Went to church last night. We stopped our morning services last year and went to 7 p.m. Sunday night meetings. Our church suffered a split a few years back, a sign of the times I guess and our numbers dropped until there was only 5 to 6 of us meeting together. But, the numbers are on the rise again and last night there were over a dozen of us. We have one gentleman who drives 30-miles each way to attend services with us, while I only have to go to the next driveway. Still, due to physical problems I haven't attended services for nearly 3 months, but I was determined to be there last night and was glad I did. Pastor spoke out of Matthew 26. He is a gifted orator and his knowledge of Biblical history is amazing. You might find it interesting that as a side job he is a sergeant at Spring Creek Maximum Security Prison, which gives him a wide perspective on humanity. One of his jobs is presiding over hearing held for the wrongs the prisoners make inside the prison that violates the rules and policies of the place. I believe this is a tough assignment for a Pastor to have. He and his wife have come to Alaska twice before as missionaries and they were happy to return, having come to us from Texas. They had also gone to Africa and survived two harrowing experiences when non-Christian native folks attacked their compound with the intent to do great harm. During one such attack our pastor, his wife and son were in their home and the attackers could not make it through an unlocked door, apparently an angel was there to keep it from opening. He's got some great stories from their experiences.
Prior to moving to Moose Pass 17 plus years ago, we lived in Fairbanks for 10 years. For Mona and I this was our 2nd time of living in the area, as we met and were married there in July, 1980. Yup, our 39th anniversary is coming up. In those 10 years we attended Lighthouse Church, which eventually became Door of Hope, as two churches joined together. We went from 300 members to 1600 members overnight. Mona and I spent several years as the youth pastors and found this a busy, but a very rewarding experience. Church became much of our lives. She worked with the prayer intercessors while I was a member of the worship team, playing percussion- hand instruments and congas. We had a good sized team that traveled some to outlying areas and one year we even did services in one of the large bars in town on Sunday afternoons. A lot of people were hungry for the Lord and His music was a great way to reach out to them. We participated in the yearly Golden Day's Parade, setting up our team on a 40-foot flatbed trailer. That was sometimes a bit harrowing with all the sudden movements the tractor-trailer made. I guess you can say for a lot of years our lives were deep in our church life. Here in Moose Pass, its a bit different. We watched as our church grew to 50 people and then the split came and we lost our pastor. It was a hard time for all, especially in a small town. The new man walked into a tough time, but he has followed the Lord's will and persevered.
I was 27 before becoming a Christian and being a cop and a believer caused a lot of inner struggle I had to deal with. I was dreaming about such times just before I woke up. I've always had an active dream life....sometimes the nightmares return and I wake up to stop them. I'm not sure which is worse, the PTSD from Vietnam or 20 years of police work? But, having the Lord at my side or out in front has truly been beneficial for me. Some people will disbelieve or might laugh, but I've had my life saved 5 times by Angelic assistance, so I know they truly exist to help us. I know they saved my wife on one occasion and probably more. I kept wondering why the Good Lord was keeping me around, but He had his plans for my life and I've seen these years unfold with some great experiences I might've missed had He not stepped in. OH, I've investigated my share of vehicle accidents to wonder why did this person die or how did this person survive unscratched. I think we keep our angels pretty busy with our hurried life styles and faster cars. You might have forgotten, but maybe there was a time in your life that your saving grace could've only come about by the Lord directing an angel your way to protect you or one of your loved ones. The Bible speaks of numerous times that angels visited us-humanity. Yet, some people doubt their existence, or even doubt God's existence and I wonder how they live that way, not having the Lord in their lives. ( my internet just went off line, hopefully it will come back on by the time I finish this. Oh, back on line again. Living out here can cause us some communication problems as some of the equipment is old.)
When I started out as a writer I decided I was going to write Christian fiction as I wanted my books to reach the lost and also provide entertainment for the predominantly male reader. I'd gone to a fair share of Christian book stores and found their listings of male fiction was extremely limited. a lot of hows to books or "Little House on the Prairie" style books. So, I set out to write in the style of my favorite authors, (W.E.B. Griffin, Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy and Louie L'Amour) Thanks to thrift store sales I own much of what these men had written. Now, I'm certainly not in their class yet as a writer, but I am striving to improve and with each story I see a little improvement. My trouble was always my lack of knowledge in using the English language. I had flunked high school English twice because I just didn't care, but writing out police reports sort of forced that back on me. Still, I keep my dictionary and Thesaurus handy. Thankfully, my children got their brains from their mother as mine didn't engage until I came home from Vietnam.
Normally, about this time I'd jump into some headlines, but most of the news is sad and I just don't feel like it today. I simply wanted to share some thoughts concerning the Lord, who continues to bless us daily. I see such a lack of belief in the newer generations, even in my won family who grew up knowing and experiences God love and blessings. Now they walk a different path, they're confused and angry, foul mouthed and its is easy to see why our country, our world is in such a sorry state. But, the back of the Book, says such things must occur in the Latter Days. But, watching my great-grandchildren I wonder how much harder it will be for their generation? I"m concerned for them. Can you imagine a time in the future when Christianity might be outlawed in the USA, where Jews are hunted down and killed in the streets, and the Muslim faith might be the major religion for the world? This will be a seriously sad time for mankind and right now the world is working its way toward that. But, as I said, the end of the Book speaks of it happening, before the new birthing occurs. We win in the end, or God does I mean.
Will my journal was a bit different today and if you stuck it out, I appreciate your time. May the Good Lord bless your day and this week ahead of us. Oh, yes, we had a bit more snow. BILL