Character or color

Ok, here’s the scoop. I am a 50 something (a lady never tells her age); and yes, I am white. I am not racist, and I hate no one. I want to live a peaceful life, surrounded by friends. I do not have swastikas painted on anything, but I believe in God. I say all this because I know I am not alone. There are many people out there that are right where I am. We all know people of other races, and it goes without saying that there are good and bad in every race. We listen to the news and hear of another atrocity committed in the name of racism, and we cringe. To my friends of other races, I want you to know that those committing these horrible acts are a minority and do not reflect the feelings of the rest of us; and our hearts break for you. To those wanting to tear down a statue, because they do not like what it stands for, I would like to ask one question. Will it erase that part of history? Will it make anything better? Will it change hearts? Of course not. Then why spend your time and energy on that? It changes nothing. Why not leave the statue as a reminder of how far we have come, for we have come a long way from where we were in 1861 or even 1967; and yes, I know we are not there yet. To those on the other side who are painting swastikas on the American flag. Many men fought to put down that kind of thinking and the hatred it brought; will you now embrace the ideology that these men died to keep from invading our sacred shores? To those of us caught in the crossfire of two extremes, I would say this. Do not give in! The only thing that these extremists want is to cause dissension. They want you and I to take sides and spew their hatred at each other. But I, for one, will not. I will not stoop to the level of the playground bullies who would rather fight than work to solve problems. For the problem does not lie in a statue, or in shooting another policeman. For, if they were not arguing about statues and painting on a flag, these extremists would find something else to argue about because they live for discord. I suggest that you and I, the ones in the middle, promote love and peace between people of all races. Yes, the extremes will still be there, but they will have no power over us. For most of us are not concerned about the color of someone’s skin so much as the color of their heart. We look at the character of a person. Character says more than the color of their skin ever will

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Live Fearlessly

As I was driving home today, I passed a person walking on the side of the road. Since it was cold, and snowy, I thought I should stop and offer the person a ride. As I drove on by, I was irritated with myself for not stopping. I could have and should have but I didn't. Why? I was scared! Maybe that wouldn't bother you, but I'm willing to bet there are things that make you afraid. It may be snakes or spiders that send the ticker into overdrive. Or maybe it's your job and finances that keep you up at night when you should be resting. Then again perhaps it's relationships that consume your thoughts and energy. As followers of God, we know that we are told not to be afraid. Yet we often are afraid despite everything we know. As I was driving away from a missed opportunity, I began thinking about what it is that makes us afraid. I honestly am not sure what it is that causes us to be afraid when we should be bold, but I

Tragedy: A Christian Response

I want to start by telling you a story. We were new parents. When Our oldest, a son, was about eighteen to twenty months we had another baby, a girl with brown hair and huge eyes. One day as I went to feed her, my son who may have been two at the time wandered off to another part of the house. The next thing I heard was a thud. I grabbed my baby girl and ran to see what happened. There was my son with a table on top of him. He had pulled it over on himself and more blood than I had ever seen was running all over. We put him in the car and dashed for the ER. It was not a fun trip. He had a skull fracture and many stitches. Fast forward about fourteen or fifteen years, I’m at a stop light and watch my youngest daughter about ten start across a street on a bike start across a street just as a truck comes around a corner into the path of the bike. She hit the side of the truck and bounced onto the road. I grabbed her up and checked her over there were no injuries, but

Just A Word of Praise!!

On Sunday, after church, we went to a town about thirty minutes away. On the way we drove through an area where they were working on the road. It was no big deal. We had lunch, bought some food for the week, and drove back home. Later, as we were on our way to church for the evening service, I heard the ominous flapping sound that a tire makes when it’s flat. Yikes! I pulled over and while I was debating how I was going to change a tire. A car coming in the opposite direction drove by and stopped. As the driver appeared from the vehicle, I recognized him as a neighbor and fellow believer. He approached the car, and asked if I had an air compressor to inflate the tire. My answer, “Yes, but I’m not sure how good it is. I’ve never actually managed to inflate a tire using it. I may not be using it properly.” I produced it from the trunk of the car and handed it to him. Within a few minutes, he had it hooked up and running. As it turned out, I was using it properly,

Inspirations

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