David N. Walker's Blog, page 29

June 25, 2013

‘Til Death Do Us Part

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” This verse from the second chapter of Genesis is the foundation for the institution of marriage. Let’s take a look at how seriously one friend of mine takes this.


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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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Sheri de Grom is a writer friend from Arkansas. If you don’t know Sheri, check out her blog here. She is retired from a career that gave her a lot of insight into the ills of the workings of our government. She is also a loving wife who married for life.


I don’t know the details of Sheri’s story, but at some time in the past her husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and she has been through a nightmare of trials in dealing with hospitals, doctors, government red-tape, etc., in trying to get help for him. Read yesterday’s post THE WRONGS OF PSYCHIATRIC CARE – Part 1 of 2 for the details of her ordeal.


Rather than repeat what she’s already written, and written better than I could anyway, I want to talk about her as a person and an example of a loving, Godly wife. A football coach of mine used to say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” If so, Sheri certainly qualifies as tough.


She quotes statistics in her post that 75% to 90% of marriages involving a bipolar partner end in divorce. Having had very little experience with the disorder, I can only imagine some of the horrors involved, but that statistic is enough to convince me it must be pretty bad.


A different person from Sheri could have joined in the majority side of that statistic and walked away from her mate and her marriage. Her life would undoubtedly be much simpler and easier if she had. But Sheri’s not a different person.


Sheri understood the words of Jehovah in Genesis about cleaving. She heard the words in her marriage vows, “. . .in sickness and in health . . . ’til death do us part.” She knows that marriage is a covenant relationship between a man and a woman with God at the center to hold them together. And she does what it takes.


If you venture over to her site to read this post, you’ll see the love that motivates her. You’ll glimpse the tenacity with which she clings to her husband and pursues every avenue to try to get him the treatment he needs. You will infer from her writing that the man has suffered some dementia with his condition. I’m not sure whether or not he even knows her. But she knows him, and she knows her commitment to him.


I’ve never been put to the kind of test Sheri has dealt with for a number of years now. I don’t know how well I would fare with such a test. I sincerely hope I never have to find out. I’m pretty sure a lot of us would score much lower marks than Sheri.


If you want to see what ’til death do us part looks like, look at Sheri de Grom. It would be difficult to find a better example.


Who do you know who has had to fight this sort of battle? What battles have you had to fight on behalf of your spouse? We’d love to hear your story.


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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: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Sheri de Grom. bipolar disorder
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Published on June 25, 2013 03:00

June 21, 2013

Should We Uphold the Constitution?

Any post a blogger might publish concerning partisan politics would be bound to ruffle feathers one way or another. Since I have very strong political opinions, I follow a rule of not making political comments at all.


Sometimes, however, events arise in the political arena which have nothing to do with conservative vs liberal or Republican vs Democrat. Some involve very obvious and clear cases of right and wrong. Such an issue is the question of whether we, as a nation, should follow the Constitution or ignore it in favor of our respective biases.


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My friend Ashley Cockerill pointed out in a recent blog that today, Friday June 21, is the 225th anniversary of the passing of the Constitution. She urged all her readers to honor that document by reading it this week. I agreed with her and sat down a couple of days ago to pore over this instrument which is the foundation of our republic.


While I was engaged in studying it, I read in a news article that the Supreme Court of the United States—an institution which is charged with upholding this document—issued a ruling that the state of Arizona has no right to see to it that only citizens vote in elections held there. In rendering this opinion, they basically took the position that federal law supersedes the Constitution. Really?


Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution states:


The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.


Article I, of course, is that portion of the Constitution that governs Congress. At the time of original passage, Senators were not elected by popular vote, so this section effectively establishes qualifications for voters for any federal elective position, and it clearly leaves it up to each state to determine those qualifications.


Article VI states:


This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land;


This article makes it pretty clear that the Constitution supersedes laws Congress passes. Laws passed by Congress in pursuance of the Constitution are part of the supreme law of the land, but if Congress passes a law which conflicts with a provision of the Constitution, that law is null and void.


Those of you who have followed my blogs long enough will recall more than one post (click here to read the last of these posts) in which I sympathized with a waitress friend of mine whose husband returned to Mexico because his parents brought him here illegally. I supported her in her efforts to get him back here legally, but neither she nor I would have suggested he should be allowed to vote in a country in which he was not a citizen.


The principle involved here has nothing to do with whether we feel sympathy for those who have violated our laws by crossing our borders illegally. It has nothing to do with whether my skin is white or brown or black. It has nothing to do with whether my native language is English or Spanish or whatever. It is a simple matter of right and wrong. Are we going to uphold our nation’s constitution, or are we going to ignore it any time some other course of action “feels good?”


If we’re to remain a constitutional republic, the answer is clear.


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


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: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, constitution, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help, Supreme Court, U. S. Constitution
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Published on June 21, 2013 03:00

June 18, 2013

My Mother

My mother had her 97th birthday a little over a month ago, although she doesn’t know it. In fact, Mother is aware of very little these days. She knows me most of the time, although she frequently can’t think of my name. Sometimes she thinks I’m her grandson or her father or brother, but usually she knows I’m her son.


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Mother holding her 95th birthday cake


Mother lives in a small assisted living group home, along with four to six others, depending on how recently someone has died. She’s been there almost five years, and she’s been the oldest resident almost the whole time.


There was a lady there a couple of years ago who died a couple of weeks before her 100th birthday. She retired from cutting hair at age 90.


Mother retired over 30 years ago from her career as a social worker. That career was a natural for her, since she’s always wanted to help anyone around who needed anything. Until her 90s, she was always the one who jumped up to wait on everyone and never asked anyone to do for her.


She quit walking shortly after she moved into this home five years ago. Now she can’t even stand with someone helping to hold her up. They have to lift her in and out of her wheelchair—not too difficult, since she probably doesn’t weigh 100 pounds these days.


Sometime in the last few months, Mother pretty well quit eating. She chews her food for awhile and then spits it back onto her plate. I know, not very appetizing. She makes exceptions for cookies, ice cream, and such. She’ll swallow them.


Her memory is non-existent. When she asks a question, she may remember the answer for two or three minutes, or she may ask the same question again as soon as you finish answering.


It’s funny what she does remember, though. She remembers Jesus. Can’t recall her mother or father or much else, but she remembers Jesus. If you ask her about her health, she’ll tell you Jesus gave her good health. She’s not in doubt about her source.


She spends her waking hours sitting in a chair, quietly singing “Jesus Loves Me” or “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” It might drive you up the wall to hear her sing those same two songs time after time, all day long.


For awhile it bothered me, and then I began to see God’s grace in her singing. She is reaffirming the importance of God in her life. She’s announcing to the world that, although she may not remember anyone or anything else, she remembers Jesus. Maybe He’s also reminding us He hasn’t forgotten her. He knows exactly where she is and will one day escort her to her place in heaven.


That’s a comforting thought to me. I know that regardless of all else, she knows who she is as a child of God. She knows Jesus is her Savior and that He is always with her. What a wonderful thing for her to keep on her mind.


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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.


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: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children

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Published on June 18, 2013 03:00

June 14, 2013

WordPress Family Award

My friend Sheri de Grom recently awarded me the WordPress Family Award. The rules for the WordPress Family Award are:


image1. Display the logo on your blog.


2. Link back to the person who nominated you.


3. Nominate 10 others who have had an impact on your Word Press experience and family.


4. Let the 10 family members know you have awarded them.


Following are my nominations for this award:



Catie Rhodes


Darlene Steelman


Jess Witkins


Julie Glover


Lara Schiffbauer


Nigel Blackwell


Renee Shuls-Jacobson


Sherry Isaac


Sonia G. Medeiros


Susie Lindau


I’ve followed each of these bloggers for quite some time now, and I can heartily recommend all of them to you. Click on any of them you’re not familiar with and sample the excellent writing available to you. You can’t miss with any of them.


By the way, if you go to Renee’s blog, you’ll find I’m missing an accent mark over the second “e” in her name. She knows I’m not smart enough to figure out how to get that mark on there. And you may find that Susie isn’t blogging as regularly as usual right now. In case you’re one of the few people on the planet unaware of it, she’s recovering from a double mastectomy right now, and I don’t think she’s quite up to a full-court press at the moment.


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


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: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help, Sheri de Grom, Wordpress Family Award
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Published on June 14, 2013 03:00

June 11, 2013

Why Prayer?

Ever wonder why Christians are admonished to pray? There are many places where the Bible tells us to pray. Matthew 7 says to ask (and keep on asking) and it will be given.


Doesn’t God know our needs before we’re even aware of them? Doesn’t He have provision made before we even ask? If He already knows all this, why does He expect us to pray? Why should I ask Him to heal me if he already knows my health needs? Why should I pray for a job if He already knows I need a job.


Does God need to be reminded of our needs? Does He have memory problems? I don’t think so. If He’s omniscient, that means He knows everything. And if He knows everything, He must never forget anything. So that can’t be the reason for all the prayer admonishment.


When I went to visit a friend with health problems recently, he and I and another friend were discussing this phenomenon. This man was thanking me, and my Sunday School class through me, for keeping him in our prayers, which is what brought up the subject. God is certainly aware of the man’s health situation, and yet we all three knew our prayers were important.


We concluded that the reason God wants us to pray about almost everything we do or need is not that He needs to hear it but that WE NEED to do it. We need to keep ourselves reminded that He is our source. If He just provided all our needs without any action on our part, it would be easy for us to forget Him and just begin thinking we get our needs met because WE deserve it. Our prayers keep our focus on Him and off our own abilities. Our prayers force us to recognize Him as the source of all we have.


Have you ever wondered about this—why God wants us to pray? What’s your take on this? Our readers love to hear from you, and so do I.


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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.


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: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Prayer

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Published on June 11, 2013 03:00

June 7, 2013

Finding Meara

Ever set out to do a favor for a friend, something you didn’t expect you would enjoy, and then discover doing the favor turns out to be a real pleasure? I recently had this experience.


Lara Schiffbauer and I have never met, but she has become one of my best friends. When I sent out a request for beta readers for Fancy, volume one of my novella series, Lara was the only one to respond. She has now read and edited all the novellas in the series, and her comments have been extremely helpful to me.


Let me tell you a little about Lara.


imageLara Schiffbauer is a writer, licensed clinical social worker, mother of two, wife of one, and a stubborn optimist. She loves Star Wars, Lego people, science, everyday magic and to laugh. You can find Lara on several different social media sites, with all links listed on her website, laraschiffbauer.com.


When I first heard she was working on a novel, I decided I would buy it and read it in order to support her. When I learned later on that her novel was a fantasy, I gulped slightly, because that’s not a genre I enjoy. I think maybe my imagination is too limited for such things. But I bought the book anyhow and set about reading it. Imagine my surprise when I got into Finding Meara and discovered I actually enjoyed reading it.image


To keep her safe, Hazel Michelli’s parents never told her she was adopted, or that her birthplace was in an alternative land where magic and monsters exist. She found out the truth the day a ferocious winged creature stole her from her Denver apartment and delivered her to Lucian, the sadistic Lifeforce magician who happens to be Hazel’s biological father.


“Dysfunctional family” takes on new meaning when she learns Lucian must sacrifice a daughter to maintain immortality and take over the Realm. When Hazel’s younger half-sister disappears just days before the Rite, Lucian moves Hazel to the top of the sacrificial short list.


Afraid, yet compelled to protect her four-year-old half-sister, Hazel races between both worlds, searching for Meara while being hunted by Lucian.  Their lives, and the future of the Realm, leave her no room for failure.


If you have any interest in fantasies, get this book and read it. In fact, even if you aren’t a fantasy lover, you might enjoy Lara’s great writing and the suspense she keeps hanging over you as you read.


You can order this book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple and Kobo. Do it. You’ll be glad.


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Winners from last week’s drawing: Patricia Sands, A. C. Cockerill, and Kitt Crescendo. Email me at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com to let me know whether you want Heaven Sent or first three volumes of Fancy series and whether you use Kindle or Nook.


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


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: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship Lara Schiffbauer, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Finding Meara, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help
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Published on June 07, 2013 03:00

June 4, 2013

Church Growth

You know how sometimes when you sit by yourself in a restaurant you can’t help overhearing the conversation for an adjacent booth or table? You’re not trying to eavesdrop, but they’re just talking loudly enough you can’t avoid hearing them.


On such an occasion recently, as I sat awaiting the arrival of my breakfast companion, I heard a conversation between two pastors—at least, I assumed they were both pastors. Possibly one was a pastor and the other was a layman from another church. I don’t really know for sure.


Anyhow, they were talking about their respective churches and things they did or needed to do to make them successful. Everything they said involved measuring the success or lack of success in terms of church growth.


According to their discussion, a church with an expanding membership was a successful church, and one whose membership growth was stagnant or negative, was a failure. According to their logic, a huge megachurch must be a paragon of success, while a small church was inherently a failure.


We carnal human beings do tend to think in such terms. Growth is good, and lack of growth is bad. We humans also tend to rate our leaders according to how successful they are at stimulating growth.


But is a church supposed to be a carnal human institution? Should it be judged by the same standards as, say a stock we’re looking to invest in? I think not. I think we miss the mark and do a disservice to our church leaders when we judge them by such yardsticks.


Have you heard the expression, “I am saved; I am being saved, and I shall be saved?” My salvation was established by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and cannot be won or lost by my own works. I understand that. It is the bedrock of the Gospel. But if that moment of salvation is the only event of spiritual significance in my life, I have missed the point.


That moment of salvation is the BEGINNING POINT of my Christian walk. Once I am saved, God begins a work in me of conforming me to the image of His Son. This is His work and not mine, but it is of great importance and will continue as long as I walk on this earth. This work of conforming me to the image of His Son is what is meant by the second part of the statement above, “. . .I am being saved . . .”


The third part of the statement, “. . .I will be saved,” refers to my death—or the rapture, if it should occur during my lifetime—when I will be perfected to stand before God looking just like His Son.


My own works had nothing to do with part one, my salvation, and will have nothing to do with part three, my ultimate perfection. So how about part two, my being conformed to the image of His Son? Again, my works can’t accomplish that. I can’t conform myself to His image. I can’t make myself more Christlike.


I do, however, have a part in this enterprise. My part is to submit myself to God and stay out of the way of the work He is doing in me. I can’t grow myself, but I can hinder my own growth by getting in God’s way—by insisting on having my will instead of His. Of course, we all do a certain amount of that, but the less we do of it, the more He can accomplish in us.


Given this, shouldn’t a church’s emphasis be on helping its members grow rather than on growing the number of members? Is a building filled with thousands of people who attend because they hear messages that make them feel good—that tickle people’s ears—a better church than one which a much smaller number of people are attend because they hear the true Gospel preached, drawing people to salvation and helping them to experience real spiritual growth?


This doesn’t mean that a large church is necessarily bad just because of its size, or that a small church is inherently good just because it’s small. My point is that the number of members or attendees, the size of the offering, the beauty of the building, and other such factors our carnal humanity tends to consider important are irrelevant in evaluating the merits of a church. The measure which I believe God looks at is whether or not the members invest themselves in one another’s lives and whether or not those individuals are growing in their relationships with Him.


Let’s forget about the growth of a church’s membership and pay more attention to the growth of its members.


Is your church wrapped up in membership drives, raising more and more money, beautifying and expanding the building where it meets, or is it more interested in seeing that individual members grow and flourish in their relationships with God?


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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.


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: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Christian, Church growth, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Rapture, salvation

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Published on June 04, 2013 03:00

May 31, 2013

Blogging Milestone

This is my 300th blog since I started back in 2011. Actually, if I counted my early posts at David Speaks (http://davidnwalker.wordpress.com/), it would be number 310, but since that site is inactive, I’ll just call it 300.


Such a milestone calls for some kind of a party, so I thought I’d offer all of you some cake and ice cream.


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Since all I drink is coffee and ice water, that’s all I can offer you in the way of liquid refreshment s. I hope that’s not too disappointing. At least there’s plenty of it.


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Oh, wait—parties are supposed to involve presents. Let’s do this. Leave a comment, and I’ll put your name in a hat. I’ll draw three names out, and the winners will have a choice of either an e-copy of my Christian inspirational Heaven Sent or e-copies of the first three volumes of my novella series Fancy. If a winner already has one or more volumes of Fancy, I’ll substitute the next three.


I’ll announce the winners in next Friday’s blog. If you win, you’ll have 24 hours to email me and tell me which prize you want. If a prize goes unclaimed after 24 hours, I’ll draw another name.


I can’t go too far with the party announcement without thinking of my friend Susie Lindau. Susie’s one of the big-time cyber party hostesses, and she can’t attend today, because she’d under anesthesia having a double mastectomy. Most of you probably know she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.


Being the dear person she is, she has managed to find humor even in her breast cancer, but I still think it would be fitting for us to pause the party noisemakers long enough to offer up a prayer for Susie. Let’s pause and do that right now. . . .


Okay. Thanks for your prayers for her. Now, Susie, your part in all this is to get well quickly.


Don’t forget to comment so I can enter you in the drawing.


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


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: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help, Susie Lindau
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Published on May 31, 2013 03:00

May 28, 2013

A Call for Help

The Bible says faith without works is dead. Obviously, if you believe the New Testament, you know that good works won’t get you to heaven. Only believing in Jesus Christ and accepting His sacrifice will do that. However, once we have that faith and that salvation, God expects us to do good works—not as some penance, but simply as an outflow of His Holy Spirit within us.


Charity Kountz | AuthorToday, I’d like to present you with an opportunity to do a good work. My friend Charity Kountz is a writer, a mother, a wife and a Christian, not necessarily in that order.


Charity has a sweet six year-old daughter and an equally sweet twelve year-old stepdaughter. I’m not just taking the word of a prejudiced mother about that. I’ve been around and love both of these girls.


Charity’s husband does not have custody of his daughter, which is where the problem arises. In recent months, this twelve year-old girl has begun revealing some real problems in the way she is treated in her mother’s home. She has even talked about suicide as a way of dealing with the problems.


A twelve year-old girl contemplating suicide! That’s completely unthinkable, but that’s where this child is.Charity Kountz | Author


Charity and her husband Ryan have begun the process of seeking custody of the girl, but it’s not an inexpensive procedure. And it couldn’t come at a worse time for them financially. Ryan recently lost his job, and Charity is trying to get a consulting business off the ground.


In order to pay an attorney and court costs, they need to raise $2,500. To a lot of people, that’s not much money, but I’ve been unemployed before, and at times that would have been an un-climbable mountain for me. It is right now for the Kountz family.


Please search your heart and pray about whether God would have you help them out—$10, $50, $100 or whatever. Click this link to make a donation. You just might help save a little girl’s life.Charity Kountz | Author


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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.


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: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Charity Kountz, Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Heaven Sent, inspiration
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Published on May 28, 2013 03:00

May 24, 2013

Graduation

Little late posting this. Hey, this brain has been working for seven decades. It takes a day off now and then.


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Last Saturday our middle grandson graduated from high school. And, no, that doesn’t make me old—I already was. After all, I’ve been sleeping with a grandmother for years.


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Addison in his natural habitat



We drove down to my daughter’s house a little south of New Braunfels, Texas, on Friday afternoon, carefully seeking out all the traffic jams we could find. On I-35 between Fort Worth and San Antonio, that’s not a difficult task, although I was surprised to find one section of road torn up just north of Hillsboro where I-35E from Dallas joins those of us fortunate enough to live near I-35W instead.


The Texas Department of Transportation seems determined to isolate the town of Hillsboro. There’s been ongoing construction south of town for twenty years or so, and they spent several years very recently redoing the I-35E – I-35W junction just north of town. Once they finished that project a year or two ago, traffic flowed beautifully. So naturally they couldn’t leave it alone. Now they’re tearing up all the lovely work they did so recently to redo it again. I guess they’re afraid we taxpayers can’t think of anything better to do with our money.


Anyhow, we got there and visited with our daughter and son-in-law and all three grandsons Friday afternoon. A little later, my ex, Lynn’s mother, and Lynn’s half-sister arrived to join in the visit. Any hatchet was buried many years ago, so we visit like old friends anytime she and I are there together, which is mainly for graduations. She and Sharon get along fine, too.


The grandsons all attend s small Christian school where my son-in-law is the principal of the high school. Well, Austen, the oldest, graduated three years ago, so he doesn’t go there any longer. Anyhow, since it’s a small school, only 24 kids graduates walked across the stage. I always appreciate such blessings.


The ceremony was held at Tree of Life Church in New Braunfels—a very unusual church. They built metal covers over all the parking spaces, so you get to park under cover—handy in rain or searing Texas sun.


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Gary and Addison do both have heads, but not here.


A highlight came when they called Addison’s name. As he climbed the steps to the stage, my son-in-law, Gary, traded placed with the school board member who was handing out the diplomas. Gary got to hand Addison his diploma, which was a big thrill to both of them. I think Gary got to baptize all three of the boys also. Neat stuff.


After the ceremony, our family joined the families of three other graduates for a picnic to honor them. Friends from the town where they used to live were there, along with my ex’s brothers, sister-in-law and niece. It was great to revisit relationships with all these people.


Our oldest grandson had to leave as the picnic was getting started. He had to return to Waco where he joined 50 other members of the Baylor University Men’s Choir leaving the following morning on a two-week mission trip to Kenya.


With everything else going on, we didn’t get to visit as much with Lynn & Gary and the boys as we usually do when we go down there, but it was a great trip. And we now have only one grandson left in high school.


We went through the town of Granbury on the way home, a town that was hit by a major tornado a couple of days earlier. Apparently all the damage was around the lake and away from the highway, because we saw no evidence of it at all. Please keep praying for these people as well as those in Moore, Oklahoma, and others hit by these recent storms.


Have you gotten to watch children or grandchildren graduate from high school or college? Tell me about it.


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


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: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help
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Published on May 24, 2013 13:40