Timothy J. Pruitt's Blog, page 400

Alaskan Silver Aunt Minerva

Ralph was scared, four days ago he had overheard something he wasn’t supposed to hear. Two days ago he had run for his life. His contact had thought he had gone from their usual meeting place, he hadn’t.

The young man had walked to the back for his coat, and overheard the Pick Axe man talking to his partner. “Is the Boss and the Frenchman right about all this being a waste of time?” “Who knows, but if Strand is on the way out, they’ll clean house.”

“Meaning the kid will go back to being a nobody.” “Meaning he’ll be cut loose of his meal ticket, if he plays nice.” “He’ll go along, it’s keeps him alive.” “Maybe, I say get rid of him now. He hasn’t given us one piece of useful information in weeks.”

Ralph wasn’t sure if they were right or not, but he was afraid enough not to sleep that night. The next morning, he went to work, thinking the jail was safe. Then he asked himself how many more guys here work for the Pick Axe men?

At the end of his shift, he rushed home, and packed a bag. He didn’t know where he was going, or how he would get there, but he ran. He made it to the next town, then bought a ticket aboard ship with his last few dollars. The trip was cold, and lonely.

Fortunately an elderly woman took pity on him, and fed him. Later, she hired him to be her servant. Minerva Piper was around 80, physically weak, but mentally as sharp as they came. She was still very intent on planning for the future of her family.

One night at dinner they discussed them. “Yes Ralph, I have two nephews. They’re grown now, but I still think of them as my little ones. They’re my heirs you know, not that they need the money. My sister taught them how to make money, and they learned the lesson well.”

“So you’re leaving them your fortune too?” “Yes, but my legacy isn’t just money.” It was the first time he saw it. The elderly woman suddenly had a cold, hard, dangerous look in her eyes. ‘This woman had been dangerous at one time.’ Ralph thought.

He would find out that she was still very much so. “I’m leaving them power. You see, we’re going to Florida and Boston to secure their future. My acquaintances don’t know it, but their contributions will be necessary. They won’t like It, but my Dad raised three fiery boys, and two determined girls.”

“Mr Piper must have been something.” “Oh he was, my nephews take after their Grandfather. Yes, I think Dad would be very proud of the two Strand boys. My sister and I saw to their education very well. Dear Artemis and Wynton are very big men, and will be much bigger one day soon. I’ll see to that.”

Ralph broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn’t escaped at all. Strand was Sanders’ Boss, nobody thought Ralph knew either of them. He listened, he watched, and picked up things. Ralph prided himself on knowing things he shouldn’t.

He wished tonight that he hadn’t, maybe he could have slept easier without the knowledge. Knowing that in the next room, slept the woman who planned to fuel his worst nightmare. She was paying him to help her. Ralph knew now, there was no escape from the Strands.

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me this I know, for The Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong. We call it a children’s song, but it didn’t start out that way.

It was originally written in 1860 by Anna Bartlett Warner. It came from a poem her sister had wrote in her book. A man named William Batchelder Bradbury reworked it into the song we know today, adding the chorus.

In 1943 in the Solomon Islands, future President John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 boat was rammed and sunk. Islanders who found Kennedy and the survivors remember when they went to retrieve the survivors, that Lieutenant Kennedy and the others sang this song with the natives. The nalive people  had learned it from Christian missionaries.

This hymn was titled “China” in some hymnals of the 19th century. The Modern Hymnal (1926) explained this title with a subtitled note that said, “The favorite Hymn of China”. Along with the words we know, there are some verses we don’t.  These verses reinforce the message of love.

Jesus loves me

He who died
,

Heaven’s gate to open wide;


He will wash away my sin,


Let His little child come in.



Jesus loves me—loves me still,


Though I’m very weak and ill;


From His shining throne on high


Comes to watch me where I lie.

Jesus loves me, this I know. Do we know it? We do on a corporate level, we know there will be a Church. Though the world rejects it, and the politicians distance themselves from it. Though the critics attack it, and the comedians laugh at her, there will be a Church. But do we know it on the level a child does? That Jesus loves me for me, not what I do, but for who I am.

Luke 22:32

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Simon Peter needed to know this on the verge of the events of the Crucifixion. Jesus, in this and the verse before it tells Simon four things. First, the enemy has targeted you. Second, and more importantly, I’ve prayed for you. Third, you will win, and fourth, after you do, minister to others.

God cares about you. He knows your worries and your wants. Jesus knows everything from how you like your coffee to your greatest hope. He knows what keeps you up at night, and what worries you during the day. Jesus cares.

That’s why He’s calling us to prayer this year. It isn’t only because the Church is under attack. It’s not only that we are in the end times. Even if all that wasn’t the case, He would call us to prayer. Why? For the same reason a parent reads their child a book, for the love of their child.

Take the story of Jack and the beanstalk. A child hears it, and they picture a Beanstalk to the sky. The Mom or Dad knows they don’t go that high, but it’s not about that. It’s about the time with the child. It’s also gets them interested in reading, inspires them to explore, and gives them courage to face things that scare them. God’s thoughts are higher than ours, but He doesn’t condemn us when we bring Him our problems. He encourages us, inspires us, and helps us to overcome them.

Just like a parent, He wants us to read more. His Word, coupled with prayer, can calm so many of our issues. We just need to spend the time with Him through prayer and His Word. Time invested in Jesus grants a much better return than anything else.

What you’re facing doesn’t have to derail you. Jesus loves you enough to bring you through. Problems are solved when we remember He loves us, and we commit ourselves to The One that is committed to us.

God wants you to know tokay that He is all in. That He cares enough, not to let what you’re facing, sink your future. Jesus saw Simon’s denial before it happened, and prepared him for recovery. Jack Kennedy found the sweetness of Jesus Loves Me after the shipwreck, then began a journey to the presidency.

In the verse, we get excited about the “when thou art converted” part, and we should. We rejoice that Jesus believed His prayer would be answered. Two things though, He who prayed for Simon, is The One we pray to.

He sees our needs, Jesus cares, and He knows we love Him. The second thing about this part of the verse is from Simon Peter’s perspective. I’ve always viewed it from the aspect of Jesus, but what about Simon?

This is the man who in another place, fished all night, and caught nothing. Jesus told them to cast the net on the other side. We honor Simon for saying “I’ll do it because you said it Jesus”, but we overlook the commitment that had caused him to fish all night to begin with.

I wonder if that tenacity and persistence maybe why Jesus chose fishermen, and calls us to be fishers of men? God knew Simon wasn’t perfect, but he was persistent. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The Lord knows our faults, and loves us enough to empower us to overcome them.

Jesus knew Simon would succeed, and wanted Simon to know He would help him. He wants us to know that too. Essentially, Jesus was saying to Simon, and to the men on Kennedy’s boat, what every child perfectly understands.  I love you, and I’ll bring you through, trust Me.

It may be elementary, but sometimes we adults need to leave the colleges and universities of deep thinking, and return to the classroom of First Love. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for The Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, we are weak but He is strong!”

Hebrews 6:10

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

iPainting Nyquist

We hope you enjoy this new iPainting in honor of a beautiful horse.  This is “Nyquist”, the winner of the Kentucky Derby.

iPainting Phare Rouge

We hope you enjoy this Sunday afternoon art post, the digital watercolor “Phare Rouge”.

Alaskan Silver Questions

Pin sat in his office looking out the window. He didn’t like to admit it, but he was tired. It wasn’t just the physical aspect, it was the mental part as well. He loved his work, it wasn’t that, just the last set of things that had happened.

He had that feeling of, something isn’t right. After successful raids on the Pick Axe men, at one time, it looked as if they had broken the organization. Now they were stronger than ever.

Their plant, Ralph Hearns, who Pin had made a deputy, had disappeared two days ago. Did he run? Was he killed? If so, why? So far, there were no leads.

Now the Frenchman had broken out of jail. Pin had a sick feeling that he knew exactly where in Alaska the Frenchman would return to. Riviere had to have help, and it had to be Sanders. They hated each other, what was so big to force them to work together.

“All I have is questions. A policeman is supposed to have answers. I’m supposed to know where they fired the gun from, not just who the victim …” Pin stopped talking, and got out a map. He made some notes, circled a few places on it, and connected the pattern.

He didn’t like what he saw, but at the same time, he was afraid he was right. Pin rolled up the map, and headed straight for Carl’s office. He didn’t make it very far. Just as he was leaving the phone rang.

“Sergeant Pin, you better come quick! There’s been a fire at the hospital in one of the rooms beside of Mr. Strand. Him and his nurse almost didn’t make it out alive!” “I’ll be right there.”

His theory would have to wait. He locked it in a cabinet drawer, and hid the key. This was too dangerous for anyone to see. What bothered him wasn’t what he had figured out. Once again the problem wasn’t the answers, it was the new set of questions they brought up.

Share Your Smile

Someone in your life today is hurting. They have a worry, a fear, or a problem. You don’t have to know the circumstances to make a difference. Say a prayer for them. Shoot them a text, or give them a call.

One word of kindness can lighten the heaviest loads we bear. Be the person you need to meet in your darkest moments, and brighten their day. When you do, you’ll find compassion doesn’t only minister to the person in need. It makes you feel better too.

Spread love, generate kindness, and share your smile. Even the silliest joke has value when it lightens a heavy heart. Do something today to invest in the heart of another, and you’ll reap an incredible return.

Three Interesting Things

Three interesting things. That’s all it takes to keep your conversations fresh. It’s tempting, as we get older, to autopilot over the same topics again and again. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Keeping our minds sharp, as well as stimulating our relationships with people, is easy. At least as easy as its ever been, thanks to technology. You don’t have to be a geek like me to take advantage of it either.

First, podcasts are available on every phone, computer, and tablet. You can learn about a new culture, study a language, or even solve a murder case. No matter what subject you choose, it’s available.

Why do this? Because there is more to you than where your are, or have been. Learning something new is the closest thing to being a kid again. That feeling of having a whole new world to explore, and the joy of the adventure that follows.

Second, your internet browser. Today, they’re so advanced, most can search from the address bar. I challenge you to read one article on Wikipedia, and see where it leads. For example, if you read about Ireland, eventually you could end up in the West Indies, just by clicking a link.

Third, open a Pinterest account, and follow at least one subject or person. It’s a great way to discover new areas of interest. The person you follow because you like horses, may be into western history. It will bring new topics to your doorstep, then select those that you want to know more about.

Our conversations and our interests spark creativity, keep us engaged, and provide new horizons. It’s not about avoiding boredom to yourself or the people you talk to every day. It’s about investing in yourself, adding value to others, and being engaged.

Don’t discard your other interests, build on them. We must hold on to what grounds us, the beliefs and relationships that make us who we are. At the same time, we can add new things to enhance our lives. The mixing old and new is the inventory of treasure houses.

iPainting Twin Rainbows

We hope you enjoy our new Sunday afternoon art post, “Twin Rainbows”.

Alaskan Silver The Shipwreck

“Boat lost at sea!” He stared at the headline from his hospital bed, then read on. “The S.S. Charlemagne sank off the coast of Alaska. While most of the passengers and crew made it safely to the lifeboats, several are unaccounted for. These include steel magnet Conrad Reynolds and his two daughters, Estelle and Myra.”

The clipping was two years old, he carried it with him. He had loved her, or so he thought, but had loved money and power more. Conrad never approved of Wynton.

Somehow he saw through his carefully crafted act. The millionaire offered to finance Strand in anything he desired, as long as he ended the engagement. Reynolds was adamant on how the end happened though.

“You have to leave her waiting at the altar. My daughter must be protected against charlatans and gold diggers. This will insulate her, and she’ll seek my advice on the next man. It will be painful at first, but it will save her years of regret.”

Wynton heard this the night before the Wedding. Estelle heard it in the lifeboat as she clutched the sides of it. She was furious with her Dad, but she loved her father, and she knew he loved her. The anger for him would pass.

The anger she felt for the man that chose money and power over her would only grow. From the moment they were rescued, she went to work. In the two days they were missing at sea, she became a different person.

It was reported that Conrad Reynolds and his younger daughter Myra were rescued, along with a Mrs. Lyle Abernathy. Mrs. Abernathy, a widow, was previously thought dead at sea. Estelle grabbed the first name suggested to her. It was risky, but so was her entire plan.

The man she loved had refused to make her a bride, so she became a widow. Now she would work to convert another status of his. Currently he was successful, rich, and breathing. Estelle intended to alter all three.

Wynton never noticed the dyed blonde hair his nurse had. He didn’t notice servants, arrogant and injured as he was. She served him his food, fluffed his pillow, and gave him his medicine. It was good that he was oblivious, or he would have seen the hatred in her eyes.

Find out next week in Alaskan Silver how dangerous it is when, your enemy is your nursemaid.

Grateful

Just wanted to say a huge Thank you to my php expert Jason Potter for fixing my website issue!