"Always again," wrote Richard L. Evans, "there
               is another day. Always, eternally, there is hope 
               and faith...and tomorrow morning."

               Regardless of the clouds banked against us
               Whether things go all right or all wrong
               We have this witness to bear
               The sun still comes up in the morning
               The sun comes up in the morn

               Even if our day has been discouraging
               And our paths have been strewn with stones
               This is the truth we love to share
               The sun still comes up in the morning
               The sun comes up in the morn
             
​               So, if today's thunder has muffled our song
               And shaken our soul and rattled our bones
               With you we rejoice and with you declare
               The sun still comes up in the morning
               The sun comes up in the morn 
               (Published on January 30, 1979)

                                                         WE RAISE OUR CUPS
                                        
​                                         We have wandered
                                         To the well
                                         Of the world
                                         And have found it
                                         Empty and dry

                                         With dry lips
                                         Aching hearts
                                         And parched souls
                                         We come now
                                         Oh Lord, to Thee
                                         And raise our cups
                                         Rejoicingly

                                         As thou pourist
                                         Out our drink
                                         Almost instantly
                                         We realize
                                         That our tiny cups
                                         Can ne'er contain
                                         The blessings
                                         Flowing freely
                                         Into our lives
                                         Refreshingly
                                         Eternally
                                         Abundantly
                                         (First published on November 20, 2013,
                                         recently published on January 29, 2022)












            

​                                                                  STRAIGHT STREET
                                                        
                                       In order for Saul of Tarsus to regain his
                                       sight, when blinded by a vision of the Lord,
                                       a disciple of Jesus Christ by the name of 
                                       Ananias, was commanded of the Lord to go to 
                                       the "house of Judas" where Saul was residing.
                                                          
                                                        It is interesting to note that in order to reach 
                                      Judas' home, Ananias was told to travel down 
                                      "Straight Street."
                                      And so it has ever been. If we truly desire to 
                                      do the will of the Lord, there is really only one
                                      street on which to travel, and that is "the Straight
                                      Street."

                                                        The world is full of potential Pauls waiting 
                                       for obedient Ananiases who are willing...
                                       to dispense healing words, enable
                                       healing hands and hearts, and restore
                                       lost vision.               
                
                                       This day and always, may we all be willing
                                       to journey down the Straight Street             


                                                           
                                                       
                                                       
                                                          

                                                          

      

                       LOVE OR PERISH

  We recently received a pamphlet (which, as of
  this writing, we have not read, but we are about
  to) by Smiley Blanton M.D., long-time friend
  and close associate of Dr. Norman Vincent
  Peale.


  But, if we were never to read the contents at
  all, we would always cherish the titlepage. For
  in sturdy, large, white letters on a bold , red
   background are the words...Love Or Perish!
 
  Perhaps that's the most profound message or
  sermon we shall ever receive in our life. For...
  If we don't love God, we shall perish
  If we don't love ourselves, we shall perish.
  If we don't love out neighbor, we shall perish.
  So, then, we have God's mandate for our lives...
​  Hallelujah, Love or perish.

 
                                                         FAITH IN GOD 643 

                                        Recently our son, Billy, and one of his friends,
                                        Charley Grogan, earned and received a Cub
                                        Scout "Faith in God" award by fulfilling certain
                                        church duties and requirements.

                                        While basking in the natural pride parents
                                        should have on such an occasion, we also reflected
                                        on the possibility of one day having to stand
                                        before God and declaring whether we would be
                                        worthy of a "Faith in God" award.

                                        We suspect that many of us who claim to be
                                        Christians have staked our lives on our own weak
                                        finite frailties while trusting less in God's infinite
                                        power and wisdom.
                                     
                                        Faith in God. Perhaps we all have sufficient
                                        for our needs...We simply need to utilize and
                                        exhibit what we have.

                                        (First published July 12, 1979, with revisions
                                        on March 4, 2022.)

                                                 
                                                               ​HE IS ABLE 

                                    "If a care is too small to be turned into a prayer,"
                       writes Corrie ten Boom, "It is too small to be made
                       into a burden."

                         
                                        When shall we learn that our most gigantic,
                        serious problems as well as our smallest, bothersome 
                        irritations are known by God. 

                        He knows you well and knows you well.
                        He knows your problems and difficulties.   
                        And, large or small...He is able to handle them all.

                        Resist evil with with Godly deeds...Turn you burdens
                        into prayers...Release your faith in the Lord...
                        And He shall lift you up.
 






















    

 
                    LIFE ITSELF 641                                            
 
   "The happy man," wrote R.J. Baugham, "is
   he who lives the life of love, not for the honors
   it may bring, but for life itself."

   That kind word, that reassuring look, that
   gentle way that lifts the burdens of another...
   This is the stuff that life's made of.

   To share the story of our life and the mercy, 
   grace and love which has continually been poured 
   out upon us by a merciful and loving Lord... What
   greater honor is there?

   To love, not for honors, but for the sake of love
​   only, ah, that is...Life itself.

   (First published February 6,2021)

                                   
                                                       LIBERTY

​                   "Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto
                     all the inhabitants thereof," (Leviticus 25:10)

                              Liberty gives us the privilege of booing the
                   umpire...even when he's right.

                   Liberty permits us to travel from town to town
                   and state to state...without unwarranted search
                   or seizure.

                   Liberty lets us call the president a crook...and
                   boot him out of office if he is one.
 
                              Liberty provides us with the opportunity to
                   achieve and become what we will...so long as we
                   do not infringe upon the right of others.

                   "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
                   ...But the greatest of these...is Liberty. 

                                                   
                                                         TRAINING CHILDREN

                                       "Training is everything," wrote mark Twain.
                                       "The peach was once a bitter almond.
                                       "Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college
                                        education."
                                        "A prune is a plum with great potential
                                        pathetically gone dry."

                                        Our children are trained by everything we do
                                        or don't. By our every word or silence. By our
                                       every action or reaction. By our absence or at-
                                       attendance to the duties of child-rearing, our
                                       children will be trained.

                                       Plan now for "great" grandchildren. Train up
​                                       your children in the way they shouldn't go.