April 28, 2020
Bonnie and I met Jani on a cruise probably 10 years ago. She and a co-worker, Cathy, were our table mates on the “Grandeur of the Seas” sailing out of Baltimore for two days at sea, two nights in Bermuda, and two days back home. Jani wrote to me yesterday and asked us to pray for her sister, Kathy, who works in a nursing home, and has tested positive for COVID-19. Her symptoms at this point do not include lung distress, but she has diabetes. Please put Kathy on your prayer list and join me in asking Father for her healing.
👉 This next piece is an example of why you can’t believe everything on the internet. People post things to their Facebook and other accounts, and readers, believing everything they see on the internet, pass it on. And on and on. And others, thinking if it’s on the internet it must be true, pass it on. And on and on.
Carlotta Waldmann posted a picture on her Facebook account, accusing WalMart of, among other things, “supporting one world government,” and “one world religion.”
Take a look at the picture, captured from Facebook.
She is right about one thing: nWo does stand for New World Order. After that, she is all wrong – no world religion, no world leader, no world currency, no world government. nWo was part of World Championship Wrestling that featured Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash. It was one of the best angles the WCW ever had.
Back in 2001, when I was doing my weekly column, “Not For Sunday Only,” in The Augusta Chronicle, and online, I wrote a piece entitled, “Hidden Meanings.” It was a warning, particularly to Christians, not to believe everything you hear, and not to repeat stuff until you have researched it. I invite you to take a look: http://davidsisler.com/08-30-2001.htm
👉 One of the summer time entertainments back home was the 219 Drive-In Theater. Once inside, we’d hang the speaker on the window and head for the refreshment stand. Then back to the car for a double feature. It was a great family place, and also a great date night place.
We would be sitting three across in the front seat of the ‘59 Chevrolet Brookwood station wagon, with Kyle riding shotgun, I was the driver, and my girlfriend was in the middle. Occasionally, I’d tap my brother on the shoulder and he’d go to the snack bar while she and I had a private moment.
Many years the traditional theater in Oakland burned down, the drive-in was the only local movie spot.
Modern drive-ins don’t have a speaker that you hang on the window (and tear off the stand when you forgot and drove away). Instead they pipe the sound in via your FM radio.
May I suggest you do not do one thing a group of my college fraternity brothers decided to do at the drive-in. The driver and one passenger hopped in their respective seats, and as many as could safely fit into the trunk would pile in there. After paying admission for two, the driver would park on the back row and open the trunk. The trick worked twice, and then my brothers from Sigma Tau Gamma were banned for life.
👉 Continuing my trip through historic Garrett County, Maryland, which we started yesterday, let’s go across the railroad tracks to Mountain Lake Park. MLP grew out of two American activities of the 19th century, the Methodist Camp Meeting which was aimed at spiritual renewal, and the Chautaugua Society, an educational and recreational assembly with lectures and concerts.
The 800 acres which would become MLP was purchased in 1881 for $4,672. A 22 acre lake was constructed, and later expanded to 35 acres. There was an ice house capable of holding 2500 tons of ice on the east side of the lake and a boat house on the west side.
One of the town’s main attractions was the Bashford Amphitheater which had a seating capacity of 5,000 (I have been unable to discover who Bashford was). It was an architectural marvel, having no center post and therefore no obstructed views. Speakers included President William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryan, Mark Twain, and Billy Sunday. The Amphitheater was razed in the 1940s due to a lack of money to repair the roof.
President Taft leaving the auditorium after making a speech.
In the beginning the MLP Association provided tents that could be rented for a season, and a building boom of cottages, hotels, and boarding houses soon followed. Building lots were $100 each. Houses had to cost at least $300, unless the builder was a clergyman, in which case the minimum cost was $150. Gambling, card playing, dancing, and the use of alcohol was prohibited – even in one’s own home.
In addition to the Mountain Lake Hotel, visitors could find rooms at the Hotel Dennett, Hotel Chautaugua, Hotel Columbia, and Mountain View Home.
The Boardwalk that went from the B&O train station to the Amphitheater was still there when I was a teenager. The building on the right side of the tracks is gone, but the train depot is still there – repurposed by Kelly Vance as a storage depot for his furniture store.
One more building. The Assembly Building was known as the Tabernacle when I “coming up.” The open air section was eventually closed in. You can see the bell tower on the left, and closed circuit for the JAMM Kids, your Skinny Pappy and some friends “borrowed” a farmer’s cow, led it up the stairs to the top of the tower, tied the cow to the bell rope, closed off the platform and made their escape. The townspeople knew something was amiss when the bell continued to ring.
👉 Psalm 23 begins with David’s declaration, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd; and I know my sheep” (John 10:14). In Isaiah 49:16, God said, “I have written your name on my hand.”
Do you get the idea from those verses that you matter to God? It is tempting to think that mattering only counts with the major things – like the coronavirus pandemic. Those “big” things matter, of course, but also the every day, day to day, hum drum things of life. The flat tire. The leaky dishwasher. The backed up sewer. A crashed hard drive. A spat with your spouse. Bad grades in an important class.
You can keep that list going, but the truth is, everything about you matters to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He knows your name. In fact, He has written it on His hand. Did you ever tie a string around your finger as a mnemonic device, or write a note on your palm so you wouldn’t forget something? Jesus didn’t write your name on His hand so He wouldn’t forget it. It is there as a constant reminder to you that He loves you, and He cares for you, and He is concerned about what is happening inside of you and around you.
Now, whatever it is, can you trust Him with it?
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