The Great Reset

“You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy.” The World Economic Forum

Hmmm 🤔

Interesting you never hear or see anything about the World Economic Forum in the mainstream news. Long story short, in the last quarter of 2020 I came to the conclusion that the mainstream news media can no longer be trusted. In my opinion, the average network news program toggles between the truth, half truths, and propaganda, with the token “heart warming” story at the end of the program. Nowadays I try to get my news and information from a variety of sources, including podcasts, Twitter, Rumble, American Family Radio Network, Newsmax, Redacted, YouTube, etc.

So in 2020 I started looking into The Great Reset after seeing some random posts about it on social media. I found several people speaking up about The Great Reset here and there, but I wanted to find out exactly what it was and specifically, and I wanted to learn about it from a Christian perspective. So I started listening to the first of four YouTube videos by Keith Malcomson, a pastor from Ireland. Initially I wasn’t sure about him, so I checked out his church (Limerick City Church) and their mission statement, what they believe, etc. I found his church to be of sound doctrine concerning the essentials of faith, and proceeded to listen to his first, then second, then third video.

I was convicted to go back and listen to the first three videos all over again when he came out with the fourth video in late December. The first three videos were made in October and November.

1. Part 1, published 10/16/20, THE GREAT RESET, The Coming Economic Crisis.

2. Part 2, published 10/30/20, THE GREAT RESET, The Coming Economic Crisis.

3. Part 3, published 11/24/20, THE GREAT RESET, The Coming Economic Crisis and The Rise of a World Socialist State.

4. Part 4, published 12/21/20, THE GREAT RESET, The Coming Economic Crisis and The Fourth Industrial Revolution.

First, a quick review about the first three Industrial Revolutions, which I’m sure we were taught in high school but most of us have long forgot. As a side note, I do remember thinking back then, “Do we really need to learn about this kind of stuff?!” And now, all these years later I wish I would have taken the time to actually learn about this sort of thing back then.

Actually I wish I would have done a lot of things differently back then and taken a lot of things more seriously.

Ah, hindsight.

But thanks to an quick internet search, here’s a simple outline of the first three Industrial Revolutions:

1. The First Industrial Revolution: “The first wave of the Industrial Revolution lasted from the late 1700’s to the mid-1800’s. It industrialized the manufacture of textiles and began the move of production from homes to factories. Steam power and the cotton gin played an important role in this period.”

2. The Second Industrial Revolution: “Historians have labeled the years from 1870-1914 as the period of the Second Industrial Revolution. While the First Industrial Revolution caused the growth of industries, such as coal, iron, railroads and textiles, the Second Industrial Revolution witnessed the expansion of electricity, petroleum and steel.”

3. The Third Industrial Revolution: “The third revolution began in the late 1900’s and brought forth the rise of electronics, telecommunications and of course, computers. Through the new technologies, the third industrial revolution oped the doors to space expeditions, research, nuclear energy, and biotechnology.”

The coming Fourth Industrial Revolution, as envisioned by the World Economic Forum (WEF), is problematic:

The Great Reset is about a global socialist elite power network (The World Economic Forum) that seeks to control us economically, politically, biologically, physically, and spiritually. They are anti-salvific at its core. They will not stop with technology being around us; they want to make it a part of us. They want technology to envelop us and be embedded in us. The WEF is the driving force behind The Great Reset. The WEF wants to change our way of living from capitalism to socialism, control everything we do, and usher us into their version of Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Here’s a quote from a 2016 article titled, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution, What it Means and How to Respond.” by Klaus Schwab, the leader of The WEF: “Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.”

Hmm… Interesting choice of words.

In June of 2020 Klaus Schwab spoke at a summit meeting outlining The Great Reset master plan and of the advantages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting attendees included powerful and wealthy world leaders, including members of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations. Klaus Schwab stated that Covid-19 was a catalyst in advancing The Great Reset agenda and that, “COVID-19 has accelerated our transition into the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have to make sure that the new technologies in the digital, biological and physical world remain human-centred and serve society as a whole, providing everyone with fair access.”

Hmm…. Interesting choice of words once again.

It’s about “Build Back Better,” Joe Biden’s catch-phrase, that he coincidentally borrowed from the World Economic Forum, and the Trojan horse of the merging of capitalism with socialism under the guise of Steak Holder Capitalism. It’ll still be socialism.

It’s about a Wealth Redistribution Plan that touts a digitalization of our entire economy, a cashless society, (CBDC’s) Central Bank Digital Currency, and a standard income based upon socialist idealism and control.

It’s about a revamping of our entire educational system into a Global Digitalized Education System where teachers no longer teach but are mere facilitators of the woke philosophies of the WEF.

It’s about the Green Agenda and Climate Change, Trojan Horses of the population control agenda.

It’s about the World Health Organization (WHO) controlling people worldwide by the use of vaccine passports; a QR coded digital permission system that will allow or restrict people to travel. Obey their rules = freedom to travel. Disobey their rules = no travel allowed. i.e. quarantines, lockdowns, etc.

It’s about Event 201, Agenda 2021, Agenda 2030, and Globalization 4.0 involving the digitalization of everything with the goal of merging of the physical, the digital, the technological and the biological; a trans-humanism society of designer evolution.

It’s about evil forces who’re attempting to destroy God’s creation and plans, and attempting to replacing it with man’s creation and plans. Worshiping the creation rather than the Creator.

“For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature ratherthan the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 1:25

Folks, we are nearing the Last Days.

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:42-44

To be clear, I believe The rapture is imminent; no other biblical prophecy needs to be fulfilled before the rapture happens. The good news for born-again believers is that we’ll be taken up to heaven at this point. The bad news for everyone else is that they’ll be left behind at this point.

After the rapture, a satanically empowered man will gain worldwide control with promises of peace. This man is the Antichrist. He will be aided by another man, called the false prophet, who will head up a religious system that requires worship of the Antichrist. The seven year tribulation will follow. During the tribulation, there will be terrible wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters. God will be pouring out His wrath against sin, evil, and wickedness. The seven year tribulation will be the darkest moment the world will have ever seen.

Today is the day of salvation: “Today, if only you would hear his voice, Do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7–8).

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

To learn more of The Great Reset, here are the links to the videos that I referenced above. Pastor Malcomson goes into great detail explaining The Great Reset, from a Christian perspective

Merry Christmas 2020

EDIT

Since our girls are all grown with families of their own now, we sometimes celebrate Christmas on days other than December 25. It may just be a day before or the day after, but in 2020 we had out of town business plans in late December so we planned our family Christmas for December 13. We decided it would be fine as this would give our girls a little extra time this year to celebrate Christmas in their own homes, visiting in-laws, travel, etc.

So on December 13, we started off with prayer, a BIG country breakfast, and a reading of the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth according to Matthew. We played a couple of games, including Spoons, caught some kisses under the mistletoe, had a gift-exchange between the grandkids, and a white elephant gift exchange for the adults.

We also sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with singing 🎶 parts for each of us. It was fun!

We also talked about the folklore of the hidden meaning of the lyrics to The Twelve Days of Christmas. While some may dispute the origin and intent of the song lyrics, the popular folklore is that it’s a song of Christian instruction with hidden references to Christ and the Christian faith. Dating as far back to the 16th century, a time during the religious wars in England, the folklore is that the song was actually a device to secretly teach the basic principles of Christianity to children.

Thus,

1 The partridge in the pear tree represents Jesus Christ.

2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments.

3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity.

4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels.

5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch,” which gives the history of man’s fall from grace.

6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation.

7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes.

9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

10 Lords A-leaping = the Ten Commandments.

11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles.

12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.

It’s my hope and prayer that each of our children and grandchildren always remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas. It’s not about Santa. It’s not about traditions. It’s not about the food and it’s not about the gifts. All these things are fine to enjoy, but Christmas is about Jesus Christ. One of the most important things we will ever do is share our faith with our loved ones. I pray for each one of our family members to come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, in God’s perfect timing. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what day you celebrate Christmas, the most important thing is that He is your Lord and Savior.

Christmas 2021 was celebrated on December 26.

Christmas 2025 was celebrated on December 27…

…and also on January 4, 2026!

The Return

Have you heard of The Return? It’s been heavily advertised lately on TV and various social media’s so if you haven’t yet, I would be surprised. It’s headlined by Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic Rabbi/Pastor/Author, as “a national and global day of prayer and repentance” in Washington DC on Saturday, September 26, 2020, and touts over 50 guest speakers.

Do we all as sinners need to repent? Yes

Do we all who have wondered away from God need to return to Him? Yes

Do we all need to pray? Yes

All very good and all very well and true, but……

Christians need to be careful of who they’re following. Jonathan Cahn claims to have special revelation similar to that of biblical authors and has made lots of money writing books, (The Harbinger, The Mystery of the Shemita, The Harbinger II, etc.) all of which contain a mix of fiction, truth, mythology, suspense, and prophecy. That is problematic as well as his claim that America is the new Israel. America is not the new Israel nor does America have a special covenant with God as Jonathan Cahn claims. What he refers to as deep mysteries of biblical truth is more mythology than theology. His promotion of “new prophetic truths” makes his theology more akin to false teaching.

Quoting Marsha West of the Berean Call: “Only Israel was directly established by God and had a binding covenant mediated through Moses who God chose and appointed. America has neither a Moses nor a binding covenant. We are not the new Israel and never have been. The moral laws of God that do apply are found in the Bible and they apply to all people in all nations.”

At this event called The Return, of the 55 guest speakers, there are only 8 of which I am familiar with as Christian leaders. I’m assuming they’re lacking some level of discernment rather than actual Jonathan Cahn followers. America is blessed with solid Bible believing pastors and teachers, and that’s who we should be learning from, not authors of fictional prophetic books. And while repentance, returning to God, and prayer will always be the right direction for us as individuals and as a country, it is problematic when it’s led by someone who’s taken the mantle as a modern day prophet and refers to America as the new Israel.

So, will I pray on September 26? Yes.

Will I follow Jonathan Cahn? No.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24

If You Have Love For One Another

I was in junior high school when I first remember learning of the Holocaust. I didn’t understand what it was all about at the time and I didn’t really grasp the horror of it all until some time later when I was looking at a magazine. I think it was Life Magazine. I saw several full page photos of the victims. It was shocking and made me wonder how could anyone do that to anyone, let alone to an entire group of people. So I did what a lot of us do when we see something horrible and we’re not quite ready to process it; I set it aside in the back of my mind.

Memories of the initial horror of seeing those holocaust pictures in the late 1960’s were revisited recently when I came across a New York Times article about the holocaust. As horrific as the killing of thousands of innocent Jewish people was, I was sickened to learn in this article that the Nazi’s gathered groups of disabled people and murdered them as well. This was especially hurtful to learn as I’ve long held a special place on my heart for the disabled. My dad was crippled by polio in the early 1950’s, my sweet little brother Doug, was born mentally retarded (now called mentally disabled) in 1957, our beautiful daughter Megan was born with Spina Bifida in 1986, and our sweet granddaughter Remi, was born with Down Syndrome in 2021.

The holocaust was born out of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. He was a German political leader in the 1930’s who rose to the rank of Fuhrer in the 1940’s German Nazi party. He believed that the Jews were Germany’s enemies, and that they were an inferior race. Full of hate and racism, he sought to get rid of the Jews by killing them, and create a country full of “perfect” people of which he, of course, would be their leader. Interestingly he did all of this while claiming to be a Christian, and denouncing Christianity at the same time.

It’s also interesting how he got so many people to follow him.

Thinking about all of this made me wonder if Hitler’s hatred for the Jews may have been fueled by his misguided so-called Christian beliefs. Regardless, whatever Hitler thought and did was wrong on so many levels. His basic beliefs were skewed to say the least. I suspect if he had a Bible he didn’t read it. If he’d actually read and studied the Bible, he might have learned that the Jews weren’t responsible for Jesus’s death on the cross, but it was us; it was actually our sins that nailed Him on the cross:

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2

By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

Secondly, all of us are disabled in some way or another. None of us are perfect; there is no such thing as perfect people or the the perfect race. We all have flaws and imperfections, physically, emotionally, and spiritually; including and especially sin.

Anyone who thinks they’re perfect and are constantly seeking perfection, are guilty of the sin of pride, and that’s regardless of whether they realize it or not.

Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the unplowed field of the wicked, produce sin. Proverbs 21:4

Only God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are perfect, and it is not until we receive Jesus in repentance and faith does God change the way He sees us. If Hitler had read the Bible he would known this as well:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30

Fortunately I’m not Hitler’s nor anyone else’s judge, but the Bible tells us that when we become a believer there should be a change in our life, in the way we think and in the things we do; life before Jesus and life after Jesus, there should be a difference. In John 13:35 Jesus tells of one distinguishing characteristic of the believer:

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

My Creed is Jesus Christ

Here’s a picture of me and my 5th grade Sunday School class sometime around 1964 or 1965. I’m on the second row, second from the left.

And, here is a 1966 newspaper clipping of my 6th grade confirmation class. This was at Southport Methodist Church in Southport, Indiana, which was the church our family attended and of which we were members while I was growing up in Indianapolis. I have a lot of fond memories from when I attended this church, especially when I was young. It was here that I first trusted in Christ around the age of 12, although I don’t believe it was a saving faith.

Two or three years after this photo was taken, our church changed its name to “Southport United Methodist Church.” I continued my membership there into my young adult years, with increasing periods of inactivity off-and-on during my late teens and early twenties, and then a resurgence in my mid-twenties. God got my attention one night after listening to Billy Graham speak on TV a few nights earlier. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about all the sin in my life, and I cried out to Him in repentance and faith. I believe it was at this time that I was born again, as it was from this point forward that my life began to change. I began reading my Bible and started going back to church. However, after a while, a couple of things began to bother me. My Sunday School class studied books that seemed more philosophical than biblical, and many of the pastor’s sermons were light on Bible verses and heavy on modern-day stories.

Around this same time, I was listening regularly to Charles Stanley from First Baptist Atlanta, on the radio. His sermons were jam-packed with Bible verses and Bible stories. This style of preaching was new to me and I found myself very drawn to it. While I liked my old church and the people, but God had different plans for me.

In 1988, I was convicted to be baptized by full water immersion at age 33, and become a member of Providence Baptist Church in Riverview, Florida. It was a series of events that led up to both my change in church membership and in my relationship with God. I wrote about this experience in a previous chapter titled “Another Gospel.” In short, God was calling me to draw closer in my relationship with Him.

Nowadays I do lean more toward Reformed (aka Calvinism) theology. I respect the heroes of the Reformation such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards. I like John Bunyan, a Puritan who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, and Charles Spurgeon, a renowned 19th-century Baptist preacher. I agree with and appreciate his position on water baptism, or credobaptism—also known as believer’s baptism.

Spurgeon wrote, “Conscience has convinced me that it is a duty to be buried with Christ in baptism, although I am sure it constitutes no part of salvation.” In his testimony, he says, “I had no superstitious idea that baptism would save me, for I was saved, even prior to being baptized.” Thus, baptism was an act of obedience for Spurgeon. He answers his own question: “Why was I thus baptized?” “Because I believed it to be an ordinance of Christ, very specially joined by Him with faith in His name.” So, even though he didn’t believe baptism was essential for salvation, he did consider it an important step of obedience.

The Bible contains many verses about baptism, some of which may seem to imply that baptism is required; however, based on the whole of the gospel, I, too, do not believe that baptism is required in order to be saved.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

In my own personal experience for example, I was 33 years old when I was convicted that I should be baptized by full water immersion. I understood that baptism is a step of obedience, and an outward sign of an inward change. In my case, I had repented of my sin and turned to Christ a few years earlier but was not convicted about full water baptism until the age of 33.

Whereas, at age 12, I was corralled into a Methodist Confirmation Class along with a group of other 6th graders simply because of our age. Once the class was deemed concluded, I was “sprinkled” along with a group of my classmates in a Sunday morning church service. I was later convinced that neither the sprinkling nor my salvation at age 12 were valid.

Comparing my voluntary and obedient baptism as an adult to my own personal experience as a 12-year-old reinforces my belief that baptism is not a requirement of salvation. I believe people who get baptized because they’re told they “have to be baptized in order to be saved,” are under a false assumption.

Concerning infant baptism, while I understand some Reformed churches still practice this today, I prefer Charles Spurgeon’s viewpoint on baptismal regeneration, the unbiblical practice of baptizing unbelievers and infants. Charles Spurgeon stated, “We will confront this dogma with the assertion that baptism without faith saves no one.”

Over the years, I’ve read many wonderful quotes and biblical teachings from Charles Spurgeon’s writings. In fact, I’ve been using The Spurgeon Study Bible since 2019 for my personal Bible study. He’s one of my favorite Reformed preachers. The late Dr. John MacArthur, the late Voddie Baucham, Alistair Begg, Paul Washer, and Sinclair Ferguson top my list of favorite present-day preachers.

At the same time, I also like Arminian preachers and evangelists such as the late Dr. Charles Stanley from First Baptist Atlanta, the late Dr. Adrian Rogers from Love Worth Finding, and of course, the late Dr. Billy Graham, who is probably the most well-known evangelist of the 20th century. I also like and use some of the evangelism tools from Ray Comfort’s Living Waters Ministries. I believe God uses both Arminians and Calvinists to preach the gospel message and to teach us about the Bible. I appreciate this quote from Arminian pastor Leonard Ravenhill,

“Think like a Calvinist, live like an Arminian.” #LeonardRavenhill

I also like this quote from Martyn Lloyd Jones: “I am a Calvinist: I believe in election and predestination; but I would not dream of putting it under the heading of essential. I put it under the heading of non-essential… You are not saved by your precise understanding of how this great salvation comes to you.”

So, whether you lean toward Arminianism or Calvinism, it’s really a non-essential issue, as far as I’m concerned.

I find debates between Arminianism and Calvinism interesting to a point, but don’t like it when it turns into a soteriology argument. Those who find themselves in frequent debates on this subject would make much better use of their time by sharing the gospel with a lost and dying world. Our job is telling, God’s job is saving.

I like the response that Charles Spurgeon once gave to someone who asked him about his theology. Though he preferred to think of himself as a “mere Christian,” he also said, “I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist,” and, “I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist, but if I am asked what is my creed, I reply, ‘It is Jesus Christ.’”

Keep This Coupon

I have an old box of childhood mementos I’ve kept since childhood. The memories I recall whenever looking in this old box are fun. Probably one of weirdest things I kept was a bunch of old coupons. I literally kept them because they said “Keep this Coupon.” 😂

Wait. Did I really think that one day someone would contact me and tell me I won something?! I have no idea! Ha!

Or, was I just a child and simply being obedient? After all, they do say,

“Keep this Coupon.”

Actually in some ways I do remember being fairly obedient as a child, to a certain point. I respected authority and generally did what I was told to do. Although I certainly had my share of stubbornness in my childhood and was quite independent in my teen years.

The Bible has lots to say about obedience:

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22

“Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.’” John 14:23

“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:17

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24

“Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” Proverbs 10:17

Simple obedience, even from a child’s perspective, is really a choice. It is a choice to submit to authority and to obey the rules.

The problem with obedience is that it’s human nature not to obey; we want to do things our way, so it’s really more of a heart issue.

So,

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

And,

“Trust and obey,

for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

but to trust and obey.”

#DonMoen

Simple obedience.

It’s a choice.

Even a child can do it.

Still collecting coupons in 2019! 😂

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

Making Room

Sometimes God brings little surprises when we least expect it. In early 1996, Harold and I had assumed our family was complete, but God had other plans. After a visit to the doctor’s office the doctor said, (with a heavy foreign accent) “It not menopause, you pregnant.” Harold said, “What?!” 😂

A few months later:

December 23, 1996, Mackenzie Anne Crandell!

Time of birth: 5:14 p.m.

Weight: 8 lbs. 8 oz.

Length: 21.5 inches

Color of hair: brown

Place of birth: Lewisville, Texas

Age of parents: Mom 42, Dad 48

Harold and Mackenzie 👶🏻 on Christmas 🎄 Day 1996.

Our little “surprise” came home from the hospital at 2 days old.

With big sister, Michelle, age 15.

With big sister, Megan, age 11.

Mackenzie in her homemade wooden cradle one of our friends made for her.

Me and Mackenzie on New Year’s Eve. Her crib and clothes are in the background. We were in our bedroom (stall) 😂 and there wasn’t much room to walk around but we made it work.

Stall? Yes, I said stall.

So this was in our barn/cabin/home that we lived in temporarily for several months while we were having our house built in Krum, Texas. It was actually a drive-through barn with 12 horse stalls. We converted 4 of the the stalls into a living area: 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, and 1 bath/kitchen area. It was crowded, but we made it work.

The new house that we were building was only a 3 bedroom home, as we only needed 3 bedrooms, or at least so we thought at the time when we first started the home! 😂

So, we ended up converting the formal dining room into a nursery and it worked out fine! The wood on the double French doors matched the wood on her crib and I loved the way it turned out. Who really needs a formal dining room anyway?!

Seven years later Mackenzie finally got to move out of the dining room and get her own bedroom when we moved into a new home in Denton, Texas with 4 bedrooms. 🏡

The point I want to make is this; babies, surprises or not, are all gifts from God; and we’re to make “room” for them in our lives, no matter what the circumstances.

Childred are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3

Even more so, the Baby, whose birth we celebrate on December 25. Be sure to make “room” for Him 🙌🏻 in your heart; be it Christmas time or anytime.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

Johnny Walker

Los Angeles was “a nice place to visit,” but it was too expensive, too far away, and it never ever seemed like home. So after living there for about a year, I put in a bid to transfer to back to Florida. Within a few days my request was approved to work at Delta’s Jacksonville reservation office.

So, in June of 1991, we gave our second-hand furniture back to Goodwill, and packed up our personal belongings and had them shipped them to Jacksonville, Florida via Delta Cargo. The four of us left Los Angeles by car, headed back to Florida.

We made it to Jacksonville, got our furniture out of storage from Tampa, and moved into a nice (and practically new) lease/option-to-purchase home in Orange Park, a suburb just south of Jacksonville

Megan and Michelle in Orange Park in 1991.

After living in an apartment in LA for the past year, I thought we finally have a nice place to call home; a place to settle down, one that could be ours long term. Until my first day at work…

I walked in and found myself somewhere between disbelief and shock. It was nothing like the Los Angeles office. The carpet was worn, the walls needed paint, and they were still using the old big box single-screen computer monitors. My first thought was, they’re going to close this office. 😳

I mentioned it to a couple of other employees that I had just met, but could tell they had no idea what I was talking about so I dropped it. I decided just to be thankful that we were back in Florida, and that Harold had already found work at a car dealership, and that we were living in a nice home. I decided not to worry about Delta closing the office.

Do not worry about anything, but In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6-7

Orange Park was actually a great place to raise a family; nice schools, parks, and a good church, Ridgeway Baptist. We also found Nemour’s Children’s Hospital in nearby Jacksonville for Megan’s clinic visits.

Megan won a first place trophy at the Spina Bifida 5K Fundraiser!

Some of our favorite places to visit while living in this part of Florida included Green Cove Springs and St. Augustine. Green Cove Springs is an little old town with a couple of restaurants, shady oak trees and a nice playground. St. Augustine is an old beach town with lots of cute shops and restaurants. It was simply beautiful at Christmas 🎄time.

So, just like I predicted the first day I stepped foot into the Jacksonville Delta Air Lines reservation office a year and a half earlier, Delta management announced that they were planning to close several offices over the next few months, and the Jacksonville office was one of those offices. I hate to say, “I told you so, but….”

I put in my bid to transfer to one of three cities to work in Delta Reservations:

Atlanta, because it was the main headquarters.

Miami, because it was in Florida.

And Dallas, because it was in the Bible Belt.

In preparation for the move we gave up our leased home and moved into an apartment nearby on a short term lease. Michelle and Megan both made some new new friends right away which made the move a little bit easier.

Michelle, Megan and their friends at the Orange Park apartment.

Michelle and her friends often hung out in little groups outside our apartment listening to music on boom boxes. One day, just for fun, Harold put a boom box on his shoulder and we walked outside within eyeshot of the kids, turned up the volume and started walking/dancing around to the music. We thought it would make for a good laugh for everyone but it backfired. Michelle was so embarrassed; she started crying and ran down the street away from us! I think this event officially branded us in Michelle’s mind as weird parents. 😳

A month or so after moving to the apartment, we decided we’d better make a weekend visit to Miami, just in case that was going to be our next home. Miami was pretty but it was way too hot and way more crowded than we expected. On the way home from Miami I started to have second thoughts about putting it on my bid.

When we got back home, we found our apartment had been ransacked! Several things had been stolen, including some clothes, a cute little lamp and a set of my mother’s rings. The thief even helped themselves to the food in our pantry! I filled out a police report and resolved I’d never see our stolen items again.

A couple of weeks later, I saw my cute little lamp, now broken, sticking up out of our next door neighbor’s trash sitting outside her door! I called the police to add this information to my original police report. Long story short, the police recovered most of what was stolen, including some things I didn’t even realize were missing. The thief was our next door neighbor’s daughter. She told the police that she came over to our house and unlocked our balcony door right before we went out of town, and climbed over our adjoining balconies and helped herself to our stuff while we were gone. It was a strange experience and it made me sad that a neighbor would do this to us.

After all of that, I was really looking forward to moving. I prayed for God to please send us where He most wanted us to go.

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Finally, the bid results came in: Bible-Belt here we come!

So after two years in Jacksonville, we were excited to be moving to Lewisville, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, in July of 1993, furniture included! While our two previous moves were voluntary and only allowed us to bring our personal effects, this move included all of our household effects since they were closing the office. A professional mover came and packed everything and drove it by semi-truck to Texas.

Which brings me to my last story about our time in Jacksonville, and the title of this blog. Soon after moving to Orange Park we kept seeing a young man in his late 20’s or early 30’s, walking up and down the main road. He was thin and obviously homeless. I never saw him begging, he was almost always, just walking. I felt sorry for him so I started buying an extra cheeseburger whenever we’d go to McDonalds and then we’d look for him to give it to. I told the girls that we wouldn’t give him money, but a sandwich would be ok. I tried to talk to him a couple of times but he wasn’t much for talking; he was just so very sad. Sometimes we couldn’t find him and so we would just have an extra sandwich. So then I decided it might be better to put together some bags of snacks and bottled water, and keep them in my car to give to him.

Michelle said that the kids at school called him “Johnny Walker” so that’s what we called him. The rumor was, he lost his job, his wife left him, he drank too much, and he became homeless. I don’t know if they named him after the whiskey, “Jonnie Walker” or if it was because he was always walking. I decided I preferred the latter.

To this day, I still wonder about “Johnny Walker,” but out of this experience, God inspired me to start putting together some bags with snacks, water, toiletries, and a gospel tract to give to the homeless. I stock up at the Dollar Store once or twice a year and fill the bags all at once and then keep one in my car, to give away as needed. People nowadays call them “Blessing Bags” but to me they’re my “Johnny Walker” ❤️‍🩹bags.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4

Heaven

One of my favorite pastimes is shopping at thrift and resale stores. I really don’t have to buy anything; I like just walking around and browsing old and unusual items. It brings back fond memories of days gone by.

One day while at a resale shop I glanced over at the books and noticed a worn out copy of “Heaven is for Real.” They made a movie about it a few years ago and I remembered lot of people talked about seeing it or at least wanting to go see it. I never got around to it. Actually, I purposely didn’t go see this movie when it came out, or buy the used book at the resale shop that day. Why? Because it’s not biblical.

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. John 3:13

I know the book was a bestseller and that the movie was a box office success. Many may have read the book or saw the movie, but for those who don’t remember the book or the movie, here’s the synopsis. It was about a young boy, the 4 year-old son of a pastor, who had an operation and claimed he went to heaven and back during his operation. He basically claimed he had an out-of-body experience. He describes his visit to heaven with the vivid imagination of a young child. Hmmmm…. 🤔

Interestingly, when I was young, maybe 11 or 12, I had, what I would call, a kind of weird out-of-body experience myself. I was sick with a fever and headache for a couple of days and was lying on the living room couch. I remember having an awful headache and crying a lot and drifting on and off to sleep. I remember it seemed so real: floating from room to room, hovering near the top of the ceiling, for what seemed to be several minutes. I woke up in a sweat and kept thinking about it while my mom was giving me water and cold rags to try to bring the fever down.

I didn’t go to the doctor and I didn’t mention the floating experience to anyone because it was all too weird. At the time it seemed frighteningly real to me, but again I was a child and I was sick. In retrospect I’m 100% sure it was the fever that caused me to have this type of experience.

So as sincere and well meaning as this 4 year old boy and his father may have been, I simply don’t believe it. He may have had a some sort of hallucination due to the anesthesia or maybe it was just his imagination, but regardless, I don’t believe for one second that he went to heaven and back.

Why would people even begin to believe a story like this? Why would you waste your time reading a story based upon a 4 year old’s imagination or hallucination?

What God has revealed to us in His Word is the only legitimate source we have about heaven. There may be a lot about heaven that is yet to be revealed to us but I believe the Bible tells us all we need to know.

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,”What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:7-9

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2

Actually, much more important than knowing about heaven, is knowing Jesus. All of the “knowledge” in the world about heaven will not get you there. You need Jesus first and foremost.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.John 3:16

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

So herein is both the answer and the question:

Jesus

Do you know Him?

The West Coast

In June 1990, after a 5 day, 2500 mile trek across the country, with two kids in the back seat and one car in tow, we anxiously drove into Los Angeles looking for our new apartment. We had just a few days to get settled in before I was to start working at the LAX Delta Reservation Office. We stopped to get directions to Sepulveda Boulevard. It was a major road so I was a little surprised when the guy didn’t know which road I was talking about. So I pointed it out to him on the map (yes, a paper map) and he burst out laughing. Apparently I needed to work on how to pronounce Sepulveda.

Welcome to Los Angeles. 😂

We settled in a nice gated apartment in Torrance, right next to a park and an elementary school. It was expensive, like most things in California, but thankfully Harold got a job right away, and we managed to make ends meet. We furnished it with second hand furniture and were so blessed to have a very sweet older couple, Cliff and Irene, live right next door to us. Cliff was a Church of Christ pastor and Irene was an amazing cook who loved to share her home-made pies.

The Delta Reservation Office was located just outside of LAX on Century Blvd. The office was big and modern with brand new split screen computers, which was a little intimidating at first. The week I started there, all the buzz around the office was about Kevin Costner’s wife being there for a visit. She worked for Delta before Kevin became a famous actor. I never got to meet Kevin Coster, but over the course of the next year I did run into Ed Begley Jr. (Ghostbuster’s, St. Elsewhere), and I talked to Gary Collins (actor and talk show host) and Elton John’s agent on the phone. Ha!

Welcome to Hollywood. 😂

My new position was as a full-time reservation agent. I was basically doing the same job that I had in Tampa, except this position was permanent and full-time. My seniority wasn’t much better here than it was in Tampa so the best schedule I could get was the night shift getting off at 01:00 a.m.

One night after work I was the first one to come upon the scene of a traffic accident; a young man and his motorcycle were lying in the middle of the intersection. As I got out of my car another car pulled up and the driver told me he worked for United Airlines and that he also just got off work. We walked up to the accident victim, asking each other if we knew how to do CPR. I knelt down to try to get his pulse; no pulse. I put my ear next to his mouth; no breath. I said a quick prayer for his family, whoever they were. I felt so sorry that they would soon be finding out their loved one was no longer alive. Then out of nowhere, a police officer ran up to me. He asked if I was a witness or if I knew him, and I told him no. The policeman proceeded to emphatically tell me to get up, return to my car, and leave ASAP.

I was a little shocked, but did exactly what I was told. Apparently he was just doing his job as I found out later that thieves were known to stage accidents like this, to rob you, or worse. Unfortunately for this young man but fortunately for me, this was not a staging.

Over the course of the next year, I didn’t come across any more fatalities, but it wasn’t unusual to be driving down the street, at any hour of the day or night, and to witness police with guns drawn, and suspects spread eagle.

Actually, Harold did have a close call with death while we lived there. I nearly strangled him one night:

I came home from work on a Friday night (at my usual time of around 1:30 a.m.) and found out that he let Michelle spend the night with a friend that she played with at the park near our home, but neither of us had her full name, her address, the names of her mom or her step-dad, or either of their phone numbers. All we knew was that she lived in an apartment across the street. I was beyond livid, and up all night worrying and praying, alternatively. At the crack of dawn I was over at her apartment complex walking up and down the sidewalks looking for her come out of one of the apartment buildings. I walked. I prayed. Repeat. I went home alone, praying all the way.

Thankfully, she came home within a few hours. She was safe. I was relieved and so thankful.

Oh, and Harold survived too, but barely.

Michelle and Megan with their friends at the park next to our apartment:

We attended a Baptist church in Manhattan Beach that had an Awana program. The girls enjoyed Awana back in Florida, so I was happy to find a church with the same program in California. One of the Awana leaders was a handsome young man with a great personality. His speech was slightly slurred and he always wore a ball cap. One day he took off his ball cap to show me that he only had half of a scull. Half of his brain was removed due to a car accident from a few years before. He had recovered almost all of his brain function through therapy and God’s help. Amazing.

Christmas at our Torrance apartment. All of our Christmas ornaments were in storage back in Florida so I hung some dollar store ornaments and garland up on the wall as a makeshift Christmas tree this year:

While in Torrance we arranged for my mom to come stay with us for a few months. She was a great help with the girls and we enjoyed a first time vacation to Hawaii together too.

During the time she stayed with us I could tell that Alzheimer’s was chipping away at her, little by little. While I was gone walking Michelle to school one morning, she took a walk as well and got lost. I called the police and thankfully she was located right away but it gave me an awful scare. She knew her memory was getting worse and it was beginning to upset her. In time, I came to realize that she stopped being aware of it, so eventually she wasn’t upset about it anymore. I also believe, regardless of how terrible a disease it is, that God has a plan and purpose for everything and that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus” and that a disease doesn’t change that. God is in control no matter what.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Mom and Megan in the atrium park at our apartment:

We liked living in Torrance, but the bulk of our family was on the other side of the United States. Besides that, the earthquakes were a little unnerving, and the cost of living was so expensive. I called it a “Real Estate Twilight Zone.” So it wasn’t long before I began thinking about transferring out of Los Angeles. When I saw a new job opening in special contracts with Delta in Atlanta come up on the job board, I was intrigued. I prayed about it, discussed it with Harold, and got an appointment for an interview. Atlanta wasn’t home, but it would be a lot closer to it.

On the flight to ATL for my interview, I settled in my seat hoping for a nice quiet flight and to do some reading. I’d brought my bible and had been reading it for about 30 minutes when the young man next to me struck up a conversation. He started out apologizing to me for drinking a beer. It was a morning flight and I had noticed that he was drinking beer (in the morning) 😳 but I told him no need to apologize. We ended up talking the rest of the flight. He told me that his dad was a pastor and that he was a Christian but that he hadn’t been living in God’s will for some time. He said seeing me reading my bible convicted him and made him think about his current walk with the Lord. Once in Atlanta, I went on to the interview and quickly realized that my chances of getting this job was likely slim to none. I returned to LAX and wasn’t surprised to learn that I didn’t get the job. By this time I already knew that the job God intended for me was sitting in that seat, that day, on that airplane.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17

Then, my supervisor suggested I go into the management program, so I decided to give it a try. On the very day I was supposed to start management training, Megan was admitted to UCLA Children’s Hospital with meningitis. So instead of starting a new management training class I asked for time off to be with her. Megan stayed in the hospital for two weeks on IV antibiotics. The infectious disease doctor was perplexed by her test results, suggesting that her meningitis was associated with a problem with the cadaver dura that was used for her surgery in Tampa several months before.

Then, within two months, she was back in the hospital, having yet another neurosurgery to try to detach some of the tumor from her spine. It was after this surgery she was fitted for leg braces and had to start a routine of voiding by catheter. It was a very trying time in our lives, once again. And yet, once again I felt the presence of God helping us through it. In retrospect, I believe God, knowing that Megan was going to need more surgery, placed us near one of the best children’s hospitals and one of the best neurosurgeons in the country, and at just the right time.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 103:19

Megan with gifts she got while in the hospital:

After several hospital and doctor visits I decided I would no longer pursue any upward career moves within Delta. Megan had so many medical issues I needed to be available both mentally and physically to focus on her. I was however, still very interested in getting back to the other side of the country. So, in June of 1991, after one year in Los Angeles, I made a lateral move and transferred to the Jacksonville, Florida Reservation Office: God willing, the subject of a future writing. 🖊

Treasure In Jars of Clay

My life story and journey of faith.

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