David N. Walker's Blog, page 19

Sorry About This

It always seems like I’m failing my readers when I don’t have a new blog to post, but we’ve spent the last couple of days moving my 98 year-old mother from one assisted living facility to another. Between the physical and emotional wear and tear from the move and the time taken up by it, I just couldn’t get one ready for today.

Sometimes, I can whip out a Friday blog in a very short time, but my Christian blogs take more time—and frequently more than a little bit of research. Please bear with me, and I’ll have a blog for you next Tuesday. I’ll also have one of my uncategorized posts ready for Friday.

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

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Published on June 10, 2014 03:00

The B-36 Peacemaker

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently ran a special section with pictures from the city’s past. Perusing these photos brought up a lot of nostalgia for me, so I decided to write blogs about several of the things or events captured in them.

You younger readers may never have heard of the B-36. It was a huge bomber built by Convair, which became General Dynamics, which is now Lockheed. Production began around the end of World War II and continued through 1954.

The B-36 was the largest piston-engine airplane ever built. It was 162 feet long and had a wingspan of 230 feet. That huge wingspan contained six rear-facing engines. That’s right—six. Three on each wing. The props trailed the wings and pushed the plane rather than pulling it like the props on other propeller-driven planes.

The plane’s combat weight was 262,500 pounds, but it could take off weighing up to 410,000 pounds. It had a maximum speed of 418 mph, but its cruise speed was only 230 mph. Its climb rate of 1995 feet per minute at sea level and its relatively slow cruise speed are exceeded by many of today’s light twins.

When I was growing up, both my elementary school and my junior high school were more or less in the flight pattern for planes taking off to the south from the runway shared by Convair and Carswell Air Force Base. Since the prevailing winds here are from the south, almost every flight that took off from there flew over my schools.

When the air force began flying B-52′s and other jets, their noise didn’t last long as they moved swiftly away from the area, but not so the B-36. When these behemoths took off, it took them forever to lumber out of the area. The noise from those six engines rattled the windows in the two schools and lasted for five minutes or more. All teaching necessarily came to a stop while they went by.

Now the planes that fly in and out of that runway are so light and fast you hardly notice them. That’s nice for teachers and students trying to hear one another, but it’s sorta sad, too. I missed those old behemoths.

The last one built was named “The City of Fort Worth.” It sat between Carswell and General Dynamics for awhile, but when the city of Fort Worth couldn’t come up with the funds and space to maintain and display it, it was moved to Arizona, where it sits at the Pima Air & Space Museum just south of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Maybe I’ll drive out there one of these days to see it.

What things your hometown was famous for years ago do you miss? What do you do to scratch the itch of missing them?

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WANA: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, B-36 Peacemaker, Caring, Carswell Air Force Base, Convair, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, General Dynamics, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help

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Published on June 06, 2014 03:00

When God Calls

When a Christian responds to a calling from God, he or she is not doing so to impress anyone else or because it sounded like fun. He is submitting himself to God to be used for God’s purposes regardless of personal consequences.

During a discussion in our Sunday School class one lady spoke up about an in-law couple who had been on a mission to a dangerous country in Africa and was making preparations to go back. This lady thought it was horrible they were going to go back. The family was sure the couple would be killed and was doing everything possible to discourage these two people and keep them from going.

She went on and on about how crazy she thought these people were and what a horrible thing they were doing to their family, and she asked us what she should do about it. My response was that she should thank God for their commitment and pray for their safety and the success of their mission. Others in the class said similar things, but she didn’t want to hear any of us. She wanted us to agree with her, which none of us did.

How easily we allow our carnal minds to get in the way of God’s work. This lady was not motivated by any selfishness. She had nothing to gain personally, so she wasn’t exactly putting herself ahead of God will, but she was putting her desire for this couple’s safety ahead of God’s will.

It’s very popular to say that God works in mysterious ways, but when He does so, we want to substitute our own wisdom or agenda for His. That’s what was happening in this situation. My friend didn’t understand why God called these people to their mission, so she put her desire for their safety ahead of God’s will—as did most of her family.

There was a time when my daughter and son-in-law were younger that I thought they might be hearing a call to the mission field. The idea of their being stationed in some strange place where they might be in danger scared me.

I didn’t like that thought at all, nor did I like the prospect they might be halfway around the world from me. Like a mother hen, I wanted them to be tucked safely into a nest near me. Fortunately, however, I realized that God had first claim on them and that His will and His wisdom were superior to mine, and I never said a word to discourage them.

As it turned out, God called them to minister here in Texas, which was a relief to me, but I had to be willing to let them go if that had been His calling. In fact, both my daughter and my oldest grandson have made mission trips to a somewhat unstable area. Two weeks isn’t the same as a fulltime calling, but I still had to deal with some level of uneasiness when they went. But it would have been completely out of order for me to try to interfere with the calling.

If friends or loved ones announce a call from God that sounds dangerous to us, our position needs to be one of encouragement, whether we understand and agree or not. We need to remember that they’re human and also have fears, just like we do. The fact they are being obedient to God’s call doesn’t mean they have no fear or doubt. We should never be in the position of encouraging such fears and doubts. We should never try to keep other Christians from following God’s will, be they distant acquaintances or our own children.

How would you react if God called someone near and dear to you to undertake some activity you consider to be dangerous or that you simply don’t understand? What would you do if you encountered great family resistance to something God called you to do?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, God's calling, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

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Published on June 03, 2014 03:00

Why Blog?

Susie Lindau posted a blog this week about blogging and platform-building, and it got me thinking. Why do we blog?

I started blogging because my friend Kristen Lamb told me I needed to. Didn’t know what I was doing, but I started in. The idea was that blogging would build a platform, getting my name out so people would recognize it and buy my books.

Possibly God doesn’t honor such blatant ulterior motives, because in a little over three years of blogging, I haven’t seen a rush of people demanding my books. And you know what? That’s okay.

Like many other writers, I started out with the idea of making millions of dollars on book sales. In fact, I held to that dream for over 20 years before I realized it wasn’t likely to happen.

As I realized the big money was unlikely, I also realized that I enjoy writing. I love it when readers comment on my blogs and when they buy my books, and I certainly wouldn’t turn down an influx of money, but I write because I like to write.

Since I began blogging, I’ve made many cyber friends—some through the blogs, some through Twitter, and some through Facebook. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a number of these people in person at writers’ conferences. I’ve met with one friend on my way through her hometown on vacation, and I hope to meet two others that way this summer. Each of these people has enriched my life.

By blogging and reading the posts of others, I come to know them—and they me—better than we ever would just from reading 140 words on Twitter or whatever we might post on Facebook. I feel like I really know people like August McLaughlin and Marcia Richards and Renee Shuls-Jacobson and many others, whether I ever get to meet them in person or not.

As my expectations have changed, so has my blogging methodology. I used to force myself to post three new blogs a week on defined subject matter, until I realized I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. I was writing because I felt like I had to instead of because I enjoyed it. When I cut back from three a week to two, I relaxed a lot.

Those of you who read my posts with any regularity know that on Tuesdays you can expect something relating to Christianity. These are usually things I feel God wants me to say on those particular days. On Fridays, I may do anything. Family photos, short blogs about something funny I read or saw, occasional rants. Fridays are sorta like open letters from me to you.

Why do you blog? How often do you like to post blogs? What do you hope/expect to get from your blogging?

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WANA: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help

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Published on May 30, 2014 07:30

Pause or Rewind

I saw this sign on Facebook:

Without any deep thought, I immediately commented ‘Rewind.’

We can all think of events that have happened and decisions we’ve made that we wish we could have over. If I’d only . . .

If I’d only . . . We writers have vivid imaginations. We can easily imagine how our lives would have been so much better if we’d only . . . We’d be wealthy today, or we’d be great golfers or movie stars or whatever.

As I continued through more Facebook posts, I couldn’t get the question out of my mind. Would I really want either button? Would my life be any better if I’d hit ‘Rewind’ and done such and such over again?

God knows before I get there which turn I’m going to make. He knows my every decision before I do. He manages—in some way I can’t even imagine—to weave all my good and bad decisions together, all my left turns and right turns and straight aheads, all my good moves and bad ones, and lead me where He wants me to be. And He does all that without violating my own free will.

If I could go back and do this over again, I wouldn’t have ended up over there, and if I hadn’t been over there, He couldn’t have done that. What gives me the temerity to think I could improve on God’s plan by taking “overs” on some decision or action or event. Heaven forbid.

On second thought, I think I’ll pass on either of the buttons offered. I’ve managed to make a mess of my life, but God has managed to work through that mess to bring me where He wants me to be. What could be better that that?

What “If I’d only’s” do you think about now and then? How sure are you that you’d be better off today if you could do them over?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

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Published on May 27, 2014 03:00

Wuss

We all know people who have dealt or are dealing with serious health conditions. Probably just about everyone who reads my blog knows Susie Lindau and Renee Shuls-Jacobson and the conditions they have fought or are still fighting. It’s easy and natural to cut people like this a large measure of slack in their dealings with life while they face such serious battles.

We all know others coping with serious heart problems or overcoming all kinds of accidents. They pursue their lives and don’t ask for pity from anyone. They continue to write their blogs or get up and go to work every day or whatever.

Makes me wonder about myself. I have a runny nose and big-time cough from a cold, and I let it throw me. Between the drain on my energy from my body’s efforts to fight off these symptoms and my lack of sleep from coughing all night, it’s all I can do to sit in front of my computer, much less focus on writing.

Maybe I’m just a wuss, but I can’t put any coherent thoughts together for a post today. Hopefully, I’ll do better next week. Until then, I think I’ll go climb back into my recliner.

How do you make yourself produce when you don’t feel like it?

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WANA: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help

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Published on May 23, 2014 03:00

Stuart Hamblen

Have you ever heard of Stuart Hamblen? I wouldn’t have recognized the name until a couple of days ago when our Sunday School teacher played a video in which Jimmy Dean interviewed him. That’s when I discovered he wrote several of my favorite songs from my youth.

My grandmother used to play the piano and sing—although you had to love her to sit in the same room with her singing. She would sing songs like “Oh Susanna” and “Mockingbird Hill” and others that date back to the 1950′s or earlier.

One of the songs she liked was “Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sun Shine In,” which was recorded by Rosemary Clooney in 1954. It talks about how Satan runs from the sunshine.

One that I remember her playing all the time was “It Is No Secret.” First recorded by Russ Hamblen in 1952, this song has been recorded by several dozen different singers and groups ranging from Ernest Tubb to Elvis Presley to the Blackwood Brothers.

As I said, I wasn’t aware of Stuart Hamblen’s name, but I loved these latter two songs when I was growing up. He could preach a beautiful sermon in the simple words of his songs.

One of the early television shows my sister and I watched faithfully in the 1950′s was “Your Hit Parade.” Each week the cast of Dorothy Collins, Gisele MacKenzie, Snooky Lanson, and Russell Arms would sing the top ten hits of the week, starting with number ten and moving upward.

There were a lot of great songs in that era, but one in particular I always loved to hear was “This Old House.” Russell Arms would always sing the line, “Well I ain’t a-gonna need this house no longer, ain’t a-gonna need this house no more,” in his deepest bass voice, and I always loved hearing that.

Stuart Hamblen did a great job of getting God’s name into the popular music of the day. I don’t know why it took me so long to become aware of him. Here’s an interview Jimmy Dean did with him in 1963.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6e_MPVG0tU

What popular song from your youth talked about God?

What songs from back in your youth do your remember fondly but can’t remember who wrote them?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Jimmy Dean, Sins, Stuart Hamblen, Works

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Published on May 20, 2014 03:00

98 Years Old, Going for 100!

Yesterday my mother attained a milestone. She became the first person we know of anywhere in her family to reach her 98th birthday.

Sharon took a picture of me leaning over to give Mother a hug:

Then I got one of her and Mother:

A few minutes later my nephew and his family arrived to join the festivities. Here are Makenzie, Cameron, and Brennen with her:

Mother, an inveterate sweets lover (that’s why she loves me so much) was drooling over the prospect of digging into the cake. Too bad the lighting didn’t show the family in the background, but Mother thought the cake was the most important thing anyhow.

Even though she can’t remember much, can hardly see (macular degeneration), and hasn’t walked in over three years, we feel blessed to have Mother still with us after 98 years. Amazingly, the only prescription she takes regularly is for a lifelong thyroid condition. I feel like I’m in pretty good health for my age, but I take around 20 pills a day to maintain it. My sister and I have started hoping at least one of us outlives her so we can continue to see to her care.

Mother raised four of us and has had to deal with the loss of my younger sister and brother, as well as one of her grandchildren. After she and my father divorced, she went back to school at age 48 to get a masters degree and embark on a career as a social worker. She retired from that to move to West Texas and help care for her brother, who was slowly dying of emphysema. Then she took over raising her youngest grandson, keeping him with her until she was 80 years old.

Mother lived independently until she was 93 and had to move into assisted living. She’s always been truly a remarkable person.

Who in your family has lived into his or her nineties or beyond?

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WANA: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help

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Published on May 16, 2014 03:00

The Ten Commandments

In Sunday School the other day, we discussed the 20th chapter of Exodus, which contains the Ten Commandments. Our teacher asked the question, “Are Christians bound by the Ten Commandments?”

An interesting question—one which could possibly stir up some controversy. Are we required to obey the Ten Commandments?

Those of us who were raised as regular church attendees were taught these commandments from young ages. We were raised to accept them as part of being a Christian—but are they really?

The Biblical answer to the question is that we are not subject to the law, and the commandments are part of the law, so Christians are not subject to them. That may surprise some, even cause some arguments, but that’s what the Bible says.

The Ten Commandments are part of Mosaic Law. This law was part of the Mosaic Covenant, and it governed Israel from Moses’s day until the day of Jesus’s crucifixion. In the moment of His death on the cross, however, the law was superseded by the New Covenant of grace.

Jesus Himself said, “I come to fulfill the law.” At the moment He gave up the ghost on the cross, the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom, symbolizing the end of the priesthood and, more generally, the entire covenant of the law. It was replaced by grace.

The law was never sufficient to save anyone. Jesus said “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 3:16, one of the most recognized verses in scripture, reads as follows:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

It says nothing about doing this or obeying that. It simply says “whosoever believes.” It’s our belief in Jesus, our acceptance of Him as our Savior, that gives us new birth into God’s kingdom and membership in His family.

So, what about the law and the commandments? Are they of no value anymore? Absolutely not. They are of great value—as a mirror for us to see our shortcomings. Our sins. By examining ourselves in the light of the law, we can see what sins we need to confess, and when we do that, 1 John 1:9 says God will be faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

How wonderful is that? We’re not required or even expected to live up to every measure of the law. Our responsibility is to confess our sins. God does the rest.

So what does cleanse us of all unrighteousness mean? It’s God’s process of conforming us to the image of His Son, as He promised us in Romans 8:28 & 29.

Jesus knew no sin, and God is conforming you and me to His image. He does this, not by subjecting us to external laws and commandments, but by changing our own inner desires. If I am submitted to Him and regularly confess whatever sins He shows me, then His work in me makes me not want to murder or commit adultery or violate any of the other commandments.

That’s the New Covenant at work. Where the law could not force me to do this or refrain from that, the Holy Spirit, working in me because of my acceptance of Jesus as my Savior, can make me want to do this and not do that. I’m not under the law, but I’m being conformed to the spirit of the law.

What changes can you see in yourself that God has brought about through this cleansing process? How would you like for your salvation to be contingent on living up to each and every one of the Mosaic laws?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Ten Commandments, Works

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Published on May 13, 2014 03:00

Funny Signs

Here’s a miscellaneous collection of cartoons and signs that crack me up. I hope they give you a hearty laugh, too. Actually, there’s only one cartoon, but I thought I’d include it, since it shows me in my natural habitat.

Actually I don’t wear boxers, and I’d be in a recliner, but other than that, this is me: