AS I GROW OLD
As I grow old it seems that I
Grow old as grows the western sky
When day is coming to its close :
For life takes on a tint of rose
I had not known in life’s hot noon .
I see new stars I had not seen ,
A surer faith ,a peace serene ,
As I grow old .
As I grow old , like men at even ,
I turn my eyes again to heaven ,
That were so busy with the earth :
And there I find the things of worth ,
The things most beautiful of all .
Upon the world a fairer light ,
A golden glean ,a beacon bright ,
As I grow old .
As I grow old the winds of life
Die down ,the hate ,the hurt ,the strife .
The waters calm ,the waves are still .
I want no triumph, wish no ill
To any man . now from my heart
The ancient angers all depart .
New friends I know ,news songs are sung ,
New joys are mine – yes ,I grow young
As I grow old
Jan Bagwell
God Bless and kept you
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Keep on Keeping on
Keep on Keeping on
If the day looks rather gloomy ,
And your chances rather slim ,
If the situation’s puzzling
If prospect’s very grim ,
If perplexities keep pressing
Til hope is nearly gone ,
Just bristle up and grit your teeth
And keep on keeping on .
Forgetting never wins a fight
And fuming never pays ;
There is no use in brooding
In these pessimistic ways ;
Just smile bravely and cheerfully
Though hope is nearly gone ,
And bristle up and grit your teeth
And keep on keeping on .
There is no use in growling
And grumbling all the time ,
When music’s ringing everywhere
And everything’s a rhyme ;
Just keep on smiling cheerfully
If hope is nearly gone ,
And bristle up and grit your teeth
And keep on keeping on .
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
Bronwen Yvonne Lovin
Taylors
Sister Bronwen Yvonne Lovin, 65, of 5 Monarch Place, died June 19, 2011 at St. Francis Hospital.
She was a daughter of Rosa Lee Young and the late Homer Young, she attended Praise Cathedral, was a member of the Red Hat Society. She was a US Army Veteran Retired and retired from Civil Service.
Surviving also are two sons, Curtis Green, (Desirea) and James Green (Ernestina); two brothers, Woodrow Young and Melvin Young; two sisters, Linda Young and Elovia Peddle; and 4 grandchildren.
If the day looks rather gloomy ,
And your chances rather slim ,
If the situation’s puzzling
If prospect’s very grim ,
If perplexities keep pressing
Til hope is nearly gone ,
Just bristle up and grit your teeth
And keep on keeping on .
Forgetting never wins a fight
And fuming never pays ;
There is no use in brooding
In these pessimistic ways ;
Just smile bravely and cheerfully
Though hope is nearly gone ,
And bristle up and grit your teeth
And keep on keeping on .
There is no use in growling
And grumbling all the time ,
When music’s ringing everywhere
And everything’s a rhyme ;
Just keep on smiling cheerfully
If hope is nearly gone ,
And bristle up and grit your teeth
And keep on keeping on .
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
Bronwen Yvonne Lovin
Taylors
Sister Bronwen Yvonne Lovin, 65, of 5 Monarch Place, died June 19, 2011 at St. Francis Hospital.
She was a daughter of Rosa Lee Young and the late Homer Young, she attended Praise Cathedral, was a member of the Red Hat Society. She was a US Army Veteran Retired and retired from Civil Service.
Surviving also are two sons, Curtis Green, (Desirea) and James Green (Ernestina); two brothers, Woodrow Young and Melvin Young; two sisters, Linda Young and Elovia Peddle; and 4 grandchildren.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Pedal Faster
Pedal Faster
Tonight I went for a walk with my neighbor four-year-old son. He rode
his bike next to me as I walked. This was going to be our
farthest excursion yet on his new bike.
We started out fine, but he was having difficulty riding over
some gravel on the sidewalk. I told him he needed to pedal
faster to keep from getting stuck. That did the trick.
The same thing happened when we started to walk uphill. Once
again, I told him he needed to pedal harder and faster to make
it up the hill. Then came the downhill part. I told him that
he would need to use his brakes to slow down if he felt like
he was going too fast. That's when I had my Jan Bagwell Moment!
I thought to myself, this very lesson that I am teaching him,
could apply to any adult's life including my own!
When you are having a tough time in life, like gravel in the
road, you need to keep going. If you don't, you will end up
stuck in a rut. When you are struggling to reach your goals or
to reach the top of the hill, you need to try harder and not
give up.
It also seems that when you are in a "good" place in life, you
take it for granted. If you feel like you are going too fast,
use your brakes and slow down a bit. Take in the scenery and
enjoy what you have.
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
Importance
Christianity, if false, is not important.
If Christianity is true, however, it is of infinite importance.
What it cannot be is moderately important.
Tonight I went for a walk with my neighbor four-year-old son. He rode
his bike next to me as I walked. This was going to be our
farthest excursion yet on his new bike.
We started out fine, but he was having difficulty riding over
some gravel on the sidewalk. I told him he needed to pedal
faster to keep from getting stuck. That did the trick.
The same thing happened when we started to walk uphill. Once
again, I told him he needed to pedal harder and faster to make
it up the hill. Then came the downhill part. I told him that
he would need to use his brakes to slow down if he felt like
he was going too fast. That's when I had my Jan Bagwell Moment!
I thought to myself, this very lesson that I am teaching him,
could apply to any adult's life including my own!
When you are having a tough time in life, like gravel in the
road, you need to keep going. If you don't, you will end up
stuck in a rut. When you are struggling to reach your goals or
to reach the top of the hill, you need to try harder and not
give up.
It also seems that when you are in a "good" place in life, you
take it for granted. If you feel like you are going too fast,
use your brakes and slow down a bit. Take in the scenery and
enjoy what you have.
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
Importance
Christianity, if false, is not important.
If Christianity is true, however, it is of infinite importance.
What it cannot be is moderately important.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I'd Rather Walk by Faith
I’d Rather Walk by Faith
Sometimes a lonely road I tread ,
Sometimes the path is rough ;
But I’d rather walk along by faith ,
To me this is enough .
I’d rather walk along by faith
Though others walk by sight;
My Father knows where Imust go ,
He‘ll guide my steps alright .
I’d rather walk along by faith
No dangers lurk ahead ,
And those who travel in His steps
Have naught of harm to dread .
Though others go their way by sight ,
And trust in lands and gold ,
I’d rather walk along by faith
And have His wealth untold .
I’d rather walk along b7y faith
And never halt or quail ,
For He who guides me on the way
I know will never fail .
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
“For we walk by faith , and not by sight .”
11 Cor. 5:7
Sometimes a lonely road I tread ,
Sometimes the path is rough ;
But I’d rather walk along by faith ,
To me this is enough .
I’d rather walk along by faith
Though others walk by sight;
My Father knows where Imust go ,
He‘ll guide my steps alright .
I’d rather walk along by faith
No dangers lurk ahead ,
And those who travel in His steps
Have naught of harm to dread .
Though others go their way by sight ,
And trust in lands and gold ,
I’d rather walk along by faith
And have His wealth untold .
I’d rather walk along b7y faith
And never halt or quail ,
For He who guides me on the way
I know will never fail .
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
“For we walk by faith , and not by sight .”
11 Cor. 5:7
Monday, June 20, 2011
God will find you
GOD will find you.....
Father John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago, writes
about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy:
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into
the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was
the day I first saw Tommy. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which
hung six inches below his shoulders.
It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long.
I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it
isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on that day.
I was unprepared and my emotions flipped.
I immediately filed Tommy under "S" for strange... Very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology of
Faith course.
He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility
of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in
relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times
a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he
asked in a cynical tone, "Do you think I'll ever find God?"
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. "No!" I said very
emphatically.
"Why not," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were
pushing."
I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then I called out,
"Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain
that He will find you!" He shrugged a little and left my class and my
life.
I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever
line -- He will find you! At least I thought it was clever.
Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful.
Then a sad report came. I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer.
Before I could search him out, he came to see me.
When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted and the
long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes
were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe.
"Tommy, I've thought about you so often; I hear you are sick," I blurted
out.
"Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of
weeks."
"Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.
"Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.
"What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?
"Well, it could be worse.
"Like what?"
"Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty
and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real
biggies in life."
I began to look through my mental file cabinet under "S" where I had
filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject
by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)
"But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something you
said to me on the last day of class." He remembered!) He continued, "I
asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, 'No!' which
surprised me. Then you said, 'But He will find you.' I thought about
that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that
time. (My clever line. He thought about that a lot!) "But when the
doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant,
that's when I got serious about locating God.
And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began
banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven.
But God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try
anything for a long time with great effort and with no success?
You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. And then you quit.
"Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile
appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be
there, I just quit. I decided that I didn't really care about God,
about an afterlife, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time
I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and
your class and I remembered something else you had said:
'The essential sadness is to go through life without loving.'
But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this
world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.
"So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper
when I approached him. "Dad. Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the
newspaper. "Dad, I would like to talk with you."
"Well, talk."
"I mean. It's really important."
The newspaper came down three slow inches. "What is it?"
"Dad, I love you, I just wanted you to know that." Tom smiled at me and
said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret
joy flowing inside of him. The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then
my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before.
He cried and he hugged me.
We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning.
"It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his
hug, to hear him say that he loved me."
"It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me,
too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to
each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many
years.
"I was only sorry about one thing --- that I had waited so long.
Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually
been close to..
"Then, one day I turned around and God was there.
He didn't come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an
animal trainer holding out a hoop, 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll
give you three days, three weeks.
Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour.
But the important thing is that He was there. He found me! You were
right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him.
"Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something very
important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least,
you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a
private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time
of need, but rather by opening to love..
You know, the Apostle John said that. He said: 'God is love, and anyone
who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.
'Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you
were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now.
Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them
what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn't
be half as effective as if you were to tell it."
"Oooh.. I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for your
class."
"Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."
In a few days Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he
wanted to do that for God and for me.
So we scheduled a date.
However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more
important than the one with me and my class.
Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed.
He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more
beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever
heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time.
"I'm not going to make it to your class," he said.
"I know, Tom."
"Will you tell them for me? Will you ... tell the whole world for me?"
I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best."
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to read this simple story
about God's love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere
in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven --- I told them, Tommy, as best I
could.
It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.
With thanks, Rev. John Powell, Professor, Loyola University, Chicago
Well , I usually don't fowward other people work . Because I try to give you what God give me .Not that it not good , but every once in a while something send to me . I feel like God said ,"Send it "!
Thank you Brother Mike Wells for send it to me .
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
Father John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago, writes
about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy:
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into
the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was
the day I first saw Tommy. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which
hung six inches below his shoulders.
It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long.
I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it
isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on that day.
I was unprepared and my emotions flipped.
I immediately filed Tommy under "S" for strange... Very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology of
Faith course.
He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility
of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in
relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times
a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he
asked in a cynical tone, "Do you think I'll ever find God?"
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. "No!" I said very
emphatically.
"Why not," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were
pushing."
I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then I called out,
"Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain
that He will find you!" He shrugged a little and left my class and my
life.
I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever
line -- He will find you! At least I thought it was clever.
Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful.
Then a sad report came. I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer.
Before I could search him out, he came to see me.
When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted and the
long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes
were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe.
"Tommy, I've thought about you so often; I hear you are sick," I blurted
out.
"Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of
weeks."
"Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.
"Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.
"What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?
"Well, it could be worse.
"Like what?"
"Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty
and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real
biggies in life."
I began to look through my mental file cabinet under "S" where I had
filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject
by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)
"But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something you
said to me on the last day of class." He remembered!) He continued, "I
asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, 'No!' which
surprised me. Then you said, 'But He will find you.' I thought about
that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that
time. (My clever line. He thought about that a lot!) "But when the
doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant,
that's when I got serious about locating God.
And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began
banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven.
But God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try
anything for a long time with great effort and with no success?
You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. And then you quit.
"Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile
appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be
there, I just quit. I decided that I didn't really care about God,
about an afterlife, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time
I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and
your class and I remembered something else you had said:
'The essential sadness is to go through life without loving.'
But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this
world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.
"So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper
when I approached him. "Dad. Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the
newspaper. "Dad, I would like to talk with you."
"Well, talk."
"I mean. It's really important."
The newspaper came down three slow inches. "What is it?"
"Dad, I love you, I just wanted you to know that." Tom smiled at me and
said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret
joy flowing inside of him. The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then
my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before.
He cried and he hugged me.
We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning.
"It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his
hug, to hear him say that he loved me."
"It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me,
too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to
each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many
years.
"I was only sorry about one thing --- that I had waited so long.
Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually
been close to..
"Then, one day I turned around and God was there.
He didn't come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an
animal trainer holding out a hoop, 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll
give you three days, three weeks.
Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour.
But the important thing is that He was there. He found me! You were
right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him.
"Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something very
important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least,
you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a
private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time
of need, but rather by opening to love..
You know, the Apostle John said that. He said: 'God is love, and anyone
who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.
'Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you
were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now.
Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them
what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn't
be half as effective as if you were to tell it."
"Oooh.. I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for your
class."
"Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."
In a few days Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he
wanted to do that for God and for me.
So we scheduled a date.
However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more
important than the one with me and my class.
Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed.
He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more
beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever
heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time.
"I'm not going to make it to your class," he said.
"I know, Tom."
"Will you tell them for me? Will you ... tell the whole world for me?"
I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best."
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to read this simple story
about God's love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere
in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven --- I told them, Tommy, as best I
could.
It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.
With thanks, Rev. John Powell, Professor, Loyola University, Chicago
Well , I usually don't fowward other people work . Because I try to give you what God give me .Not that it not good , but every once in a while something send to me . I feel like God said ,"Send it "!
Thank you Brother Mike Wells for send it to me .
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
