A Father's Legacy / A Lasting Heritage

I got saved on the night of January 1, 1980 and went home that night and pulled out a HUGE old 1800's King James Bible to read. I got home that night at about 1:30am and stayed up all night reading the Bible. I found an old Bible in an box of auction items and started reading it soon after. I actually have both of those Bibles today and have kept them all of these years. The very first Bible that was given to me was one that my parents gave me as a High School graduation present. That Bible was given to me by them in the middle of May 1980 and they wrote to me in the first pages of the Bible. Again, I still have that one too. I have it on a shelf in my basement and keep so many little keepsakes inside. A memorable bookmark that Mom gave me....clippings, photos, funeral cards. Lots of little mementos of special times and experiences. I have two other Bibles that mean a lot to me too...I have a green one that was given to me by Ray & Jeanne Bernard. It is a Men's...

Like I have mentioned in earlier posts, I went to a LOT of different grade schools growing up. I started at George M. Null Elementary School and went to Kindergarten, first and second grade there. We lived on Headland Street and I took the bus to school all three of those years. I went to third grade at the First United Methodist Church while Coverdell School was being built. We took the bus to Third Grade also. When Coverdell opened at the beginning of my 4th Grade year, we were only a few block away and we would walk down Concordia Hill to get to school but then we moved in the middle of my 4th grade year and I transferred to Powell Terrace. Powell Terrace was close and we would walk there too....I loved going to Powell Terrace School and I had great friends there....I went to school there for the rest of my 4th grade year and my Fifth Grade. We moved again to Madison Street and the school district would not allow me to stay at Powell Terrace and I had to transfer to Benton fo...

I'm not sure why but I have never really enjoyed Valentine's Day. It always seemed anti-climactic and it just seemed like a sad day instead of one that was full of fun and romantic love. My most memorable Valentines have been ones that I received from Katie and Maggie. Handmade ones that they created at school or with scrap papers - pink, red and white cut out hearts and their own handwriting across construction paper. They were always very genuine and real - filled with love and purpose - rather than a created or contrived "love" that felt like Hallmark created a day to sell cards and candy instead of a love that was real and genuine. Right after Melissa and I got married in January of 2004, we went to Mexico in the middle of February on a missions trip to Tijuana, Mexico. We spent a week at an orphanage there - Rancho de Sus Ninos - and helped build a new bunkhouse and storage area in an enormous barn. We had only been married for about 2 weeks and it was t...

There have been different times in my life when I felt that God had something very special for me to accomplish. I actually applied to be the full time Youth Pastor at First Assembly under Pastor Williams but I am so glad that he didn't even interview me. I wasn't qualified but loved being the interim pastor. I served as the interim Youth Pastor for almost a year. Special calling? I don't know that I would say that I ever felt extra special or that I needed to do something special. When I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would be healed and that the whole experience would serve as as testimony. I was afraid of going through the process and didn't want to be sick...I also didn't want to be a "sick Grandpa". I remember watching my Dad spend time with Katie, Maggie and all of the other Grandkids - and him not being able to do a lot with them because he was always sick. Mom spent most of the time with the ki...

I almost laughed out loud when I first read this question. We grew up very Catholic and the thought of the priest or a pastor actually coming to your home was just a crazy thought. Right after I accepted Christ as my Savior at 18, I remember that the pastor at First Assembly - Manual Shoults - wanted to come over to our house and visit with me and my parents. My Dad was absolutely opposed to him coming over and wanted nothing to do with him. I think that they scheduled a time to come over and my Dad left the house just before the scheduled time. Needless to say, it didn't go well with Dad! The only other time that I remember a pastor coming to the house was just after Maggie got out of the hospital. I remember Pastor Williams coming over to pray with us and lay hands on Maggie. I have absolutely no other recollection of a pastor or missionary coming to the house.

The only times that I ever remember feeling afraid were at night and in the dark. And only at our house on Madison Street. The upstairs of that house did not have any heating or air conditioning. It was unbelievably hot in the summer months and freezing cold in the winter months. During the winter, I would put a full sleeping bag on my bed and sleep inside the sleeping bag under all of my covers. You could see your breath in our rooms and it was so cold. I definitely remember laying in bed and shivering as I tried to go to sleep. While I was laying there in my bed, I used to watch the shadows of the tree branches dance across my ceiling. There was a street light directly across the street from my house so it cast shadows into my bedroom windows. At the back of my room was a door that lead into the attic area. It was a regular full sized door and the attic space was tall enough that you could walk into it. As I laid in bed at night, I would imagine that there was someone ...

I will start with Grandma Bredensteiner. As a little boy, I don't have a ton of memories about going to Grandma Bredensteiner's house very much. She was a little tiny lady with big glasses. She didn't have much hair and always wore a dark wig. She had a little head shake - maybe Parkinson's? - and she would put her hands up to her face and hold her chin with her fingers. I remember her looking at me and her head shaking a little bit but her eyes would never leave me. She was very gentle - firm but gentle - and had lots and lots of love. I remember her hugging me and hold me on her lap as a very young child. She had a great laugh and I can still hear her laughter in my mind. Grandma didn't drive and would walk everywhere. She lived at 309 Clark Street and would walk down to the hospital to eat occasionally. I can remember driving down First Capitol Drive and seeing Grandma in the windows as she was sitting there eating dinner. I can also remember drivin...