Ash Wednesday

When our daughter, Deborah was critically ill at age 2 months, her Daddy and I sat in the waiting room of the hospital where other people with sick children were waiting.

If you have spent many days in a hospital waiting room, you realize how you begin to interact with people. You listen to their story and tell yours. You become concerned about their loved one and appreciate their concern for yours. Each individual patient is precious to someone.

Charles and I were so distraught that someone asked, “Is she your only child?” I replied, “She is our fifth child, but she is our only Debi.”

Jesus came to earth to tell us the amazing news that each individual one of us is precious to God. We each have our own fingerprint, our own voice ascent, our own DNA. God so loved each one of us that he sent Jesus that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:15)

The Pharisees thought God rejoiced in the death of “sinners.” In Luke 15 , Jesus tell us there is joy in heaven when each one of us repents of our wandering and believes this greatest Good News the world has ever heard! (Luke 15:10)

Ash Wednesday begins Lent and the believer’s journey to Holy Week and Easter. It is a journey of individual repentance and prayer. In the Service of Ashes, we kneel at the altar and the pastor marks the sign of the cross in ashes on our forehead. The ashes are to remind us that our physical body is dying. The sign of the cross is to remind us that we are more than our physical body.

What we call” death” does not have the last word over what God calls “life.” It is Ash Wednesday but Easter is coming!

Prayer: Father, during this Lenten season help each one of us to kneel at the cross in humility and to arise in the strength of knowing who we are in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Father's Day . A Father's Legacy

Most come to Father’s Day thinking of our own father or the dear man or men who loved and supported us as a child, rather than thinking of some honor due if we happen to also be a father.

I read an article recently entitled, “A Father’s Death Leaves Love Behind.” William Maddox write about his father-in-law, a man he never met because the dad died when his wife was only 3

His wife’s Dad had been a musician who sang in a quartet and had cut a few records. William Maddox said his wife’s father’s legacy lived on because his words and deeds and music had a profound influence on his wife’s upbringing. The father had died young but he did leave a legacy of love behind. Maddox said his wife loved to go to the church where her father often sang…and she also became interested in finding her father’s God.

My father, Benjamin Wilson Baird had a profound influence on me. He died when I was nine. I remember as a young child missing my Dad so much I would pray that I would see him in a dream.

I would hear other children say, “I want to be a nurse “ or “I want to be a policeman when I grow up” and I would think, “I want to be a Christian like Papa.” His Christian influence was a greater legacy for me than any amount of money or property he could have left me.

My mother’s dad also died when she was a baby. Mama told me one day, when other children would wear a new dress or shoes and say, “my papa bought them for me” she would feel sad and think, “If my papa was still alive, I would have new things…”

I am glad for movements like “PROMISE KEEPERS” and other movements among men to help them and to help us all to realize how much men are needed in the lives of children and how rewarding it is for men to grow old with offspring who love and respect them because of the care they gave to their children when they were young.

My father was a devout Christian who did not want to leave his wife and children. But as heart disease weakened his body, he was so certain of heaven that he looked forward to death as one would anticipate a long awaited vacation.

HE KNEW THAT WHAT WE CALL “DEATH” DOES NOT HAVE THE LAST WORD OVER WHAT GOD CALLS “LIFE” .

At a Memorial Service at our church Conference a few years ago, Bishop Bevel Jones preached and one of the things he said was about Aristotle Onasis, who amid his millions, never had a cause he supported. Jones said, “To leave no estate is not a disgrace but to leave no legacy is a tragedy.

The influence of a father cannot be over emphasized. Studies have shown that when a father is missing, absent from the home, there is a hole in the child, especially in a son, that cannot quite be filled

Fortunately, the Bible teaches there is a remedy. Many of the great leaders of past generations have filled this space, this hole left by an absent father with the Heavenly Father. The Psalmist David tells us even if my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. God is able to take all kinds of tragedy and bring about good when we commit our live to him.


THIS IS WHAT THE GOSPEL IS ALL ABOUT…BECAUSE WE ARE LIVING IN A FALLEN WORLD AND LIFE AT BEST IS SHORT. THIS IS BUT A PREPARATION PLACE. WHEN WE INVITE CHRIST INTO OUR LIFE, GOD CAN USE ALL THINGS TO WORK FOR OUR GOOD. BEAUTY FOR ASHES…JOY IN THE MIDST OF SORROW…LIFE ETERNAL IN THE MIDST OF DEATH.

DAVID BLANKINSHIP HAS WRITTEN A BOOK , ”FATHERLESS AMERICA”…. AND HE SAYS THAT WHEN A FATHER DIES, HIS FATHERHOOD LIVES ON IN THE HEAD AND HEART OF THE CHILD IF AND WHEN THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS SEEK TO KEEP HIS MEMORY ALIVE AND WHEN THEY FIND WAYS TO HELP COMPENSATE FOR THE FATHER’S ABSENSE. AND IN THIS SENSE THE CHILD IS STILL FATHERED.

Looking back I know I was profoundly influenced by my mother telling me about my father…how he prayed for me…how on his death bed he prayed for each child by name…that they would come to know Jesus.

Paul in Philippians 1, writes like a father to beloved children. He calls them his “joy and crown.” In verse 2-4, He writes:
“Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Always and in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.”

PAUL IS WRITING THIS FROM PRISON...BUT HE IS THINKING OF THE PEOPLE AT PHILLIPI…OF THE CHURCHES HE HAD SERVED….SO THIS LETTER THROBS WITH PERSONAL INTENISTY…GRATITUDE…AND JOY.

PAUL’S CENTRAL SUBJECT IS JESUS CHRIST. THIS IS THE BOND HE SHARES WITH THE PHILLIPIAN CHURCH. THIS IS THE BOND WE ALL SHARE in CHRIST…
…THIS IS OUR LEGACY OF LOVE AS CHRISTIANS,

Just a year or so before Charles had his first heart attach, we were pulling off the expressway to go to the parsonage in Austell where we lived at the time. We saw a man fall down beside the road. We had gotten past him so drove back. Charles asked me to stay in the car until he talked to the man. The man was on crutches with a broken leg in a cast and falling down drunk. Charles put him in the car, took him home with us, put him in the shower and helped him get a bath while I washed his clothes and fixed him something to eat. Later Charles called and got him into a Christian home for alcoholic’s nearby.

So it is…we came to Jesus just as we are, clothed in the garments of sin, spiritually starving and sick unto death. We are welcomed by Christ (and hopefully by Christians)…accepted just as we are, bathed in his love and forgiveness…transformed and clothed in his Grace…indeed given a place at His table of Grace.

I heard Dottie Rambo tell of praying for a brother who had become alcoholic. He was finally saved and Dottie wrote the song, “He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Need
“Amazing Grace shall always be my song of praise
For it was Grace that bought my liberty.
I do not know just why He came to love me so…
He looked beyond my fault and saw my need…
I shall forever lift mine eyes to Calvary.
To view the cross where Jesus dies for me…
How marvelous…the Grace that caught my falling soul:
He looked beyond my fault and saw my need.”

In Philippians 1, Paul reminds us that God has given us a new status “IN CHRIST” In fact, Paul gives them two addresses. They are “in Christ” and they are “In Philippi.” They are to let their life “in Christ Jesus “ be evident “in Philippi.” Paul reminds us all that we are called to be “in Christ” wherever we are.

Paul had been in the limelight. Now he is in the backwaters. But he rejoices. Because…whatever else is missing… “the Lord is at hand.” Paul might be “in bonds”, changed to a Roman guard. But he is “ in Christ Jesus.” He might have a thrown in the flesh…but he is “in Christ Jesus.”


How does Paul say it... ”TO ALL THE SAINTS IN CHRIST JESUS….GRACE TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD, OUR FATHER AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST…I THANK MY GOD UPON EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU.

Southern Grandma

Southern grandma

Lawyers should never ask a Southern grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.

In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?"

She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you."

The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?"

She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him." The defense attorney almost died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, "If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you to the electric chair."

Friendship

You never know what your actions mean.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a
Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my
friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten
feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around
looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. " They really should get lives. " He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face.

It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never
seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends . He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! " He just laughed ! and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and
smiled. "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began: "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.

Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly
your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have
to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy
told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful
smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions.With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.

Billy Graham

Billy Graham is now 86 years old with Parkinson's disease.

In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina,
invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in
his honor.

Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he
struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte
leaders said, "We don't expect a major address. Just
come and let us honor you."
So he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham
stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who
this month has been honored by Time magazine as the
Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from
Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the
aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he
came to Einstein, Einstei n reached in his vest pocket. He
couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser
pockets. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him.
He still couldn't find it.


The conductor said, "Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket.
Don't worry about it."
Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued
down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to
move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his
seat for his ticket. <>

The conductor rushed back and said, "Dr. Einstein,
Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket.
I'm sure you bought one."


Einstein looked at him and said, "Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.'"


Having said that Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing?
It's a brand new suit. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in
my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went
out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion.


You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which
I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want
you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want
you to remember this:


I not only know who I am .. I also know where I'm going."

Wrong Address

A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida to thaw out during one particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel.

There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her e-mail address, and without realizing his error, he sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister of many years who died following a sudden heart attack. The widow decided to check her e-mail, expecting messages from relatives and friends.

After reading the first message, she fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen, which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've Arrived
Date: 16 May 2003
I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send e-mails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.
P.S. Sure is hot down here!!

Watch Out For Falling Cows!

Did you read "Watch Out For Falling Cows" on The Midian Sib blog? Before I had a chance to read it, I was told about it by two of my children about the interesting post telling of Carol's husband's near collusion with a cow that fell down a hill into a ditch beside the road.


So they asked me to tell the old story of when a run-away cow jumped into the side of our car when their dad and I were teen agers on a date?


The Great Depression years were a time when many families did not own an automobile. This was especially true in the South which did not begin to recover from the devastation of the Civil War between the States until after World War II.


Charles's Dad, Grady Shaw was a talented and good man. When he was finally able to buy a car, he took special care of it. Mr. Shaw was a generous and loving Dad who would loan the car to Charles and James, his teen aged sons as often as he could.


But as a responsible Dad, he would loan his car along with instructions concerning their behavior and with a final admonition, "Son, take care of my car."


A hard working but involved Dad, these boys were aware their Dad would always check mileage before they left and when they returned. Theyknew he would also inspect the car (and them) when they returned for any signs of carelessness or abuse.


Charles was the oldest of five boys. His brothers called him "Buddy." One afternoon, Charles and James borrowed their Dad's automobile and invited my school friend Julia and me to take a ride with them.


We were riding on a beautiful country road near Covington, only a few miles from my home. Charles was driving and I was seated beside him. Julia and James were sitting in the back seat.


All at once, we noticed an older farm woman in a long house dress and apron running down the hill with her arms raised, chasing a cow that had gotton outside a fenced area. The cow ran down the hill, across a ditch and jumped into the side on our car.


As with most accidents, it happened in a scary flash! Charles stopped the car, but the last we saw of the cow, it was running away from the car with a part of the car door handle still attached to it's side. The first words James said was, "Buddy, what are we going to tell Daddy."


What did they tell their Daddy? They told him the truth. Not that they were beyond stretching the truth into an untruth if it suited their purpose in those days. But they believed they might as well tell their Dad the truth because he had a way of finding out the truth anyway.


However, this truth was stranger than fiction and Daddy Shaw thought they were not telling the whole truth.
I had to assure his parents it was a true story after I came into the family.

The Carlisle (Pa.) Indian School was one of more than 500 Indian boarding schools established by the U.S. government beginning in the late 1870s. A UMNS photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
By John Coleman*May 18, 2009 COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. (UMNS)
The group will travel 6,800 miles, visiting22 sites of U.S. Indian boarding schools.A UMNS Web-only image courtesy ofWhite Bison.
Trinity United Methodist Church and the Rocky Mountain United Methodist Conference are helping a Native American organization take a forgiveness journey cross-country in search of healing from two centuries of oppression.
Leaders of White Bison, an organization that helps Native Americans recover from substance abuse and addiction, are traveling 6,800 miles to visit the 22 sites of U.S. Indian boarding schools where thousands of children were taken to live and learn the dominant U.S. culture. The journey began May 16 at the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Ore., and will end June 24 at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington.
The group hopes to present a petition to President Barack Obama seeking a national apology for the federal government’s role in establishing the schools.
Trinity, the oldest church in Colorado Springs, contributes space and participates in the organization’s community meetings and events. A ceremony was held May 2 at the church to bless the journey. The church is also helping with plans to develop a Native American community center to provide expanded services and activities to the estimated 12,000 native people living in and around Colorado Springs.
“This once-declining congregation is growing again, partly because of our friendship and ministry with White Bison and our supportive outreach to the native community here,” said the Rev. Jerry Boles, pastor.
The Rocky Mountain Conference’s Committee on Native American Ministries has helped raise funds for the journey and mailed letters to bishops in areas where the White Bison team will make stops, asking them to promote United Methodist attendance at the healing ceremonies and donations to support the expedition. White Bison is also hoping to receive more help from United Methodists to defray costs for the 40-day trek.
“We feel it is important to support native people who show an effort to heal themselves and restore the health of their communities,” said Suzanne Aikman, former chairwoman of the conference committee and a board member of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race. “We see unhealthy, abusive lifestyles and loss of cultural integrity and values in our homes and communities every day. We’ve lost generations to the boarding school experience. This journey can help bring healing to native people and to non-native people who carry intergenerational guilt.”
The Rev. Jerry Boles (left) is pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Don Coyhis is leader of White Bison. A UMNS photo courtesy of Dan Coyhis.
Don Coyhis, a Mohican, is founder and president of White Bison. “We’ve approached all the denominations in this religiously conservative area, but the Methodists have responded with open arms to welcome us along with our traditions and self-help programs,” he said.
The U.S. government established more than 500 Indian boarding schools beginning in the late 1870s. Many were run by religious denominations, including the Methodist Church. The schools were intended to prepare Native Americans for assimilation into mainstream U.S. society through education and cultural retraining. This intention was a departure from previous general assumptions that Indians were inherently so different and inferior to whites that no education could "civilize" them.
The schools were deliberately located far from Indian reservations in order to separate the students from the influence of their families and traditional ways of life. Historians cite tragic consequences from that separation, including loss of family relationships, parenting skills and social cohesion in Native American communities, but also frequent, often horrific abuse of children at the schools, many of whom reportedly died there or never returned home.
Although the U.S. government changed its policies encouraging cultural repression at the schools in 1934, many aspects of that repression—at church-run and state-run institutions—continued into the 1960s. Most of the schools have since closed.The Journey for Forgiveness will follow a serpentine, cross-country route touching every region but the Southeast. The White Bison sojourners hope to draw hundreds of participants for their events at 22 boarding school sites in 15 states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. At five of those sites, they will be welcomed by

Life with Wings

Have you ever known the feeling of being lifted above ordinary limitations? Not just doing the best you can “under the circumstances” but allowing God to get you out from under the circumstances that would hold you.

Cecil B. DeMile wrote that he was in a canoe in Maine one summer day - just drifting through the water in a shallow place near the shore. He could see the bottom of the lake and noticed it was covered with water beetles. One of the water beetles crawled up on a canoe, fastened its feet in the gunnels and died. Three hours later, still floating in the warm sun, DeMille said he witnessed a miracle. The shell of the water beetle cracked open and a tiny head emerged. The wings unfolded and finally a beautiful dragon fly with iridescent body and gossamer wings left the dead carcass and sailed across the surface of the water, shimmering in the afternoon sun - going further in a half second than the water beetle could crawl all day long. The dragonfly sailed across the surface of the lake. But the water beetles below, unaware of the miracle of metamorphosis, could not see it.

DeMille said, “Do you think God would do that for a water beetle and not do it for you and me?"


I sat with a congregation listening to Charles Shaw (a great preacher) give a sermon. He told about an imaginary conversation someone had with an ordinary looking caterpillar crawling down the road of a busy city. The caterpillar was "out of place" but told the man, "Don't stop me. I'm going to get my wings." This is the poem I wrote:

Life with Wings

God made the butterfly
And I…
Stand on earth
And watch it fly
And see that God
Has fashioned wings
For even earthbound
Creeping things!

I know that God
Intended wings
For you and me
Oh! My heart sings!
I’ve found my wings.
And even I…
Can over circumstances
Fly!

By Ruth Baird Shaw ...Copyright in 1973

Police Stories

Subject: Police Stories

Taken off of actual police car videos around the country.

#15 "Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

#14 "Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

#13 "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

#12 "Can you run faster than 1,200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of! a 9mm bullet fired from my gun."

#11 "So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

#10 "Yes, Sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

# 9 "Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

# 8 "The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

# 7 "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in elephant stuff!

# 6 "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

! # 5 "In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."

# 4 "Just how big were those two beers?"

# 3 "No sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

# 2 "I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."

# 1 "You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't ... Sign here."