This week I celebrate my 28th year of employment with the international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. Over the course of these almost three decades, I have had many interesting experiences, most stemming from traveling the globe, and I am sometimes asked what my most memorable trips have been. There are a few that stand out, but I would have to say my brief stint in Iraq is at the top of the list. Almost eight years ago, in January 2017, I traveled there in support of the...
Other Writing
Two passages from my recent Bible readings have stuck in my mind these past few weeks:
Joel 3:14 – “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”
Lamentations 1:9 (in part) – “She did not consider her destiny; therefore, her collapse was awesome.”
My attention is particularly drawn to two key words within these passages – decision and destiny – and I cannot help but consider how the two are intertwined.
Although the “valley of...
Tomorrow, four weeks will have passed since Hurricane Helene struck, and, for the most part (certainly with exceptions), life seems to be creeping back to normal or what may be a “new normal” for at least a time. Considering all that has transpired, I’m fascinated how adaptive we humans can be and how quickly changes wrought by disaster can be adopted into our daily routines. In pre-storm days, I had already memorized and learned to dodge each pothole and deeper-than-normal manhole cover on...
While every season has its own particular visual beauty, the one that feels best to my physical being is fall. As the summer heat fades into more moderate temperatures, I enjoy the reprieve from outdoor chores and the resulting slower pace. Never a self-thought outdoorsman, I actually don’t mind retreating inward, shutting the windows and doors to stave off the crisp evening air or feeling the weight of an extra blanket on my bed.
But along with the Libra sun, autumn has historically brought...
Within a one and a half mile distance from my home are two cemeteries, which I recently walked to in succession. Call me an anomaly, but I enjoy visiting cemeteries. For a person who loves both spirituality and history, they are ideal outings, plus, they are great places to go when you want to be alone with your thoughts. Chances are high you won’t be running into others…at least not living ones!
Within these two particular cemeteries are buried numerous people I once knew, including family...
My paternal grandfather, Iris Harmon, was a man of great humor and an equally great storyteller. He’s been gone for more than 35 years now, but thankfully, he recorded a story that he titled "Hooked on Baseball," which I have transcribed here in his own words. I hope you enjoy reading it!
"I growed up a-way back in the mountains and hills and hollers; not a whole lot to do - run through the woods, act sort of like a wild man. Sometimes I wonder if I wasn't about like Tarzan. Wasn't a whole lot...
In Mark 1, while in Capernaum, Jesus got up very early one morning while it was still dark outside and went to a solitary place to pray. His disciples went in search of Him, and when they found Him, they exclaimed, "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus' fame had already spread over the entire Galilee region, and crowds began to seek and follow Him because of His authoritative teaching and ability to heal the sick and cast out demons. No doubt, when the disciples made this statement, they were...
The perceptions among "locals" regarding what has grown over time into Appalachian State University always intrigue me. I am thankful for the educational, cultural, and employment opportunities that the university has provided us with, each of which I have personally benefitted from. At the same time, I acknowledge the frustrations brought on by excessive growth without a corresponding infrastructure to support that growth. Certainly, life in any college town has its pros and cons. This is...
- God’s people are often unduly involved in peripheral issues. We get busy here and there about this and that and gradually drift away from the things that are really important in life.
- One powerful God-given antidote for depression and despair is to pray for others. When we can look beyond our own needs and think about the needs of others, we will find a wonderful relief from our own burdens.
- In death the world loses everything, but God’s children gain everything.
- There are millions who...
When embarking on genealogical research, people often joke or express hesitation about discovering horse thieves in their family trees. Tonight, I found mine. Although certainly not the first or only law-breaking relative that I have been aware of, this is my first horse thief.
David Laurence “Dave” Sutherland was born in 1876 in North Carolina, most likely in the Sutherland community of Ashe County, a son of Dan and Lucinda “Lou” Horton Sutherland. His maternal grandfather was Jack Horton,...
It was a privilege to pay my respects today to Rev. Billy Graham at his childhood home on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. The simplicity of his casket and the floral cross of lilies spoke not only of his own personal humility but also the simplicity of the Gospel and the clarity with which he preached it so that all who heard could understand.
As he aged and declined in health and was increasingly out of the public eye, it became possible (without perhaps watching...
Following are some thoughts of mine which I hope will be a help to my fellow Christians:
Yesterday's Sunday School lesson was titled "A Passion to Share the Gospel." As I mentioned to my fellow congregants, this causes me to ask myself if I really have a passion for sharing Christ. And if not, why? I think there are some easily identifiable reasons why my passion has historically been lacking, and maybe this is true for you.
First, it is easier and more comfortable not to engage others. I find...
I feel led to share some of my Christian testimony thus far in hopes that it may encourage someone.
I am thankful to have grown up in a Christian family, and I don't ever recall not being in church. That was due to my mother's influence. Although my father grew up in the church, as an adult (and for the majority of my life), he did not attend church and rarely spoke of spiritual things. Because of that, in terms of my own spirituality, I have often felt a kinship to Timothy, whose faith,...
In the winter of 1892, a letter written by a Blowing Rock, North Carolina school teacher to a friend in Hemingford, Nebraska ignited quite the firestorm.
The letter was a private correspondence but became public when the author’s friend permitted extracts to be published in the Hemingford Guide in a February 12, 1892 article titled “From the South: A Superior Being in North Carolina Writes to a Friend in Nebraska.” A gentleman living in Nebraska – a former North Carolina resident – sent a...
In A History of Watauga County, North Carolina, John Preston Arthur makes a few passing mentions of an early merchant of Boone: “Jacob Rintels, who had been in copartnership wth Samuel Witkowsky [sic] above Elkville on the Yadkin River, came to Boone and rented Sheriff Jack Horton’s store room, where he remained for about one year, removing his stock of goods to the store room and residence which had been built by Jordan Councill, Jr., for his son, James W. Councill, on the land now occupied...
Saturday was the culmination of a very emotional week for our family as we celebrated the life and legacy of my sister-in-law, Tracy Harmon. The stories that were shared about Tracy brought both tears and laughter, but beyond those memories, the most touching and powerful moment of the service, in my estimation, was when one or more individuals affirmed that they had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior in response to the pastor's invitation to do so. This was Tracy's hope. It was...
In Luke 5:1-6, we read of Jesus' first encounter with Simon Peter, who had just experienced an unsuccessful fishing venture. After Jesus had spoken from Peter's boat to the crowd gathered at the Sea of Galilee, He instructed Peter to cast his nets once more. Peter told Jesus he and his companions had worked hard all night without catching anything, "but because you say so, I will let down the nets."
I like that - "BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO."
How I wish I more often lived my life that way in...
In 2012, I salvaged the following humorous letter from a local abandoned house - perhaps a 19th century version of on-line dating.
Nashville, Tenn.
Sept. 30th, 1888
Dear Unknown
Valle Crucis, NC
“I see in my late Cincinnati Enquirer that you wish to open correspondence with gentlemen. I select you from a number of others because you reside near my own state. Virginia is my home, or rather has been, but Tenn. is my adopted state. This being my first letter of the kind, I hope it may fall in good...
Hate is exhausting. Hate, negativity, unforgiveness, a critical spirit…they all require excessive amounts of energy and only serve to drain us.
In Mark 11 and 12, the chief priests, teachers of the law, and the elders, the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees all bombarded Jesus with questions. Not questions being asked out of a sincere desire to know God’s truth, but questions meant to trick or entrap Jesus…as Mark 12:13 says, “to catch him in his words.” These questions were rooted in...
This morning, while reading the story of Bartimaeus in the 10th chapter of Mark, Jesus' healing of Bartimaeus' blindness revealed to me some parallels to the salvation process.
First, although Bartimaeus called out to Jesus for mercy, nothing life-changing transpired until Jesus called for him. His situation, his circumstances, his blindness could not be altered until Jesus did His part. As the people in the crowd said to Bartimaeus, "He's calling you."
And so it is with our salvation. It is...