Thankful? Yeah, for what??

This is the Voice of One.

A lot of us spent the month of Thanksgiving posting something every day that we were thankful for. I sorta got lost from this. The newspaper sucks all the oxygen out of your life in November, since that is our busiest month and I got too busy to pay attention to Facebook and all that.

Well, I hate to leave a task unfinished so here now we answer the question: Thankful? Yeah, for what?? Well, as you can see, quite a bit! Here we go...

Thanksgiving Day One: Thankful that my Lord God would consider a sinner such as me not only worthy of salvation, but as one to be his servant in ministry. It's mind boggling still today!



Thanksgiving Day Two: I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to be with a group of over 900 people tonight who made a stand for life. The Loving Choices banquet was a powerful thing, and that so many will make a stand for life tells me that there's hope for this nation after all!

Thanksgiving Day 3: I am thankful for my honey bunches! Thru thick and thin she stands by her man, and gives my life reason and order. 35 years and going strong! Carolyn! I love you now and forevermore!

Thanksgiving Day 4: I am thankful for grandkids! Kaila and Eliana make life so worth it! I miss them terribly, and an hardly wait to see them over the holidays. I miss my grandson, Conner. When he is older we shall have good days to enjoy. I wonder, is this crop going to be it, or will there be more grandchildren to spoil rotten? Time will tell.

Thanksgiving Day Five: I am thankful for the little kid who came along and made me into a Dad...Sgt. Joshua J. Mackey! They handed him to me in the delivery room, and I'm told I looked like I was about to pass out because I had never held one of those things before! Can't believe that was 34 years ago this past October. Thank you, Josh, for making dad awfully proud!

Thanksgiving Day Six: I am thankful for my favorite daughter in the whole world: Dr. Amber Mackey. I knew early on that here was a girl with scary smarts who was going to accomplish tremendous things and do lots of good in this life. I also knew early on that my claim to fame in this world was going to be that I am Amber Mackey's father! And that's a claim worth having.

Thanksgiving Day Seven: I am thankful for my best Razorback game partner: Jordan Mackey! The youngest of my brood, he has a heart for missions and an incredible talent for music. Which is why he is not allowed to play my bass. Too embarrassing!

Thanksgiving Day Eight: I am thankful for rainy days, complete with the sound of the rain pouring on the house, the rumble of thunder and in the middle of all that the sound of a train off in the distance. Relaxing!

Thanksgiving Day Nine: I am thankful for the group of guys I meet with every Wednesday for lunch. We always pick places that are organic, fresh and healthy, only heart happy foods and healthy. Yesireebob, health foods only. Well, I could be lying about that...

Thanksgiving Day Ten: I am thankful for Oak Manor Christian Church. Of all the churches I have ever been a part of, either as pastor or attender, OMCC is my favorite of them all!

Thanksgiving Day Eleven: Well, it’s Veteran’s Day so we’re all supposed to say how we’re thankful for Vets. Which I think is an awesome idea! If you’re a vet, or currently serving, and you read this post this is what I have to say to you: Thank you! Your service and your sacrifice is appreciated! America first, baby!

Thanksgiving Day Twelve: I am thankful for Arkansas Razorbacks Football games I get to attend! I am VERY thankful for Arkansas Razorbacks Football games I attend when the Hogs win! When I was a kid I would listen to KAAY-AM in Little Rock at night, and when there were Razorback games they’d call the hogs which I thought was just cool! Wooooo Pig Soie! Razorbacks!

Thanksgiving Day 13: I'm thankful for my car! It's an older car, a 2002 Toyota Avalon with all the bells and whistles. At 150,000 miles it is at about the halfway point in its serviceable life. It's named "The White Rabbit" after the Jefferson Airplane song of the same name. It has hippie attitude, enough afterburners to take care of you, and luxurious trappings and I have enjoyed this car more than any other. It is smoooooth!

Thanksgiving Day 14: I am thankful for the magic elixir of life: a Route 44 Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper from Sonic!

Thanksgiving Day 15: I am thankful for the Christ on Campus student ministry at the University of Arkansas. Mike Armstrong and the gang have a powerful outreach to University students. Tonight Oak Manor CC presents our annual ConC Thanksgiving Banquet at the Rock House, which is at the corner of Dickson and Arkansas Ave there at the University. Students! Come chow on some great Thanksgiving grub and meet Mike and the crew. We serve 5:30 to 7:30 so be there or be square!

Thanksgiving Day 16: I am thankful for the Wednesday Night Prayer Group. This is a small group, but it is a powerful group of prayer warriors. About half a dozen or so of us gather each week, we share a meal and then get down to the business of praying for each name on our Military Prayer List, for each attender of OMCC by name, and a host of other things we bring before our Awesome God. We have three groups that are devoted exclusively to intercessory prayer, this is the one that meets weekly.

Thanksgiving Day 17: I am thankful for the Ed Marshall Prayer Group. This being the second Thursday of the month we met tonight, like the Wednesday night group, we share a meal and then get down to intercessory industrial strength prayer. Tonight (we didn’t plan this) but we had a deep discussion about issues in the past that have faced Oak Manor CC, and we brought forth a commitment to look not to the past but to the future that our Awesome God has for this church family. More than once I have come to Ed’s group discouraged and depressed, and left uplifted and confident in the future. You guys mean more to me than you’ll ever know!

Thanksgiving Day 18: Back to something less serious, but something I am thankful for indeed. I am thankful for Mexican food! Surely when St. Peter ushers us through the pearly gates (ignore the faulty theology here, just work with me!) the first thing we’ll see is a ginormous buffet of Mexican delights! Tacos! Enchiladas! Burritos! Chips with salsa so hot your face melts off! Refried beans and Mexican rice flow in rivers you just jump in! Two words: Cheese Dip! I could eat this stuff every day, and sometimes I do! Ahhhh, I believe it’s Friday, so I have a scheduled trip to Acambaro’s in Lowell for lunch! Yes!

Thanksgiving Day 19 I am thankful for our final prayer group, the Dave Whitmire Prayer Group. We gather at the Whitmire home in Springdale once per month, and like the other groups the agenda is great food great fellowship and industrial strength prayer. Like with the Wednesday Night Prayer Group and the Ed Marshall Prayer Group, many is the time I’ve arrived discouraged, depressed and down but left lifted up and encouraged and ready to take on the next challenge. A high point of the month, for sure!

Thanksgiving Day 20 I am thankful for The World’s Most Dangerous Praise Band. Led by worship leader Rick Herring on guitar and vocals, we feature Carol Bursey on keyboards, Karen Hendrix vocals and your humble servant on bass. We have more fun than any one human being should be allowed to have! And while we’re at it we do our best to point our church family’s hearts toward home: toward our Awesome God.


Thanksgiving Day 21 I am thankful for the money grubbing owners of the Beatle’s catalog of music, who for money grubbing reasons released the music of The Fab Four to the likes of Pandora so I can listen to it a bunch on my Moody Blues radio! Woohoo!

Thanksgiving Day 22 I am thankful for flying machines. So I’m sitting there waiting for something, and I gaze into the sky and see contrails high above and a Cessna over there and what do I hear but a chopper? Flying machines are the coolest piece of technology ever invented by man! I’ve flown in every kind of flying machine from Piper Cub to Cessna to Beach Bonanza to T-38 to F-4 and F-16 and a C-130 even a Ford Tri-Motor once! Of course that’s not to mention the 727, 737, 757 and the 777 (and others). I missed the 747, somehow. That’s not to mention a hot air balloon (closed circuit to Elizabeth Alex: that little girl you were carrying around at the station watching while I flew in the balloon is now a surgical pathology resident in San Diego) and the choppers I flew in, a couple of which I hung out of to take pictures and one that I did a flying live shot from for the late KPOM-TV. Hmmm. All of my thanksgivings have been a couple of lines. This one is a paragraph. Can anyone say where my passion lies?

Thanksgiving Day 23 I am thankful for the horseless carriage. A very recent invention, as far as the full course of human history goes, we have forgotten what freedom comes when you don’t have to hitch up the horses to go somewhere. You just get in the thing, fire up the internal combustion engine, and away you go. Just think. If I decided to up and go see Amber in San Diego, all I have to consult is my pocketbook. Well, I may have to consult Amber. But you know what I mean!

Thanksgiving Day 24 As I mentioned in the first part, a lot of this was written after the fact. Truth be known, thanks to my work at the newspaper I wasn’t in much of a thankful mood this week because this is the heaviest week in the newspaper business because of Black Friday. The largest paper of the year comes out today, and this is a day of “all hands on deck.” Bah, humbug!

Thanksgiving Day 25 I am thankful for times with my family at holidays. For instance, when Eliana walked through the door and first laid eyes on her old grandpa, she made a bee line towards me and lifted her arms up for me to pick her up immediately. We were quite the buds, and let me tell you that all at once life was worth living. Kaila and Eliana have a way of reminding you what love is all about!

Thanksgiving Day 26 I am thankful for that All-American culinary art form: a well made hamburger! Cheddar Burger at Sassy’s, Jalapeno Burger at George’s, Chubby Cheese Basket at Babe’s, any burger at Five Guys, and whatever that thing is I custom make at Burger Life are all awesome treats for the taste buds for which I give thanks to The Almighty and receive with joy, gladness and thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day 27 I am thankful for another All American culinary art form: a well made plate of onion rings and/or french fries! Yum!

Thanksgiving Day 28 I am thankful for the fact that these eyes saw Joe Adams return a punt for a touchdown in a style that only can come from the Razorbacks!

Thanksgiving Day 29 I am thankful that I have been blessed to be born in and to live in the most awesome nation that humanity has ever seen: The United States of America!

Thanksgiving Day 30 I am thankful that I finally got this list finished!

This is the Voice of One!

11-11-11

This is the Voice of One. Welcome to November 11th, 2011 a/k/a 11-11-11. Nothing more to add there, just that it's a cool date that won't be repeated for another thousand years (hopefully the Lord will have returned long before then!)

Three big things to discuss and so in no particular order here we go:

Fayetteville Fire Fighters were called to the scene of a big duplex fire today at the intersection of Drake and Peg. The structure was 30% involved when firefighters arrived, and smoke was seen all over town. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The problem is that someone at Carolyn’s work said the fire was at a nearby apartment complex, the one where one of our attenders and one of our families live. There immediately began a scramble to find them all. Rick was dispatched to find the individual, and I dispatched myself to find the family. Before we completed our missions we discovered our error and stood down. The point is this: if you are Oak Manor Christian Church you are family and should calamity strike your family will go proactive to make sure you’re all right and see to any needs. As Paul told the church in Galatia: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9-10)

It is so good to be a part of the family! Are you in Northwest Arkansas and not a part of a powerful church family? How can you face life so alone? Come check us out, we'd love to see you Sunday morning!

Secondly, we see how our Awesome God takes care of his own. A young man who is an Opera major at the University of Arkansas and a member of the Christ on Campus student ministry, Jonathan Chavez, came to this country when he was 14. His folks went on to become citizens, but due to his age he fell through the cracks. On his way to visit his mom in Florida, he was snared in an immigration sweep at the bus station and spent some time in the slammer awaiting deportation. Many prayers were lifted up on his behalf, for sure and now comes word that he has received what they call prosecutorial discretion, which means to make a long story short the way is paved for him to become a resident, he will be allowed to work and he faces deportation no more! Woohoo! This is so awesome! Jonathan had shared his amazing testimony with us a while back, and we were really praying for him and pulling for him. A happy ending indeed!

Finally, today is Veteran’s Day. There has been so much said about this day that I doubt that my meager musings will really add much. But let me say this: if you’re a veteran of the armed forces I want to say thank you for your service. We live in the greatest country on earth! One of the guys at work is an immigrant from El Salvador, and the other night he was telling us some of the horror stories he saw during the civil war there. These stories are so gruesome they are really not appropriate for this format. It just makes me thank my God that I live in the United States and lest we become judgmental of those who want to live in this country I would remind you to check out some of their stories. It will make you proud to be an American!

This is the Voice of One!

Closed Circuit to Oak Manorites:

I look forward to Sunday, when our family will gather and lift up praises to our Awesome God and we will enjoy the bonds we share in the Lord and the peace we have in our presence with one another. We will have some routine business to discuss as it is also our board meeting Sunday. In the meantime, let’s lift praises to God and think how we can get our friends and family to know and share in the precious relationship that we have with our Lord and with each other. One more housekeeping item: normally this would be the weekend for Dave's prayer group but it has been postponed for one week.

I'll see you Sunday, if not before!

What if Christians Changed Their Names?

This is the Voice of One.

So what if Christians changed their names? All through the Bible we see folks who, when answering God’s call for their lives, changed their moniker. Abram became Abraham. Simon bar Jonas became Peter. Saul of Tarsus became the Apostle Paul. In modern times we see in the Catholic faith Karol Józef Wojtyła become Pope John Paul II, and Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger become Pope Benedict XVI.

Submitted for your approval: So what if we did this in the Christian Church today? What if we changed our names when we answered God’s call for our lives like they did in ancient times? Which brings us to the question of the hour: what would your name be?

My answer to that question became clear to me not long ago. A while back I was assessing my place in God’s Kingdom (Pastors do that kind of thing, you know) and I realized that if anyone ever were to remember my legacy I would want folks to remember me as an encourager. I would hope that my people would remember me as a guy who would encourage them onward, who would look at the positive things that God has done and at all the tremendous possibilities that he lays before us.

Therefore, there is only one choice of names I would take.

Barnabas!

Barnabas means Son of Encouragement. I would hazard a guess that old Barnabas (Paul's Missionary companion until they had that big falling out over Mark) was, in actuality, the first century equivalent of a motivational speaker. I'll bet no one could rouse a crowd like Barnabas! Talk to the guy and you would come away rarin' to go, ready to do some awesome things for our Awesome God!

And you know what? That is not a bad legacy to have.

This is the Voice of One.

Closed circuit for Oak Manorites:

Here is something that will encourage you. Our own Serena Galloway, from the Oak Manor Youth Group (a/k/a The Underground) has an opportunity to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with her uncle. Toward that end she will be doing some fund raising, and this is a great opportunity for us to be a part of something great. Be generous! Be encouraging! Serena is a Barnabas for sure, and I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to accomplish in her life.

When Foundations Crumble

This is the Voice of One.

So here we are halfway through the year 2011. I’m not so sure I like 2011, because it is the year that forces of nature threw a mighty temper tantrum and a big chunk of my hometown disappeared. This disaster weighs heavy on many hearts. From posts from my Facebook friends it is clear that not only are folks who presently live in Joplin affected, but a lot of Joplin expats (those who have moved away) grieve also.

I remember many years ago, back in the day, when I was a young single reporter in Joplin. It was in the wee hours of the morning (about 2:00am if I recall) and I’m driving through the downtown area of 4^th and Main, on down toward 2^nd. When what did I see but someone come to the corner of the intersection and start hawking the latest edition of the Joplin Globe. What they were doing there, and just how many papers they thought they were going to sell remains a mystery to me this day. I saw him there more than once, and I saw him sell a paper or two to passers by. Perhaps he was just waiting on a particular customer to come by before going on to other routes? Who knows. But as I’m driving on by there on this particular night I saw a fire truck on its way back to the main station, there off Virginia Ave. at City Hall, and it struck me: this all just looked so “America!” I had recently been to Fred and Red’s (the joint just featured on “No Reservations” with Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel) and the thought occurred to me at that time, you know, when you’ve got counter top lunch spots like Fred and Red’s still to go to, when guys still hawk newspapers on the street corner, and who doesn’t love fire trucks? Well, I thought, the Republic is just fine. All is well with the world, and all is as it should be in these here United States of America. That was so long ago!

But now things are so very different. And maybe this is why we grieve so much. It’s not just buildings and property and landmarks that are gone (not to mention the human cost!), it’s a place called home that was supposed to be there now and forevermore. It was a foundation to our world, and even though we travel far and away still we know that we can come back to our foundation and see it as it’s always been, to drive its streets to walk the mall to stroll downtown to know and feel our own security, our own little world. We took this for granted.

But no more. It’s gone, and so is our security and so is the foundation to a big chunk of our world. Yes, Joplin will rebuild. But it’s our foundation, our home world, if you will, that we grieve.

So I guess it’s true after all. At the end of the day all we really have to cling to is God. Now, when we say “I have a home in Heaven,” I guess we’ll have to mean it!

Closed Circuit to Oak Manorites…

Big doings going on at the church. The A/C in the activities building has given up the ghost and it is going to cost some sheckles to get it going again. Your Chairman of the Board, your Deacon in charge of Buildings and Grounds and your Pastor had a meeting today to discuss these things, the long and short of that being we need to discuss this at the regularly scheduled monthly board meeting coming up Sunday. We have some thoughts on the matter, and are anxious to solicit yours.

The Dave Whitmire Prayer group meets Saturday at 6pm at the Whitmire home in Springdale. Great food, fellowship and industrial strength prayer are on the agenda. You are invited!

Carolyn is going to spend some time in Joplin this weekend. She sent a post out with ideas if you have a desire to go and help out. If you want in on any of that action contact her.

Top Ten List of Armageddon Letdowns

This is the Voice of One.

Here we go again. Once more a would-be prophet has decided that he has figured out The End of Days. Cool! So with that in mind, here is a top ten list of Armageddon Letdowns¹!

10. And heeeere’s God!

Taiwan native Hon-Ming Chen founded a toxic mix of Buddhism, Taoism, and UFOlogy called God’s Salvation Church that showed up in the U.S. in the early 90s. 160 of them set up shop in Garland, Texas in 1997. Their big prophecy: that at 12:01 a.m. on March 31, 1998, God would appear on a single TV channel across North America and save his followers from the doomed planet. So when God missed his cue and the TV show didn’t happen the group became, shall we say, confused. Chen is reported to have offered himself up to be stoned or crucified, but thankfully for him nobody took him up on it. The group dissolved, many of them going back home to Taiwan.

9. The Amazing Criswell Amazes! Not!

They called him "The Amazing Criswell." Charles Criswell King was a radio and TV broadcaster turned psychic. In March 1963, he “correctly” announced that John F Kennedy wouldn't run for re-election in 1964 because "something was going to happen to him." Riding that lucky shot to fame, Criswell predicted back in 1968 that the world would to cease to exist on August 18, 1999. Oops.

8. 88 Reasons Why Jesus Didn’t Return in 1988!
You’d think he’d be smarter than that.. Edgar C. Whisenant was a former NASA engineer and a bible student. He sold four and a half million copies of his tome, “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Could Be In 1988.” Televangelists took up the cause and started airing tips on how to get ready. This reporter, your humble servant, covered this story and recalls how folks maxed out credit cards and walked off jobs and all kinds of stuff because the end is here. Oops. Didn’t happen. I know. My camera was rolling on the Fayetteville square at the appointed hour. So when this didn’t happen, he went on to recalculate his prediction to1989, 1993, and 1994, writing books for each year. Sales weren’t so strong.

7. UFO’s To The Rescue!

I think we all remember the Heaven's Gate cult, a UFO-centered group based in San Diego. Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles were co-gurus. Their big thing was that our planet was about to be "recycled," and the only chance for human survival was to escape on a UFO trailing the Haley-Bopp Comet. On March 26, 1997 (when Hale-Bopp was at its brightest) the bodies of 39 members of the group were discovered by police. I guess they had beamed aboard the UFO by committing mass suicide. We’re still waiting for the earth to be "recycled."

6. Y2K!
Remember all the hysteria about how all computers will shut down when the year 2000 hits, because when many manufacturers made computers they didn’t put “19” in the year but just used the last two digits. For instance, 1988 was just 88 to the computer, and so when the ascending numbers suddenly become invalid we would see worldwide computer failure and Armageddon. Maybe it was the preparation that went in to forestall the computer glitch, or maybe it just was not big deal to begin with but either way Y2K was a bust. Thankfully!

5. 1844: It’s Miller Time!
He was a prosperous farmer, a devout Baptist and a man who became infatuated with prophetic symbolism. William Miller boldly predicted the coming of Christ, eventually focusing on 1844 as the date. He garnered a large following who became known as “Millerites.” When Miller Time hit in 1844, well, nothing happened. It was dubbed “The Great Disappointment.” The sect drifted away disenchanted and confused. And disappointed.

4. The Sun Goes Kaboom!! Well, maybe not.
A meteorologist by the name of Albert Porta came up with the amazing prediction that on December 17, 1919 an alignment of six planets would create such a significant magnetic current that the sun would explode, engulfing poor helpless planet Earth. Oops.

3. Nostradamus (that’s all you need to say!)
Folks have gleaned such things from his writings as Hitler’s rise, The Great Fire of London, and even the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the death of Princess Diana. Wow. This guy was good! Well, maybe not. Apparently his so called predictions was just weird stuff he made up, and then his words have been twisted around to fit whatever someone wants it to fit. Remember his prediction that in "1999 and seven months . . . from the sky will come the great king of terror." Well, something may have fallen from the sky that day but we missed out on all the terror.

2. December 2012! Oh My! Oh My!
Here is the big one right now. It seems that the Mayan Calendar abruptly ends in December 2012. Because of this, every apocalyptic vision under the sun has been prophesied. We don’t know what will happen, but we do know this for a fact. The Mayan calendar abruptly ends in December of 2012. Who knows. Maybe they had company…like the Spanish Conquistadores? Maybe their union contract ran out? Maybe they lost interest? Maybe they ran out of stone to write it on? Stay turned, we have a year and half to go on this one!

And the number one Armageddon Letdown:

1. 5pm Local Time May 21^st 2011: Panic Now!

Well, we have to put this one up because it expires tomorrow (at this writing). Some California radio pastor named Harold Camping says he has researched the Bible and says that on May 21^st 2011 there will be a world wide earthquake that signals the Rapture and the end of the planet in a process that culminates with the utter destruction of earth in October of this year. The media is awash in it as his followers spread across the planet bringing the message of doom. Never mind this is not the first date he’s put forward for this to occur. There is so much that I could say here I will just leave it at this:

What part of “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father . . .” do they not understand?²

Let’s try that again:

What part of “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father . . . ” do they not understand?

Do you understand? I think you get the point.

I’ll see you Sunday morning!

Closed Circuit to Oak Manorites:

Thank you for your responses to prayer requests for Jordan Powers. We shall see the Lord’s will be done!

Don’t forget that on June 5^th we are going to be honoring our graduates. Graduate Recognition Day is Sunday, June 5^th and we will be having a reception after church. Please bring snacks, finger foods, cookies, and so forth. We will be honoring and recognizing Karina Crabb, Jordan Powers and Amber Mackey

Also, remember that this Sunday we will have our monthly board meeting. We will convene right after church services. Please make every effort to attend!

I’ll see you Sunday morning, if not before!

This is the Voice of One

Isaiah 40:2-4

² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD^[a];
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.^[b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.

¹The source of much of this post is here: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/scitech/2011/01/01/doomsday-duds-armageddon-predictions-proven-wrong/#ixzz19oXTffHp

² See Matthew 24:36

April 23, 1976 + 35

April 23 1976 was the happiest day of my life. It was on that day that I, accompanied by my best friends, followed Pastor Irv Dally into the sanctuary of Blendville Christian Church in Joplin. Moments later as I stood there, the most beautiful woman in the world strolled down the aisle of said church (with her dad, Orval) and astounded all (and ignored the advice of all!) and said “I do” when Irv asked Carolyn Eldridge if she would take little ol’ me as her lawfully wedded husband.

That was 35 years ago. Wow. She’s one tough mama to put up with me all these years!

Back in those days there was a song that was popular that hit the charts when we were dating. It was “Love Will Keep Us Together” by The Captain and Tenille. To hear that song transports me in time back to those happy early days. Love has kept us together, as well as a dependence on both each other and on our Awesome God.

It hasn’t always been easy, of course. Carolyn made a commitment early in our relationship that she would never consider divorce. Murder, yes! But divorce? No!

The years rolled on, and along came Josh, Amber and Jordan. Those three little kids are now grown up adults themselves. They’ve all been taller than me for more years than not, it seems! And of course there is the joy of our beautiful granddaughters, Kaila and Eliana and our grandson, Conner, who we really did pump full of sugar and caffeine once and send home. Yes, it is satisfying.

So here we are traveling together on the long and winding road of this wonderful thing we call life. “It’s you and me against the world!” I would say. 35 years later, I find myself wishing the world hadn’t of won so much!

Right now there are problems and hassles and uncertainties abound. Still, though, it can be said that life is sweet. We have our awesome family, we have our awesome church family that means more to us than you will ever know, and we have each other. And we have the Lord.

Amber said to me once that she cannot imagine Carolyn and I not being together. Neither can I.

To Carolyn what can I say but I love you now and forevermore!

I’d call that a successful marriage by any standard!

Rare photographs from the rehearsal dinner. First: Tommy poses for the camera next to Bill Lisle. These folks were the bride's members of the wedding party. Second: My mom and dad, best man Johnny Willis, my sister Dana, and two of the most precious people this world has ever known: Irv and Betty Dally. Third: a scurvy band o'cut throats known as the groom's members of the wedding party. Ted and Barbara Easley, Bob Phillips, the Russells, and the Richardsons.

Johnny Willis (best man), Steve Russell (groomsman), Your Humble Correspondent (groom, yes I was smoking a Winston Menthol 100 when this photo was taken), and Ted Easley (groomsman).

The early years!

Ps: Oh, remember The Captain and Tenille? Did you know they were married? And do you know they are still married, and having enjoyed a long career in the music world they live now in Prescott, Arizona. Love kept them together, and it will keep us together as well. Live well in the Lord!

This is the Voice of One!

Welcome to April!

In the news this hour, the 2011 baseball season has started. I always look forward to the opening day because this is the one day that I earnestly seek a win by the Kansas City Royals. You see, having once lived in Kansas City and having spent the majority of my life in the proximity of Kansas City I cannot help but feel a measure of loyalty to Kansas City teams, such as the Royals and the Chiefs. I really want them to win the first game or two, so that for one glorious day I can brag about the undefeated Royals! Our own Mike Armstrong was at the season opener, so luck was in the air! Play ball!!

What? The Royals lost to the evil Los Angeles Angels, 4-2? I am denied! Oh well, there’s always next year. Which brings up the point, when you begin the year by saying “there’s always next year,” maybe it’s time to find another team?? Sigh. I think I’m going to stick with the Arkansas Naturals. I love going to those games, so take me out to the ball game! Take me out to the park….

We have to talk about something serious now. Folks, there is a segment of our society that has been neglected when it comes to holidays. Christians have Easter and Christmas, Jewish people have Passover and Hanukah, Muslims have, oh, what do they have? Ramadan or whatever it is. Wiccans even have Halloween, fer cryin’ out loud!

Pity the poor atheists. They have nothing. All the people groups of the world have a special holiday of their very own, but atheists? Nothing! Zero! Zip! Nada! I think that’s so sad!

But that all changes now! By special Congressional decree, President Obama has signed a proclamation declaring today, April 1^st, as Atheist Affirmation Day! Woohoo! At last the recognition they deserve!

Congratulations. See Psalm 14:1.

Finally in the news this hour, We continue to pray for the Mustard Seed Global Fellowship as they work in Japan. Here is an excerpt from their latest update:

The team in Ishinomaki has established a supply storehouse in the sanctuary of a local church. Many people who have had no previous connection with the church are hearing about the supplies being provided and going there to get the food, water, hygiene kits, diapers, and other supplies that our MSGF guys are busy keeping stocked and organized.

When they aren’t making trips to Sendai for gas and supplies to keep the church stocked, they have had multiple opportunities to help the helpless in Ishinomaki. They went to the home of an 80-year-old woman who is a member of the church where they are staying. Her home had been completely flooded, so they worked hard to remove damaged appliances, waterlogged tatami mats, and clean out the grime and mud that coated everything.

James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Christians helping Christians can be a powerful testimony to those outside the faith. The widow’s neighbor saw what our team was doing and was very touched. She came over to talk to them and thank them for helping her elderly neighbor. They took the opportunity to pray for her and Andy Rodriguez explained that the woman began weeping as they prayed for her. It was a very powerful moment.

And there is much more. One question: how can we help them? Whatever it is we can do to help them is our responsibility before the Lord! You might go to their web site www.msgf.com where you can find a link to donate.

Closed Circuit to Oak Manorites:

We've been praying for baby Heidi earnestly: last report they have the newborn's chest closed, and she's doing well. Keep those prayers going ever heavenward!

Final personal note: after such a dreary week I so look forward to surrounding myself with my church family, which is true family. Our topic this coming Sunday is a very serious one. We are going to talk about suffering. Why do we live in a world with suffering? Let’s cut out the trite old adages and get down to the question and answer it. We will do that Sunday morning. I’ll see you there!

A Bit of Disappointment In My Life

-in this edition of The Voice of One, a slimy movie producer pushes anti-Christian themes, a news commentator spews stupidity, a new translation of the Bible panders to the politically correct, and we see a group of awesome people doing an incredible great work amongst a noble and proud people. Read on!

So there is a bit of disappointment in my life right now. I have really been looking forward to seeing the new movie “Paul” which opens today nationwide. I figured I would grab Jordan and we’d rush off to the theatre to see what promises to be a very funny movie.

But I will not be seeing this movie after all. In it, two guys traveling across the desert happen upon an alien who has escaped from Area 51. Chased by the evil FBI, they help the alien return home. Lots of funny stuff, according to the ads. But apparently this movie has a very strong anti-Christian theme. A review I read says that one of the characters is a Christian. But when zapped by a vision that refutes her faith and dogma, she recants her faith and the party starts. Kinda sorta.

Oh, give me a break! A fake Christian sees fake, made up data from a fake, made up cartoon character and so she has a fake recantation of her fake faith. No biggie, I guess but you and I both know that those who hate the church will cheer. And I’m supposed to spend my money to help this?

Here’s what I think. The producers of this fine piece of work are cowards. Sissies. Wusses. Chicken! So they attack Christianity. What’s the church going to do about it? Nothing!

My challenge to them is this: how about you produce a movie doing a similar number on Islam! Yes! There’s the ticket!!

What? You say you can’t? Why not? Are you cowards? Sissies? Wusses? Are you chicken? Of course you are! You know what they’d do. As I think about what they’d do to you, I recall the theme of an old, old movie: “Now, that’s entertainment!” (let the hate mail begin!)

It has become very vogue to trash anything smacking of Christianity. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell spewed this week when another commentator referenced the book of Revelation when talking about the Japanese situation. O’Donnell said the book of Revelation is a work of fiction describing how a truly vicious God would bring about the end of the world. No half smart religious person actually believes the book of Revelation, O’Donnell ranted. They, the enlightened, are certain their God would never turn into a malicious torturer and mass murderer beyond Hitler’s wildest dream.

Wow. To showcase such Biblical ignorance and stupidity on national television is distressing, really. How embarrassing! O’Donnell has no idea what Revelation is about. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. But sad to say less than knowledgeable people might fall for it.

There’s a lot more anti-God sludge forging its own tsunami across the theological landscape. It seems the new 2011 version of the NIV bible translation has removed most sexist language (he is them, fishers of men has become fishers of people, and so forth) although God is still referred to in the masculine tense. That’s all fine and well to make the Bible politically correct, I guess. But did you know they took away Mary’s virginity? She is no longer a virgin, but a young woman. The translators will say that technically the original word is young woman. Technically, perhaps. But it also means virgin, and in this application it has for thousands of years.

John the Apostle said in his Epistle that there are many anti-Christs, and you can tell who they are because they are supposed to be Christians, but deny Christ and lead folks astray.

There is a tsunami of blasphemy and heresy sweeping the churches in a big way. Since the fall of Rome, according to one view of Revelations that I think is pretty good, Satan’s power has been abridged and cut back. This was graphically illustrated in Revelation by the vision of the thousand years. But I fear that thousand year stretch is over. We have entered the time when “Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.” (Rev 20:7b-9)

We are living and breathing Armageddon here and now. It is everywhere around you. You can’t even go to the movies and escape! All we can do is follow the advice of Paul and put on the full armor of faith (see Ephesians 6).

So, back about the movie. Yes, they have every right in the world to make it. But I have every right in the world not to watch it. I will spend my money elsewhere and if you were thinking about seeing this movie, I urge you to do the same. And that's too bad. It does look funny.

In other news,

Who could not be anything but impressed with the awesome Japanese people, who have shown what they are really made of? In the wake of the terrible earthquake and tsunami we notice there has been no looting, no riots, no fighting as folks scramble for survival. No mobs at places were commodities are handed out, but instead orderly lines. We cannot help but remember the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and that awful mess and all that nastiness. Every time back in the day when I covered a tornado I noticed that either National Guards or law enforcement was posted to keep out looters. Doesn’t that make you feel ashamed, America?

Japan is not a Christian nation as such, yet they embody Christian principles in a way we Americans will never achieve.

I want you to go online to the website of the Mustard Seed Global Fellowship (http:://www.msgf.com). You will find some Ozark Christian College folks doing a great job in planting churches in Japan, and right now they are working at bringing relief to this great land and this great people. Click on the link to the churches, and click on that link to hear sermons. It’s very interesting! Carolyn and I threw a few shekels their way. You might ponder the same!

This is The Voice of One.

Isaiah 40:3

A Frightening Friday Morning

Good Friday! Yes, this is the weekend I've spent all year dreading! Daylight Savings Time (a tool of the devil) kicks in this weekend. So that means when you go to bed Saturday night set your clocks ahead one hour (remember: spring ahead/fall back). Yes, we shall be robbed of an hour of precious sleep. Actually, a lot of folks like Daylight Savings Time so what can we say but welcome to an extra hour of blessed sunshine!

The Mighty Mighty Prayer Warriors of Oak Manor CC have been summoned to arise and lift up industrial strength prayer for so many bad things going on right now. I'm referring, of course, to the horrific news coming out of Japan. Officials are calling it the worst earthquake in Japan since records were kept, and the body count continues to rise. The tsunami is hitting Hawaii and even the west coast of the United States is under the gun as the tsumani arrives on our shores.

Can you imagine the power of something that can send waves of water surging all the way across the Pacific Ocean? Truly, the puny, pathetic power of the hand of man pales in comparison to the hand of God!

I am very happy and relieved to report that folks we know in Japan are checking in and are Ok. Our daughter-in-law Ryoko got through on the phone to her mom this morning. Everyone is Ok, and her brother Muneo has been stuck sleeping in his office because the trains are down.

There is a church planting group from Ozark Christian College operating in Japan. The Mustard Seed group has checked in and they are all right. Team member Brigette Relyea, daughter of missionary Marsha Relyea, reports on her Facebook page: “After the big earthquake, we are all Ok here in Nagoya! But please pray for the people who have been/are being hit by the tsunami on the northeast coast.”

A serviceman on our Military Prayer List, David Kelly in South Korea reports that Korea has been shielded from the quake and tsunami. “Everything is Ok,” he writes. News reports indicate military resources all through the Pacific are on high alert.

Industrial strength prayer is called for! And not just here in the Pacific, but you may be recall missionary Christina Skelton has had to be evacuated from the Ivory Coast in Africa due to civil strife that is ravaging through that country. News reports today indicate the government of disputed President Laurent Gbagbo has banned United Nations and French peacekeeping aircraft from flying in Ivory Coast, as the African Union considers how to resolve the crisis. Christina has been safe so far: more industrial strength prayer is needed!

As all of this is going on, it seems like we are having a political meltdown in this country, which has dominated the news of late as all kinds of rather disconcerting rhetoric is being launched by less than responsible individuals who feed on all the chaos. Yes, more industrial strength prayer is needed!

This is the call. Pray hard!!

Closed Circuit to Oak Manorites:

There are two prime opportunities for all of us to gather together for some pure industrial strength prayer. The first of these is the Dave Whitmire Prayer Group, which kicks off Saturday evening at Dave and Janice’s house at 6pm, Central Standard Time (CST). The second opportunity will come Sunday morning when we gather together for Sunday School action which kicks off at 9am Central Daylight Time (CDT), and our worship services that begin at 10am CDT.

So how about some happy news? Our WISH ladies are hosting a special meeting tomorrow, Saturday March 11^th from 11am to 1pm CST. Special Guest Cheryl Hill is going to be on hand to discuss “New Beginnings.” Ladies! Be there or be square

Pastor Mackster

Ps: How do you know if you’re going to heaven? Can you know if you’re going to heaven? I have the answer for you Sunday morning! I’ll see you then.

I'm In Love With God

I'm in love with God. It's as simple as that.

Ok, so here we are in this world that is cursed and fallen and we are cursed and fallen and wretched in so many ways. We want to be reunited with our Heavenly Dad, but we are just too nasty and naughty to pull it off.

Here's the problem. God, who is perfection, cannot tolerate anything that is imperfect. That's the very nature of God. So when he demands that we, his creatures, also be perfect as he is perfect, well, then, we're in big trouble. We can't do that. We can't pull it off.

Why would God make such a demand of us? Did he intentionally raise the celestial bar too high, so that we cannot help but be left out? Are we striving for our own version of perfection in vain, while God sits back laughing at us knowing we're going to fail?

Well, no.

Ponder, if you will, two aspects of the nature of God. First is the Righteousness of God, the part of God that demands justice. God, being perfection, cannot tolerate even one little itsy bitsy tiny minor sin by one of us, his creatures. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. To accept even one little itsy bitsy tiny minor sin by one of us, his creatures, violates his perfection. Can't be done. So when we do something bad the righteousness of God demands punishment, and will not be denied.

Secondly, however, is the love of God. The love of God demands that even though the creature has really blown it, God and his creature shall be reunited. Period. This love of God will not be denied.

So you see the crisis of the cosmos. How do you punish the creature (the only punishment is the death of the imperfect, flawed creature, by the way) and still be reunited with it? Can't be done. Or can it?

Enter the solution: God knows full well that for us to abide with him forever we must be perfect as he is perfect. God knows full well we can't deliver on that demand. That's where Jesus comes in. Jesus provides the way. So here I am, an imperfect and flawed creature. I must be punished for my sins. Punishment was thereby meted out: on Calvary. Jesus took my punishment for me. Since the punishment for my sins has been delivered, when I meet him then I achieve the perfection that am so horribly lacking in now.

God made a demand I couldn't meet. So he met it for me. Yes, even me.

So I'm in love with God. Now how can I make you in love with him, too?


Pastor Mackster
The Voice of One

I've Got A Date With A Knife!

And it's all Adam's fault!

Well, this is a first. For me, anyway.

You'll recall my misadventures about a month ago when I fell and broke my arm at work. Laid there for half an hour, I did, until a couple of burly dudes came to my rescue and were able to lift me to my feet again. Well, since that time there have sessions of x-rays and an MRI and so now it has all come home to roost. Somewhere around the first of the month your humble servant will report to a surgical center here in town and I will get to experience the joy of rotator cuff surgery. I had the big meeting with the surgeon yesterday.

"So what's with all the horror stories?" I asked Dr. Heinzelmann. "Every time I mention that I'm looking at having this surgery, all of a sudden everybody's eyes light up with glee and they have stories of pain and torture. One guy told me it hurt a friend of his so bad he cried!"

Dr. Heinzelmann had obviously had this talk before. "Look," he explained matter-of-factly. "It's going to hurt. But some people have different levels of pain. Some not so much, some more so." He went on to explain how it is their philosophy to make all this stuff as easy as possible, and he went on to explain some of their methods of dealing with their patients' discomfort. I came away confident that this guy knows what he's doing.

Of course there is a theological point to all this, and it really is being driven home to me. The point is this. It's all Adam's fault!

Remember Adam? He was running around naked with his wife, Eve, when Eve brought him some fruit from a tree that she wasn't supposed to touch. Why in the world would they touch this stuff? Well, it looked yummy. Since then mankind has ingested all kinds of deadly stuff because it looks yummy. Also, the tempter cooed to Eve, they could be like God! Woohoo!

So they munched.

And they died.

And so do we.

Adam's sin (Eve started it all, but it was on Adam's watch so he gets the blame) gave us this horrorfest world we live in. Why do I have to work for a living? Adam! Why am I turning into this old grumpy guy? Adam! Why do I have any number of physical ailments? Adam! And most of all, why was a simple fall on a snowy loading dock enough to make my right arm crippled up without surgery? Adam! The painful rehab I am about to undergo is all because of Adam.

Thanks, Adam. You dork!

I think I'll just cling to Jesus, my Jesus, who will make all this right some day.

Paul put it so well in his missive to the church in Rome:

Rom 5:18-19 ¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Yup, thanks to Adam this grumpy old guy has a date with a knife. But thanks to my Jesus, this young at heart believer has a date with a destiny of glory for all eternity in The Presence of Presences. Thank you, Jesus! My Lord!

Closed Circuit to Oak Manorites:

There is a lot going on as we recover from all the cancellations due to the snow and ice storms. Tonight the usual round of Wednesday Night stuff resumes. Then on Thursday Night we see the Ed Marshall Prayer Group. They congregate at the church at 6pm with food, fellowship and industrial strength prayer. On Saturday at 6pm the Dave Whitmire Prayer Group will commence with an agenda featuring more of the same. Our regular monthly board meeting will be held after church on Sunday. Other things are going on, we will advise you of them as the weekend draws near.

Many things are being prayed over by the mighty prayer warriors of Oak Manor, and of course now we need to add your pastor's upcoming surgery. We will update them all on Sunday morning.

The Great Blizzard of 2011

Snow days! Whoa! What week it has been! Record snowfall of historic proportions combined with record cold temps have made this a winter to remember. Or maybe a winter to forget?? There’s nothing like two feet of snow and sub zero temps to really put the kabosh on a southern boy’s spirit! No trash pickup in the city for two weeks now, frozen trash piles up.

But let's not get carried away. I don’t know how it all worked out for you, especially if you have kids cooped up in the house but for Carolyn and I just worked out great! It was just she and I, along with our faithful dog Princess Oreo. The power stayed on, so it was warm and cozy. The TV stayed on, so we had stuff to watch and the internet stayed on so we kept in touch with the world. The pantry was well stocked so we had lots of yummy stuff to eat and so all of this means one thing: it was a time to hit the pause button on life. Time to stop. Sit down. Be quiet. Rest. Snooze a bit. Snow days or not, I think escaping from the hassles of everyday living is something that we all need to do every now and then. Seasons of snoozing and refreshment are good, that way we can hit the hassles of life refreshed and renewed.

Outside was a winter wonderland, and if you’re on my Face Book page you saw poor Oreo literally swimming through two feet of snow in the back yard in a desperate search for adequate bathroom facilities (see above).

So here we are, two days cooped up away from the world and I was ready for more when all of a sudden work reared it’s ugly head for us both. We dug our way out (or Carolyn and the neighbors did, I can’t due to the broken arm) and we escaped back to the land of the living.

I made it in to work.

I guess I was a little grumpy.

Yup. It is winter.

There is a great book that I’ve been reading by Mark Buchannan entitled “Spiritual Rhythm.” It talks about the different seasons in life, likening the times of our lives to the seasons. Interestingly, it started with winter. I read the winter section. I read it again. I read the spring section. I went back to the winter. I haven’t gotten to summer or autumn yet. I don’t feel summer or autumn right now. I feel winter, I long for spring.

In spring or summer stuff is happenings and things are going well and you feel the presence of God: you feel him working in your life and sometimes it is easy to base your faith on this perceived movement of God and the Holy Spirit. But then comes winter and you feel the presence of the Lord no more. Maybe you just can’t see him (probably). Maybe he really has backed off from you. Either way, where once was power and movement is now … nothing.

Buchannan says in winter it is easy for us to not see God. The dangers here are obvious, as it is in winter that faith can be lost. How do we guard against that? Buchannan has the ready answer. You base your faith not on experiential things nor on perceived leanings and actions, but you squarely root your faith in that one solid anchor that we have: Scripture.

Experiences come and experiences go, but the Word of the Lord is eternal. Good times come and good times go, but the Word of the Lord is eternal. Root your faith on The Word. And that, says Buchannan, is Faith.

Closed Circuit for Oak Manorites:

Winter is hitting us all a hard one. At this point it appears that we will have services on Sunday, but the Board Meeting scheduled for this time and the potluck dinner is on hold for at least a week.

Also on hold this week is the Dave Whitmire Prayer Group. All of the above will probably happen next week.

I would pass on just a couple of our many prayer concerns. Dean Davis had his cataract surgery this past week, so far so good. Janice Whitmire’s dad, Archie fell. He has a black eye and some bruises. Doctors say his diabetes is affecting his balance, and lately he falls easily. Jackie Linzy's surgery is on hold. My appointment with the surgeon has been rescheduled to Monday. I’m afraid of what all he’s going to have in store for me, but on the other hand I’m ready to git r done!

So much more that we are praying about, we’ll update them Sunday morning. I’ll see you then!

Pastor Mackster