There's no place like home!

We have a mobile society in America and many are moving and establishing new homes in new locations. This has been the history of our family over the years, mostly because of changes in ministry. This last Christmas our daughter Mary Ruth and son-in-law Phil Taylor took a short furlough from their missionary work in Curitiba, Brazil, South America, and visited us here in Crawfordsville, as well as family in North Carolina and Iowa. We celebrated both holidays with them in our one-room bedroom apartment here. We have a system for entertaining overnight -- our clothing finds corners and shelves here and there, and we sleep on the hide-a-bed sofa in our livingroom, while our guests occupy the "bridal suite" bedroom. It works out quite well for all of us, although it's not quite a Holiday Inn experience. In the case of Phil and Mary Ruth they brought some coffee from Brazil which helped to provide more comfort! Looking back over the years we recall entertaining loved ones and friends in all kinds of settings -- for example, our "honeymoon cottage" on Mary K.'s parents' farm was was without electricity, heated by a cold stove and consisted of three rooms and a "path"! But our best memory of having our family home for Christmas was while serving in Portage, Indiana, during our first winter there in 1974. Our four children with their little ones were snowed in by one of those lake-effect storms, so we celebrated together in the roomy parsonage which had been the church's first meetingplace. There were three upstairs bedrooms, one on the main floor and another in the basement, along with an open kitchen-diningroom area and large livingroom, plus one and-a-half bathrooms. As the kids say, "we had a blast!" We enjoyed entertaining in our parsonage in Brazil, Indiana, but later at Bloomfield, Indiana, we packed kids and grandkids into the mobile home parsonage and Mary K. and I slept in the church basement! The main consideration is not just comfort, but the joy of being together with dear ones. Just recently we "rolled out the red carpet" to welcome our daughter Judy to our humble abode, coming all the way from Gig Harbor, Washington, for a two-week visit. Although Mike couldn't come with her we let her occupy the Bridal Suite at no extra charge, but she did send some scrumptious coffee on ahead by mail. Judy was a blessing to us and other residents in the building, and especially helpful in going with us to a neuro-ophthamologist (BalanceMD/"DizzyDr.") for follow-up on her mother's vertigo/balance problem. And, by the way, Mary K. is doing better as this goes to press, thanks to the Lord and all who are praying. Well, in summary, just want to stress the thought that the living accommodations are not all-important, but it's the company that matters. The Lord Jesus is the key, and He reminds us that "where two or three are gathered together in My Name, THERE AM I in the midst of them!" (Matthew 18:20). His presence and blessing make any abode a palace!

Where To Go With "Vertigo"?

For some time now Mary K. has been struggling with a vertigo problem, complicated by reflux esophagitis. Simply said, vertigo is dizziness that makes the room spin, whereas just being plain dizzy is when you spin! The past few months we have consulted with a gastroenterologist and neurologist, followed by therapy, and it seems that we have found help for her condition. It appears that crystals in the inner ear move around, causing the dizzy feeling, and medications plus a simple maneuver called the "Canalith repositioning procedure (CRP)" does provide relief...but no "cure" yet. The inner ear defect may be caused by infections, circulation problems, dehydration, aging, or body position changes like swinging or traveling by ship or plane. So, we are thankful for her improvement so far, and ask our Christian readers to pray for her. Frankly, I'm pondering the wisdom of poeple who bring on dizziness or a "high" purposely through the use of addictive drugs or alcohol. And now we are seeing the legalization of marijuana in several states, which can only produce more problems in the home and society. My experience with alcohol goes back to rejecting parental advice and listening to my peers in the Navy in World War II. After a night of imbibing in New Orleans, I woke up out in the Caribbean enroute to the Panama Canal and the South Pacific war zone, and my head was spinning like crazy from the hangover. I can honestly say that my every encounter with booze during the war, and briefly thereafter, was most UNpleasant...and I have some bodily scars to prove it! They don't hand out purple hearts for such foolishness, believe me! God's Word, the Bible, is precise: "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.... Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea...!" (Proverbs 23:29-34) Surely, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise!" (Proverbs 20:1). So, in life you may develop true vertigo through aging, etc., but self-induced vertigo is NOT the "way to go!"

The reserves are coming!

"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest!'" -- Matthew 9:36-38.
As we read newsletters and news reports from around the world we are moved by the willingness of young people to launch out in missionary service to many open countries in a very turbulent and dangerous world.  As we read the call of Jesus to serve Him wherever He leads, we recall our own years of missionary service in post-war Germany, starting less than a decade after World War II.  The task seemed overwhelming in that physically and spiritually devastated land, and the onset of the Cold War made prospects even more dismal and uncertain.  So, we were praying for helpers to come and share the burden of the work with us.  A favorite Scripture passage was Acts 16:9,10, where Paul and his missionary party were challenged to "Come over into Macedonia (Europe) and HELP us!"; that is, "to preach the Gospel unto them!"  We still believe that "the Gospel is still the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16) and many are waiting to hear this message in many places today.  So we rejoice to hear that God has called up more "reserves" for the battle!  This summer we were blessed when Fran Lee called to ask if she and her daughter and son-in-law could stop by for a brief visit.  We first met Fran when she was a teenager in Arcanum, OH, and part of a former Amish family of several children, and we stayed in their home while presenting Germany in their church there.  So what joy to meed Caleb and Melissa ("Missy")
Metzger and little Benjamin.  Caleb and Missy have since then been approved by Baptist Mid-Missions for service in Germany and we hope to see them again as they travel in pre-field ministry.  Then, our granddaughter Rachel Taylor, who raised in Brazil, South America, and graduated from Faith Baptist Bible College and Pensacola Christian College with degrees in Elementary Education, had taught Christian Day School in Memphis, TN, for ten years.  This year the Lord tapped her as a "reservist" for a two-year short-term Ministry to Brazil under our Mission, and she has already arrived there as this is written!  She will be stationed in Sao Jose, Santa Catarina, south Brazil, to help her older brother James and wife Christen and family in the new mission plant - "Redemption Baptist Church" with an outreach to children, youth and families.  So we invite Christian readers to remember Caleb and Missy (with little Ben) to be soon sharing the Good News with German folks, and Rachel now get acclimated to the work in Brazil.  And we expect to hear in the days ahead how that we can expect to meet souls in Heaven one day, whom they have won to the Saviour! "Lord, we thank you for these new reserves, and we ask you to send forth many more to the Harvest Field!"

Memorial Day Musings

Following Easter we did a verse-by-verse study of I Corinthians chapter 15 in our Bible Class here at Rosedale Court.  I had made a few sermons on this text over the years of ministry, but must confess I that passed over verse 33 too quickly:  "Be not  deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners!" My King James Version seems difficult to understand, until you really think about the context, which of course, is the chapter theme: .the Gospel based on the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I recall shamefully  how some of my peers in early years and later in the Service literally communicated information to me which then did help to "corrupt good manners" or habits or convictions contrary to my upbringing and to the Word of God.  Since I (like everyone else) was already a sinner by nature, it only encouraged wrong thinking and subsequent wrong actions and lifestyle.   My old German Bible puts it:  "evil babbling corrupts good manners" and the modern version says that "a bad lifestyle corrupts good habits."  Another old English view is "bad company good morals doth corrupt" and preacher John Wesley long ago commented that "Discourse contrary to faith, hope or love, naturally tends to destroy all holiness!"  In other words, following worldly unbiblical counsel can destroy a life, a home, even a nation.  On this holiday we duly remember those who have died to protect our country, and we respect and honor those who are presently serving.  But when we hear now that those Christians presently in the Service are forbidden to share the Gospel with their compatriots, and, at the same time we learn that 22 veterans are committing suicide each day (!) we strongly believe our freedoms, especially religious freedom, must be preserved, even fought for.  When we read or hear the misleading teachings of atheists, evolutionists, humanists and "Christian" teachers who deny the truths of creation, salvatio and resurrection of the body, and corrupt the minds and hearts of needy sinners, then I urge my readers to hold fast to the simple, but sublime Good News "wherein ye stand; by which ye are also saved...how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures...that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to  the Striptures!" (I Corinthians 15:1-4).  And, for those of us who have rejected the "babblings" of our day, let us heed the 34th verse of the same wonderful chapter:  "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God; I speak this to your shame!"  Let (true) freedom ring!

March Madness

When we Hoosiers think of March it's usually associated (really) with a kind of madness -- basketball!  When I was in Junior High School at Wallace our school janitor, "Putt" Rudisell, was drafted to coach us.  He was a good coach and we thought he was probably better than some of our hired High School coaches.  Anyway, believe it or not, I served on the team (all 5 feet of muscle) and enjoyed being a forward and we did win a game or two, although I can't remember scoring any points.  There was a bonus for the effort, though, when Putt arranged for all the team to see the Harlem Globetrotters in a game at Crawfordsville!  Then, moving on to High School sports (basketball only in winter) we had to undergo a physical examination by Doc Rusk, and that's when my budding (?) athletic career came to a sudden halt.  Doc discovered that I (only age 14) had some high blood pressure which led him to disqualify me, at least for that year.  Eventually that problem was traced to bad tonsils and helped by subsequent surgery, but still lingered through High School and beyond.  However, the disappointment was relieved when I was chosen to be Student Manager, which consisted of making sure the basketballs were waxed and polished before every game and propherly inflated, floor burns and other injuries were properly treated, and towels and drinking water were on hand at each game.  I even made a cart to carry  those essentials out on the floor to the team at timeouts.  It did have a problem...the casters were not scientifically installed and the cart had a tendency to boomerang and so was retired in short order, to my embarrassment.  There were some perks, like riding on the bus with the team and sitting with them and the coach on the bench at the games.  The boys were great and the excitement was electric at every game.  Wallace played hard and fair, but never had great success during those years, and it seemed that we would always draw a much bigger and better team for the county and sectional tournaments.  But I'm proud of those town- and teammates, several of whom went on to serve in World War II with distinction, like Merle Shuler and Kenny Davidson.  And one, Forest Babb, gave his life on the Normandy beach.   Still another, Russell Gooding, who sat next to me in the assembly, married my sister Joan!   Oh, yes, there's still another perk that came my way -- I received a Student Manager sweater with a school letter.  I'm so thankful for those school days and for lessons learned in the classes

and on the gymnasium floor.  We didn't win a state championship, but we had fun and good times and made lots of great memories!  Life is like that, too.  God doesn't expect us to set the world on fire with popularity, fame and fortune, but He does invite us to turn from sin, trust His Son as our Saviour, and then live through Him and for Him on this earth.  As the Apostle Paul (who loved athletics) wrote:  "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all (that is, all run), but one  receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain (an eternal reward)! -- I Corinthians 9:24.   In Christ we are eternal winners!

"Freedom isn't free!"

January 30 is International Holocaust Memorial Day.  and Germany is marking the 80th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's rise to power with the opening of an open-air documentation center in Berlin.  Called "Berlin 1933.  On the Path to Dictatorship," the exhibition is built on the actual site of the former headquarters of the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police!  Current Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke at the opening ceremony of the new exhibit and said, in part, "Human rights don't assert themselves.  Freedom doesn't preserve itself all alone and democracy doesn't succeed by itself. ... That must be a constant warning for us, Germans. ... Hitler's rise to power was aided by the MAJORITY'S SILENCE!  We're facing our history, we're not hiding anything, we're not repressing anything.  We must confront this to make sure we are a good and trustworthy partner in the future, as we already are today, thankfully."  Mary K. and I served in Gerany in the 1950's just a few years after the end of World War II  and we'll never forget our first visit to the former  concentration camp at Dachau, just a few miles north of Munich.  It graphically revealed the results, not just of Naziism's inhamanity to man, but also the MAJORITY'S refusal to protest it.  In reading about this today it was also noted that a radio station in Israel had featured a discussion by academic experts on Holocaust history and political science where the conditions that allowed Hitler to rise to power in a democracy were analyzed with an eye to today's rising Europen anti-semitism!  What couln't happen in Germany DID happen...and it could happen in our own country!  With over 200 years of political, civil and religious liberty, America is in danger of losing its blood-bought freedoms.  There are those on the streets and in high places who believe our Constitution is archaic, the Bill of Rights should be changed to more "progressive" rights and the Bible is no longer a basis for right and wrong!  May God help us!  The Lord Jesus Christ makes it clear:  "...ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you FREE. ...If the SON shall make you free, ye shall be FREE indeed!" (John 8:32,36).  If the Lord tarries His return and the U.S.A. continues to exist as a FREE naation, we must obey God's Word:  "As FREE, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God!"  (I Peter 2:13-16).  When any government or its leaders seek to replace the true God of the Bible or to become God, then we agree with the apostle as he testified in Acts 5:29:  "...We ought to obey God rather than men!"

The "Secret" Is Out!

We have had a blessed holiday season so far.  Our Waterford Apartments office staff provided the main dishes (along with the service and clean-up) for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners here in the Rosedale Court Community Room.  The residents brought side-dishes and desserts to make truly scrumptious and festive meals.  On the Eve of Thanksgiving our sister Jean and brother-in-law Bob Larsh drove down from Indianapolis to treat us to a delicious dinner at our new Cracker Barrel restaurant here in Crawfordsville.  During the build-up to Christmas we were able to compose our annual newsletter to our friends and loved ones, then to mail it and also some gifts to our scattered family members.  It was a special treat around each holiday to visit via e-mail, phone and internet "Skype" and Facebok with our kids, grand- and great-grandkids from Sao Jose, Santa Catarina, Brazil, South America, to Gig Harbor, Washington.  We enjoyed, too, the greeting cards from family and friends from "all over," some of whom we have corresponded with since our service in Germany in the 1950's! On December 18 we celebrated our 63rd wedding anniversary with dinner out and watching a gift DVD of Andre Rieu and orchestra ("Home For Christmas"), which included some songs in German.  The day after Christmas and since we have had snow on the ground which makes for more seasonal nostalgia ("I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas").  During this time we also watched some Hallmark TVspecials and one proposed to reveal "The Christmas Secret" (which turned out to be that Santa was an ancient Viking working with elves whose raindeer could fly!).  So, in our Rosedale Court Bible Class each Thursday afternoon I set out to set the record straight by bringing a series of studies on the theme "The Real  Christmas Secret"!   Briefly, yes, there was an ancient St. Nicolas, but he was not all-wise and all-powerful. amd, if he had reindeer, they could not fly.  I'm not mimicing Scrooge here, but it seems that we have so commercialized Christmas and tried to make it politically correct to wish others a "Happy Holiday" while they decorated the "Holiday Tree," that we have downplayed the Birth of Christ and the true reason for His first coming.  As Philippians 2:5-8 states, "...Christ Jesus... was made in the likeness of men..and...He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross!"  Praise the Lord, He is a living Saviour and coming again at any moment!  On that basis we trust you have had a truly MERRY CHRISTMAS, and we pray that you will have a Biblically HAPPY AND HOPE-FILLED NEW YEAR ahead!                                 

The Silver Lining

Mary K. (Mamaw) and I have maintained a personal, early morning "Q.T." (Quiet Time) for many years.  In our apartment now I occupy our Computer Corner and she sits in the streetside balcony corner where she also pursues her ministry of painting greeting cards. Then, after breakfast, we share blessings with each other from our Bible reading.   Our building faces southeast and at this time of the year the sunrisings are in full view and each one is uniquely beautiful.  Recently on TV we enjoyed a rendition of the old familiar song "Always Look For The Silver Lining!" And shortly after that we witnessed another unusual sunrise as the clouds were dark above while the sun cast a truly silver lining on the underside of each cloud.  We remembered Psalm 19:1 - "The heavens declare the glory of GOD; and the firmament sheweth His handywork!"  And I was led to ponder along with that, Job 37:21 - "And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds..."  We see so many "dark clouds" in the world and in our lives today, but, for the Christian, each one truly has "a silver lining"!  That is, not produced by the sun, but by the SON.   Knowing Him as Saviour we also "know that all things work together for good to them that love God..." (Romans 8:28)  In nature, as the verse in Job goes on to say, "BUT the wind passeth, and cleanseth them (dark clouds)."  So, facing trials and temptations,  Christ's Presence in the Person of the Holy Spirit and His Promises give the believer a continual "silver lining" of forgiveness, joy, peace, assurance and hope.  As on old scholar puts it:  "Job and other sufferers (often) cannot see the light of God's countenance through the clouds of trial, but the  wind will soon clear them off, and God shall appear again.  Let them but wait patiently, for He still shines, though for a time they see Him not!"  In closing, we encourage you start a regular "Q.T" if you dont' have one, and, if you do have this good habit (even a few minutes), please KEEP IT GOING, and watch for that "silver lining"!  Also, if you need a good seat near our balcony window to get a special sunrise view, just let us know!

Grandparents "daze"

   Grandparents Day this year was on Sunday, September 9, but Mary K. and I had already been sort of celebrating weeks ahead!  In August first we welcomed grandson David Taylor with grand-daughter-in-law Sharon and great-grandchildren Gabriel and Juliana here on furlough from missionary service in Brazil, South America.  Besides meeting for burgers nearby we also rendezvoused at Turkey Run State Park for lunch and an outing.  Later in August and early this month our daughter Judy blessed us with a visit, including a report and pictures of our grand- and great-grandchildred in Washington State, plus one in Homer, Alaska!  We are so thankful to God for our scattered family, and our loved ones' visit brought back memories of visits to my maternal  grandparents years ago.  I recall good times with Grandpa and Grandma PYLE on their farm southeast of Veedeersburg, IN.  I remember all the sights, sounds, smells and even the tastes, too.  Eating breakfast cereal drowned in thick, rich, fresh, real cow's cream from their big hand-cranked milk separator, and only a few minutes from the "spigot" was such a treat.  But my most vivid memory was of the grain threshing operation.  I was, maybe, 6 or 7 years old when Grandpa let me watch from the bed of his Model T Ford truck.  The newly-threshed wheat spewed from the big grain-separator machine (noisy and dusty) into the back of the truck, making a sort of "sand-box" experience for my bare feet.    The machine was powered by a long leather belt attached to a pulley on a huge steam engine which sounded like the locomotives not far from our home in Danville, IL.  It was quite thrilling to watch the horse-drawn wagons come in from the fields filled with sheaves of wheat, and then watch the men "feed" the separator. 

   Both Grandma and Grandpa were soft-spoken and hospitable, having originated in Kentucky and Tennessee.  (Sergeant Alvin York of World War I fame lived in Tennessee and his mother was a Pyle.)  We never discussed Bible topics with them as such, but they always had an interest in our ministry in Germany and in our homeland.  I was asked to preach one Sunday in their country church nearby.  I was so glad I was able to visit them in Grandpa's last illness and to encourage him with Bible passages and prayer.  He assured me that he had trusted Christ as his Saviour while in his youth in Kentucky.  I do thank the Lord for my grandparents and believe I will see them again in Heaven.  In my viewpoint they were true Southern "gentle folks" and I am thankful for such a goodly heritage. 

   We didn't go to school to be grandparents and we have missed close contact with kids, grand- and great-grandkids, but we love 'em all and pray for them, trusting that each has trusted Christ as Saviour, and that we will be with them again in Heaven.  Although we can't leave a tangible inheitance for each of them we want them to be assured that "children are an heritage of the LORD" to us (Psalm 127:3): and that "children's children are the CROWN of old men"! (Proverbs 17:6).  We are truly RICH!

Beat the heat!

This summer in Indiana has been one of the hottest with temps around 90 to 100+ for weeks, and the ensuing drought has turned many places into disaster areas...especially for the farmers.  I read that we had similar weather conditions in 1935 or 1936, and this produced "dust-bowl" conditions in some states, leading thousands of folks to move to California...like the
"Okies" from Oklahoma.  I remembere faintly as a little guy living in Danville, IL, just how Stroup Street (where we lived) was paved with bricks and got blistering hot on bare feet.  Only the ice wagon or ice cream truck could alleviate the heat....sorry, no air conditioning and few electric fans in those days!  And I recall, too, after moving to Wallace IN in the summer of 1935 how hot, dry and dusty that area was.  One thunderstorm at Grandma ("MaZadie") Grimes's house where we stayed temporarily resulted in a direct hit by lightning, leaving a nice hole in the wall above the telephone in the diningroom and scared the daylights out of everybody, especially those sleeping on the floor (for comfort) in the nearby livingroom!  In 1937, after Dad took over the general store and Post Office (in the family since the 1880's), we moved to a nice 2-story house "downtown," just a short block away from the business and across the street from the Christian Church.  Summer heat and any ensuing drought were relieved by an occasional thunderstorm, usually at just the right time and bringing a cool breeze afterwards.  Since the streets and roads in that area were not paved then, but gravelled, our Dad tried to water down the dusty corner near the store each day. Sometimes the water evaporated about as soon as he applied it from the outside faucet hooked to the town well!  But inside the store Dad's only source of relief was a huge electrice fan which stood 5 or 6 feet off the floor and roared worse than a modern jet engine.  For the young people, of course, ol' Mill Creek beckoned with the promise of a refreshing dip in several swimming holes as it meadered toward the southwest.  Thngs in the store slowed down in the heat of the day, and I was never happier as a teen helper than when he gave the okay to go over the hill for a swim...and then return for a frozen Snickers candy bar and maybe a cold Coke!  Then, every Tuesday night after dark the town sponsored an outdoors movie on the street just south of the store, and folks either "beat the heat" or forgot about it for a time by leaving their work and watching a cowboy or "shoot-em-up-bang" thriller in the cool of the evening.  My Dad couldn't wait to hear the projectionist announce over his P.A. speaker:
"Gather 'round now, folks, we're gonna start the show!"  And he was totally disappointed when he learned beforehand that a cowboy movie would not to be shown.  He hated the big city gangster films!  By the way, dipping ice cream for the
flood of customers during intermission was where I developed my extraordinay biceps as a teen-ager...ha!  At home we coped with heat mostly with hand-held (funeral home-provided) fans, a few electric fans, simply wiping sweat (!)...and, at night by sleeping on the floor in the downstairs parlor room, hoping that a storm would not blow up and scatter locust tree branches, etc., all over to be picked up the day after!  To close, there is something worse than  a physical drought or extreme thirst...it's a spiritual drought.  The Bible clarifies:  "Thus saith the LORD;  Cursed be the man (person) that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.  For he shall be like the heath in the desert...BLESSED is the man (person) that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when  heat cometh...and shall not be careful in the year of drought..." (Jeremiah 17:5-8).  We recall a speaker saying: "Bless your puckered-up soul!'  Well, we can have relief from a dried-up soul by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior, thereby finding eternal refreshment from the WATER OF LIFE!  Have YOU made that decision yet?  Do so today!

June...moon...spoon...honeymoon?

June is the traditional time for many weddings, and we recall 2 weddings that took place years ago ... without Mary K. and me, but making our existence possible.  I'm referring, of course, to June 4, 1922 (when Bill Grimes Sr. and Jewell Pyle were joined in matrimony) and June 4, 1926 (when Whitfield Jackson and Gladys Carmack tied the knot)!  We think Mom and Dad Grimes were married in the Wallace, IN, area and honeymooned in an unknown (to us) location, while Mom and Dad Jackson were "hitched" near Newport, IN, and had a short honeymoon at the old Lahr Hotel in Lafayette, IN (we are sure of that because we "copied" their getaway when we were married in 1949).  The Grimes's
set up housekeeping in due time in Danville, IL, where Dad worked for the Webster Grocer Company.  (I was born on
Kimball St. in Danville in 1925.)  Then, Mom and Dad Jackson returned to his and her family farms near Newport and they lived with and cared for Gladys' mother, Grandma Carmack, who suffered with crippling arthritis. (Mom/Mary K. was born there in 1928.)  Dad Jackson worked both farms (a few miles apart) until World War II and we sure admire his faithful, hard work through those  Depression years.  As the war came on they were forced to give up the farms, to make way for the goverenment ordinance plant moving in.  After having built a new home there they then, after much hardship, found a farm near Wallace.  Meantime, my folks moved to Wallace in 1935 and that ultimately brought Mom/Mary K. and me together after WWII.  So, although these 2 couples were married on the same date in different places, it was a different year.  Only once did we afterwards get them together for a joint anniversary celebration, at the Grimes home in Wallace!  We know that their lives together were not problem free, but they stuck together in love for many years and provided a great example for us, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren!  As Song of Solomon 8:7 expresses it, "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it...!"

Someone was praying

This Memorial Day we watched a World War II documentary that worked some "deja vu" on me.  The story was about four service chaplains who served aboard a troop transport that was torpedoed and sank early in 1943.  After I finished radio school in Alabama in the fall of that year some of us in that class were sent to a "Com Pool" School up in Connecticut not far from New York City.  It was a six weeks course on ship-to-ship communications in convoy duty using walkie-walkie radio, semaphore flags and signal lights..  After "graduation" we were sent to the Armed Guard Center in Brooklyn, NY, to await further assignment to duty aboard merchant and troop transport ships sailing to either the European or Pacific war theaters.  Armed Guard units consisted of gunners manning 3- and 5-inch and 20 millimeter cannons and, of course, providing radio- and signalmen to bolster the merchant crew.  We did not talk much about which ocean which preferred to serve in, but it sure was not the North Atlantic as the German subs were destroying thousands of tons of shi pping with their prowling "wolf packs" of deadly U-boats.  What a relief it was to learn that our group was being divided alphabetically and all in A to K were being shipped to New Orleans for duty in the Pacitic.  This was not a "piece of cake," however, as my first ship was loaded with bombs, other ammunition and war equipment and headed for New Guinea...and traveling alone without escort or convoy!  I knew about the Lord at that time, but did not know Him personally, and I did have loved ones and friends praying for me back home.  We had some scares on that trip and more later, but the Lord kept me and brought me to faith in Him after the war, for which I praise Him,  I was ready for duty, but not ready for eternity until later.  But, after the war in the Pacific ended in August 1945 I completed my three-year enlistment in the Naval Reserve by serving aboard the USAT President Jackson (a converted cruise liner on the pre-war President Line) and helping to return our troops from the Far East.
The accommodations were similar to those aboard the USAT Dorchester that went down with over six hundred men and with only two hundred being rescued, some of those because four selfless chaplains gave them their own life-jackets!  We don't understand how God works in events like this, but we do know that He gave the victory in World War II, and since.  On this special day we are grateful to Him for those who have served and those who have given their lives to keep America strong and free.  Let all who know Christ as Saviour and Lord "pray for all that are in authority...Who will have all men to be saved..." - I Timothy 2:1-6.

"Kaboom!"

Springtime is always an exciting time in Indiana.  We have had a nice spring so far...only one bad tornado warning ...no funnels sighted.  So we've been blessed, among other things to celebrate Mary K.'s 84th birthday, on April 22.  She's still my "teen bride" and I love her, appreciate her more each day.  She was privilege to take training at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, at the Child Evangelism Training Institute in Muskegon, MI, but she received her "PhD" from the "Whitfield&Gladys Jackson Practical Bible Training College"!  Her mother and father, by Biblical example and precept rooted and grounded her in the Christian faith and prepared her for a lifetime of faithful service for the Lord Jesus Christ.  While I was studying at Moody we chose II Corinthians 6:1 as a life verse:  "We then as workers together..." and that summarizes our 65 years of ministry...and we pray it will until the Lord calls us Home in death or the Rapture!  She grew up on the Jackson Farm (early near Newport, IN, and later just west of Wallace, IN) as a "neglected" child having no TV, only parents who loved and guided her, and chores, including care of animals, to build her body and character!  Taking a stand for Christ in her teens, she maintained to her folks that Wallace .had no datable guys. Well, after the evening that I first took her to church and as she was about to go to sleep in her upstairs bedroom her dad climbed up the nearby windmill and whispered loudly in her open window, "there aren't any boys to date in Wallace!"  Her parents were humble and hard-working (Dad served as deacon at Yeddo Baptist Church), but above all they were faithful prayer-warriors.  We always said that God gave Mom first priority to her prayers...it was "dangerous" to share a burden with her!  We'll never forget her funeral...she and Dad were the last to be allowed interment in the government-protected family cemetery near Newport, and at the graveside service (on Mother's Day in 1980) Pastor had just closed with a benediction, when a loud clap of thunder sounded "kaboom!"...just as if the Lord was saying, "AMEN!" to a life well-lived.  On this approaching Mother's Day, I thank God for my life-long partner Mary K., for her mother, for my mother (Mamaw Grimes who went to be with the Lord in 1987), and for our great daughters, grand-daughters and grand-daughters-in-law and for faithful mothers everywhere.  We pray for you, that God will bless and use you in these confusing times to validate the Biblical institution of motherhood.  Maybe your exit from this old world will not be announced with a literal "kaboom!," but be applauded by Heaven, too, as you remember that "Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised!" -- Proverbs 31:1-31(30).

The March of Time

Time seemed to pass so very slowly in my growing-up years. I thought my 16th birthday would never come, as that would make it possible to get a Beginner Driving Permit and in a few months lead to that coveted Driver's License when I could drive Dad's car all alone! TV, of course, was unheard of and we gleaned world and local news through the newspapers and radio...and the loafer's bench at Dad's store or over at Fender's Garage. However, if and when we enjoyed a movie at a theater in Veedersburg or Crawfordsville we would catch up on U.S. and world events by way of "The March Of Time" newsfilm showing. Why, some of those news reports were not more than a week old! Boy, how things have changed...it's old hat nowadays by the time it's reported on the TV evening news. I say all this to confess that "the march of time" has really caught up with me this month. I celebrated my 87th birthday on March 3...and to think I once fretted because #16 seemed never to arrive. But, believe me, time is marching on. In the Bible Job confessed: "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle" (7:6) and "my days are swifter than a post(man)" (9:25). The Apostle Paul advises us to be "redeeming the time (buying up opportunities), because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:16) Looking back, life is like a blur...filled with burdens and blessings. I thank the Lord for His goodness, love and mercy in allowing me to reach age 21 when He relieved me of my burden of sin and gave me the blessing of forgiveness and eternal life. I don't know what the future holds, but as has been said, I know Him Who holds the future. Every day ahead will be a day of grace, because He goes with me and before me, and I just pray to live out my days to the blessing of others and the glory of my Saviour. In case the reader is struggling with the uncertainty of time, you can be sure of eternity with Jesus: "behold, now is the accepted time (to prepare); behold, now is the day of salvation!" (II Corinthians 6:2)

"ummmmm" and "um"

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

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

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!

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!

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!..."

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!"