Overcoming Fear of the Future

 My dad wasn't a paid church minister, but he was a lay pastor and regularly presented sermons to vespers, church, and a homeless ministry. He and my mom did lots of ministry. He liked to type out his sermons before he gave them to people. We have them printed out and as pdf files. So I will be trying to type them into a more useable form. Here is one of them. 

12/31/2013

II Timothy 3:1 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited,, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-

These are "perilous times". Today's perils is the danger of all-out war in the Middle East, the saber-rattling by North Korea, and the continuing threat of bio-terrorism makes this a dangerous time to be alive.

Yet life goes on, uncertain perhaps, but we have business to attend to, classes to teach, orders to fill, patients to see, books to write, games to play, bills to pay, medicine to take, songs to sing, meals to prepare, and beyond that, there are the concerns of marriage, children, friends and family. It is easy to dismiss the large concerns of the world.

Someone has said that worry is "the interest paid by those who borrow trouble." Another person called worries "a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind." According to John Haggai, "In America, worry has become part of our national culture. You could write eon countless American gravestones the epitaph: "Hurried,, Worried, Buried."

Maybe our greatest fear is the fear of death. Hebrews 2:15 tells us that Christ came to deliver those enslaved by the fear of death. It's not just the fear of dying that troubles us, it's the thought of leaving this life with much to do. For some people living and dying can seem equally painful. How can we overcome our fear of what might happen in the future?

With all that looms before us, how can we move from fear to faith? In order to answer this question, let's take a look at the story of Esther. Even though the events took place 25 centuries ago, the story of her courage points the way to a life free from fear over what might happen tomorrow.

The year was 465 .C. A man named Xerxes was king of Persia. He ruled an empire even bigger than the empire of Nebuchadnezzar. His empire spread from India in the east to Greece in the west to Africa in the south to Turkey in the north. Our story takes place in one of his capital cities. In those days the Persian Empire had four capital cities. One we've heard of --Babylon. Two we have never heard of and a fourth one called Susa. It is in Susa where our story unfolds.

Archaeologists dug up Susa about 100 years ago and found ruins of the palace spoken of in the book of Esther. Susa is in Iran. There appears a large mound, flat on top, with ruins above it. That is all that is left of Susa.

In 4465 B.C. Susa was on of the world's great cities. Darius the Mede, father of king Xerxes, built his winter palace there. Archaeologists discovered a tablet that describes how he built the cit of Susa. Darius imported cedar from Lebanon, gold from Sardis, ebony and sliver from Egypt, ivory from Ethopia. After he died, Xerxes continued the work his father began. The capital was in Babylon. Susa was the winter palace.

The king of Persia kept his harem in Susa. The harem was a group of beautiful women who were at his beck and call. They were gathered from among the most beautiful women in the empire. They had a special diet and were taught a special way of life and their calling was to please the king. He would call the women in and they would serve him and do his bidding.

In the course of time, the king became enraged at Queen Vashti and began to look for the most beautiful, most attractive, most desirable woman to make her the new queen. He looked at one after another until at last he came upon a woman whose beauty, character, form and charm was such that he was completely taken with her.

Her name was Esther. She was a Jew. She was of God's chosen people and she became the queen of Persia. She was the most important woman in the realm--a Jewish woman, queen to a Persian king.

Life was good for Esther. Esther basked in the glory of being the chief woman of the realm and the one to whom everyone else bowed down to and paid homage.

A man named Haman came in to see the king. Esther knew nothing about it because in those days the king kept his business and his women apart. Haman came in with a story the king could hardly believe. He said, "Oh king, there's a certain people in your realm who are treasonous. They do not follow your law. They do not pay homage to you. They do not respect what you have done.

We must do something about these people." As a matter of fact, the things he was saying were not true. The Jews were not treasonous. But Haman, because he was a descendant of the Amalekites, the ancient enemies of the people of God, wanted to stir up trouble against the Jews.

The king asked, "What do you propose?" Haman answered, "If you will allow, I will write a decree and have you sign it with your signet ring and we will send a decree to the kingdom. The decree will be that on a certain day all the Jews will be put to death."

Haman's idea was to kill all the Jews in the Empire on the same day. Haman neglected to tell the king he was talking about the Jews. Not that it would make much difference to a Persian King. And so the decree was signed and sealed with the signet ring and it began to go out over all the land.

Mordecai, cousin to Queen Esther was a Jew serving in the court of King Xerxes. He was involved in the business affairs of the king, a man of good character, whom the king respected. When Mordecai heard what Haman had done, which would mean that he and his relatives would be put to death, he went to the middle of the city clothed himself with sackcloth and ashes and began mourning and wailing.

Esther had not heard about Haman''s plot so when she heard Mordecai was mourning,, she sent a messenger to find out what happened. He gave the messenger a copy of the decree and said, "Go to the queen and tell her that she is the only one who can save us. If she does not act, we will die."

In Esther 4:9-11 the messenger reported to Esther what Mordecai said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, "Everyone knows that for anyone to approach the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king has one law: that he should be put to death."

No one could come near without an invitation. If a man rushed in to see the king and the king didn't want to see him, without a word the man would be taken out and put to death. "The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life." Esther said, "thirty days have passed since I was called to the king" (4:11b) It's hard for us to understand but remember this is an ancient Near East nation. During the 30 days the king had not seen Esther. Mordecai is saying, "Esther, you've got to save us." Esther is saying, "Before you ask me to do that, you've got to understand what the risk is. If I go in there and the king doesn't want to see me, I will be put to death even though I am the queen." She was counting the personal cost.

Before we take the first step, we need to count the cost. Nobody goes to war without counting the soldiers. If we want to be Jesus' disciple, it's going to cost something.

So Esther is saying to Mordecai, understand I am taking my life in my hands. She was queen. She had a good life. She had anything she wanted. Now Mordecai is saying, "Esther, it's time for you to put it all on the line."

The messenger tells Mordecai what Esther said. Mordecai's answer is the heart of the book of Esther. Mordecai sent back this answer, "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" (4:12-14)

He says Esther, you're queen, but underneath beats a Jewish heart. You're one of God's people. Don't think that by remaining silent you can avoid persecution. Just because you're the queen, you are not out of trouble.

We should learn from this that there is no safety in this world, not even for the rich and powerful. Riches cannot save us from the troubles of the world.

Mordecai is saying, "if you don't help us, God is able to help us from some other source, but you will be destroyed." Then he says who knows but you came to a royal position for such a time as this"

Mordecai said, "Esther, what made the king pick you? You're the queen. Do you think that was by chance? Esther, the reason your on top is because God put you there. He put you there so that at the crucial moment of history you could deliver your people.

What a way of looking at the conditions of life, a way of understanding the work of God. Esther, are you here for this one thing? All that's happened is training for this moment.

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast just as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king. and if I perish, I perish."

Mordecai's appeal to Esther was based on a great principle. The greater the privilege the greater the responsibility. The more we have,, the more we answer for. The more God has given the greater our responsibility to use it for His Kingdom.

What does this story teach us about our own fear of the future? For one thing, we learn that there is no safety in the world. Bad things happen to good people and we learn that there are no coincidences in life. We are there because God wants us to be there. Wherever we are, God has a hand in it.

Our highest calling is to be obedient to Christ. We must do what Esther did -- fast,, pray, and seek the Lord so when the time comes we do the right thing. The choice is obedience to God, leaving the results with him.

That's the meaning of "If I perish, I perish." Those are words of faith spoken by a woman who put her life in God's hands. There is no one so free as the person not afraid to die. If we aren't afraid to die, then we are free to serve the Lord and do whatever he calls us to do.

Four truths for the New Year

As we look to the year before us, for truths encourage us'

1. God is already there because He goes before his people
2. God Promises to be with us no matter what happens.
3. If we know the Lord, the worst thing that can happen is we go to heaven, which is the best thing that can happen.
4. We have the time we need to do everything God wants us to do.

That last point is important because many of us enter the New Year feeling rushed and harried. No matter what happens, we will have the time, strength, and wisdom we need to do everything God wants us to do.

That principle should not be stretched to mean we are guaranteed to accomplish all our goals so that every dream will come true. We live in a fallen world where things break and nothing works quite right. But given that limitation, we can have confidence that God will supply all that we truly need, when we need it, so that we can do his will.

No one can say what the New Year will bring. None of us knows if we will even be here 12 months from now. But that should not alarm us. To our fears the Lord says "Fear not."

Will things get worse? Fear not.

Will I lose my health? Fear not.

Will I keep my job? Fear not.

Will my loved ones struggle? Fear not.

Will I run out of money? Fear not.

Will tragedy strike my family? Fear not.

Will others ridicule my faith? Fear not.

Will my dreams turn to ashes? Fear not.

Will I face death? Fear not.

Any of those things might happen; Indeed some of them will happen eventually. But the Lord is with us today and tomorrow. We of all people should be optimistic as we face a new year.

We have a great future because we have a great God. Take our troubles, wrap them up, and five them to the Lord. This is going to be a great year but not without troubles, heartache, difficulty, or opposition. We'll have our share of hard times, but overriding it is the promise of God who said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

On Christmas day 1939, King George VI of England gave a radio address to hos troubled nation. England was at war with Germany. Soon all of Europe would be at war. The king offered words of encouragement. He ended his remarks by quoting a poem by Louise Haskins, "The Gate of Year."

"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!' and he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'"

What a word for us today. No one but God knows what the future holds. Let us do as the poet suggested and place our hands in the had of God. Let us go into the future with confidence, knowing that if God goes with us, we need not fear the future. To walk with the Lord is the greatest of all joys, and it is indeed safer than a known way. 

Philippians Bible Study

 Ch 1 Being a slave of Christ is not always easy. We trust in him, grow in his love and discernment and share about him, but we also suffer and struggle for his sake.

Ch 2 Work out your salvation without selfishness. Be obedient to God and promote Him and His interests Don't promote yourself. Serve other people with humility.

Ch 3 Even if we can follow all the rules and all God's laws, our way to heaven and God is through the forgiveness of Christ. Through Him, asking to join his family and asking for His righteousness.

Ch 4 Dwell on things worthy of praise- true, honorable, pure, lovely, just, virtue and be content with what God has provided and rejoice in it.

Philippians is short so it was a quick read. Every time I read it, I learn more. It is always a reminder that there is no way we can be good enough on our own to follow all of God's rules and laws and make it to heaven because we are good enough. We only make it to heaven because we have asked Christ to adopt us and forgive us. Once we do, we are adopted as God's kids and we are to learn and grow as children do so we can be a credit to our Father.

 

Dog training, Attention

 Having your dog pay attention to you is the number one ingredient to dog training and living with your dog as a family member. 

How to capture your dog's attention varies with each dog. To get attention, you have to experiment, vary your approach, and make it rewarding for the dog to interact with you.

Have you ever sat down to have a conversation with someone and what you heard is how much more work needs to be done, how you could have done something better, what is wrong with the world, or other complaints? Did you want to keep listening and focus on that person, or did your attention wander and you started focusing on things in your environment,, what you were going to do next, what you could have for a snack? 

What keeps your attention? A happy friend with exciting ideas for adventurues? Someone telling you how wonderful you are? Someone offering to cook for you? Someone with a quick reprimand and a solution to keep you out of trouble? Someone teaching you something interesting? Someone sharing your interests?

When we work with a dog, we need to find what they are interested in and how they want to interact with people. Sometimes you have to be really goofy to gain attention, reward the attention, and frequently repeat catching the dog's attention until the dog is in the habit of looking to you to see what you will do next. Other times your requests for attention have to be soft and quiet, but you still get to reward the attention and get the dog in the habit of paying attention and not being overwhelmed. Your reward will also vary depending on what the dog finds rewarding. It is hard to believe, but not every dog likes the same thing. My dogs Tippy and Roudy will do anything for any kind of treat and know if there are treats in the area. Peanut just craves words of praise and a gentle rub. Ellie loves her ball being thrown. Jessa likes a smile and a cheerful voice.

Try this: Reward your dog every time he looks at you and see quickly he looks at you more. Your goal is that everyt ime you say his name, he looks at you and focuses on you for an instant. Once he looks at you every time you say his name, you can start delaying the reward seconds at a time until your dog keeps his attention on you for fifteen seconds before you reward him.

Uses: You can catch your dogs attention when he is reacting badly to another dog, encounters a person who is trying to get his attention away from you, wants to chase a squirrel or lunge after speeding golf cart, when he is afraid of something, or when you know something is going to happen that your dog will react to. Catching your dog's attention is the foundation of any other training. No one can learn if they are not paying attention to the teacher. 

Author Gretchen Rubin

 Gretchen Rubin wrote the Happiness Project, Happier at Home, The Four Tendencies, as well as quite a few other books. I have read these three as they were the ones available at the library. I have enjoyed her writing. It is great motivation to develop habits that will make your life better for both yourself and others. She does not expect you to be hard on yourself, but to develop habits and routines that help you reach your dreams and to think about what you would like your life to be like. She also encourages you to help others reach their potential according to what they want to do. She admits sometimes to being a "happiness bully" because she wants people to do what is good for them, but as she is, she learns to take a step back and help them be responsible for their own happiness. I have also listened to several videos on youtube where she talks about her books and encourages people to follow through with their happiness projects. I have found her books to be motivational and easy reading. She also has a website and a podcast. I have not been on either of those. I will go to the website and poke around. I think she has a community so if you are and obliger and need outer accountability to accomplish your goals you can use her community as a tool to do so....Ha ha I learned that in The Four Tendencies. I haven't decided if I am an obliger or a questioner (and they are opposites).

I went to her website...Gretchen Rubin I like her blog. Lots to read. According to her Four Tendencies quiz, I am an obliger. That was doing the answers without thinking about it. If I thought about my answers I could easily be a questioner. So I am still not sure, am I naturally a questioner and an obliger by a lifetime of training? I love to ask questions, but really like to to things for people too. I have learned to take care of myself before I take care of other though. Life works so much smoother if we follow the priorities we set and let ourselves become what God made us to be. 

August 28, 1943

 Dear Ginger,

Have been pretty chummy with a Lt. Co. Burnett of the Army Air Forces who is also headed my way and thru his connections we will be chosen to go on a giant C54 four motored cargo plane. It seems that the usual route is Miami to Puerto Rico, ti Trinidad, to Natal (Brazil), to Ascension Island, to Accra (Gold Cost Africa), to Khatoum Anglo Egyptian Africa, Oden, Arabia, Korashi India and New Delhi, India. What happens from there, no one knows. These giant planes called "Old Faithful" have a capacity of 26 men with equipment.

This staging area has personnel from all over the U.S. come to it for transportation as far as Africa. From there the Middle East Command takes over. Sometimes several hundred are here waiting. Every afternoon at 1:15 we meet on the north porch where the "shipping list" for the next day is read. The usual wait is 5 days. Naturally, all this information is restricted so when you have read and digested this letter, destroy it.

Calling you on the phone give me a great lift. We must bear with fortitude our short separation and exert every effort toward ending the war.

If the boys do anything particularly nice, let me know so I can praise them. Safe arrival cables are absolutely prohibited. However, our government is taking every precaution that we do arrive safely. A letter from me to you with an airmail special delivery stamp on means I have reached my final destination. If I stop any place for a while, I'll let you know where.

Love, George

April 23, 1951

 2305 N.W.87 St.

Miami 47, Florida

April 23, 1951

Dear George,

I have not heard from you for some time. Where are you now? It could be you are on Formosa or due to go back soon.

I suppose you do not say much about MacArthur but his dismissal and his very inspiring address before congress has set many people to thinking and talking. His reception and parade in New York City was the greatest they ever had there. I presume it is a big loss to the Army to have him go at this time. History will only say who is right but when you are fighting a war it seems that you should use every means at your disposal such as bombing enemy bases outside of Korea.

My duties have decreased in one direction to be increased in another. I am no longer president of the Doddies Club but am institutional representative for the scouts for 2 cub packs and 1 scout troop which are sponsored by the Doddies Club. Edwin is a tenderfoot scout now and assistant patrol leader.

[ I looked up Doddies Club, it has to do with golfing, it could also be Daddies club, but i don't think so]

I had a big job recently. The water paint was flaking off the stucco on the house so I removed it all with a buffer or sander. Elsie didn't appreciate the dust very much. Then I put crack filler in the cracks and put a first coat of oil paint I still have to put on the second coat after some caulking.

I wash the war in Korea could be finished with a victory of some kind.. It must be demoralizing to have it continue without seeing clearly how it can be concluded.

Alfred is still kept busy in the bank. He will go on a trip with them to St. Petersburg soon.

Elsie is now in New York to attend Luis' wedding on April 29. He is going to have a big one with a reception at the Hotel Pierre afterwards. Then he is taking a trip to South America.

How are you and your family?

Your friend,

Al

Bible study---Peace

 During advent I decided to do a Bible study centered on what each of the candles represent. A while back I posted my "hope week summary". Today I will write up my peace week. 

Currently I am reading a devotional put out by the Methodist church on our advent mission. I am really enjoying it. Today's read emphasized my hope study. He said Peace or Shalom is what we lost in Eden and can only be found again through Jesus. 

The Bible has a different definition of peace than what is generally assumed. It is not necessarily the absence of fighting, although that is important. The peace the Bible generally refers to is the deep soul satisfying peace that lets you feel ok even though life is crazy. There are a lot of references to peace in the concordance so I just picked some at random so I would be reading about 7 a day, from those I  picked what spoke to me most at this time in my life.

Judges 6:24, 2 Kings 9:17, 1 Chronicles 19:19, Psalm 29:11, Psalm 34:15, Psalm 37:11 

In the old testament, when the Jews followed the law they had peace, when they didn't they died or were enslaved. God gives us peace when we look for it and are meek. 

Psalm 119:165, Proverbs 12:20, Proverbs 14:30, Proverbs 17:1, Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 26:3, Isiah 32:1, Isiah 4:18

When we have peace, we are healthy and joyful. To have peace, we must fix our minds on God because only Christ brings peace. 

Isiah 59:8, Zechariah 8:19, Matthew 10:34, Mark 9:50, Luke 1:79, Luke 19:38

There is no peace for the wicked, but Jesus will guide up to peace. When we follow Christ we will find conflict in the world but Christ will bring us peace. We must keep peace with other Christians when we are tested and we have to recognize God's way to peace. 

John 14:27, John 16:33, Romans 2:10

You get peace through the word of God and allowing Him to make you righteous, then you are to spread His peace to others. Live in peace, encourage others, rejoice. 

Ephesians 6:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:13, Hebrews 12:11, 1 Peter 3:11, Revelations 6:4, 1 Timothy 2:2, James 3:18

When you seek righteousness and wisdom you will have peace. Pray for peace and all to be saved but in the end days God will give permission for peace to be removed from the earth and people will slaughter each other. 

My summary is that while there won't be peace in the world, we can find peace within ourselves. We must fix our minds on God, seek out what He wants us to do and how He wants us to learn to be more like Jesus. When we do what He wants we can have peace which brings us joy and we can spread that to others. 

Cornell, October 9, 1921

 Dear Mother,

Life here is simply one fine thing after another. Last evening Mr. Johnson brought me a big apple. This morning, Mrs. Johnson invited me to a breakfast of coffee and cream, toast, buns, pie, and grapes.

To keep on par with the breakfast, the sermon this morning was paramount. It was upon a subject seldom discussed.As a strange coincidence, the text was from the very chapter I read this morning. Matthew 1:1-14.

First the pastor compared the pliable, plastic body of the child with the minds of adults who have fixed, unchangeable, prejudices. Christ ment that unless we have the childlike faith and simplicity, we are lost. The pastor then spoke about the imagination of a child. He said that because of these characteristics, much thought should be given to child training. Most diplomatically he denounced the theater. He brought out the fact that more money is spent on the adult organization, function, and equipment of the church where it is of little benefit that upon the children's departments.

A child expects correction, teaching, etc. He is modest, has faith, is simple. Whereas the adult, the passing citizen, and retiring soldier of the cross is just the reverse. So he brought in the usefulness and value of the Sunday School and children's' organizations. There upon, he concluded that we should not become childish but childlike.

I can not do him just in writing; but I assure you it was good.

It's been raining today but tis clearing up now. Probably I shall go for a walk.

Love, prayers, and blessings.

Son.

A Draw of Kings by Patrick W Carr

 You know a book is good when you have read it before, remember the storyline but still get so engrossed in it you stay up til 2am because you can't stop reading it. That is what I did a couple nights ago with Patrick W Carr's book "A Draw of King's". It is the third in a series. I read the entire series about a year or so ago, but checked this one out of the library on my kindle because I wanted a break from nonfiction and Harry Potter wasn't available. I did want an engrossing book. The series is popular in the library for good reason. I will reread the series and read more of his books.

It is a "coming of age" story with some war and romance and fantasy thrown all together. There is also a lot of mystery. Nothing in this book is crazy graphic, neither the romance or the violence so it is goo to recommend for teen and up. The heroes are great characters and get into and out of a lot of trouble. None of the heroes got into trouble by making dumb choices and there is none of the annoying miscommunications that are so common in romance stories. It is tempting to tell you the story line, but you gotta read it. If you like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings you will like this series.

 

Goose Island Birding

 There were a lot of birds on this trip. We went to the "Big Tree" which was an amazing tree. The oak trees there have a lot of character. This tree was 700 years old I think. We imagined what all it had seen. My sister decided each of the trees should have a name. The way they grow is amazing and each has it's own personality.

I had seen on birding posts that there was a pair of whooping cranes wintering in the pasture across the street from the "Big Tree". I wanted to see them. We parked by some fisherman and I walked across the street to the pasture. The birds were far away, but I saw them. Birding pushes my camera to it's limit so the photos are really grainy when I crop to get close enough to identify the birds. The white pelicans and the brown pelicans have very different behavior. White ones swim in the bay a lot and steel the fish or the bait from the fisherman's lines. It is kind of funny to watch, but the fishermen get frustrated, they put out a lot of rods and go through a lot of bait. The brown pelicans hang out on the piers and at the fish cleaning stations. When the boats come in in the evening, the brown pelicans mob the fish cleaning counters like a bunch of dogs looking for treats.

We also saw snowy egrets, big egrets, green herons, sanderlings, sea gulls, sandhill cranes, ducks, grackles, roseate spoonbills. Maybe some others, I am still learning what they all are called.

March 22 1951

 Dear Dad,

How are you? How is the weather in Tokyo. We are all breathing and healthy. The weather here is quite nice. Well I just finished a letter to Bob and I still have to write to Grandma and Grandaddy. Well it is about time I wrote some letters isn't it. Well I guess I never told you about my grades last time, did I? Well, here they are (Ugh!) Latin -C

Geometry - A

English - B

Mech. Draft - B

Gym - B

Well, they aren't bad are they? Net time I hope to raise them. I am going to order an orchid tomorrow morning. I thought I would get her an orchid so it would still be good for her birthday. Good idea, huh!

Well Sunday is the day Ginger is going to be baptied. Boy will I be proud. Well time to say so long

Your son with hugs and x's

George

Ithaca New York, November 13, 1921

 This is a letter my granddad wrote his mother while he was in college.

213 Mitchell St

Ithaca, New York

November 13, 1921

Dear Mother,

When I awoke this morning the whole country landscape was white with snow. Off in the distance the white on the mountains showed in bright patches among the pine forests. To set everything off,, the sun arose in all its glory.

To continue the glories and purity of the day, Reverend John D.W. Fetter preached the morning sermon on the Peace equivalent of War. I can truthfully say that sermon is the best I heard yet. It is the first time I heard him too.

The text 1 Corinthians 13 was well chosen indeed. He quoted many writers on the need of war to uplift a nation. War they said was necessary to give a common aim, it bred unselfishness, heroism, loyalty, co-operation, etc. The present peace conference was a tinny step toward universal peace. Why? Because it was a negative factor. It put forth a restriction, but did not remove the cause. It offered nothing in place of war. No peace pursuit was as universal as war. Agriculture,, commerce, industry, all were local forces and bred selfishness.

But there was one thing that excited universal effort. Christianity. Mr Fetter then discussed the qualities of Jesus Christ showing his love, mercy, sympathy,, courage, etc. "Christianity", he said, "was universal and brought forth every good quality."

His sermon was good indeed.

The Sunday school comes after the service and this Mr. Fetter teaches or rather leads the discussion in the men's class. This Sunday it was concerning the "flood" There were thirty-two young men present in the class.

Everything OK here, Love to all

Son.

 

Spring, TX Oct 22, 40 (or 10)

A transcript of a letter written by by grandmother's brother. Not sure who to. 

 Dear Miss Willie:

And you never heard of Sellers? It wouldn't do to tell these people that. You ask what kind of a place it is. That is not a hard question to answer, We have a telegraph office, one boarding house and about five hundred box cars. It was hard for me to decide where I wanted to board but when dinner time came I went to the Womack hotel. The city is just one mile north of here called Spring. Never heard of that either? That's funny, Better get your geography and look it up. Spring has about twelve stores two thirds of which are saloons. They have a large dancing hall and have a big dance nearly every week. They have no church or Sunday school. Think this would be a good place to send missionaries don't you?

Was surprised to hear Joe going to Dallas so soon but think it is a good thing for him. He will mind Rowena better than anyone and she doesn't live in a rough part of town. It is like a country village. It will do him good to be in town where he can see and learn things. So you are playing chess every night, am glad you like it so well. Can you beat Bob playing? Am afraid I will not be able to win any games from you when I get back. Wish I could be there to play with you. Haven't played any since I left Mumford, but will get some men and find some one to play with when I find a place to stop. Will be here about a week or ten days longer, but can''t say where I will go then.

Am going to Houston Monday morning and return in the evening. Want to get some books to read while I am in this lonely place and will see about having your umbrella fixed up. Don't know what books I will get but if they are any good will mail them to you as soon as I read them. Reading is about the only way I can pass the time away here. I can sleep half of the time but not all of it.

I will expect one of those post cards soon, hope they are good. You mustn't tear them up. I hope they are just like you. They should be ready for you this trip home.

If you expect to paint many pictures for your students, am sure you will be kept busy from now until Christmas.

If you don't have time to write long letters, I will be glad to get short ones. I don't write very long letters myself.

Yours,

Roy

Beaches and Ferry

 We explored a bit while near Rockport. The first afternoon we went to Rockport Beach. There is a charge to get in, but it is a lovely rocky beach. This is where we saw the most cannonball jellyfish. Kiki found 2 marbles under the jelly fish. We spent a good 2 hours enjoying this beach park. This is also where we met a good samartian. On the way to the campground, we went over some rough road. One of the fog lights broke out of it's holder and was dangling by the wire. A man with his wife on a motorcycle mentioned it to us and offered to fix it. He got it back in the holder. He and his wife started full timing in their RV this year. They are staying 3 months in Rockport. It is a great area, I get why they want to stay.

The following morning we headed to Port Aransas. It was a pretty drive. We got to cross the channel on the ferry. I was glad to be able to follow other cars, but it was really quite simple and a very entertaining trip. We figured out why they spend the money on a ferry system there instead of building a bridge when we had to wait for an oil tanker being pushed by tug boats to cross. No way could they build a bridge high enough.

We walked around the port and admired the sail boats and the santa sand sculpture, visited the art center (amazing, I will go back), ate lunch and headed for the beach. It is a driveable beach if you buy a permit. We didn't buy a permit so parked and walked onto the beach. We spent hours enjoying the beach. The water wasn't too cold, but the dogs didn't want to swim. They liked to explore, but did not like the kids running up behind them.

On the way home, my sister and I stopped in the winery in Rockport and bought at home wine tasting kits. We took them back to the campsite and sampled 10 different wines. That was fun. We both like the apple wine best and one of the ports was really good. We both seem to prefer white wines to red, which surprised me. I thought I like red, but the white was much better. There was one we thought we wouldn't like by smell, but tasted really good.