are officially enjoying Indian Summer with 66 degrees outside temperature, a warm breeze and beautiful sunshine. Across the street we can see the huge combine parked, after harvesting the corn and soybean fields nearby. We oldsters are amazed at the modern farming methods and miss the excitement of fall harvests years ago. I recall my schoolmates who lived on the farm and helped their parents after school and on the weekend, the boys arguing about whether a "peg" or "hook" was best for shucking (or husking) corn...and, how many bushels they had shucked in a day's work! We had no way to determine which boy was the best shucker or just a good liar! At any rate, Dad's supply of "Corn Huskers Lotion" at the store was greatly reduced in a short time. But speaking of competition, it wasn't just the teenage harvesters who made great claims, because their dads were just as handy or even more experienced with a peg or hook, or in reporting huge numbers of ears of corn tossed into waiting horse-drawn wagons. In the late 1930's we remember a stellar event for the shuckers -- the National Corn Husking Contest held near Newport, Indiana...and in fields actually bordering Grandpa Jackson's (Mary K.'s father's) farm! This contest held more excitement then for country folks than a Nascar race does nowadays, but especially for Grandpa, as he was warned that his corn field might be needed for parking for the big crowd anticipated. So he had to work overtime to get his corn shucked. We don't remember who actually won the national competition, but Grandpa should have received a prize for clearing the way. At least he set a record for getting his own harvest done! With fall rains and approaching winter there is always an urgency about the fall harvest. And this reminds me of another, eternally important harvest that God is concerned about (and we should be): "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!" (Jeremiah 8:20). Dear reader, if you have put off a decision to receive Christ as your Saviour, we urge you to take advantage of this "Indian Summer" of grace and to trust Him today! Truly, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation!" (II Corinthians 6:2).

Hip-hip Hooray!

2011-07-23T16:46:00.002-04:00

This Fourth of July was not only a celebration of our country's 235th birthday, but for me it was also a time of thanksgiving for recovery from my hip implant replacement surgery! I am grateful to God for the relief from bone-on-bone pain, for the skills of the surgeon (Dr. Hornback) , the anesthesiologist (Dr. Dan Hesler, our great-nephew), hospital and nursing home nurses and therapists, plus the home health care nurse and therapists, and counsel of a retired nurse in our building, all who brought me to a sort of "graduation" last month. Also, the extra-special TLC from Mary K./Mamaw here at home while tugging on my pressure hose (to reduce swelling) and caring for countless other needs. And we appreciated our special "rehab team" of daughter Ruth and son-in-law Phil who are home on missionary furlough from Brazil and were able be close to help "get our act together" -- like Ruth relieving Mamaw in the kitchen and Phil securing special bathroom aids and filling in for me at our Thursday Bible Class here at Rosedale Court. Along with the prayers of friends and loved ones we surely appreciate the tangible support from daughter Judy and son-in-law Mike out in Washington state who sent birthday, Mother's and Father's day gifts and packages filled with gourmet coffee, trail mix, candy, vitamin supplements, etc., etc. -- what therapy, too! We are asked from time to time if the pain is gone and we answer that we still have some discomfort from the old spinal stenosis problem, but doctor thinks that this will improve, too, in time. Anyway, in spite of possible changes in the healthcare system of our country we praise the Lord for its care of its senior citizens. We celebrated the independence of our great land by having Phil, Ruth and fellow-resident Anna for a "picnic" in our apartment with all the "trimmings" of cole slaw, potato salad, and Hebrew Kosher HOTDOGS ...and, of course, American flags decorating our table and balcony railing ... finally, at dark we watched the fireworks at the Crawfordsville park from the parkinglot here! We continue in prayer: "Our fathers' God, to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light; Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King!" Truly, "happy is that people, whose God is the LORD!" - Psalm 144:15.

Leaning...On The Everlasting Arms!

2011-05-29T16:07:00.002-04:00

On our Blog three years ago around this time we wrote about the Old Covered Bridge at Wallace, and how that I had walked again down the hill east out of town as I had many times as a kid on an outing with our dog Fanny. It was refreshing to hike down and back then , but in more recent years my spinal stenosis and deteriorating right hip made it painful and finally impossible to do. I was giving in to the discomfort and to cope with the problem I was leaning more and more to the right and using a cane constantly. In nautical language I was "listing to the starboard"! In an earlier Blog I used the German word "hinken" to describe the limping on my right side. Well, in the May issue of that fine local publication "Jackson Journal" there was a report of the tornado that hit the Wallace area on April 19 and left the Old Covered Bridge leaning precariously to the south, almost ready to collapse into Mill Creek! The "before" and "after" pictures with news articles tell how that County Highway workers and local citizens, using huge wreckers and cables were able to pull the Bridge back upright and shore it up inside with new cross-bracing. Since it is on the National Historical Register the community hopes that the cost of saving and repairing the Bridge will be covered by Federal funds and private donations. Well, I've been thinking ... I'm so glad this edifice was spared and soon I hope to take a sentimental walk down there again...not leaning painfully on a cane! Since the right hip replacement surgery in March, and after home therapy care, I'm now walking without a cane and more upright all the time...although I keep the cane close for emergencies (and for sympathy)! In a way I feel like the Wallace Bridge, a short time ago leaning and often ready to collapse, but now with outside help pretty straightened and stronger than ever, it seems. I didn't need huge machinery and cables, only good medical care and, above all, the gracious provisions of the One Who assures us: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms..." (Deuteronomy 33:27). So, the hymn-writer got it right: "O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, Leaning on the Everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, Leaning on the Everlasting arms...!" We hope every reader has found, or will find this promise to be a blessing, too!

"Help!...Help!..."

2011-04-08T16:17:00.002-04:00

As a pastor I made numerous calls to hospitals and nursing homes and had occasionally heard a resident cry out "Help!" It was a pitiful plea for attention. But recently following hip replacement surgery at our local hospital and being moved to a nursing home for a few days of rehab I heard it again in the wee hours. The cry for help was answered quickly by the staff, but it set me to thinking about the true condition of the human race. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden there has been one constant outcry for spiritual or physical relief from the results of sin. We read in Romans chapter 8, verse 22, "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now!" I had some anxious moments both in the hospital and then in the nursing facility, but the staff was so good to answer cheerfully my "help!" I praise and thank the Lord for those who prayed and continue to pray for me and Mary K through this special time of need. As this is written, I am in home healthcare and the therapists tell us I am doing well, walking with a cane and gaining strength. A young man named "Daya" got me started in the nursing home and we are grateful for him and those who continue to help me recover. We are thankful, too, for our skilled surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses and aids and all who have given us encouragement along the way such as our pastors and Christian friends. One shared Psalm 50:15 with us before surgery: "And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me!" God keeps His promise for present crises and, beyond that, HELP for eternity -- "even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body!" (Romans 8:23). For the Christian, one day soon the "Help!" will turn into "Hallelujah!"

Thinkin' 'bout "hinken"...

2011-01-17T10:00:00.003-05:00

As we drove the 20 miles to Yeddo Baptist Church yesterday morning it was truly a "winter wonderland" of frost-covered trees and we marveled again at the handiwork of God in creation and preservation. And, since Mom/Mamaw/Mary K. and I strive this year in our private morning "quiet time" to read through the Bible, we each came to Genesis chapter 32 yesterday and discussed it together on the road. It's the record of Jacob returning with his family and possessions from Uncle Laban in Syria, and anticipating meeting his brother Esau. You will recall that Esau had threatened 20 years before to kill Jacob the next time they met! No doubt Jacob had other problems, but the fear of the approaching confrontation with Esau loomed large in his mindl Alone (verses 24-32), Jacob spent the night wrestling with the Lord and emerged victorious with a new name -- "Israel" (prince with God) -- a new glimpse of the Lord ("I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" ) -- and a new walk! In wrestling with the Lord, "Jacob's thigh was out of joint" and, as a result, "he halted upon his thigh"! In the German Bible it reads: "er hinkte an seiner Huefte!" "Hinken" means "to hobble, halt, limp." Dear readers, I totally emphasize and sympathize with ol' Jacob. Due to spinal stenosis and the degeneration of my right hip, especially the last year, I have been doing a lot of "hinken"! And, as this goes to press, I am scheduled for a visit with my cardiologist to seek clearance for hip replacement surgery, as I have a heart issue, then I see our orthopedic doctor on February 1 to make some definite plans. We need and ask the prayers of God's people, that the doctors may have wisdom and that the outcome will be greater (hopefully pain-free) mobility. Meantime, I get cranky with the discomfort and inconvenience of "hinken" on a cane or walker (pray for Mary K., too), but I'm trusting the Lord to do for me what he did for Jacob -- give me a fresh glimpse of His grace and goodness. Jacob concluded in v. 30: "...and my life is preserved!" In my old German Bible that reads "my soul is mended, or recovered!" Surely, we often enjoy physical healing, but in all our trials as believers we need the spiritual mending and healing, above all! Praise the Lord for Romans 8:28, but let's not forget His goal in all our testings, shown in verse 29, that we might be "conformed to the image of His Son"!

How To Eat A Pomegranate?

2011-01-01T10:42:00.002-05:00

Before Christmas a retired nurse friend of ours here in the apartment building, conscious of eating healthy, gave us a pomegranate. We had seen this fruit many times at the supermarket, but somehow had never added it to our diet. So, we had to ask our nurse friend HOW to eat a pomegranate ... don't laugh, you probably haven't attacked one either! Simply stated, one is to cut off the "crown" of the fruit, then score the skin into sections, pulling it apart to expose the white flesh and then pop out the red seeds ... 613 of them according to rabbis as there are that many commandments in Judaism! We didn't count the seeds and didn't eat them right away, either, rather we put them in a covered plastic dish in the refrigerator. Guess we weren't sure how our colons would tolerate the seeds. Finally, ashamed that we were not showing thankfulness for such a gift, Mary K. set the rescued dish of seeds before me and I ate some. Believe me, they are delicious -- reddish juicy flesh around each one and the seed itself with a nutty flavor (tho we seniors have to chew and chew) and chock full of nutrients and antioxidants -- good for the heart, circulation and even prostate! Curious to learn more about this fruit, I "googled" the topic and found that our basic approach was right, but ... the best method was to score the fruit , then pop it open in a bowl of water, which allows the skin to stay on top and the seeds to sink to the bottom, ready for retrieval and consumption ... please don't slurp! In an earlier blog we described the Christmas goodies displayed at the Grimes Food Store in Wallace many years ago. Although Dad never stocked (or maybe heard of) pomegranates, a favorite fruit was the tangerine ... aromatic and juicy... and lots of seeds, but whoever advised eating the seeds? Why all this positive promotion of promegranates? Well, to me the enjoyment of this pretty, ruddy-red fruit (grown mainly in the Middle East, Israel, and here in California) is like reading the Bible. Dear reader, this is to encourage you to start today and read the Bible through, only 3 chapters or so per day, in this new year. They tell us the Bible is still a Best Seller, but I fear so many folks treat it the way I did the pomegranate -- nice to look AT, but seldom looked INTO and for many, never read THROUGH! Yes, like that fruit you will find that opening God's Word carefully, daily and sort of "under water" (asking help of the Holy Spirit) you will have lots of spiritually nourishing and truly profitable precepts and promises to munch on and assimilate. Like King David you will find, "How sweet are Thy Words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103). HAPPY NEW YEAR...as you squeeze

good things out of the Scriptures! P.S. Do a study in your Bible on the pomegranate, too!

Memory Maker

2010-12-22T14:58:00.002-05:00

We have had a covering of snow here in central Indiana for two weeks or more, but have missed the huge storms farther north of us. Roads being clear last Sunday morning, we left the apartment early enough to reach Yeddo for the worship hour. We had to use plenty of "Heet" spray to remove the frost from every window and the windshield on "Henry" our trusty Taurus.

But what a winter wonderland with all the frosted trees and snow-covered fields filling the landscape on the way! This caused some "deja vu" discussion between us, since it was the day after our 61st wedding anniversary of December 18, 1949. What a contrast in weather! I graduated from Moody Bible Institute on the 16th and we all hurried back home for the BIG DAY. A former student friend was asked to be my Best Man and stayed all night at my home in Wallace ... I don't think I slept a wink because Carl snored fiercely, but who could sleep, anyway? Since we had made Calvary Baptist Church in Crawfordsville our sending church for planned service in Germany, the wedding was held there early in the afternoon with our elderly pastor Brother Barney Antrobus officiating. The small block church building was packed, and our friend from Lodi, Paul Ray Jr., sang "Saviour, Like A Shepherd Lead Us" as Margaret Starns (Tague) supported Mary K. as Matron of Honor and Carl held me up! No digital or video cameras were present, only a local photographer made the official picture of this earth-shaking event for posterity, but we had the family and the congregation as witnesses, too. They were all invited to the Jackson home in the country west of Wallace for the Reception and quite a line of cars drove through ... no, not snow... balmy, foggy, wet roads for the festivities. Quite a change from 61 years later. However, we must add ... after a short honeymoon in Lafayette, IN (don't laugh, 50 miles was a long drive in those days and student jobs didn't prepare us for a Caribbean cruise!), we started married life in a little tenant house provided by Dad and Mom Jackson on their farm. Then it got COLD and SNOWED, but we survived with a pot-bellied coal stove, plenty of blankets and lots of SNUGGLIN' until we left for another session of training, this time at Grand Rapids Baptist Bible Institute and Seminary. And there we encountered lots more snow and cold and the pre-mission-field experience of living in a 1-bedroom apartment. Then and now we find the Bible to be "right on" -- "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall the one will lift up his fellow ...Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?" - Ecclesiastes 4:9-11.

2010-10-30T17:37:00.001-04:00

dit-dit-dit-dah!

2010-10-30T16:46:00.002-04:00

Some will recognize the Morse code 3 dots and a dash that stands for the letter "V" and is a familiar sound from Beethoven's 5th symphony, I think, but in World War II reminded us that "'V' is for Victory!" The old-time telegrapher spelled out messages in short clicks and long clicks over the wires, but radio-telegraphy technology made it possible to hear the sound of dots and dashes. As a Navy radioman in the war we listened to Morse code broadcasts 24-7 at sea as ships near and far communicated. We were to be alert for any distress signals from ships in trouble and for any messages addressed to our ship. For instance, a possible submarine attack was signalled by "SSSS" over the radio, and, of course, one needing assistance would send out a frantic "SOS"! Because of danger everywhere, radio silence was maintained until absolutely necessary, and so most of us did not get to send messages at sea and often grew "rusty." It takes a very flexible wrist motion to make a really understandable Morse code message on the telegraph key, believe me, but some operators were very accomplished at it and some veterans even used what was called a "bug" telegraph key. As I recall, the "bug" had a side-to-side action instead of the normal up-and-down movement, and so it could really send messages fast, almost like "brrrrrrp, brrrrrp!" When I would listen in to such I was not only amazed at the operator's skill, but also amused when he made a mistake, because he had to stop and correct the error. How did he do that? Well, just like the slow-poke operator with a normal key and wrist motion he simply first spelled out "dit-dit-dit-dit-dit" or "e-e-e-e-e" which, of course, stood for an Error, and then finished his corrected transmission. I've been pondering that solution to mistakes and boo-boos in radio telegraphy and how easy it would be if we could make things right with God or one another by just somehow keying in "e-e-e-e-e" and then everything was okay again! However, it's not that simple. According to God's Word it took the death of His Son on the cross, and our faith in Him, to make possible the forgiveness of sins. Let's be honest, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive our selves, and the truth is not in us. (BUT) if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!" (I John 1:8,9). This does not required any wrist action, but it surely does take some knee action!

The UNcooperative Telephone Company

2010-09-26T15:48:00.003-04:00

My hometown of Wallace was blessed with a locally-owned and operated "Cooperative Telephone Company." In the 1930's and early 1940's, of course, the equipment was not high-tech, compared to today, and most of the communication was via "party line," which allowed for the widest distribution of the town news! And every household or business had its own special ring; I think Grimes Store was "2 longs and 1 short" and my Dad the storekeeper answered with a cheery "Jot-em-down Store" (taken from the radio comedy show "Lum and Abner"). And, if you were on a party line, it was not necessary to call central first ... just crank out the appropriate "longs" and "shorts" if the line was free. One summer my teen buddies, Dick Fine and Kenny Davidson, and I somehow got hold of some obsolete old wall phones and planned our own private "tele-com" company, not to compete but to experiment, like boys do! We took the wire from the magneto off one machine, not reckoning on its durability, and strung it on make-shift posts from my upstairs room at least a 100 yards to the Fine residence; then, from there another 100 feet or so across the street to the Davidsons. Believe it or not, when the old wall phones were connected the system worked, and the "Wallace UNcooperative Telephone Company" was born! I use the "UN" prefix because the grand experiment succeeded only a few days at most ... until the next summer storm blew that thin copper wire line all to pieces! Now there is a lesson for us in that experience. Our most modern high-tech systems of communication fail, too. But there is one system that never fails ... for the believing soul... and that is PRAYER, actually reaching Heaven on our knees, and with a personal, direct line! And in God's Word we are encouraged: "Let us therefore COME boldly (with confidence in Christ Who died for our sins) to the Throne of Grace (Heaven's 'central'), that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need!" (Hebrews 4:16) And we don't need to worry about the storms of life interfering with or disrupting this connection. In fact, we should call when we are IN a storm!!! Have YOU tried this system, yet?

The Great Lakes Shuffle

2010-08-29T14:43:00.002-04:00

As Mamaw/Mary K. and I finished up washing dishes in our small apartment kitchen recently we discussed my tendency to dribble water on the old-hard-to-maintain vinyl tile floor when drying things! I was reminded of how difficult it was to keep a reasonable "shine" on the tile, and that she had just a short time ago found a liquid polish that made the task somewhat easier. Then I suggested that maybe we should try the "Great Lakes Shuffle" as a solution, but, of course, as a landlubber she had never heard of this. Well, this was the U.S. Navy way of keeping barracks floors spotless (?) at the Great Lakes Training Center/Boot Camp north of Chicago during World War II, where I was a "guest" for 8 weeks or so early in 1943. When reporting for duty the "boot" was issued clothing and shoes, but the shoes were then altered by adding a thick layer of black rubber to make drilling more "pleasant"! Now 150 pairs of thus-altered shoes do a

real number on un-varnished wooden floors in the barracks, so what's the simple solution? -- Each evening before taps every recruit was given a piece of steel-wool, then placing it under his shoe he did the "Shuffle," thereby removing the black marks and maintaining the U.S. Navy reputation for cleanliness! After sharing this with Mamaw I thought about the spiritual black marks that we all have made in our relationship with God. You see we don't need a "shuffle" of some kind, like good works or human wisdom, to know and to please the Lord, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin!" (I John 1:7) Have YOU tried this solution yet?

The Jungles of Jackson Township in July

2010-07-31T15:29:00.002-04:00

Wallace was the "hub" of Jackson Township and had lots of rustic stuff to offer a curious boy. My paternal grandmother, "MaZada" Grimes, lived on the north edge of town and it was a treat for me to hike from there east through the woods and over the hill to (Sugar) Mill Creek. I recall camping out in summer in the woods with a local buddy one rainy, scary night! But another time scouting west out of town along the creek as far as the swinging (foot) bridge my companion played on my young nerves with stories of Indians, even cavemen heard of lurking in that area! After all, not more than 10 years before, the "Scopes Trial" in Tennessee had "proved" the theory of evolution, so that the erosion of sandstone cliffs and gullies along the creek surely took millions of years ... and, what was that???? The roar of some prehistoric creature, maybe? "I'm going home!" Well, my chums and I didn't meet any "missing links" in those explorations, but we did occasionally find some Indian arrowheads, "beads" and even a stone axehead! The "beads," of course, were fossilized plant-stem sections from a by-gone time period and most folks, like many today, believed they were the products of evolution! Not until I came to really know the Lord Jesus and to read His Word, the Bible, did I understand the implications of God's Creation, the Fall of Man and the terrible catastrophe of the worldwide Flood that devastated the earth as recorded in Genesis, chapters 6-8. Yes, those "Indian beads" were survivors of, and testimonies to, the Flood! The Apostle Peter predicted later that "there shall come in the last days scoffers" who would deny the Flood and the certainty of a yet future judgment (II Peter 3:3-9). If it could talk, that little Indian "bead" would agree with him that "the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance." Have YOU?

"Vuvuzela"?

2010-06-27T16:19:00.004-04:00

Our granddaughter Rachel Taylor, who teaches in a Christian day school in Memphis, TN, visited with us last weekend and we had a great time together. After attending morning service at Yeddo Baptist Church, we had a buffet dinner at the Old Town Chinese restaurant here in Crawfordsville. And then we watched Brazil defeat Ghana in the World Soccer Cup TV broadcast from South Africa. Our apartment building will never be the same after the victory yells from #54! The Taylors are life-long soccer players and FANS and this year we were tickled to see on their blogspot Rachel's dad Phil and brothers James and David (all missionaries in south Brazil), blowing those infernal plastic "vuvuzela" horns in celebration! Her mom, Mary Ruth, reported that while she was holding our newest great-granddaughter Julianna during the game, every "vuvuzela" blast the baby just about jumped out of her arms! While with us, Rachel helped us nail down a "Facebook" account, as David did with "Skype" and this blogspot over two years ago. The hi-tech savvy of these "kids" astounds us and we are grateful for the help they give us ... except that we often forget the procedures about 2 hours after they leave! Just think ... as a teen I really thought that the little 5-tube Emerson radio that brought in big-band music from New York and Chicago on Saturday nights was the ultimate in modern science! Like the "Waltons," each evening our family was riveted to the radio in the livingroom as we laughed at Jack Benny (sponsored by J-e-l-l-o) and Bob Hope (promoting Pepsodent tooth paste), or even a "Fireside chat" by President Roosevelt. But at the same time we weren't worried by news of "global warming," Gulf oil spills or Iran's nuclear bombs -- just Hirohito and Hitler!!! Some day very soon, we believe, "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God (not a plastic "vuvuzela"); and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord!" - I Thessalonians 4:16,17. We cherish the moments with loved ones and friends now, but we'll sure celebrate then! Are you ready for that event?

Remember?

2010-05-30T16:03:00.002-04:00

The big event on Memorial Day in Indiana is, of course, the Indianapolis 500 Race! I recall as a kid lounging in or around Dad's car and with doors open and the radio blaring we listened to the exciting race. In the 30's and 40's it lasted over 4 hours because top speed was about half what it is today! And who ever imagined a young lady piloting one of those machines, like now! At home you might listen to a radio wrap-up or re-play later that day, but forget about seeing it in film until the newsreel showed at the nearest theater! However, most families took some time to visit cemeteries and remember departed loved ones, especially those who served in a war. The Grimes's, including Great-grandpa William Lewis Grimes who served in the cavalry in the Civil War, were mostly buried in the Lutheran Cemetery east of Wallace. But later my parents were interred near Mother's Pyle family plots at the Masonic Cemetery just west of Waynetown.

We presently have plots there also right close to our son Jim, and left a floral remembrance there recently. Mamaw/Mary K.'s Carmack family way back had a family cemetery near their farm on what was the Newport Ordinance Plant in WWII. One of her ancestors served in the Revolutionary War and we're not sure of his restingplace, but her parents and other family members are buried at the Methodist Memorial Cemetery on Plant property perhaps a mile or two away. Her father's family (Jackson) is buried close to the Wabash River to the east at the Cemetery near the old "O.P.D." train stop south of Newport. It's more difficult now to visit that area, but we try to remember our departed loved ones as often as we can. Some might think that visiting graveyards is depressing, but it's honoring to the dead and humbling to the living. Folks, believe it or not, "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27), so BE READY! And be thankful, too, for those brave servicemen who served and died to keep our nation free. Even Jesus wept at the grave of a dear friend, but He (and only He) could promise (John 11:25,26): "I am the Resurrection and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. BELIEVEST THOU THIS?" We do pray that you do or will do so soon!

On being a "town farmer"

2010-04-30T11:36:00.004-04:00

Almost all of my buddies at the Wallace school lived on the farm, and I envied their acqaintance with livestock, farm machinery and crop-growing ... oh, to drive a tractor! But, as a smalltown boy in my teens I joined the local 4-H Club (heart, hands, head and health) and chose as my spring and summer project GARDENING. We had a nice garden plot north of our home, and Dad hired a local horse owner to plow it up for planting. I enjoyed laying off the rows with a hand plow and then putting the seeds and plants in due order. As things grew it was special joy to cultivate the rows and at last to start reaping fresh green onions, tomatoes, radishes, corn, etc., for Mom's table. Since we then had no power tools, all that manual labor was good for developing my muscles, which then made moving 100-lb. bags of "taters" around at Dad's store a little more bearable...maybe even impress the local girls(?)! Speaking of "taters," later on the folks added a bigger garden plot on the northwest corner of our property which we called "the truck patch," especially to grow potatoes. Yes, I learned to place the seed spuds with the sprouts UP, to facilitate early growth. Looking back, I lacked a truly Biblical understanding of God's creation and the wisdom He put into every facet, but I am glad now for the experience of being a "town farmer" and realizing that gardens and farms and people are all totally dependent upon our loving Creator/Savior! Being a child of God these many years now I can only agree with good King David: "Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion ... Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God..." (Psalm 65:1,9) And the Apostle John completes the record of God's creative and saving power in Revelation 22:1 - "And He shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." For the believer there's not only present, but eternal refreshment from above!

"Now, this won't hurt...!"

2010-03-28T15:13:00.002-04:00

The recent health care debate and subsequent passage of the new law brought back memories of doctoring as it once was in Wallace. Dr. H.M. Rusk, a graduate of Northwestern U. and their medical school, had his office in the old bank building on "Main Street" and the bank vault always impressed me as the safest storage place for drugs, even back then. The office smelled like a pharmacy and, since the nearest drugstore was miles away, the doctor supplied patients with just the right prescription out of the office or out of his bag, just like "Doc" on Gunsmoke! His wife Vivian was also his receptionist and nurse, making folks comfortable as possible in the waitingroom or assisting him in the examining room, with no long waiting time or paper work! Doc always made house calls anytime and anywhere he was called, but his wife told how he was sure hard to live with when his patient was terminal. As I recounted earlier, as a 10-12-year-old I went through several health "crises" but the two surgeries stand out. Doc was there at the hospital to stand by me and assist the surgeon. To this day, I don't know how my father paid for all the medical care to our family ... besides borrowed cash, I think Dad would allow Doc and Vivian (as well as plumber, electrician, etc.) to "take it out in trade." Every bill was paid, sooner or later, without credit cards or government assistance! His favorite pastime was hunting with some of the prettiest bird dogs you could imagine, but I don't ever recall his taking a vacation. Now in our senior years Mamaw and I have enjoyed good health care, thanks to many good family doctors, specialists and surgeons, WalMart pharmacy, supplemental insurance AND Medicare with "Part D" Drug program. The Lord has provided the premiums and out-of-the-pocket expenses and we are very grateful to Him. We are very concerned about the new law and changes involved, but, at age 85 we realize that time ahead will continue to be a "bonus". We just don't want our children, grandchildren and great-grand children, etc., to be burdened with a ever-more-expensive healthcare system. So we have prayed and are praying that the best system will finally be adopted. Meantime, we look forward to the time and place when, for Christians, "God will wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away!" - Revelation 21:4.

Sugar Out Of A Tree?

2010-02-28T15:54:00.002-05:00

I just read a critical review of the new movie "Avatar" with statistics on its cost and popularity around the world...already grossing over $2 billion at the box office! As I understand it, the film is filled with Hindu teachings... "Avatar" is a blue-skinned bio-tech version of the god Krishna... and a "Tree of Souls" is the center and power source of that demon-inspired civilization! Well, this leads me to reminisce once again on my growing-up years in Wallace, and the blessing of God's unique creation, a TREE. I recall sledding on the farm slopes of my buddy "Pooch" Owens east of town one late winter/early spring. After sliding down the hill and then huffing and puffing back up the hill a feller becomes thirsty, of course! Sorry, no water in sight and who wants to go back home for a drink? But...notice those buckets hanging on those Maple trees all over the place? You guessed it...we slaked our thirst with good ol' delicious sugar water that was being tapped and later taken to the local sugar camp to be boiled down to Maple syrup! By the way, that's a treat in itself, to visit a sugar camp in operation. Now trees do not have any power in themselves, but all the many varieties have been created by God to help sustain His creation and creatures! In the beginning the Tree of Life was intended for the good of Adam and Eve, but their sin excluded them from its enjoyment. In Exodus 15:23-27, when the Children of Israel on the way to Canaan "could not drink of the (bitter) waters of Marah," God instructed Moses to throw a certain TREE into the water "and they were made sweet" (Maple tree?)! Well, human sin has made the waters of our existence bitter, but God in His love, mercy and grace has solved this problem with another TREE, the Cross of Calvary, where the sinless Savior Jesus Christ "His own Self bare our sins in His own body on the TREE"! (I Peter 2:24). We don't worship the tree, but we are saved eternally by believing on the One who hung there in our place, and we can sing: "I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best for a world of lost sinners was slain"!

"Christmas Vacation Is Over, And..."

2010-01-31T15:40:00.002-05:00

My Moody Bible Institute roommate Bob would often relate how his older brothers loved to tease him after the holiday break by singing, "Christmas vacation is over...and we can't have no more fun!" As I recall, in my life not every vacation was a FUN time! For example, at 12 years of age I had to undergo an emergency appendectomy at old Lakeview Hospital in Danville, IL, during Christmas break. And since I was just getting over a chest cold and ether (main anesthetic in those days) may have brought on pneumonia, the doctors gave me a "spinal block," rendering my lower limbs paralyzed for a few hours. The procedure (with a monster needle to my lower spine) was uncomfortable, but it was "cool" to be awake during the surgery and hear the doctors talking. It was not so "cool" afterwards to sense the doctors' concern about feeling to return to my legs (it did in a few hours), nor when I had to cough and a nice but hefty nurse (built like a pro wrestler) would hold me down! Strangely, two other boys from Wallace school had the same surgery at the same time, and old buddy "Pooch" actually got to be my hospital roommate! We stayed a week or so in recuperation, and there really was a little FUN then ... especially when we discovered that the glass drinking straws were angled so that we could blow blasts of water onto the large cloth window blind in the room, leaving a spectacular wet blob for a few hours ... creating a new art-form? It was good to get home and back to school, even if we couldn't "have no more FUN" till next vacation. This Christmas (70 years or so later) Mary K. (Mamaw) and I had BLESSED Christmas and New Year celebrations, including the special 60th anniversary as reported in the previous blog. We also heard from our scattered "kids" via internet e-mail and "Skype," and received lots of anniversary and greeting cards. THANKS to loved ones and friends for all the "FUN"! Our New Year's Eve afternoon Bible Class here at Rosedale Court centered on Isaiah 9:6,7 with the two truths of Christ's first coming - "unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given!" We hope you enjoyed the holidays and will keep looking UP in this new year, relying on Him who is called "Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" and who will ultimately rule this world "upon the Throne of David!" HOW? "The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this!"

60 Years With The Right Woman!

2009-12-29T15:57:00.002-05:00

I remember the Wallace town wags who occasionally came into Dad's store singing "20 years with the wrong woman," and I would wonder what qualities the right woman was supposed to have! Well, in God's grace He sent me that right woman shortly after discharge from the Navy, but it was another 3 years before we would be married. This December 18 we celebrated 60 years together and we can only praise the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness to us. We had greetings from loved ones and friends from all over, but our dear Yeddo Baptist Church family honored us on December 20 with a beautiful placque and delicious Anniversary cake during their Christmas Dinner. Then the cake top layer became a treat at our Thursday Bible Class here on Christmas Eve afternoon! It was a treat for us on Christmas Day to enjoy dinner with sister Joan and husband Russell Gooding and their oldest daughter Susan Hesler with husband Sherrill and son Tim. Joan and our younger sister Jean had befriended "Mamaw" Mary K. in school at Wallace and this later set the stage for my courtship with "Mamaw"! I could write a volume on the "right" things about my spouse, but the outstanding attributes are her love for the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, and her love for me. Proverbs 18:22 puts it this way: "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD." A pastor-friend of mine noted a few years ago that this verse really means "whoso stumbleth over a wife..." and that was it! Well, later after pondering this a good bit, it struck me that a guy really has to be moving in order to stumble! When teen "Mamaw" agreed on the phone for our first date (a Sunday p.m. church revival service) I got moving! Dad's great old 1937 Pontiac set a new speed record west out of Wallace making a cloud of dust down the road to Whitfield Jackson's farm that could be seen for miles. As her Mom used to say, "WHOOPEE-DOODLES!"

Black Friday...Cyber Monday?

2009-11-30T10:33:00.002-05:00

What ever happened to Worshipful Sunday? And that after Thanksgiving Thursday! The older I grow the more persuaded I am that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" - Luke 12:15. I recall Thanksgiving 1945 in the Pacific aboard the transport bringing our troops home from the Phillipines. World War II was over!...we were going HOME!...the Navy chow (even with a printed menu) was not fancy but traditional and I'm sure there were many grateful soldiers and sailors sharing that day...and...believe it or not, the USS President Jackson had a "gee-dunk" counter ... that's "ice cream" for all you landlubbers! Mamaw (Mary K.) and I will celebrate our 60th anniversary on December 18 ... we look back on the faithfulness of God over the years, especially as we served first in Germany. The first year was spent in a simple 2-room apartment in Frankfurt, and the first Christmas with 1-year-old Judy was marked by seeing her awe when lighting our "Adventskranz" candles each Sunday before Christmas. The fuel was rationed, but we kept cozy warm ... and full of solid German Brot! Well, in our retirement from retirement we are back in a small apartment here in Crawfordsville ... we have a lighted Christmas tree on our balcony wall and lighted garland above our balcony door and have already received this year's first greeting card! We'll be sharing the Bible record of our Saviour's birth with folks here in the building in the weeks ahead...and thinking of all our family, friends and coworkers literally around the world ... God grant you each and all a Blessed Christmas ... and..."THANKS be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT!" - II Corinthians 9:15.

"Trick or Treat?"

2009-10-25T16:11:00.002-04:00

At this time of year we recall Halloween celebrations of by-gone years. Like a party in the home of the Wilson sisters not far from us on Stroup Street in Danville, IL. Those were Depression days, so "masking" was simple, if at all, and "Trick or Treat" was not yet invented. But, moving to Wallace, IN, in the mid-thirties brought a new understanding of Halloween for my sisters and me. We had a few parties around, some at school or in church youth groups, with bobbing for apples, games, etc. It was the outside action that amazed us former city kids -- like overturning outhouses (sometimes with residents inside); "tick-tacking" houses with ingenious home-made devices; throwing shelled corn on porches after poor souls inside had gone to bed; and soaping windows on houses and cars (worse, using parafin which required razor blade to remove); or (for older ruffians) putting farmers' wagons on top of their barns! My father made a big mistake early on (and who can blame him?) by getting angry with the Halloweeners who heckled him yearly by driving around the street corner by our house in the wee hours with tires and passengers screaming. But the crowning "trick" was piling junk and trash, one time even a billygoat, in front of Dad's store -- almost a declaration of "war" because one corner of the store was also the town Post Office and as such under U.S. government protection! All in all, we kids came to hate the "celebration," but we always thought Dad somehow enjoyed the excitement! No one then, and very few now, seem to connect the religious origin of Halloween to All Saints and All Souls days in Europe, and so it is a time when the occult reigns with witches, goblins, etc. and, of course, "Trick or Treat" encouraged some years ago by UNESCO. God's Word warns us

to avoid "an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer (communicating with the dead)" (Deuteronomy 18:10,11); and that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils (demons)!" (I Timothy 4:1). In spite of tough times, we see folks paying big money for costumes, etc., and we wonder if it would make more sense (cents) to just bob for apples!

Gathering in Summer

2009-09-26T10:21:00.002-04:00

Believe it or not, summer is past and fall is here! But it has been a great summer for us, especially in visits by our family. Our daughter Mary Ruth and son-in-law Phil Taylor flew home from Brazil, South America, in June to help Phil's mother move to near Des Moines, IA, to live with Phil's sister, Lorene Burma. They picked up their daughter and our grand-daughter Rachel in Memphis, TN, where she teaches in a Christian Day School, to help out, and then Mary Ruth and Rachel drove on to Crawfordsville for a week or so. As Rachel flew back to TN then Phil joined Mary Ruth for two more weeks visiting with us and overnighting with friends Dick and Anna Redenbaugh who live nearby. We enjoyed every minute with the "kids," and they got to see Aunt Joan and Uncle Russ Gooding and cousins in the area, too, even a cookout with cousins Allen and Karen Gooding at their beautiful country home west of Wallace. Of course, we also drove to Turkey Run State Park for lunch at the Inn, a walk to the "Point" above Sugar Creek and an interesting viewing at the Nature Center. Then...we were pleased to welcome daughter Judy from Gig Harbor, WA, at the new Indianapolis international airport early this month and host her for a blessed 2-week stay with us at the "Super80Motel"! Again, we enjoyed talking, praying, shopping and eating with her, and visiting Turkey Run Park and our loved ones in the area. We (and friends in our apartment building) were richly blessed at our Thursday Bible Class by Rachel's flute solo, Mary Ruth's piano specials, Brazilian coffee and Brazil "rainy day cakes," and Phil's sharing God's Word ... also Judy's provision of Cutter's Point coffee direct from Gig Harbor, delicious WA-state fruit candies and a special piano interlude. All were a real blessing and encouragement to us and other residents here. And Uncle Bob and Aunt Jean Larsh treated us to lunch at Bob Evans followed by cousins Sherrill and Susan Hesler providing a hassle-free van trip to the airport to see Judy off. We can see a rapidly-maturing field of corn from our balcony and it reminds us of a verse in Proverbs 10:5 - "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son; but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame." We're not situated now to literally bring in the harvest, but must say that we have certainly gathered many blessings and memories this summer that we will treasure and draw upon in the months ahead! Thanks, "kids," for giving us such joy! Yes, and let us pray that we may see a harvest of souls in our places and around the world!

Good old golden rule days!

2009-08-30T16:25:00.002-04:00

In my early years school started right after Labor Day and I can't remember ever rebelling at going to school as such. But in 1935, the year our family moved from Danville, IL, back to Wallace, IN, I just about resigned from the human race ... or at least from our family. I was 10 and had lots of friends in Danville, but didn't know a single kid in Wallace...and frankly, didn't want to! The move was for our family's benefit and mine, too (so I was told since some relatives thought I was becoming a hoodlum in the city), but because I had started school in the mid-year in IL my folks had to drop me back to 5th grade or push me up to 6th grade. They chose the latter course of action, but it meant I missed out on a semester of mathematics, IN-style! That did it, dear readers, and mentally at least I became a runaway. Mom and Dad and the teachers were patient with me, though, and I stayed and mastered the missing math (... in fact, recently at age 84 I actually figured out how to convert Centigrade to Fahrenheit)! I did gradually get acquainted with some nice country and small-town kids, teachers and ways, and especially remember the sights, sounds and smells of that 2-story brick schoolhouse containing all 12 grades ... including Goldenrod scratch pads and school paste (that tasted good). Other young "outsiders" like me and my younger sisters came to WHS over the years, but I think all would agree that we got a solid education at Wallace that has benefitted us over the years. After high school and service in the Navy I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, and now I know "that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28)... and, as they say it in German, "man lehrnt nie aus" (one never finishes learning). Also, as one observing wag has said, "Too soon oldt, und too late schmardt!"

Summer daze

2009-07-27T16:20:00.002-04:00

Life in summer in Danville, IL, as a kid during the late 1920's and early 1930's was surely interesting and challenging. I recall playing in the deserted glass factory behind our home on Stroup Street and bear a sliver of glass in my left hand to prove it. We guys had fun playing along the C&EI railroad tracks at the end of the street, especially all over the parked box cars, but it was really dangerous. It was also the place where the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey CIRCUS unloaded for their stay at the Fairgrounds not far away. Wow! The Fairgrounds also had a nice outdoors swimming pool to cool off in. We enjoyed rummaging through the Chuckles Candy factory dump site for some castaway jelly orange slices among the sweepings ... a little unsanitary, but tasty, nevertheless! Just beyond the factory across the street was a favorite night spot -- Garfield Park with free cowboy movies each week. Don't tell my parents (when you get to Heaven), but I must confess that I smoked a 5-cent cigar one night at the show there and didn't even throw up as a consequence ... at least, that's my story. Summer then was not complete without the familiar ding-a-ling of the horse-drawn ICE CREAM wagon that came by daily ... and you always got a candy cherry on top of the scrumptious cone! There were several good buddies in the neighborhood, including Billy Britton and Tommy Walge. Tommy lived around the corner on Cronkhite Street and his dad teased me about "sitting down to walk" while riding my Montgomery Ward balloon-tired bike (which my Dad really sacrificed to get)! Well, we can't re-live such good memories, but now and then we may find a sort of "deja vu" ... like I did a few years ago when I found Tommy at home living at the same old address! He shared some of his life, including World War II service, and I updated him and his wife on my life's journey since "summer daze" in Danville so many years ago. And it was a special joy to tell him how I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour right after the War, and to urge him to make that same decision, too. I do hope to see him again in Heaven, along with others we knew in our childhood. It's so comforting to know "whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord

SHALL BE SAVED" (Romans 10:13)!

Memorial Day

2009-05-31T14:20:00.002-04:00

Our nation celebrated Memorial Day last Monday, but we leave soon to go by the cemetery just west of Waynetown, IN, where son Jim is buried. He went to be with the Lord in August 1987 and we miss him greatly, along with his older sister Debbie who lived in DeKalb, IL, when the Lord took her home to heaven in June, 1998. Neither served in our Armed Forces, but we believe they both were lost in this spiritual war that Christians are engaged in everywhere. Debbie was born on May 31, 1954, in Weilheim/Oberbayern, Germany where we were serving as missionaries. Before birth she was watched over by a German "Hebamme" (midwife) named Frau Wagner, a very gracious lady, and when the big event was about to happen she transported the expectant Mom to the Weilheim hospital in her little VW! We had let it be known that we were expecting a boy, so one of the attending nurses came to me shortly after Debbie's arrival and profusely apologized, "Oh, es tut uns Leid, Herr Grimes, dass Sie eine Tochter haben!" ("We're sorry, but you have a daughter!") I assured the sister that we were happy to have a little girl safe on the scene and Mom doing well, too. Since she was born on May 31 the Germans called her a little "Mai Kaefer" ("June bug"), but we named her Deborah Sue. Later our young people there dubbed her "Susie" but here at home she was always "Debbie" growing up. She loved music, learned piano and especially loved to sing Christian songs and hymns, with her two sisters and Mother making a nice musical team in our ministry. She enjoyed two years of study at Faith Baptist Bible College at Ankeny, IA, and sang with groups and the School Chorale on tour one year, and my sweetest memory of her singing was at our son-in-law's ordination in Michigan City, IN, after she received the PHT degree ("Putting Hubbie Through") at his graduation from Hyles-Anderson College! She and Dan were a real blessing to our congregation at Trinity Baptist Church at Bloomfield, IN, too. On Jim's gravestone are the Bible words from Hebrews 12:2 - "Looking unto Jesus" - and we recall how he loved playing on his guitar and singing "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace." We believe that he and Debbie, with other loved ones who have gone on to Glory, are experiencing the fullest meaning of those verses now! We remember them fondly, praise the Lord for sending them into our lives, and look forward to seeing them again ... what a memorable Memorial Day that will be!

"Last one in is a .....!"

2009-04-30T17:58:00.003-04:00

While attending Jr. and Sr. High School at Wallace ('36-'42) - all in the same building (!) - it was the custom for most of the boys who lived in town to go swimming on the last day of school. Back then, when so many of the country boys helped on the farm, they finished the school year late in April or early May. So, when that last bell sounded at good ol' WHS I remember so clearly how a bunch of us guys headed over the hill east of the school for that first (oftimes COLD) dip in Mill Creek. What a refreshing ritual! When the creek was high from spring rains it was dangerous swimming, too, and I recall once trying to swim across when it was out of its banks ... and it almost ended in tragedy. Don't think my folks ever learned about it and I never even shared with the other guys how scared I was when I finally made it across the stream. But we did enjoy the "'ol swimmin' hole" through the summer when, as the old song goes, "the livin' was easy." Other memorable swimming holes included: the Fairgrounds pool at Danville, IL, when visiting my buddy Hubie Fisher there; the artesian water pool at Lodi, IN, which left a rotten-egg smell oozing through your pores into the next day; and, believe it or not, Gatun Lake on the eastern end of the Panama Canal! Our ship anchored there as it awaited transit through the Canal, so the skipper let the crew go for a dip ... not recorded in the WWII news reports! I was never a Mark Phelps, but always enjoyed a good swim, thanks to lessons at age 10 at the YMCA in Danville! The prophet Isaiah makes an interesting statement about God's ability to overcome His enemies in and through the Millennial Kingdom ahead: "...He shall spread forth His hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth forth his hands to swim; and He shall bring down their pride together...!" (Isaiah 25:11) Quite an illustration ... talk about Olympic gold medals!

Birds and blooms!

2009-03-29T15:44:00.002-04:00

As this goes to press on the last Sunday in March '09 the weather here is anything but spring-like -- around 34 degrees with cold rain that turns to snow now and then, maybe freezing on the

roads in some places. But, the daffodils are blooming brightly in the flower bed next to our apartment building entrance, and we are hearing and seeing birds on and off our balcony already! This reminds me of the many places where we have watched the blossoms come in spring: In Weilheim, south Germany, we had the second-story apartment in a two-family house and the single landlady had not yet moved into the apartment below. The lawn area was not yet fully landscaped, but Fraulein Balk had planted tulip bulbs in one spot and was looking forward to some beautiful colors in due time. Sorry, our daughters Judy and Mary Ruth invaded that little garden spot one day and Mother heard them exclaiming "Zwiebeln...Zwiebeln!" (German for "onions") and soon discovered that the girls were digging up our landlady's tulip bulbs! The German people love flowers and the local veterinarian's house and garden next door was a truly Bavarian floral showcase. In the late '50's we lived in a row-house on the southeast side of Munich and our neighbors there, Herr and Frau Edhofer, made the best of a very small back yard with a rock garden. We were amused each spring when Herr Edhofer would be seen out in that area on hands-and-knees with a magnifying glass, searching for the first crocus to break through the ground! For rustic splendor nothing could match our last place of service in English, IN. The "hills and hollers" of Crawford County came alive each spring with thousands of redbud trees in bloom, and just 20 miles or so north up Highway 37 we also enjoyed driving through Paoli, IN, which is celebrated as the "Dogwood Capital" of the world! This week in our Bible Class here at Rosedale Court in Crawfordsville, we are studying the Genesis Flood and God's promises to mankind following that terrible judgment, especially chapter 8, verse 22: "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease!" Praise the Lord, 'cause I'm looking ahead to Mary K.'s "birds and blooms" on our balcony in the next few weeks!

"Evolution Weekend" and Presidents Day

2009-02-15T16:58:00.002-05:00

It's a strange celebration time -- we learned today that over 1000 churches are recognizing a new "holiday" -- "Evolution Weekend" to promote the acceptance of evolution as a "scientific"

solution to the origin of the universe and mankind. This is not "new," of course, but an organized effort by liberal churches to do so is a new and sad development. We're glad for the many fundamental churches who still hold to the creation model as taught in the Bible. Charles Darwin, of course, is the man who really started the evolutionary approach, first, by his book "The Origin of Species" and then others later. Interestingly, he was "baptized" into the Anglican Church as a child, later went on to the university in England and even a short time in seminary. He wrote: "I had gradually come by this time (ca. 30 years of age) to see that the Old Testament was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindus or the beliefs of any barbarian. " Then in 1880: "I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation, and therefore not in Jesus Christ as the Son of God!" I was amazed to learn that Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 ... the same year and day that Abraham Lincoln was born! What a contrast between Darwin's rejection of God's Word and the damage still being done by his teachings, and Lincoln's reliance on the Bible with subsequent blessing for this old world! Hear his thoughts: "I attended ... a log schoolhouse in Indiana where we had no reading books or grammers, and all our reading was done from the Bible.... In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this Book!" Darwin's conclusions have led multitudes into spiritual slavery where everything came into existence by chance and there is no God to Whom we are accountable. Lincoln not only found comfort and guidance in God's Word to lead our country through a terrible crisis, but it gave him the moral fortitude and foundation to free the slaves! Surely, he agreed wholeheartedly with our first president, George Washington, who stated in his Farewell Address: "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible!" Dear readers, let us pray for our new president and administration, along with all those who represent us, and all the people of the USA (who, by the way, are creatures of God and not accidents of evolution!), that we may recognize and rely upon God's Word in this critical time ... in obedience to I Timothy 2:1-6.

Treasures of the Snow

2009-01-28T16:04:00.005-05:00

This morning we awakened to a blanket of fresh snow 6-8 inches deep here in Central Indiana, and this afternoon Mary K. and I took broom and brush to uncover our ol' Chevy in the apartment parkinglot. This stirred up memories of winter wonderlands in our life -- first, going sledding out in the country near Wallace, IN, even ice-skating up Sugar Mill Creek. Winter in Chicago while studying at Moody Bible Institute was almost certain to be snowy from the "lake effect" and travel in the city by streetcar and elevated was an adventure. Taking a semester at Baptist Seminary in Grand Rapids as newlyweds we enjoyed the "lake effect" from the other side of Lake Michigan; it made "snuggling" a must! Later, in Weilheim, south Germany we recall filling our little Opel station wagon with family and local "Kinder" to enjoy a mid-winter retreat at our Mission camp near Bad Heilbrunn in the foothills of the Alps. We all enjoyed sledding on nearby slopes and some tried skiing; in fact, I tried to ski and about broke my neck, so afterwards I stuck with sledding, once tearing the toe out of my winter shoe while trying to guide the sled! From our apartment livingroom window and balcony in Weilheim we were blessed with a view of the Zugspitze (in fact, our street had same name), Germany's highest (10,000 ft.+) mountain near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a famous ski resort. What a sight when snow-capped! Later we learned that those high slopes were where the Edelweiss flower bloomed from July thru September, many under the remaining snow! And, the romantic German (or any) guy was to seek and find an Edelweiss to show his love for his Liebling! (German Alpine troops have worn this flower as uniform insignia for many years.) No, I didn't venture up the Zugspitze, but I did buy my Liebling a necklace containing a real (dried) Edelweiss! In Job 38:22 God asks the question: "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?" Surely, this beautiful flower is one of those treasures as it speaks of nobility (Edel) and purity (weiss/white), a description of Biblical love and my Liebling! Fresh snow covers much ugliness in winter and that's where the Edelweiss flourishes. The prophet Isaiah sums it up in 1:18 - "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Surely, the greatest treasure of all is the forgiveness of sin and cleansing from sin, made available to all by the love and grace of God through the work of His dear Son on the cross of Calvary! As the hymn-writer puts it: "In the bleak midwinter, Frosty wind did moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Fallen snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, Many years ago.

...God Himself became a man -- Born to pay sin's price; He's the great Redeemer, Our Lord Jesus Christ!"

"I'll Be Home For Christmas"?

2008-12-24T15:00:00.004-05:00

During the Depression Christmas at home for most folks was not very lavish, but it was still family time. I remember gatherings with grandparents and other relatives where gifts were very simple and the food was plentiful. But Uncle Martin (from "dutch" Grand Rapids) at Aunt Hattie's always reminded me that he was fortunate as a child if he and his siblings only received a piece of fruit on the holiday. Best memories for me included the sights and smells of Grimes' Food Store at Christmas, when most all the wares were not pre-packaged and the fruit and imported trees were so fragrant, and riding in the old-fashioned sleigh that Dad had purchased from a neighbor (pulled by a borrowed horse)! At home we had a modestly-decorated green tree ... until the dry air caused the needles to fall off ... and just enjoyed Mom's food and being together. There were special programs on the radio to make a joyful atmosphere, but Christmas at home in 1941 was saddened by the news of Pearl Harbor and subsequent entry into World War II. Joining the Navy in early 1943 and after boot camp, radio school and convoy radio training, I spent that holidays in New Orleans. There was cold rain on Canal Street (appropriate name) that Christmas Eve, as I recall, but I found a little bit of home in the USO Club there. After a trip to the South Pacific war theater, and a 30-day leave with loved ones in Wallace, it was back to New Orleans and shipping out again ... with an unwanted 6-months shore job in the Panama Canal Zone and spending Christmas 1944 in that very tropical setting. Summer 1945 we celebrated the end of WWII near the Equator, then back to the USA to transfer to a Navy transport and wound up in drydock at Mare Island near San Francisco for Christmas. I called a Navy nurse who had been at Wallace H.S. with me, hoping for a sentimental reunion, but she was busy ... sorry! In all my sea-faring during the holidays it was my good (?) fortune to listen to pop and Christmas songs in the radio shack, getting misty-eyed especially when hearing the one in my current blog title. Anyway, Lord willing, we plan and hope to spend Christmas day with my sisters and family at Joan's home ... just down the street from the 'ol home place in Wallace ... and look forward to sharing and making some memories, while visiting our kids, grandkids and greats by "Skype" when able. And one of these days we'll truly "be home for the holidays" in Heaven where the trees don't shed their needles and we'll be able to worship the One

in person who is the theme of so many biblical Christmas songs! See Revelation 5:8-10. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR!

November Nostalgia

2008-11-30T16:31:00.002-05:00

There have been flashbacks of memory this month, as usual! Our "little sister" Jean Grimes (Larsh) was born on Election Day, Nov. 6, 1932, in our home on Stroup Street in Danville, IL, so...we not only got a precious new family member, but also got a new president - Franklin Delano Roosevelt! This election was disappointing to us, since the "other" candidates represented our Biblical values more clearly. But, like FDR, our incoming president will not be perfect and will surely need every Christian's prayers, according to I Timothy 2:1-6. Then, I remember November 11 as "Armistice Day"when at school we paused to ponder the end of World War I. Now, it's "Veteran's Day" - also a time of remembrance, and I, with a surge of patriotism, wore my "WWII US Navy Armed Guard" cap on a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. It was so "cool" to have at least 2 young ladies walk up and tell me "Thanks for serving!"; and 1 even had her two children with her say "Thanks," too! Yes, I'm glad for the privilege of serving our country in WWII. Well, I recall Thanksgiving Days as a kid when Dad and Mom would take us to enjoy dinner with the Grimes side living in or near Wallace, or to the Pyle family gathering out in the country south of Hillsboro, IN. Dad and the Pyle uncles always made a stab at hunting rabbits out in the surrounding fields, and I don't remember a lot of game resulting, but at least it was a good time of visiting. Everybody except one uncle smoked tobacco, so we younguns suffered through the haze, because Grandma Pyle's dinner table made it all worthwhile! This holiday we were blessed to gather with Uncle Russ and Aunt Joan Gooding at the 'Ol Home Place in Wallace to enjoy the hospitality of Aunt Jean and Uncle Bob Larsh, with Niece Kim Rice and husband Tim and Niece Susan Hesler with husband Sherrill. I was asked to give thanks, and I also shared Psalm 100 from Grandma Grimes's old Bible, noting that she had underlined verse 3 ... something that we all in our nation need to hold onto in our day! Oh, yes, that afternoon, since the sun had warmed things up a little I and Mom (Mamaw-Aunt Katie, etc.) strolled down the hill to the Covered Bridge and back ... whew!...but made sweeter by the kiss I stole inside the bridge (is that why they were covered?)! Anyway, the month is ending on a blessing ... this a.m. I taught Adult Sunday School class at Yeddo Baptist Church on Acts 13, one the great missionary

passages of God's Word...and, Robert and Jody Frye and teen sons, who serve as missionaries to Romania under European Baptist Fellowship brought a stirring report on victories won and plans in motion for even greater things in that needy country, praise the Lord! We enjoyed dinner later at the home of Pastor and Mrs. Jim Rivers, along with the Frye's and Jody's parents - Art and Mary Merrill. We all agreed on the faithfulness of God at home and abroad and the need to press on for Him, while looking UP for His imminent Coming!!!

All Saints and All Souls

2008-11-02T16:00:00.002-05:00

Serving in Germany in the 1950's we witnessed their observance of "All Saints" Day on Nov. 1 or 2 and "All Souls" Day on Nov. 2 or 3 each year. The former honors departed "saints" of the Roman Catholic Church who are prayed TO, while the latter emphasizes the need to pray FOR the souls in torment in "purgatory" or hell. As we write, there is a controversy in and out of the Church regarding the advisability of canonizing Pope Pius XII who signed an agreement with Hitler in 1933 which may explain why he never publicly denounced the Holocaust or made much greater efforts to protect the Jews in Europe. Israel, of course, is strongly opposed to him being declared an official "saint." We are, too, because Scripture makes it clear that it is GOD who is in the saint-making business and not a religious hierarchy (which is why we were preaching the Gospel in Germany anyway)! Biblically, a "saint" is a SINNER SAVED by grace! The New Testament word means "to be set apart FROM sin and set apart UNTO God" and he addressed Christians in Rome as "beloved of God, called to be saints" (Romans 1:7). He saluted believers in Corinth as "them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints" (I Corinthians 1:2), etc. In our KJV Bible the italicized words indicate they have been added for meaning, and I would paraphrase it "called TO BE saints DOWN HERE and seeking to become SAINTLY DOWN HERE" by obeying God's Word "for the perfecting (spiritual maturation) of the SAINTS" (Ephesians 4:12)! Truly, simple faith in Christ makes all believers "meet to be partakers of the SAINTS in light" NOW and throughout eternity (Colossians 1:12-14). But prayer FOR "all souls" already in eternity is futile. NOW is the time to become a saint and as a saint to be more and more saintly ... set apart for Christ's use and glory!

How do you "justify" that?

2008-09-13T16:39:00.002-04:00

Having been turned down for our high school basketball team because of some high blood pressure, I thought service in the Armed Forces at the onset of WW II was "out" for me. (Later, of course, I did volunteer for the U.S. Navy and was accepted.) So for a few months I worked at the R.R. Donnelley printing plant in Crawfordsville, IN, just 20 miles from Wallace. Since I was an "unknown quantity" for lengthy employment there, I was assigned to the Make-Up Department as a sort of "printer's devil," ready to do any unskilled task. That department "made up" the trays of lead type from the linotype machines (massive things that churned out what our word processors do today). My job on a little manual "proof press" was to run off copies of the text and send it to the proof readers for reading and marking any corrections necessary. The process called for re-setting the lines of type, then, after coating these with red ink, re-inserting them in the tray and again making a copy on the proof press to be sent one or more times back to the proof reading for approval until the text was perfect. Sometimes the lead type-slugs were hurriedly placed back in the tray in a helter-skelter effort and had to be straightened ... i.e., "justified" in the printer's language! Webster says that "to justify" this way means "to space (type) so that the lines will be of the correct length," or, apart from printing, "to show to be just, right, or reasonable," or, "to free from blame or guilt; absolve." This latter definition didn't make sense to me until, after WWII, I repented of my sin and received Christ as my personal Saviour and began really studying my Bible. "Therefore being justified by faith, we (I) have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). The Bible word means not only the forgiveness of sin and the removal of its guilt and punishment, but also the imputation of Christ's righteousness to me and restoration to God's favor for me and all who trust Him. Wow! I kept a little lead slug from my printing days reading "proofed by Grimes" which I had to place in each tray on the proof press, and it is reminder that I am "straight" in God's sight through Christ's work on the Cross and Resurrection and I am kept straight in my daily life as I walk with Him! Proverbs 3:5,6. What a deal for a "printer's devil"!

'Ray for Reunions!

2008-08-09T11:20:00.002-04:00

Living here in Crawfordsville, IN, now, we take a break now and then to have a walk and picnic

snack at Milligan Park not far away. I always experience "deja vu" as I recall Pyle Family reunions there some 70 years ago! The Pyles originated in NC, TN and KY and are related to "Coonrod" Pyle who pioneered with Daniel Boone, and Sgt. Alvin York (mother was a Pyle), a

a WWI hero. Bill's mother was Jewell Pyle through James G. and Gillie A. Pyle who settled in Foutain County IN. But those Pyle reunions were blessed with plenty of aunts and uncles and cousins, plus fried chicken and all the trimmin's with the coldest ice tea you can imagine, served

with a dipper from a huge farm milk can ... and homemade ice cream! A highlight for me was the

recreation in the afternoon, usually a softball game, with all those cousins. Well, a week ago Sunday Mary K. and I drove to Beechwood Park at Rockville to attend this year's Reunion. We were down in numbers, of course, but it was a joy to see cousins Ken, Herman, Leonard, Conrad (who came from CO) and Larry Pyle and their loved ones and others, one couple driving up from MS. (By the way, for obvious reasons, we couldn't get a softball game organized this time!) We are grateful to Ken and wife Julie for keeping in touch with everyone and keeping geneaology, pictures and archives and setting up the reunion in recent years. But as we grow older and our family branches enlarge and scatter it grows more difficult to have regular family get-togethers,

and this is just a sad fact of life. However, it is so good to know that, for those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Saviour, there is a grand reunion COMING for the family of God!

Jesus promises: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also!" (John 14:1-3) We pray that each of our readers will look forward to that grand get-together ahead ... it may be SOON!

The staff of life

2008-07-25T15:23:00.004-04:00

Guess I've always enjoyed bread products, and recall making the run home from school in record time when I knew Mom was baking yeast rolls for lunch ... yummee! But when we served as missionaries in Germany in the 50's we really came to appreciate "Brot," especially the hard-crusted dark bread and the breakfast rolls call "Broetchen" ("little breads"--"Semmeln" in Bavaria). One day from our apartment in Frankfurt we watched a little old lady on the 5th floor across the street dangling a basket on a rope to the ground floor -- in front of the local bakery! Of course they loaded in her ordered Brot products and she quickly reeled up the basket ... talk about service! Another time there we observed a little boy walking down the street from the bakery with a shopping net full of Broetchen bouncing along on the sideweek behind him. We wonder if "Mama" asked him about those dark spots in the rolls? Ach, some new spices, maybe? A loaf of that good dark bread cost us about 1 German mark (their dollar), worth at that time 25 cents in our money ... try to find a loaf of bread now at that price anywhere! Bread was, and still is, a staple in the German home, but there was, and is, a shortage of spiritual bread in that land, as well as in America. The prophet Jeremiah describes his own people centuries ago

as having the same problem: "All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul..." (Lamentations 1:11) Material bread satisfies for a short time, but the Lord Jesus Christ advises us: "I AM the Bread of Life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst!" Then the Psalmest invites everyone to "O TASTE and SEE that the LORD is good...! (Psalm 34:8). Have YOU done that?

The wells of salvation

2008-06-27T16:10:00.002-04:00

To get back to that flowing well at the bottom of the hill going southeast out of Wallace and just north of the old covered bridge, it reminds me of another well west of town where I used to slake my thirst after a bike ride out to a wooden dam on Mill Creek in the summertime. "Sulphur Spring" was fed by a pipe out of the hillside and ran into a steel drum. That was the coldest, most refreshing water ever! Everybody drank out of that famous "watering hole," including horses ... until some years ago the property got a new owner who diverted the spring water into a business of selling water! Now, I hope that the town or some private person will not close off the "new" well, and I do look forward to getting a "sip" there now and then. That reminds me of a wonderful Bible promise found in Isaiah 12:2,3 - "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." When the new well was drilled near the Bridge and could not be tapped, some town residents up on the hill found the water level in their wells was sinking and there was momentary fear of losing ALL the water supply to the town (so I heard)! Well, it hasn't happened yet, but surely is a possibility at some future time. However, dear reader, the wells of salvation -- eternal life, forgiveness of sins, peace, joy, assurance, hope, etc., etc., are available through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ ... and ...will never run dry! He promises in John 4:14 and 6:35 - "...he that believeth on Me shall never thirst!" Have you "sipped" yet; and, if so, do you continue to "sip"?

Bridge To Somewhere

2008-05-23T11:13:00.002-04:00

On Sunday before my 83rd birthday on Monday, March 3, our sister and brother-in-law, Jean and Bob Larsh, invited Mary K. and me, along with older sister Joan and husband Russell Gooding, for food and fellowship at the Grimes Ole Home Place in Wallace. We surely enjoyed the time together reminiscing about "the old days" and I was privileged in the nice afternoon weather to take a traditional walk down the southeast hill out of town down to the old Covered
Bridge over the creek at the bottom of the hill toward the Lutheran Church. The town has built
a nice little rest park with picnic shelter, a playground and ballpark just to the north of the bridge in "bottom land" and ... drilled a well just below the bridge which turned out to be a flowing well (almost draining the citizens' wells above in town!) producing that cool, refreshing
water I remember from childhood. I remember, too, that the Covered Bridge itself was a major
link to the east by gravel road for many decades. Now, it has been bypassed by a new modern bridge and blacktop road. But I played in, around and under that bridge as a kid -- fishing for bluegills and shooting waterbugs with my BB gun, and watching our faithful little Terrier "Fanny" go crazy sniffing for varmints! I'm so glad the town is preserving the bridge (even using
it as a Halloween Haunted House), but it is sadly now just a "Bridge To Nowhere"! As I huffed and puffed back up the Hill, stopping occasionally to rest on my cane, I thought: "Well, I'm glad
that there IS a Bridge To Somewhere, and that I came to know Him as my Lord and Saviour
near this place so many years ago." Yep, Jesus said: "I AM the Way, theTruth and the Life...
no (one) cometh unto the Father, except by Me" ...and... "Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out!" (John 14:6; 6:37). I was ALMOST running as I reached the top of the hill! At least I wanted to, for sheer joy!

From "ammo" to "amore" - Part II

2008-04-06T15:53:00.002-04:00

Sage #1 continues: I had just returned from three years service in the Navy during World War II. (Some of that time was spent as a radioman with the Navy gun crew aboard armed merchant ships, once transporting bombs and other ammunition to our troops in the Southwest Pacific ... that's where my side of the "ammo"-"amore" equation comes in!) Anyway, as I returned home to Wallace, IN, I was anxious to resume my "social life," and soon asked my mother is she knew any really Christian girls in our area that I might ask for a date. She wisely replied, "Why, give Mary Kathryne Jackson a call!" I faintly knew Mary K. (or "Katie" as she was known "way back when") as a friend of my younger sisters, but gave her a call right away and she agreed to go to church with me. As we got acquainted the next few weeks she discovered that I did not really know the Lord as my personal Saviour, so she patiently and lovingly shared the Gospel with me over hamburgers after church services. On the evening of Mary 13, 1946, after she once more explained John 3:16 to me, I knelt in the livingroom of her parents' farm home and asked Christ to save me. She told me later that I looked as though a tremendous load had been lifted from me. It was the burden of sin! I just praise the Lord for forgiving me and giving me eternal life that night. And I thank Him also for giving me in due time Mary K. as a wife and coworker these many years, serving the Lord together first in Germany and then in home fields. Truly, "the LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad!" (Psalm 126:3) ... and that's real "amore"!

From "ammo" to "amore"!

2008-03-29T17:06:00.002-04:00

Sage #2 wants to share something with us: "I was born on a farm near Dana, Indiana (west central Indiana not far from the Wabash River) in 1928. My parents loved the Lord and wanted to live for Him. This was #1 priority

in their lives. Their desire was that I should know the Lord as my personal Saviour, too. I did trust Christ as my Saviour when I was eight years old. My grandmother, who also was a Christian, lived with us. I learned many Scripture

verses and old hymns from her. I had no brothers or sisters, but became my spiritual "sister." Later my father's mother came to live with us. This grandmother was not a Christian at that time, but we all three became very good "buddies." During World War II the United States government bought up

many acres of land in the Dana-Newport area, including our farm, for an "ammo" plant (Wabash Ordinance Works) to supply our fighting men. The Lord was in this, even though at times it was very difficult because this was home for my mother's family for some 103 years. However, my parents always believed that God was in life's circumstances, and they rejoiced in His love and care (see Romans 8:28,29). In due time my parents found a new farm just five miles from Wallace, IN, where Bill Grimes and his family lived. About five years later I met Bill. (That's where "amore" comes in! We were married at Calvary Baptist Church in Crawfordsville, IN, on December 18, 1949.) I'm thankful for God's guidance in our lives these many years. I can also say that "the Lord hath done GREAT THINGS for us; whereof we are glad!" (Psalm 126:3.) Sage #1 comments: "'amore' beats 'ammo' any day!"

Toot Toot! - #2

2008-02-10T15:08:00.000-05:00

We wrote earlier about the influence of train whistles and train horns on my spiritual life. While studying at the Moody Bible Institute from 1947-1949 I came home as often as possible to Wallace to see family, friends and my fiance Mary Kathryn Jackson. Again, riding the old Chicago & Eastern Illinois train to Danville, IL, brought the whistle-sound back to my consciousness -- i.e., while traveling to see my future bride. I would then take a bus to Hillsboro, IN, only 25 miles away and 9 miles north of Wallace, and call the folks who would then pick me up in Dad's old '37 Pontiac, veteran of WWII! Then there would be a huge cloud of dust as I drove that 6-cylinder maroon sedan down the road west of town to joyfully re-unite with my sweet little farm-gal fiance! That train whistle-sound coming home to meet HER was really music to my ears (but going back to school later became difficult for both of us). As we wrote earlier, the sound of train horns near our apartment building NOW is a reminder of the imminent return of our Heavenly Bridegroom to claim His Bride, as "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God..." (I Thess. 4:14-18). Often here we hear the sound of a freight train waiting on the siding for the Amtrak fast passenger train to whiz through. The freight signal "toot toot!" is saying "we are waiting and ready to move on the main line again!" And that recalls the rich prophetic teaching of Dr. Harry Ironside that I was privileged to hear at Moody Memorial Church "way back when" -- that the nation of Israel is like a freight-train waiting on the siding during this age while the fast passenger train is like the Church, the Bride of Christ, speeding toward the end of this age at the Rapture. As things develop in the Middle East, Israel is being prepared to move back on to the main line of prophecy once more, heading for the Tribulation and finally the glorious return of Christ to rule and reign in the Millennium. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!" and keep looking UP for our Heavenly Bridegroom!

Toot! Toot!

2008-01-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-10T16:39:00.000-05:00

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!

Numbering our days

2007-12-31T16:46:00.000-05:00

Someone might be curious about the "Super 80" part of the name of our blog. Well, we jokingly
refer to the apartment building here by that name for an obvious reason -- quite a few of us are
nearing or "super" i.e., above 80 years of age! Of course, any resemblance to a motel chain is purely co-incidental. Some scholars believe that Psalm 90 was written by Moses and not only does it remind us that the LORD is eternal and unchanging, but that WE are mortal and fast fading: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years (that's 80, folks!), yet is their strength labour and sorrow (so glad we have an elevator in the building); for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (v. 10) How do we respond to this reality? v. 12 makes it clear: "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our
hearts unto WISDOM!" My concordance says that the Hebrew word "number" means "to weigh out, to enumerate, etc." I read about one senior who never told his age in years, but in days and that wouldn't be a bad idea. But it seems to me the best meaning is "to weigh out" our
days by investing them in witness and service for Christ; i.e., making our days count for eternity, as the Psalmist concludes in v. 17: "And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon
us; and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us..." This New Year's Eve we wish you all
a BLESSED NEW YEAR, knowing that for the Christian, "the future is just as bright as the promises of God!"

Further explanation

2007-12-29T21:18:00.000-05:00

Webster says that a "sage" is "a very wise man; esp., an old man respected for his wisdom, experience, etc." It's not so much our wisdom as seniors and people of great experience; but,
rather the Biblical admonition that came to us some 14-plus years ago as we moved from our
last little mission church: "Hear counsel, and receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in
thy latter end. There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD,
that shall stand!" (Proverbs 19:20,21) Couple this with Proverbs 9:10 - "The fear of the LORD
is the beginning of wisdom...!" and you really begin to get the picture. Also, there is another kind of "sage" that takes me back to my teens, when helping my Dad in his store in Wallace the
farmers would come in to buy it to add to their hog sausage made in their fall butchering
process: "a plant of the mint family with grayish-green leaves used for flavoring meats, etc."
So, as we share thoughts with our readers on our blogsite we trust that it will add not only a little wisdom, but also some spice to your lives as well as ours! By the way, we want to thank our grandson David Taylor for his help in embarking on this awesome task.