Remembrances ....

Aawwwhhhhh .... ain't that cute! This is a "pic from the past". I am laughing so hard I can hardly type. This is me and my brother, circa 1963 or '64. Mus a'been a load in them there johns bro! (You still stand like that, too!) and the guilty look on your face -- "Mom get the picture taken! It's starting to bite! HA! HA! HA! He still wears the boots! Had a pair of them 'snake skin' kind given to him in his college days. These boots are made for walking, and that's just what I'll do ... HAH!!! Actually, I remember these particular ones in the pic were a little bit slippey and Mom put tape on the bottoms so you wouldn't slip on the kitchen floor. I still have the mark on my forehead from the big old radiator in the kitchen! Whoosh, Bamm, and Ball like a Baby!
Mom kept those floors real shiny, which also meant real slippey! One time I was helping with the furniture polishing and sprayed some on the kitchen floor. The floor was soo shiny I could see myself. Mom came out around the corner and BAMM, down she went. She hollored, "Pam what did you do?" and I said I was helping her "polish" the kitchen floor. Rugs nor nothing would lie in that spot for weeks till it got wore off. Now, back to the kid in the long johns ... This kid was an all-star football player for WVU, drafted by the Pburgh Steelers, then went to play for the Pburgh Maulers, and then with the Memphis Showboats. Reggie White was a good friend of his from his days with the Showboats. Darryl Talley in his days with WVU, was a roommate of my brothers and we have pictures of him with my oldest son on his shoulders. As glorious as those days seem to be they paled compared to the fact that the Lord called my brother unto Himself, and he has been walking with Him, sharing his testimony and his love of his Lord with all who will hear. My brother still lives in "cowboy country" with his family. Thank goodness he has not lost his "PA twang" for the slow draw of the South. The folks 'down there' say I talk too fast ... I think they 'listen' too slow!
Two verses of Scripture come to mind when I think of him, the first he shared at a banquet for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes , Prov. 16:9 -- "A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." And the second he shared with recently, Ezra 7:10 -- "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel." John MacArthur's comments on this verse tell us that the pattern of Ezra's preparation is exemplary. He studied before he attempted to live a life of obedience, and he studied and practiced the law in his own life before he opened his mouth to teach that law. But the success of Ezra's leadership did not come from his strength alone, but most significantly because "the good hand of God was upon him" according to verse 9 of chapter 7. I thank You dear Lord and Savior of mine for having Your good hand upon my brother and his family. May he always glorify Your Name and bring You honor. I go back to these two verses alot ... and the commentary that goes along with them ... as iron sharpens iron ... I love you brother.

me <>< 1 Tim. 1:15-17