End of an Era

Oh, the memories! This weekend, I had the chance the roam the halls of the old Pampa Middle School, where I attended sixth through eighth grades. The school will soon be torn down to make way for a new housing development. The developers had a huge garage sale there on Saturday to sell off the old equipment and furniture that was abandoned when the school closed three years ago.

The building was packed wall-to-wall with bargain-hunters and onlookers. Like me, a lot of the people went there to relive old memories.

Besides desks and lockers, which seemed to be the most popular items at the sale, there was a lot of memorabilia about the school. The library had pictures and yearbooks and even some old trophies. I can't imagine why they were left behind, but they were all up for grabs. There was a bulletin board with some of the items found inside the lockers — hall passes and football ribbons and, yes, old love notes! (Remember passing notes in class?) It brought back a lot of fond memories.



My dad made this mosaic of the school mascot in the 1980s.

The school holds special memories for me. It's only two blocks from the house where I grew up and where my mom still lives. Believe it or not, I used to walk to school back when I was still able to walk. That seems like so long ago!

Dad taught at that school. He was the seventh-grade art teacher there for more than 20 years. In one of the hallways near the auditorium, there's a tile mosaic that Dad made back in the '80s. I remember he spent hours arranging the hundreds of little tiles to form the school mascot, "The Patriot." The mosaic is still mostly in tact, although a few of the tiles are missing and the edges are chipped.

I don't know what will happen to Dad's mosaic now. Like everything else, it probably will be torn out and hauled away when the new housing project is built. Some people call that progress. But I think it's a little sad. It's the end of an era, and I'm going to miss old Pampa Middle School. I'm glad I got to go back for one last look at the place. Soon, all we'll have left are the memories!

Political Observations

Hillary Clinton must have been injured more seriously than we thought when she fainted back in December, giving her a concussion. Not only did it make her forget everything she knew about the deaths of four American heroes in Benghazi, Hillary's fall obviously knocked the sense right out of her!

Hillary "came out" with a video this week endorsing same-sex marriage. She previously opposed gay marriage. So why now? Why did Hillary flip-flop on the issue? It's simple political expediency. She is positioning herself for a run for the White House. She knew she better get on board in backing same-sex marriage now, so the party faithful will support her in 2016.

Hillary had to change her position. Support for same-sex marriage now is embedded in the party platform. Other leading Democrats, like goofball V.P. Joe Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who are also contenders in the next presidential race, already voiced their support of gay marriage. Hillary is just following the pack.

I'm disappointed over Hillary's reversal. Even though I disagree with her on virtually every political issue, I respected her as someone who has strong convictions and stood up for her principles. Now, after caving in to pressure on gay marriage, it looks like she's just another typical politician, who will do or say anything to get elected.

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Hillary isn't the only one who has lost their way on the gay issue. Republican Senator Rob Portman also changed his view about gay marriage. His son is gay, and Portman says he now believes gays should have the right to marry. I understand he loves his son and wants to support him, but this isn't the way to do it. Portman is supposed to be a "good conservative" Republican, but he's wrong on this issue. I won't support any candidate or party, Democrat or Republican, that goes against the biblical view of marriage. 

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Who needs enemies when you have "friends" like Obama? Barack Obama went to Israel this week for the first time since becoming president. He put on a good show for the cameras, but he's not fooling anyone, especially Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu. Obama is the most anti-Israel president since that nation's founding. Pray for Israel and Netanyahu!

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There's a war on Easter. School districts and cities across America are holding “Spring egg hunts” and similar events, omitting the word “Easter” from calendars and public announcements. These eggheads want to ban Easter, like they want to ban Christmas. Both holidays are rooted in the Christian faith, making them easy targets for attacks. For Christians, Easter is a day to remember Christ's death and resurrection, and we should celebrate it. So let me be the first to wish you all a HAPPY EASTER!

Beyond The Walls

Beyond the walls of our houses.... Beyond the walls of our offices.... Beyond the walls of our churches.... Beyond the walls lies a great opportunity. It's the opportunity the share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

 

God has commanded us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.... and make disciples of all the nations.” I wondered how I, a believer in Jesus Christ, can fulfill this commandment. I likely will never travel the world. So what can I do to take the Gospel into the world?

We have the chance to share Christ everywhere we go. God wants to use us to touch the lives of our unsaved friends and family, our neighbors and even strangers on the street. He wants to use us to change our generation.

This means stepping out and leaving our comfort zone. It means going beyond the walls of familiarity. For me, I like to cling to the familiar, to find my comfort zone and dig in. I don't like change, and I don't like to go beyond the walls I have set up around me. But God is wanting to break down those walls and take me to a new place. Scary? Yes! But if we will just step out of our comfort zone, God can do amazing things.

We must be willing to take that first step. Often, we're just one step away from the next truth God wants us to learn about Him. That's why we can't afford to stay where we are. We must go beyond the walls to take the Gospel to the world around us.

When Jesus called James and John, they were on familiar territory, doing what they were comfortable doing — repairing their fishing nets. But they couldn't stay there and follow Jesus. Mark 1:20 says, "Without delay, He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat and followed Jesus."

They had to leave their comfort zone to fulfill their destiny. That's what God asks us to do. We must leave our comfort zone and trust Him. We can't be satisfied to stay where we are. We must dare to dream and dare to step out. Every great accomplishment began as a dream in somebody's heart.

God wants to take us a deeper dimension in Him — one that will stretch us. But we must be willing to step out and go beyond the walls.

Ready For Battle

This is war. We are in a spiritual conflict. It can be described as a warfare of faith that we, as Christians, must fight our entire lives. Our enemy is Satan, and he is out to destroy us any way he can. We fight against the powers and authorities of this world, and God has given us the weapons we need to win the battle.

Ephesians 6:11 tells us to "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

When we come to Christ, we think our battle against sin is over and that we won't struggle with sin anymore. The real fight is just beginning, though. Our old sinful nature remains within us even after we are saved, and we must resist that nature. Satan is our deadly enemy, and he's waiting to trip us up.

We must choose every day whether we will follow our sin nature or turn from it and obey God. The Bible warns that those who follow the sin nature cannot inherit God's kingdom. The sinful nature must be resisted and put to death through daily warfare.

We wage war against sin and temptation, not in our own power, but with spiritual weapons. The apostle Paul gives the call to arms and lists the weapons of our warfare in Ephesians 6:14-17.

It says, "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

By putting on all of God's armor, we can be assured of withstanding our enemy's attacks.

Our victory has been won by Jesus himself through His death on the cross. Jesus won the battle against Satan, disarmed the evil powers and redeemed us so we could be free from sin. If we use the weapons we have in God, we will win.

Did someome say 'Snow'?

It's the 'Blizzard of the Century'! Not really. That's just how this snowstorm is being hyped on TV. I know it's a serious and dangerous storm, but come on, it's nothing we haven't seen before in the Texas Panhandle. I admit this is a pretty impressive storm. Some parts of the area have 12 inches of snow already and 4-foot drifts!

In the Panhandle, we're used to snow. We're used to wind. Put them together, though, and everyone freaks out, especially TV weathermen. If you listen to them, you'd think this is 'Snowmageddon.'

It's funny to watch the TV coverage of the storm. They have one weatherman stationed "out in the field," which is code for just out the back door in the parking lot. Then, there's another weatherman in studio, and he gives the "very latest conditions," which is code for "Hey, it's still SNOWING!" I think we can figure that out if we look out the window.

Before the storm, people made a run on grocery stores and gas stations. The stores were packed with people stocking up on food. Come on, do you really think you're going to run out of food if you have to stay in the house for two days? I didn't stock up before the storm, but I really don't think I'm going to starve. If you do run out of food, you can run out for some great snow ice cream. I used to love that as a kid. Just watch out for the yellow kind!

All schools in the area were closed today, and some businesses shut down. That's good. Everyone needs a Snow Day! But it's funny because as soon as the snow stops flying, people want to get out and head over to the park to slide down the hill on cardboard.

Some people have been stranded because of the blizzard. My two aunts were here over the weekend and were supposed to leave today. I think they're going to be here awhile! I told my aunt from Wisconsin that I ordered the snow so she'd feel at home while she's here.

A lot of people hate the snow. You can't do anything about it, though, so you might as well settle in and enjoy it. If everyone just uses a little common sense, we're all weather the storm fine.

7 Days Without Church Makes 1 Weak

People often say to me, "You're always going to church." Some even say, "Wouldn't it be easier just to stay home sometimes?" Well, yes, it might be easier to stay home some Sundays. But the rest of the week would be a whole lot harder.

 

We all need to go to church. We need each other. Most of all, we need to meet God there. It is there, with other believers, that we are encouraged and find strength for a new week. I can tell you it makes a difference in my life.

 

There are many reasons why we should go to church. It is at church where we find and fulfill our purpose in life. We find our purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ — and others. Church is where we learn to be a part of the family of God. We learn how to love and share with each other. In 1 Corinthians 12:26, it says, "If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it."

 

By coming together with other believers, we can grow together in God's love, and we will grow spiritually. Ephesians 4:16 tells us, "As each part does its own work, it helps all the other parts grow, so the whole body is healthy."

 

Being a Christian and living the Christian life is more than just a commitment to Christ. It's a commitment to other believers, too. The Bible tells us to be involved in each other's lives. God says to love each other and bear each other's burdens. Hebrews 3:13 says, "Encourage one another daily."

 

The Bible tells us to encourage one another, serve one another, teach one another, accept one another and be devoted to one another. In Romans 1:12, Paul says, "I want us to help each other. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you."

 

Many times, when we've stumbled or had a tough week, we may feel like staying away from church, but those are the times when we need it most. That's where we find God's grace. Our church family can help us through the hard times. As it says in 2 Corinthians 2:7, "When people stumble, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up." How true it is. We need each other in the hard times as well as the good times.

 

I read a great quote once that really sums it all up: We need church "because it gives us a purpose to live for, people to live with, principles to live by, a profession to live out and power to live on. There's no other place on Earth where you can find all these benefits in one place."

 

If you haven't been going to church, try it next Sunday. It will change your life!

Stick To Your Guns... And Bibles

The debate on gun control has sparked a heated discussion. People are adamant in their stand for or against gun regulations. If you listen to talk radio or read Facebook, you'll find passionate pleas from gun owners. Many have even quoted the old NRA slogan, "I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands."

 

Those are pretty strong words! The people, on both sides of the argument, are sincere in their beliefs, and they're not going to be silenced. They are willing to fight for what they believe in.

That made me wonder: Would people be as passionate if the debate was about the Bible and our religious freedoms instead of guns? What if the government tried to ban Bibles? Would there be as much outrage as there's been over gun rights?

We are blessed in America to have the freedom to worship as we choose and to read the Bible. I pray we never lose that freedom. Our religious freedoms are already under attack. There may come a day when the government will try to ban the Bible, and that day may come sooner than we expect.

The current administration already has attempted to restrict Bibles at some military hospitals. A guideline memo issued by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in September 2011 stated that religious items, including Bibles, could not be used or given away during visits with patients at the center. Fortunately, the rule was never enforced and was rescinded four months later.

Other religious freedoms also have faced restrictions. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the ban on prayer in public schools. It was a hotly debated issue at the time and now, decades later, the debate rages on. There have been various attempts to allow prayer back in school. However, many Christians remain virtually silent on the issue. The same is true on abortion. We've been silent for too long. It's time to stand up for the rights of the unborn.

The attacks on our religious freedoms will only increase in the last days. The Bible tells us to hold firmly to the hope we confess without wavering.

In 1 Corinthians 15:58, we're told, "Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

We need to get fired up! We should be as passionate about the things of God as we are about guns. The day may actually come when they try to take our Bibles away. What will we do then? Will we let the Bible slip through our fingers or will they have to pry them from our hands?