227 years ago...on July 4th, 1776
This great nation, the United States of America,
In a struggle for what was right and free,
Was proudly born...
May we celebrate that precious freedom
For which our forbears fought so bravely...
The freedom that is inherent
In the Stars and Stripes, our revered flag...
Celebrate Freedom
This Fourth of July!
Galatians 5:1
[ Freedom in Christ ]
It is for freedom
that
Christ has set us free.
GOD BLESS YOU,
JOHN
Poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ultima Thule
THE WINDMILL
Behold! a giant am I!
Aloft here in my tower,
With my granite jaws I devour
The maize, and the wheat, and the rye,
And grind them into flour.
I look down over the farms;
In the fields of grain I see
The harvest that is to be,
And I fling to the air my arms,
For I know it is all for me.
I hear the sound of flails
Far off, from the threshing-floors
In barns, with their open doors,
And the wind, the wind in my sails,
Louder and louder roars.
I stand here in my place,
With my foot on the rock below,
And whichever way it may blow
I meet it face to face,
As a brave man meets his foe.
And while we wrestle and strive
My master, the miller, stands
And feeds me with his hands;
For he knows who makes him thrive,
Who makes him lord of lands.
On Sundays I take my rest;
Church-going bells begin
Their low, melodious din;
I cross my arms on my breast,
And all is peace within.
ALTHOUGH THIS IS A PICTURE OF A WATERMILL I THOUGHT THE BEAUTY OF HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW'S POEM "THE WINDMILL" AND THE BEAUTY OF THIS PICTURE WENT TOGETHER SO MUCH THAT I WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU. :)
GOD BLESS YOU,
JOHN
RIDIN' IN WITH A HOWDY LETTER!
DON'T LET THE DEVIL GET THE DROP ON YA!
JUST SING AND DANCE SOME PRAISES,
AND LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.
THINGS COULD ALWAYS GET WORSE.
YEP, I AM 49 YEARS OLD. WHEN I WAS BORN, EISENHOWER WAS PRESIDENT AND THERE WERE ONLY 48 STARS ON OUR FLAG, AND STONE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA,
WAS NOT BEING CARVED YET FOR SEVERAL YEARS, LET ALONE OTHER MONUMENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE. THE INTERSTATE HIWAY SYSTEM WAS JUST BEGINNING, AND ROUTE 66 WAS the SUPER-HIWAY, THE MOTHER-ROAD. YOU KNOW, EVERY 5 MILES OF INTERSTATE HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST 1 MILE OF STRAIGHT, LEVEL HIWAY SO TROOP PLANES CAN LAND IN CASE THE RUSSIANS INVADE, DON'T YOU? INCLUDING IKE, THERE HAVE BEEN 10 PRESIDENTS IN MY LIFETIME, SO FAR, AND THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN 40-SOME SINCE THE FIRST G.W. (WASHINGTON), SO I HAVE BEEN ALIVE FOR ALMOST 1/4 OF ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL 'POLICE ACTIONS' INVOLVING OUR MILITARY SINCE I WAS BORN, I SAW THE RACE RIOTS AND THE ANTI-WAR RIOTS AND THE RETURN OF THE VIET NAM POWs AND THE SPACE ORBITS AND LUNAR LANDINGS, TOO, ON THAT NEW GADGET CALLED TV, AND I HAVE SEEN 33 1/3 RPM RECORDS GO TO ALBUMS AND 45s TO REEL-TO-REELS TO 8-TRACK TAPES TO CASETTE TAPES TO CDs AND DVDs AND NOW iPODS, AND TRANSISTER RADIOS TO WALKMANS TO THESE NEW GADGETS, BLACK AND WHITE TO COLOR TO PLASMA. I REMEMBER WHAT I WAS DOING AND WHERE I WAS WHEN KENNEDY, KING, SIRHAN SIRHAN, SADAT, AND ELVIS DIED, 18 YEAR-OLDS COULD VOTE, AND THE IRON CURTAIN CAME DOWN, TOO. I SAW AS WELL OLD COUNTRY, THE OLD ROCK 'N ROLL WHEN ROCK WAS YOUNG AND COUNTRY WASN'T COOL, DISCO, AND ON THROUGH HIP-HOP, RAP, AND ALL THAT. IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH A PERSON WITNESSES IN A LIFETIME, NOW, ESPECIALLY, WITH THE MEDIA AND ALL, BUT WORKING AS SECURITY AT A NURSING HOME, I WOULD LIKE TO STICK A USB CABLE IN EVERY RESIDENT'S EAR AND CLICK ON DOWNLOAD, TO GET ALL THAT THEY HAVE WITNESSED AND EXPERIENCED, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. HOW ABOUT YOU, YOU EVER THINK ABOUT IT?
AND, BY THE WAY, O.R.U. IS THE MIDCONTINENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN TEAMS!!! HOOAH!
HERE'S A THOUGHT TO CHEER YOU UP, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T WEAR LIPSTICK, THANK GOD, I STILL LIKE TO DO THIS A LOT, SO I SHARE THIS WITH YOU:
EIGHT YEARS AGO, YESTERDAY, WAS OUR FIRST DAY IN TULSA, AND WE HAVE BEEN HERE 6 YEARS TOO LONG, WE THINK, BUT GOD KNOWS. ANYWAY, 7 IS THE BIBLICAL NUMBER FOR "COMPLETION", AND 8 IS THE BIBLICAL NUMBER FOR "NEW BEGINNING!" WE HOPE TO BE MOVING BACK TO MT TO START OUR MINISTRY, SOON, EVEN LOADING UP OUR 'HIS AND HERS', (I HAVE OBSERVED THAT MOST OF THESE OKIES DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE A TURN SIGNAL LEVER OR A FLUSH LEVER!) BUT WE WILL KEEP IN TOUCH.
HAVE A GOOD MORNING ANYWAY, BECAUSE HE WON'T GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN BEAR! Besides, this IS the day the LORD has made, so rejoice and be glad in it.
Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark.
One: Don't miss the boat.
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
Six: Build your future on high ground.
Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting...
ON 2-26-07, THE 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ME BEING STABBED, ONE OF MY DEAR FRIENDS PASSED AWAY AFTER A 6-YEAR BOUT WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. I REJOICE, HOWEVER, BECAUSE HE WAS A SOUL WINNER AND HAS GRADUATED TO HIS REWARD WHERE THERE IS NO SUFFERING. HE USED TO BE AN OVER THE ROAD TRUCK DRIVER, AND AFTER HE GOT SAVED, HE SET UP CHAPELS AT TRUCK STOPS TO MINISTER TO TRUCKERS. WE WERE IN THE EASTER DRAMA AT VICTORY CHRISTIAN CENTER IN TULSA, TOGETHER, AS ROMAN SOLDIERS, AND AFTER WE TOOK JESUS OFF THE CROSS AND LAID HIM IN THE TOMB, WE MARCHED OFF STAGE AND WAITED IN THE HALL FOR THE ALTAR CALL. I LOOKED AT MY HAND AND SAW THEATRICAL BLOOD THERE, AND LAUGHINGLY SAID, "hA! LOOK, I HAVE THE BLOOD OF JESUS ON MY HANDS." INSTANTLY, THAT HIT ALL US 'BIG TOUGH ROMAN SOLDIERS' LIKE A TON OF BRICKS AND WE ALL BAWLED LIKE BABIES UNTIL THE ALTAR CALL, AND THAT HAS BEEN THE MOST MEANINGFUL EASTER I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED, BECAUSE I HAVE THE BLOOD OF JESUS ON MY HANDS, AND BRENT WAS RIGHT THERE. THE FRIEND THAT REPORTED HIS PASSING TO ME, CALLING ME AT WORK LAST NIGHT, BRIAN, IS HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW BY MARRIAGE, AND HE WAS WITH BRENT AS HE GRADUATED TO BETTER THINGS AND PLACES, AND HE SAID THE EXPRESSION ON BRENT'S FACE, A PARAPLEGIC WHO COULD NOT MOVE BUT COULD TALK AND WAS STILL WINNING PEOPLE FOR JESUS, WAS THAT OF, 'AT LAST, IT'S OVER,' IN A PEACEFUL WAY. I'M GLAD HE GRADUATED AND SUFFERS NO MORE, BUT HE LIVES ON IN MY HEART AND HAS BEEN THE SPIRITUAL FATHER OF MANY EVEN THOUGH HE HAS NO HEIRS OF EARTHLY GOODS. HERE HE IS, NOT A ROMAN SOLDIER, BUT A WARRIOR FOR GOD, MY FRIEND, BRENT, FOR WHOSE FUNERAL SATURDAY I CANCELLED SOME OVERTIME TO ATTEND.
WOULD THAT IT SHOULD BE SAID OF ME SOMEDAY, FOR I AM CERTAIN HE HEARD, "WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, ENTER IN TO YOUR REWARD." WHEN I PUT HIS PIC IN PHOTOBUCKET, I GOT THE WRONG NAME OF THE DISEASE, SORRY, IT WAS PARKINSON'S, THOUGH.
THIS IS ME AND MY TWO BROTHERS, THE OLDEST ONE BY 4 YEARS, IS STILL ALIVE, NEXT TO ME, AND THE MIDDLE ONE IS DEAD SINCE AUGUST OF '96, BUT YOU CAN SEE HOW WE SIZED UP TOGETHER. I AM THE COCKY ONE IN FRONT, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T REALIZE IT.
BUT NOW I HAVE A JCFAITH FAMILY, AND I AM GLAD I AM YOUR BROTHER! WE ARE STILL CLEANING UP ICE STORMS AND NOW, TONITE, WE HAVE TORNADO WATCHES AND WARNINGS ACROSS THE STATE! GOOD TIMES IN THE END TIMES!
