Smoky Mountain Wildfires

Great Smoky Mts. 1 month ago





"...The Lord be with you all." (2 Thess. 5:16)

You've probably heard about the tragic wildfires that swept through Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains Monday night destroying hundreds of businesses, homes, cabins, acres and acres and acres of forest lands, and more importantly, at least fourteen lives. My heart aches  for the Sevier County community.

May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, who stands in the midst of you. May His presence go with you and give you strength. May the Lord sustain your hope in Him and supply your every need as you rebuild.

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And the Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down

2.5" of rain

"Then, when He prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops." (James 5:18)

Alabama had a Winnie-the-Pooh like blustery day yesterday that poured 2.5" to 3" of rain on our dry and thirsty land. 

All praise and thanksgiving to You, Lord Jesus, who sends rain on the the just and unjust alike!

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You Silly Goose

The Glassco brothers: race car drivers

"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." (1 Cor. 13:11)

Race car shopping carts are high on the favorite list with toddler and baby grand. Much to their disappointment, on a recent trip to the grocery store, all the cool, green carts were taken. When a little boy driving a race car cart passed their plain-Jane buggy, our two-year-old called, "Hey! Come back here, you silly goose!"

The unknown writer of Hebrews urged believers to stop going over and over and over the elementary teaching about Christ and to press on to maturity in faith toward God.

When it comes to Jesus, beloved, are you still speaking, thinking, reasoning, and praying as a child? Let your roots grow down into Christ, and let your life be built on Him. Let your faith grow strong in the truth you were taught, and press on toward maturity, you silly goose!

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Wayne

Our Thanksgiving table yesterday
(Wayne, far right)

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

When I met Wayne, he was a married man, father of two, Sunday School teacher at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, a deacon (I think), head  pharmacist at Montclair Baptist Medical Center, and my boyfriend's brother-in-law - qualities that weren't especially impressive to a fifteen year old. Just an ordinary American man in 1971.

As a teenager, I remember him bragging on my straight-A grades. I liked that. I also remember  Phillip and me promising his son, Tim, we'd come to a baseball games. Wayne pulled us aside and said, "Your coming to Tim's game means a lot to him. Don't tell him you're coming unless you mean it." (Needless to say, we drove from Ft. Payne to Birmingham and watched Tim play.)

As college students, I remember going with Wayne and Loretta to the young couples Sunday School class.

As a young mother of three, I remember Wayne and Loretta keeping our kids over night and giving Phillip and me a night to ourselves in a time when finances were tighter than bow string. They also took the kids to McDonalds, the McWane Children's Science Center, and the circus during that season.

When I began writing and teaching Bible studies, Wayne boasted. When the children's books started, he encouraged.

Forty-five years have passed through the hour glass since 1971. I've watched Wayne feed the hungry, clothe the needy, and faithfully walk justly, kindly, and humbly with His God - all with a sensational sense of humor.

Hmmm...

Fifteen-year-old Jill was most definitely wrong. Wayne's not  an ordinary man by any stretch of the imagination. He's indeed quite extraordinary and highly esteemed by God...

and me.

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Popcorn

The Winfred and Verna Watson (my parents) Family
Thanksgiving 1984

"Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100:4-5)

One Thanksgiving when I was a little girl, as my mother prepared Thanksgiving dinner for our family of five plus grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins, her "long-lost" cousins called to say they were dropping in for lunch. So Mother prepared two Thanksgiving meals that day. After the last dish was washed that night, she sat down by the fireplace, and I piped, "Mama, will you pop us some popcorn?"

As a child, I couldn't fathom the amount of work mothers do. As a child of God, I fail to give adequate thanks for the tremendous work God has and continues to do. So on this Thanksgiving day, I thank You Father for...


CREATION - "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13)

SALVATION - "Jesus, You freed us from our sins by shedding Your blood for us." (Rev. 1:7)

REDEMPTION - "You redeemed us not with perishable things like silver or gold from our futile way of life but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

SANCTIFICATION - "Therefore, in Christ, we are new creatures; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Cor. 5:17) and "You predestined us to become conformed to the image of Your Son. You justified; and these whom You justified,..." (Romans 8:29-30)

You will one day GLORIFY. (Rom. 8:30)

You are a masterpiece, beloved, hand crafted and beautifully made. Thank the Master today! And happy Thanksgiving-to-God Day!

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Riverside People

Coosa River Autumn

"But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months o drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Last week, my Phillip and I took a fun afternoon cruise down the river to see the breathtaking fall foliage. Alabama mountainsides are brown and dormant these days due to long months of drought, but as stated by the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, the riverside trees with roots that reach deep into the water are full of  color and life - not  bothered or worried by a long train of rainless days.

Wanna be a riverside person, beloved - not bothered or worried by a long train of difficult circumstances? Trust in the LORD, and make Jesus your hope and strong confidence!

(Baby Meredith update. This morning, she beautifully came through surgery to close the ductus arteriosus. No blood loss. No chest tube. Next 48 hours are important. Keep praying please!) 

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Close to His Heart

Daddy, Mommy, and sweet baby Meredith

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart. He will gently lead the mothers with their young." (Isa. 40:11)

On October 24th, sweet baby Meredith made her debut 13 weeks early at 2.6 pounds. Everyday her family rides an emotional roller coaster, but their feet remain firmly planted on the hope of Jesus Christ, the One who holds their tiny lamb close to His Heart.

O Lord, thank You for Meredith. We ask for long life and good health for her in body, soul, and spirit. Please grant her parents, Blaine and Nicole, strength, hope, wisdom, and endurance, and please provide for their every need. Unto You who is able to do far more than we ask or can even imagine, be glory forever. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen and Amen.

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How to Win the Holiday Race

Our Ben and toddlergrand

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart," declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:13)

My "to do" list for the next 5 weeks:

1. Grocery shop for Thanksgiving dinner.

2. Cook Thanksgiving dinner and birthday cake

3. Shop for gifts for a daughter-in-law's Thanksgiving day birthday

4. Print pictures, write and print Christmas letters, and address, stamp, and mail 100 cards.

5. Make a cookie monster cake for babygrand's 1st birthday

6. Shop for gifts for baby grand's 1st birthday.
7. Down with the fall decorations and up with the Christmas
8. Christmas dinner party at my house for small group

9. Finish Christmas shopping for 13: kids and grands and hubby.

10. Travel to the midwest to see grands' Christmas program.

11. Grocery shop and cook for the kids and grands at our house Christmas week.
12. Down with the Christmas decorations.

OR

1. Seek my God each day with all my heart and serve others with gladness.

And the winning list is.... #2.

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A Dry and Thirsty Land

My daddy and his mother (my grandmother)
WWII before he shipped overseas
Riverside, California 1944

"...my soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1)  

I can't help but wonder if there's a reason for the umpteen rainless days and drought in Alabama.

In Israel's parched days of the Old Testament, the Lord through the prophet Isaiah declared, "You refuse to ask for My help. You have not honored Me with sacrifices or brought Me fragrant calamus. Instead, you have burdened Me with your sins and wearied Me with your faults."

O Lord God, Maker of heaven and earth, we, too, as a nation have wearied and burdened You with our sins. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Please pour out water to quench our thirst and to irrigate our parched fields, and pour out Your Spirit on our dry and thirsty souls. May the United States of America openly profess once again, "We belong to the Lord." In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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Stars Fell On Alabama

My man and me
Senior Prom 1974

Jesus said, "You don't love Me as you did at first...Turn back! Recover your dear early love. " (Rev. 2:4-5)

I'm having a blast writing the expanded edition of Secrets of Shiloh for republication with Deep Sea. When I came to the "Prom Night" chapter, however, I felt stumped and a bit silly. 

So...

I dug out our old prom pictures and pulled up on YouTube Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's rendition of "Stars Fell on Alabama." The hands on the clock of my mind turned backward, and I was eighteen again - dancing with my head on Phillip's broad shoulder. Sigh. (I ordered that CD.) 

Been married a long while, beloved? Put a log on your fire of romance, and may the stars fall on your Alabama tonight.

From Secrets of Shiloh, Chapter 10:

Ebenezer High School gymnasium had transformed into a twinkling, velvet-night dreamland. White cloths covered round tables edging the black, draped walls and sweet magnolia blossoms scented the candle lit room.

Martin took Rachel's hand and guided her to the dance floor as the school orchestra played the old 1934 classic "Stars Fell on Alabama."

I never planned in my imagination

A situation so heavenly

A fairyland where no one else could enter

And in the center just you and me, dear

My heart beat like a hammer

And my arms wound around you tight

And stars fell on Alabama last night

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The Test of Applause

Our oldest grand (in red and white)
Fall 2016






"... whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)

Praise of my children's books is rare, so a recent, complimentary letter tickled me to my toes. The young reader wrote:

Dear Mrs. Glassco,

I loved the frog book. It is the best book I ever read!!! I liked Mr. Greenleaf and Daniel Coon. It was cool how you used some Bible names. Thank you very much for the book.

Asher, age 10

However, because I know my flesh has prodigious potential for pride, I see flattery as a spoken hot potato - a thing never to hold but to quickly pass to Jesus to whom all glory belongs.

Proverbs 27:21 says "fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised." 

Lord, help us pass the test of applause by passing it up to You!

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WANTED: Dead, not Alive

Our older grands
Fall 2016

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20 NLT)

Troublemaker Alert: 

There's a nasty villain on the loose with no respecter of victims in age, gender, or nation! This scoundrel's dastardly deeds include encouraging toddlers to throw tantrums, kids to disobey parents, and teens to go astray. The reprobate stirs up strife and plants roots of bitterness in families, neighborhoods, churches, businesses, communities, and nations. 

And the evildoer's name? SELF

SELF is impatient, unkind, jealous, boastful, proud, rude, demands his/her own way, is irritable, and keeps records of being wronged.

Beloved have you checked yourSELF today? Put SELF on the shelf. Love and live for God and others. It's the Christ-like thing to do.

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People Hours

Our Rebecca and Stephen
April 3, 2004

"Then a Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. (Luke 10:33-34)

Our favorite son-in-law, Stephen, serves as children's minister at a  great church in the midwest and encourages his staff to build up "people hours" - taking a one hour break each month from your own work to help a colleague with theirs. 

What a Christ-like idea! Wanna build some "people hours," beloved?

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Playin' with Papers

My daddy and brother, Rocky, early 1980s

"For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other believers, as you still do." (Hebrews 6:10)

After visiting my daddy's law office as a little girl, I tattled to my mother, "Daddy doesn't work; he just plays with papers all day."

Feeling underpaid and unappreciated, beloved? Chin up. The Lord whom you serve notes your hard work and will reward your faithful efforts for Him.

Jesus said, "Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Rev. 22:12)

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Turn Down the News and Turn Up the Prayers

Our adorable grandgirl, 2015
(Posing for Mr. Greenleaf's Unforgettable Summer illustration)

"Now rescue Your beloved people. Answer and save us by Your power." (Psalm 108:6)

Question: What would the USA look like if we watched, read, and listened to the news only as much as we pray, and we prayed as much as we watch, read, and listen to the news?

Answer: God says, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal and restore their land" (2 Chron. 7:14).

The prayer dare: 

Week One: Clock the number of hours you watch, read, and listen to the news and the number of hours (or minutes) you pray.

Week Two: Switch the timetables.

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Easy Assembly

My man and our Dan

"Hear, O child, the instruction of the father...do not abandon my instruction." (Prov. 4:1,2)

The advertisement for a greenhouse we ordered claimed: easy half-day assembly for two people.

NOT!

good neighbor, David, and Phillip

The job took Phillip and me two and a half days plus the help of a good son and a good neighbor. (And an army couldn't have done it in a year without the detailed instruction manual.)

Trying to fit life together without the Bible, beloved? Not! Read Father God's instruction manual and watch your scattered pieces come together.

"Hear, my child, and accept my sayings and the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; and if you run, you will not stumble. Take hold of my instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life." (Prov. 4:10-13)

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Handle the Vote with Prayer

Our Dan, Iraq 2009

"Let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation." (1 Thess. 5:8)

Our Dan tells the story that en route to Iraq, a man in a California airport was yelling angry taunts at their U. S. Marine unit when an elderly gentleman wearing a worn WWII veteran cap approached the taunter. Through tears, the old soldier commanded, "You leave our boys alone!" 

God built our once great nation upon the backs of brave men and women. On this presidential election day, beloved, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13) and handle the vote with prayer!

Whatever the outcome, fear not, for Jesus is with His children; be not dismayed, for He is our God. He will strengthen us, yes, He will help us, He will uphold us in His righteous right hand (Isa. 41:10).

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Signs of the Times

River cabin sunset

"...disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains...But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief." (1 Thess. 5:4)

A pastor once debated that the ancient rhyme...

Red sky at morning

Sailors take warning,

Red sky at night,

Sailors' delight.

is not biblical, until he was shown...

[Jesus] replied, "You know the saying, 'Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.' You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don't know how to interpret the signs of the times." (Matt. 16:2-3)

Before His crucifixion in Matthew 24:3-9, Christ's disciples asked, "What sign will signal Your return and the end of the world?"

Jesus told them, "Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famine and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of birth pains, with more to come...You will be hated all over the world because you are My followers."

As the very foundation of moral society shakes, rattles, and rolls, put your hope in Jesus, beloved. Fear not. Stand firm. For God said, "This ole world is fading away. But those who do His will live forever." (1 John 2:17)

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Shipwrecked

Our Rebecca's "pirate" family
Trunk-or-treat 2016

"It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail...and so we came to Rome." (Acts 28:11-14)

In Acts 27 and 28, Dr. Luke tells the harrowing story of gale-force winds battering their ship after prisoner Paul had forewarned the ship's officers of impending shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to their lives as well if they left Fair Haven harbor for the open seas. But the officer regrettably listened more to the captain than to Paul and set sail. The light wind quickly changed to a terrible typhoon that raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.

On the fourteenth stormy night, Paul called the crew together and said, "Take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down."

They soon hit a shoal, and the ship ran aground. The bow stuck fast while the stern was dashed by violent waves and began to break apart. Everyone escaped safely, however, to the island shore of Malta, where Paul prayed for and laid hands on many sick islanders, and they were healed. Three months later, by way of another ship, the journey to Rome resumed and Paul stood trial before Caesar.

In 1989, eight months after Phillip's land and timber company shipwrecked in Louisiana, by God grace and mercy, my man resumed his career journey with another company in Alabama that has served our family well for 27 years and beyond.

Is your life shipwrecked, beloved? Take courage! Don't be afraid.  Jesus, the Captain of angel armies, stands beside you and will see you to safe harbor.

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Gentleness

Our gentle, beautiful Gabbi consoling toddlergrand
(He didn't want his picture taken.)

"Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near." (Phil. 4:5)

"Gentleness" appeared in three separate passages of Scripture across my Bible reading this morning.

"Yes, Sir, Lord Jesus. I hear You loud and clear."

Because my tone in Tuesday night Bible study sounded more brash than gentle, I especially needed God's reprimand today. For...

"The Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of truth." (2 Tim. 2:24-25)

May gentleness be our tone, beloved. It's good, Holy Spirit fruit. Check it out: Galatians 5:22-23.

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Obey or Not Obey, That is the Question

Six of the girls from
Single 20s Women's Bible Study

Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey My commandments." (John 14:15)

At Single 20s Women's Small Group last night, our study of the Old Testament book of Hosea surprisingly escalated to a feisty discussion about Biblical lines of authority and submission in marriage.

Personally, I'm very thankful that Jesus did not buck His Father's authority. For, "though He was God, He did not think equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position...He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross" (Phil. 2:6-8) for redemption for you and for me.

Oswald Chambers once said, "As soon as I obey [Jesus], I fulfill my spiritual destiny...The redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God." 

So, beloved, do you love Jesus enough to submit to His God-given lines of authority? It's for order. It's for good. It's for His glory!

"Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!" (Phil. 2:9-11)

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The Trick-or-treat Dilemma

Our little "Alfalfa"

"Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God." (Heb. 3:12)

After walking their neighborhood with our costumed grandkids last night, I awoke at 2:00 a.m. feeling a bit like Mr. Greenleaf...

(The froggy thought and deliberated and pondered and considered and thought and thought once more until his little, green head began to hurt. Mr. Greenleaf whined, "This way or that way, that way or this? If that is the right way, is this way a miss?")

...in regards to the ongoing debate: Should followers of Jesus Christ participate in Halloween activities?

We stopped giving out candy when our kids were middle schoolers, but continued to enjoy fall festivals at church. Currently, two of our grown children's children trick or treat and trunk or treat and one family doesn't. As for Phillip and me, we don't give out candy, but we often go with our kids and grands wherever they are.

So what's the answer to the trick-or-treat dilemma? Whatever your family decides, honor Jesus and be careful that your hearts stay close to God and far away from evil. Amen?

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