The 31st--Issue #4

Welcome to the 31st! If you don't remember, The 31st is an ever-so-often column that I have here on my blog. It is published on every 31st day of the months that have a 31st day!

With having a weird heritage like that, no wonder that this column is focused on wild and wacky trivia! This is issue #4, and this time I've decided to focus on some Civil War-related historical markers that I have found in North Georgia. Enjoy! :)

Did you know...

• That the Western & Atlantic railroad depot in Ringgold, GA is the only depot between Atlanta and Chattanooga that has been operational for 162 years?
• That Chattanooga's Missionary Ridge was so named after the nearby Brainerd Mission to the Cherokee Indians?
• That the Clisby Austin house, built in Tunnel Hill, GA in the year 1850, was the Union General Sherman's headquarters when he came through the area in early May 1864?
• That the Huff House, in Dalton, GA, was the headquarters for Confederate General Johnston in early 1864?
• That the railroad wood station which was once between Resaca and Tilton, GA was where the locomotive GENERAL stopped for wood before resuming its' flee from the pursuing TEXAS? 
• That Gordon County, GA was named after William Washington Gordon? He was the first Georgian to graduate from West Point, and became quite involved in the railroad and banking businesses of his state.
• That New Echota, GA was the location of the first Indian language newspaper office?
• That the oldest Confederate cemetery in Georgia is in Resaca? It was started by Miss Mary Green and her sister, who in their late teens and early twenties felt so bad for the slipshod was the soldiers had been buried. They dug up all the soldiers' bodies, and reburied them in a respectful and orderly manner on a plot of land that their father had given the girls. 
• That the battle of Resaca was one of the few places in which the entire armies of Sherman and Johnston faced each other?

Well that's it for this time! I hope you have enjoyed learning even just a little bit about the fascinating history that occurred in Tennessee and Georgia. See you in March!

Introducing Project "366ish"

Since finishing my Desire of Ages Readathon, I have been searching for a new program that I can do for my morning quiettime.

I knew I wanted to do some Bible memorization; however, I also wanted some variety and flexibility. Thus is born what I call the 366ish project! My friend Briana is following this program this year and has been posting about it on her blog, except that she is doing one verse a day. It's looked so good that I've decided to try it!

Basically, as you might suspect, the "366 Verses, 366 Days: His Word in My Heart" project is aimed at helping people memorize one verse a day for the entire year. I'm going to follow along, but at a slightly more relaxed pace. Maybe more like three or four verses a week, instead of seven. We'll see. I also want the freedom to study my Sabbath School lesson, or to write up a devotional on this blog if I have the inspiration.

So with thus aforementioned disclaimers disclaimed, I now announce the commencement of my starting the 366ish project! Usually I will probably memorize the same verses that Briana is memorizing; however, since I didn't start on January 1 there are some verses that I would really like to catch up on! I know that I don't need to catch up, and I certainly won't press myself. Still, there are some verses that I definitely don't want to pass by. So this week, instead of doing the new verses, I will be trying to memorize some previously-posted verses. Here they are:

• Sunday--Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
• Monday--Acts 18:9-10: "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.'"
• Tuesday--Matthew 14:27: "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.'"
• Wednesday--Luke 2:10: "Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.'"
• Thursday--Psalm 56:11: "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
• Friday--Revelation 1:17: "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.'"
• Saturday--Exodus 14:13: "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.'"

As you probably could see, all these verses are on the topic of courage, and God's strength. What wonderful subjects to meditate on! 

I will be (hopefully) writing next week Sabbath and updating you all on my progress. Feel free to join me, whether it be one verse a week, a couple verses a week, or seven verses a week! There's strength in numbers! Also don't hesitate to contact me and check up to see how I am doing. Your motivation could be just the encouragement I need!

It's All a Matter of Perspective

Photo taken by Super_Nate

Isn't this a beautiful view? I was very privileged to see this panorama a few weeks ago when a college student friend of mine and I spent the day geocaching in a town about thirty miles north of Chattanooga. We had a grand time together, and in our twelve-hour trip I was able to find sixty more geocaches!

While signing my name on a few more caches was fun, the real memories that I'll take from this trip is the journey. Nothing can ever compare to the places we went, or the sights we saw (see above picture for excellent example!). This trip helped me realize even more that geocaching is not so much about finding a cache, although that is fun. It is about enjoying the journey, and exploring new places that you've never been before.

The above picture was taken in the Sequatchie Valley, which is (as you can see) a prime spot for hang gliders. Actually, this shot was taken right from where the hang gliders take off! Towards the right in the shot you can see a big wooden structure, which happens to be the perch from which the hang gliders launch off into the wild blue yonder. My friend (Super_Nate, who has very kindly let me use his picture) and I just happened to pick the right time and day to be there--and the picture doesn't do it half justice! I don't think I've ever seen a more breathtaking sight. Standing upon the tallest mountain and looking 2,000 feet into the valley--wow, it was so wonderful that I can't even start to truly share this experience!

Finally, after several pictures were taken, Super_Nate and I peeled ourselves away and descended into the valley. What was interesting was the difference between being on the mountain and being in the valley. On the mountain, it seemed like we could see forever! In the valley, sure, we could see the mountains but seemed to be much more caught up with the cares of day-to-day life. We had changed our perspective, and that made all the difference.

An oft-forgotten Bible story comes to mind when I think about perspective. It happened back in the days of Elisha the prophet, and when the kings of Israel and Aram were at war with each other. The king of Aram would try strategy after strategy, but to no avail. The king of Israel and his men were always there to meet the king of Aram and his men.

The king of Aram was really getting ticked. Back at his palace, he demanded his special circle of advisors to tell him who was on the side of the king of Israel. In other words, who's tipping off the enemy? The king of Aram's special advisers reassured him that no Aramean was tipping off Israel--it was Israel's prophet, Elisha. After a bit of snooping the king of Aram found out where Elisha was, and commissioned his men to go capture Elisha.

So next morning, Elisha and his servant are getting up. Both see the same sight, but have totally different reactions. While Elisha is courageous and calm, his servant is going totally berserk. There was a huge army of horses and chariots, just waiting to capture his master! And in this servant's own words,

"Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?" (II Kings 6:15)

Elisha replies in what is one of the most beautiful passages of scripture, II Kings 6:16--

"Don't be afraid...Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

Huh?

Elisha prays, and God opens this servants' eyes. Now, this servant sees what Elisha sees--hundreds upon thousands of God's fiery horsemen and chariots surrounding this city--all on standby and ready to defend God's prophet. This servant's perspective totally changed.

I can think of several lessons from my experience and view from the mountain. First of all, where's your perspective? Are you burdened down with the cares of everyday life, and with the strength of the enemy? Or do you see the big picture of how everything really is, and how strong God is? When Super_Nate and I were down in the valley, it seemed like the town we were in was huge! But on the mountain, the town was just a fraction of the panorama. So are we too much focused on the cares of this world (and you know what they are) or are we looking at things in their real light? Are we getting bogged down about how "big" the enemy is, or are we trusting and rejoicing in God's mighty protection? Are we focusing on the truly important things of this life, such as getting ourselves and others ready for heaven?

Now what about you? Are you focusing on the wrong things, the cares of the valley, the strength of the enemy? If you are, ask God to help you see the big picture. He always sees the panorama!

Creeping Darkness

A few weeks ago the most marvelous experience happened. The sun had almost gone to bed, the temperature was dropping, and the woodbox needed refilling. Since our whole family wanted a fire that night (and Dad hadn't come home yet), Mom had asked me to go out to our woodpile and transport some lumber from the pile into the woodbox.

I didn't mind at all. Zipping my coat and tying my shoes, I prepared to go outside. It wasn't too cold out, but I knew that once the sun set (it was almost there), it would get much cooler. For maybe twenty minutes or so, I carted wood from the woodpile to the woodbox, carrying one piece of wood per trip. It wasn't a lot, but I could still see well enough and the work went quickly. Soon I had finished my chore and was back inside. But when I had come inside from outside, I was startled. I knew that the sun had set but that there was still some light to go by. But when I was inside looking out, it seemed like there was totally no light outside! I had just been in for a few seconds, but it really amazed me that while I was outside, I could see fine, but when I was inside I couldn't see anything. The darkness had come slow but sure, and all of a sudden it was there.

I've been thinking about that experience. It reminds me of what Satan will do to us if we're not careful. He'll introduce just a little more sin into our lives. Not so much that we'll balk at; but just enough that we will accept it and thus continue our way to destruction. If we (with Jesus' help, of course) don't stop the progress soon enough, we'll be startled at the darkness that has come upon our lives. Jesus actually talks about this principle in Matthew 16.

"“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”" (verse 6)


Jesus isn't talking about real yeast, but is referring to the false teachings that spread through the life like yeast. Slowly, surely, and almost imperceptibly. 


Is there some sin or bad habit in your life that is taking you down? Do you want to stop it, but don't know how? Ask Jesus to help you! Cling to His promises! It may be a struggle, but if you surrender all to Him He will help you out of your pit. Don't let the Son set on your life! 

The Path Between the Seas

Recently I bought several books from Amazon with my Christmas money. The book above, The Path Between the Seas, was one of the books that I bought. I've already started reading it!

David McCullough did an outstanding job of writing this book--it is very understandable, easy to read, and quite frankly fun and entertaining! I've never learned that much about the Panama Canal, so I'm really enjoying being able to learn some history that I hadn't known before. Since the book is just over 600 pages, I think it will take me a while to finish, ;) but that's just fine with me.

From what I've read so far (just the introduction and chapter 1), I'd highly recommend this book!

~Photobug

A Sermon in Shoes

Many of you probably know that I work part-time at the local university's cafeteria. There, I work two back-to-back shifts three times a week. First, I spend about two and a half hours cleaning the bathrooms, emptying trash cans, and cleaning the sinks. For the last hour and a half or so, I wash tables, straighten chairs, and vacuum floors out in the dining hall.

When I clean the bathrooms, empty trash, and clean the sinks, I am almost constantly around cafe personal only. Almost everywhere I look, someone is wearing a green shirt (our uniform color)! If someone isn't wearing green, then they are probably a supervisor (who gets to choose what color to wear), or a delivery man delivering more goods to the cafe. In other words, for my first shift I am in the cafe proper, interacting with basically no one who isn't related somehow to the cafe.

But when I fill up my bucket with water, grab a towel to wash the tables with, and head out to the dining hall, it's a totally different story. I am not in the cafe proper anymore, and often I may be the only cafe representative out in the dining hall. When other people come through the dining hall, whether to eat or just passing through, I am the only "cafe" they see. There's the guy who wanted to know where the hot water machine was, and then another one who asked what the cafe hours were. And then there's the girl who couldn't open her food due to the packaging. She asked me to open it for her, and I did. I'm certainly not trying to brag, but I have realized that if I am friendly and help these people in their quandaries, they will have a positive image of the cafe.

I think almost nothing of putting on my green shirt and heading on into the cafe for a few hours of work and fun (the people there are so wonderful, friendly, and funny!). However, it has been quite a sobering thought that if I am not so friendly and helpful, people's opinion of the cafe will go down. Depending on my actions, I can either enhance or destroy the cafe's reputation.

Wow.

You know, that's a lot how it is in our spiritual lives. People may not listen to a sermon that we preach, but they will observe our actions. They probably know that we are Christians. What if we, unmindful of them, do something that is un-Christian like? Then what will they think of Christians, and to take this further, of God? I'm just starting to grasp this concept myself, but--has it ever dawned on you that your actions either enhance or destroy God's reputation? Yeah--I know, heavy stuff! But it's stuff worth thinking about, too.

That's my 2012 challenge for you. Day by day, commune with God to get on the same page that He is. With God's help, help enhance His reputation. Be a "sermon in shoes" for Him!