Three Needles in a Haystack

 

Afternoon
by the late talented, western artist
James Ralph Johnson

For thus says the LORD God, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out." (Ezekiel 34:11)

I'm on a man hunt — and a woman hunt. I'm looking for James Ralph Johnson's children. (Mr. Johnson was an accomplished author and artist born in Fort Payne, Alabama in 1922 and is a character in next year's children's book. I want his family to know.)

Children's names: JoAnn Johnson Harrell Johnson, Glen Johnson, and David Johnson

Children were born: Sometime between 1943 and 1955.

Mother's name: Betty Ann Johnson

I've tried Ancestry.com and Whitepages.com. It truly is like looking for three needles in a huge haystack.

In the thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel, God made a great promise to Israel:

"For thus says the LORD GOD: 'Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.'"

On May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation, bringing Jewish people  back to their homeland from all around the world. One day, God, her Great Shepherd, will bring unimaginable peace and rest to Israel during the future millennial reign of Christ.

Beloved, God searched for you, and He will keep every promise He made for you.

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To Everything There is a Season

 

A. A. Miller Dam
above DeSoto Falls

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

In August of 1943, my parents honeymooned at Summer Haven, a small cottage overlooking DeSoto Falls in Mentone, Alabama.

The owner of the cabin, Mr. Arthur Abernathy Miller, built the hydroelectric A. A. Miller Dam just above the falls in 1925, which supplied power to Mentone, Fort Payne, Collinsville, Valley Head, Alabama and Menlo, Georgia. For strength and endurance, the self-educated engineer embedded railroad tracks into the bedrock and designed the dam with flying buttresses copied from the Notre Dam Cathedral.

In the 1960s, my brothers' eighth-grade math teacher was Mrs. Isabell Miller Lawrance, Mr. Miller's daughter.

Yesterday, I had a surprise call from Christina Wise, Mrs. Lawrances' daughter-in-law. She and her husband, Bill, now live at Summer Haven where may parents honeymooned seventy-seven years ago.

Our times are in God's hands, beloved. Trust Him.

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Think About It

 

Grandboys

"You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat . . ." (Isaiah 25:4)

"The rest in God's shade is made sweeter because of the heat." (An insightful thought from Cuba, my dear friend in a firestorm)

Think about it, beloved.

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Build-A-Book

Willow Springs Manor
Fort Payne, Alabama

"The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it." 

(1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Last week, while camping at DeSoto State Park, Phillip took me to Willow Springs, the setting for next year's storybook. He parked. I jumped out of the truck, ran across the highway, crawled over a barbed-wire fence around the front pasture, and snapped this shot of the lovely, old Willow Springs house built by two sisters in 1916 in honor of their parents.

Writing this storybook has been challenging at times, but at each writer's block, there came another memory or story or old letter or newspaper article or answer to a question. 

Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for calling, and thank You for faithfully providing material to build a book. May it be a tool in Your hands to feed Your sheep and bring You glory!

 

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Lemons to Lemonade

 

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Because Hurricane Sally blew down several beautiful, large oaks in our woods at the farm, my boys got a lemons-to-lemonade idea: cut up the fallen trees and sell them as firewood.

Beloved, as you know, all things in life are not good, however God works all things for good for those who love Him. Therefore, shouldn't we who love God be busy working all things for good as well?

Selah.

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Thank You For a Llama

 

Our boy, his boy, and the llama

"Give thanks to the LORD . . . for He is good, His faithfulness endures to all generations!"(Psalm 100:4-5)

Our four-year-old grandboy decided last summer that his daddy needed a stuffed llama for his November birthday. When the big day arrived, sadly, he had not found the llama . . . until . . . he and his mama ran to Winn Dixie for groceries that afternoon. Yep! Winn Dixie came through. The perfect llama. His daddy was "thrilled" and thanked his boy profusely for the wonderful gift. Smile.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul encouraged believers to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Beloved, thank God in ALL circumstances. We may not get from God what we asked for, but God always gives us what He can use for His purposes and our good. 

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Joy to My Bones

 

Indian Falls
DeSoto State Park

"Stand at the crossroads, and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls . . ." (Jeremiah 6:16)

Rest for my soul.

Contentment.

Peace.

Joy all the way to my bones.

My feeble attempts to describe my strong emotions as we walk the old trails I walked as a child at DeSoto State Park.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth!

Come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His;

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For He is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues to all generations.

(Psalm 100)

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Planned Long Ago

 

Fort Payne High School National Honor Society 1973-74
(Front Row: I'm first on left, Karen is last on right)

"O LORD, I will honor and praise Your name, for You are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now You have accomplished them." (Isaiah 25:1)

As I said yesterday, I'm working on next year's children's book: The Window at Willow Springs, a story around a secret room in my friend Karen's house in Fort Payne, Alabama. In the narrative, I connected James Ralph Johnson to the imagination piece of the storyline.

James Ralph Johnson was born in Fort Payne in 1922 and was a year behind my daddy at DeKalb County High School. After retiring from a prestigious military career as a major in the United States Marine Corps, he became an accomplished author and western artist.

Because of a term paper on a famous author assignment my junior year of high school, I have handwritten letters from Mr. Johnson as well as an autographed copy of his survival book Anyone Can Live Off the Land, both of which have served the book-in-the-making well.

To some it may appear coincidental that the English teacher who assigned the term paper just so happens to be the aunt of my friend Karen, whose family owned Willow Springs. To me, it's providential — planned by God long ago and now accomplished.

Every intricate detail of your life, beloved, has potential in the hands of our wondrous, all-powerful, all-knowing God. Put your trust and hope in Him!

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Hope for the Dry Bones

 

Grandboys' "paleontological" find at the farm

"Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.'" (Ezekiel 37:4)

Yesterday, I finished the skeleton of next year's children's book: The Window at Willow Springs. Today begins the work of putting meat on the bones (my favorite part of writing).

The Old Testament story of dry bones in the book of Ezekiel is one of great hope. In the narrative, the hand of the LORD brings the prophet into a valley filled with very dry bones and directs him to prophesy over the bones. Ezekiel prophesies, and the bones begin to shake, rattle, and come together into skeletons. God covers the skeletons with sinews, flesh, and skin, and in the vision, the dead come to life and are given breath. 

The bones symbolize God's people, the whole house of Israel, and the vision signifies Israel's future national and spiritual restoration. When God rescues Israel from her enemies in her most desperate hour, she will turn to Christ, the Messiah, and know that the LORD is God.

Beloved, because you are in Christ, your story is also one of great hope! God has redeemed your life from the pit and given you new life. He has forgiven all your sins and crowned you with His love, goodness, and compassion. So, be filled with hope and praise the LORD with all your heart and soul!

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Sons and Daughters of Encouragement

 

grandboy and his daddy (my boy)

"Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means 'son of encouragement')" (Acts 4:36)

Encouragement is my prayer for you today, beloved. May the God of encouragement encourage you and use you to encourage others and hold each other up.

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Smile for the Day

 

October moon

"Then God said, 'Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth." And that is what happened. God made two great lights — the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set the lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that is was good." (Genesis 1:14-18)

I showed the four-year-old grandboy this picture of the moon that my neighbor took. His eyes grew wide. "Did she go up in a rocket ship?" he asked.

Smile, beloved. God's got the whole world in His hands!

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Yesterday and Today and Forever

 

compact mirror
(From Christmas past, a gift from my parents)

"Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

Yesterday:

"For [God] chose us in [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." (Ephesians  1:4-5)

Today:

". . . Because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Forever:

"For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." (Hebrews 13:14)

"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me," Jesus said. "There is more than enough room in My Father's home . . . When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am." (John 14:1-3)

Everything's gonna be okay, beloved. Just breathe.

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That's Hilarious

our two-year-old grandboy

"May the God of hope fill you with all JOY and peace as you trust in Him . . ." (Romans 15:13)

Beloved, could you use a little joy today? Well, here you go, compliments of our grands:

After seeing a picture of his little brother at the hospital awaiting surgery and watching a "Bluey" cartoon:

Grandboy: "That's hilarious! I've never seen that at the doctor. Never! Never! But now I have. That's hilarious! That's super funny!"

At the zoo:

Great-aunt Loretta, identifying flowers, touched a leaf on a bush and said: "I don't know what this is."

Grandboy: "It's a leaf!" 

At "Memaw's Bible School:"

Memaw: "What's it called  when we break God's rules?"

Grandboy: "Rude!"

Grandboy: "Yeah."

His mom looking for a yes ma'am: "What do you say?"

Grandboy: "Please?"

Mom: "What other words do you say?"

Grandboy: "God is so good?"

Grandboy picked up babygrand's bib from the floor and said, "Here's baby Luke's cover upper."

His mom trying to fix broken Tonka wheel: "We can't fix it, buddy."

Grandboy: "Uh-huh, Mama, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens you."

Riding in the shopping cart down the empty aisles of Walmart due to covid, grandboy sang at the top of his lungs: "Victory belongs to Jesus! Victory belongs to him!"

Grandboy helping Memaw put sheets on the bed one night after a stressful day: "Memaw, let's put sheets on the bed, turn off the lights, look at the moon, and talk to Jesus."

Grandboy ran by a recliner at Target and shouted: "Holy couches!"

Grandboy: Mama and Daddy, you need to make dinner plans 'cause you're taking too long, and I'm starving!"

Grandboy: "What's the name of a fire dog? A Great Nation? (combo of Great Dane and Dalmatian)

Grandboy: "Memaw, how long have we known y'all?

 

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For the Life of Your Little Ones

 

L-R my Ben, Dan, and Rebecca
1985

". . . Before the presence of the Lord; lift up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones." (Lamentations 2:19b)

Beloved, today, for the life of your own little ones and for the life of unborn little ones, lift up fervent prayers before the presence of the Lord, the One who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or even think.

"O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, my God, do not delay, because . . . Your people bear Your Name." (Daniel 9:19)

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