Still Hanging On!

The Chemo Treatment Center in Chattanooga, TN

 

It's a bumpy detour - but we continue traveling because we know the end of the road is closer than it was.  Since my last post was in May - there has been many changes in scenery.  I came home and dealt with the "shock" of knowing that it could well be that my time on this earth would soon come to an end.  The "guess-timate" (based on many cases similar to my condition) was that I had four to six months before that fateful event.  It has now been a few days past six months and today I was able to .... well, first ...

In June of this year Frances and I celebrated our 56th Wedding Anniversary.  We attended the Tennessee Camp Meeting and had guests in our home that week.  In July I reached my 75th birthday.  On the last Sunday of August I gave up my much loved Sunday School class (an activity which I dearly loved) because I did not/do not want to continue teaching when the ravages of disease have begun to affect my ability to focus and deliver the message with clarity.  Tho that was a sad thing and I dreaded to do that - Life continues to be full and sweet as I continue singing at church; at the Senior Citizen's Center; at Gaddy's Gospel Sing; and at our local church - the Victory Drive Church of God here in Cleveland, Tennessee.  If you want to see and hear that happening you can get a small taste of it by going to YouTube and searching for Chris Chastain.    Once there, scroll down his list of songs for my name: "Fred Alton Brannen".  No - it's NOT great - unless you like old time southern gospel/bluegrass gospel.  You will find some of many other good singers there also.  The BRANHAM FAMILY are not related to us.  We are the BRANNEN BOYS.  :d

"If You're Talking About That Old Time Religion"

 

So... we continue our lives.  Also I have been placed on Hospice Care.  I am still able to do most things but am grateful for the adjustable bed so that I sleep sitting up when my food doesn't want to go down.  I believe that I am most blessed to have such a supportive family and group of nurses that come to my home once a week to support and assure me that they are here for me when I need medical assistance.  Hmm.  This paragraph doesn't sound like I want it to. 

What else?  Well - today we celebrated our middle daughter's 48th birthday by taking her to Logan's for lunch.  Filet Mignon, baked potato and a salad, Coca-Cola and a lot of love shared with her Mother and me.  She has been so helpful.  Our older daughter (#1) who also lives nearby is a wonderful and strong daughter who lends her strength to Mom and me with visits and prayers.  My two brothers and two sisters living near us is also a great thing for we get to see each other frequently.  Our baby daughter and her husband with two young girls - live in Watertown, NY where they pastor a church.  I'm strengthened by prayers and frequent calls from "the Pet".  My heart is warmed that they are in the work of ministry and are giving themselves lovingly to souls.

Two Beautiful Women I took To Lunch Today!

 



Oh my - now I will have to get busy and do some writing as my Mom has been after me some time now to give her one sermon for her book of sermons.  She is putting together her own book of sermons and will add one from each of her three preacher sons.  I think the other two are ahead of me but I found one today which I hope she finds acceptable. 

Keep looking up!  Jesus may come - or call for you - today!

Bumps In The Road Ahead

Oh My!  Another bump in the road.  But we've crossed some in the past, haven't we?  Yes.  But not exactly like this one.

Frances and I went to my Oncologist last Monday the 6th and were surprised to hear him say that the latest CT Scan did not look good.  They saw multiple tumors/nodules in the area of my abdomen which look to be "not operable" - and - he was not recommending chemo-therapy as he did in January 2012.  It was a shock.  We go back again on Monday, the 13th, to discuss which direction we take from here.

Now we have an opportunity to TRUST in the Lord.  My brother Lowell reminded me this morning of words written in Hebrews, Chapter 11 - the well-known "faith" passage in our Christian Bible.  If I remember correctly after the writer had listed the great heroes of faith, like Noah, Abraham, Daniel, The Hebrew Children, and others who overcame major obstacles to faith and received great deliverances in their lives he then says that "others" had cruel punishment, were cast into dens and caves, suffered greatly and some were sawn in two.  Then he concludes the thought with:

Hebrews 11:36-39 (KJV) ³⁶ And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
³⁸ (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
³⁹ And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

This is the kind of trust that the three Hebrew children had when they were faced with the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel.  Listen to exactly what they said to the king.

Daniel 3:17-18 (KJV) ¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
¹⁸ But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
If you are not familiar with it, I recommend you go to Daniel 3 and read this story.  I like their attitude.  They said, "Our God is ABLE to deliver us."  They knew that God was still in charge.  Then they added the thought that if God chose NOT to deliver them from the furnace the He would certainly deliver them from the King's hands.

This is where I am with my faith today.  God IS ABLE to completely heal this attack.  But if He chooses not to deliver me and givc me a few more years, it's o.k.!  I'll be in His presence sooner.

I'm Aware that some may find this very strange.  However, the Bible says that "With his (Jesus') stripes we are healed."  That means I can pray with faith that Jesus will heal me.  However - we also know that we humans do not live forever in our present state.  The Bible also says, "It is appointed unto man once to die; and after death the judgment."  We must rightly divide the Scripture. We cannot take only the parts that please us.  We must accept the whole Bible.  I choose to put myself into God's hands and not worry over the future. 

Oh yes - I have  my moments - but I choose to believe we will make it through these road hazards and arrive safely at the end of our journey.

Pentecostals are Saved By Grace, Through Faith (Ephesians 2:8)

Grandma Jones with Mother and Dad at the General Assembly
Indianapolis, Indiana

Mom and Dad

As I write these words it occurs to me that many may take it that we are saying we are more deserving of God’s blessings than others.  Not so.  Let me state two things here.  Number one, You do not receive salvation (nor any other gift of God) by doing good works.  It is by grace, through faith that we receive from His bountiful hand.  Number two, speaking in tongues is not as important as being sanctified.  God demands a lifestyle of holiness.  That does not mean we are perfect but that we strive for perfection.

But then, why would God give one person such blessings and not give the same to others?  Is it because one is perfect and the other is flawed?  Is it because one is doing a myriad of good things?  Why would one individual’s life be so full of good and another’s be filled with nothing but turmoil and strife?  I know from personal experience that it is not because of one’s goodness.  And I’m reminded that the Psalmist said, “³ They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”  (Psalm 14:3)   A man came to Jesus in Matthew 19 and – calling him “good master” – asked what he could do to inherit eternal life.  I believe Psalms 14 was in Jesus’ mind when he asked the man, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”   (Matthew 19:17 )  Now all believers know that Jesus was good.  So what did these words of Jesus mean?  I believe that Jesus was saying to him, “If you recognize that I am God, then you have your answer.”

          I learned some years after my spiritual crisis from some well-meaning folks that a person could not even be saved until they were at least 12 years of age.  They just came too late to tell me that because I knew beyond any shadow of doubt that God had saved, sanctified and filled me with the Holy Spirit. I have thanked God for that experience many times in my life as I went through times of doubt. Thinking back to that time even as I write these words gives me strong assurance that God is real. As wonderful as my experience was = there were many other things which I was told later that would have negated all of my experience had my faith not been based in the Bible. Of course I have had questions. I have doubted. I have failed the Lord and had to repent again (more than once) – but I KNOW that God changed my life that night in 1946 and that I’ve never been the same since.

Just A Quick Note

Good Morning!  I have a busy day today but will take time to give you the most inspirational blog I have read in the last few days.  Go to http://littlepetuniaspages.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/let-us-run-with-perseverance-part-i/  and be encouraged.

The Brannen Boys and Brother Wil's 1930 Model A Ford

Pentecostals Speak with “other tongues” (2)

Pastor Lula Lee Pearce Jones ca1938-40
Lacoochee, Florida

Here's the Beauty which Daddy saw through the Church Window
(She was 15 years old)

Louis Alton Brannen
(Recently Converted Saw-Mill Worker ca1938/39)

1 Corinthians 14:21 says, “²¹In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.”

          In 1946 - At the age of eight years, while Dad was pastor of the Church of God at Morristown, Tennessee, I received the “baptism in the Holy Ghost” or Holy Spirit in the "old time way" with the initial evidence of speaking in other (un-known) tongues. The old time way was that after a person was saved from sin, he/she was encouraged to seek to be sanctified and to “pray through” to the experience of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.  John Calvin had preached the experience of “salvation by grace” through faith.  John Wesley had preached the doctrine of a “second definite work of grace” in a person’s heart which was called “sanctification”.  Since the late 1800's and the renewed out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, we were encouraged to have the “fullness” of the Spirit in our hearts and lives by seeking for the same experience that fell on the 120 believers in the upper room in Acts 2:4.   I’ll never forget the time and the great feelings of exuberant joy which came over me that night in the altar. I remember praying and hearing others praying for me as I knelt at the bench in front of the pulpit which was called the altar.  Those praying for me were saying things like, “Hold on, son. Hold on.” “Turn loose, son.  Turn loose.” “Don’t turn loose.” “Give up.”  “Don’t give up!”  “Keep on praying.”  I  understood their intent.  They were suggesting that I surrender everything to Jesus, and that I should allow God to have His way in my heart and life. 

Maybe you have heard someone else testify to an experience like this before and think that I'm being a Magpie or a parrot – but this is actually how it happened with me. In those days most everyone seeking an experience with the Lord was prayed for (out loud and fervently) by the faithful. This was all done by the most devoted believers, all speaking their words of encouragement at the same time. The encouragers were also patting the seekers on the back enthusiastically.  Some called it "slapping them on the back".  Plus, the musical instruments were playing and the people were singing in the background, something like, “Oh Lord, Send The Power Just Now” or "Send Down The Rain, Lord" or "Jesus, On the Main Line (Tell Him What You Want)". Confusing? No! Not to me. I knew exactly what they meant. So I did exactly what they were suggesting: I held on in prayer until I could not hold on any longer and then I turned loose. I "let go" and gave everything I had (or would ever have) to God until tears of joy mingled with my tears of repentance. I kept on praying and giving everything to God until total deliverance from sin came! I was overcome then with the joy of salvation.
          "Ah...just an emotional experience," someone said. "He'll be the same tomorrow that he was yesterday," said another. God was so good to me that he gave me an “out of the body” experience similar to the passage of scripture from the hand of the Apostle Paul that says, “Whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell.” (2 Corinthians 12:2)  No - I'm not claiming any of Paul's excellence - but I am claiming that the same Lord that transformed him also transformed me. Anyway, as I prayed that night at the altar, the last thing I remembered before being filled with the Spirit was praying and leaning forward and slightly to the right while earnestly asking God to fill me with His Spirit. The next thing I remembered I was standing at the back door of the church with both hands raised while tears of joy were flowing down my cheeks and I heard myself speaking in a language I had not learned! I do not know how I moved from the front of the church to the back of the church. My soul was singing praises to the Lord Jesus Christ who had forgiven me of my sins. I was elated.  After only a few moments I closed my eyes again and next thing I knew was when I opened my eyes and stepped over someone who was lying prostrate in the floor. I was speaking in tongues. I know that I walked (or ran) to the front of the church while under the Spirit’s influence…but I was not aware of what was happening until I was already back down front. I cannot explain why, or how, this happened – except that I knew I had been filled with the Holy Ghost.

William Edward Jones, ca1945
(My Maternal Grand-father)

My Story: Pentecostal (1)

L to R:  Dad, Mom, Sister 1, Sister 2,
Back Row L to R:  Brothers Lowell, Wil and Me

Acts 2:1-4

“ ¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  ³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Yes, I was born in and grew up in a Pentecostal Family.  My maternal grandmother was the pastor of the local Pentecostal Church in the little saw-mill town of Lacoochee, Florida.  Hearing people speak in tongues and seeing them dance ecstatically in the spirit was as common for me as drinking water from a glass.  Praying for the sick that resulted in Divine Healing and miracles was not at all strange or different.  I grew up thinking that this was the way “church” was supposed to be.  I have seen people “slain in the Spirit” in the church as far back as I can remember.  Let me give you some background to my faith.

Dad had left home at 15 and had become a “hobo” on the freight trains which traveled up and down the eastern seaboard.  There he learned to smoke and drink and swear with his buddies.  It was 1934-1937.  When he and his friends would come back home after a long trip they would play music to entertain the patrons in the dance hall.  He worked awhile in the Cummers Saw Mill, where orange crates were made, making the fantastic sum of $9.00 per week for a full week’s work.  It wasn’t long until he cut off the first joint of his index finger on the saw.  He refused to go to a doctor but just stuck the joint of his finger on, wrapped it in a wrag, poured on the rubbing alchohol and let it heal back naturally.  “Natural” in this case turned out to be a crooked “pointing finger”.  While playing his guitar in the dance hall in the evenings, slipping a sip of whiskey from the bottle and getting himself generally drunk - the little Pentecostal church across the railroad tracks could be heard with characteristic singing, praying and shouting (in the old time way) for, you see, it was summer and the windows were left open for ventilation in the small wood-framed structure so typical of country churches of that day.  As Daddy explained it to us, “While playing at the dancehall, when we heard a shout break out at the church, we would run over and peep in the windows to watch the show!”  While peeping in the window, Dad saw the “most beautiful girl in the world” and was captivated by her beauty.  He made up his mind that he wanted to get better acquainted and soon learned that this 16 year old young lady was the Pastor’s daughter.

“Sister” Jones was a very charismatic leader.  If you have had exposure to almost any Christian church here in the Southeastern United States, you soon learn that all Christians are called “Brother” or “Sister”.  To me, Sister Jones was Grandma Jones.  She was charismatic before most of us ever knew what that word meant.  She found out that Louis could play the guitar and invited him to play with the church band.  I do not believe that was normal for Pentecostal churches in those days for they were also “Holiness” churches but this may give some insight into the wisdom of Pastor Jones.  [“Holiness”: That will be a subject for a later blog] She eventually won the young man to a deep experience with Christ.  During a Revival, while the house was full of fervent worshippers, Dad had “slipped a sip or two” before the meeting started.  At one high point of leading the service, Sister Jones, removed the fiddle from under her chin and called out to the crowd, “Saints!  I feel the SPIRIT in this place tonight!”  Dad, by now feeling the effects of his “slippin’ and sippin’” shouted back, “MEEEE TOOOOOO!”  Grandma then called to the congregation, “Praise God, Church!  The Spirit’s move is so powerful here that even these old sinners are feeling it!”  I’m not positive that it was the same night – but during that or a similar service, the house was so crowded that there was no room to sit in the back of the church.  After playing his guitar for the preliminaries he looked back for a place to sit down somewhere near the back of the building.  There might have been a place he could have squeezed into but since he was a shy young man he wanted to get into a seat and “out of sight” as quickly as possible.  So – young Louis Brannen sat on the only available seat – the front row!  After the sermon was finished a woman directly behind him leaned forward and half whispered into his ear, asking, “Louis, don’t you want to go to the altar and get saved?”  When that happened, He says, “The Devil said to me, ‘Just back-hand Sister Rosier in the face and tell her NO!’”  “I thought…now that wouldn’t be right.  I’m in the church house.”  So instead of obeying the Devil, he obeyed the Lord and, “took two steps and fell into the altar” where he was gloriously converted. 

Events moved swiftly.  Louis was “Sanctified and Filled with the Holy Ghost” with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as mentioned in Acts 2:4.  This Glossalalia Phenomenon was for the common man.  Louis became a changed man.  He immediately stopped drinking.  No more cursing.  No more smoking.  Just like that.  It was permanent.  I was 60 years of age when he died and I can honestly tell you that I never ever observed my Dad say or do anything that would make me doubt his experience with the Lord.  Soon he became the clerk of the church and asked for the hand of Bonnie Jones in marriage.  He was just 20 years old.  Bonnie was 16 when they married.  True to her oft repeated words, “I’ll NEVER marry a preacher, she married this saw-mill worker.  However, it was only a few short weeks after they were married that Daddy announced to the congregation that he now felt “called” to preach.  This was the beginning of 62 years together in full-time ministry before Dad passed from this life into the presence of his Savior.

Time Flys When?

Where Did the time go?  Could it have anything to do with the old adage: "Time flies when you're having fun"?  We sure have been having fun this month with the Brannen Boys!  My two brothers and I have been meeting every Saturday morning this month to have breakfast together, and then off to practice singing together.  Our good friend and helper is Eddie.  He is a skilled musician, song-writer, who says he doesn't sing.  He plays the keyboard and has been helping us towards more skillful harmony.  If you would like to hear us sing, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7KiYN0p5uc .  We did this on a Friday night in a local singing at "Gaddy's Gospel Barn".  Then on Saturday we drove to Chattanooga and did this number in our denomination's state-wide Senior Talent competition, and then sung again on Sunday night at our local church.  We did have great fun.

Oh - I must tell you that our 91 year old Mom is as good as new!  She has been back to church and singing publicly again after her fall last month.  Then, Frances' sister, Beth, fell in her home and broke her hip.  Beth had to have surgery and have a pin inserted into the bone.  Altho she had to go to re-hab she also seems to have made a full recovery.  Beth is 84.  We went to visit her in Lenoir City and took her out to the Cracker Barrell (a local restaurant) for dinner.

Mama

Mama, Addressing City Life Church, Tampa, Florida

That's what I've always called my wonderful mother; Mama.  She is so specially gifted.  She will reach 92 years of age in March.  She has retained her beauty so well that when we are out together and Frances is not with me, she has often been mistaken for my wife.  However, on Wednesday night, walking from her apartment over to the church (less than 100 yards) she fell flat on her face and ended up in the emergency room at our local hospital.  I was at my church when I received the call and went to the ER immediately after our service.  Stayed there until the doctor finally came (after four hours) and started the two stiches in her lip.  Yesterday, she was up, smiling the best she could, and worrying about the fact that she could not see because the eyeglasses cannot be repaired before next week.  I went to the drugstore and bought her a new pair of 3.25 reading glasses which she says help her a lot.

Interestingly - I had sung a song she taught me that she had learned as a child.  Here are the words: 

 

I Don’t Want To

 

Some men chew their cud – they say it’s oh so good

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – as I pass them by

I don’t want to!

CHORUS:

Cause Jesus took the want to outta me a long long time ago

The pleasures of this world – don’t charm me any more

So this is my reply – as I pass them by

I don’t want to!

Some women powder and paint – to look like what they ain’t

They’ll urge you the same to do

So make this your reply – As you pass them by

I don’t want to!

Some men cuss and smoke – tell lots of smutty jokes

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – As I pass them by

I don’t want to!

 

Some men drink their wine – they say it’s oh so fine

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – As I pass them by

I don’t want to!

Some won’t pay their tithes – they say it’s just not wise

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – As I pass them by

(Since I got saved) I JUST WANT TO!
 

Once, I was at a meeting with Mom and we were browsing through books in the bookstore when a preacher friend whom I had known for years approached.  I had been away in Africa for about five years and we had not seen each other during that time.  He said, "Oh, Bro. Fred, I was so sorry to hear about Sis. Frances.  Is this your new wife?"  Boy, did Mama beam!  More recently I took her for a doctor's appointment and the young receptionist asked mother how old she was because she could not believe she was reading the date on her chart correctly.  When Mother said, "I'm 89."  I chimed in and said,  "Don't you think we look pretty good to be in our 80s and 90s?"  To which the young lady replied, "Well, I believe you...but your wife just doesn't look old enough to be 89!"  Those moments are really good for one's ego.  Yeah.  Right.


Ugh! That looks like it would hurt.


Well - here we are with the picture I took yesterday morning.  Looks like the famous "morning after" to me.  Don't ya think?  But don't worry.  She'll be back looking good as new in a couple weeks - or is that months?




Christmas Reflections

Christmas!  What a wonderful time of the year.  This year is especially wonderful as I reflect on all the wonderful things goin on in our lives.  I had another colonoscopy and the doctor's visit last Friday was very affirming.  Dr. B said, "I'm writing this into your medical file.  You are special."  I was happy to tell the doctor that the Lord has kept His word given to me in a dream last year, "I'm healing you."  This is cause for great rejoicing.  Wild.  Crazy.  Exuberant praise!  What a wonderful Christmas gift.  I asked Frances, "Why?"  I know it is not because I am any different than anyone else.  God knows how weak and frail and insignificant I am.  I did not fast a long fast, or give extra money to the church or have a special preacher lay hands on me.  I did have many friends praying for me, I know...but all I can say is that God, in his sovereignty CHOSE to heal me.  I'm grateful.

Family.  This year for the first time in many years I find all of my brothers and sisters and our mother living in the same town.  This is most unusual for our bunch.  I've lived in South America and in Africa for 24 years.  One brother lived in Corpus Christi, TX and one in Louisiana for many of those years.  Mom and Dad lived in different states over those years, pastoring churches.  But now - this Christmas, we were all together for things like caroling, church attendance, parties, gift exchanges and giving thanks for each other and how the Lord has directed our lives.

Our Fred Brannen family - Frances and I and our three girls and their children and their children's children all live in America.  Actually we are most proud to have a daughter married to a pastor...and they are serving the Lord way up north in Watertown, NY.  We were able to talk with them in the past few days via Skype.  How wonderful to see the beautiful faces of our two grand-daughters who are still at home there.  Our other two girls and their children were all able to be with us.  I managed to be there for a Christmas play in which a son-in-law and a granddaughter participated.  What a treat.  Our children make us very proud as they serve the Lord.

Our church - We joined the Victory Drive Church of God here in Cleveland this year.  We both enjoy the fellowship of all the members.  I teach Sunday School part time and have filled in for the pastor when called on.  Music is a special part of our church life and I've been privileged to sing with two wonderful families who are professionals.  The Ray Branham Family and The Vaughan Cunningham Family are really talented musicians.  We are blessed in this spiritual haven.

One of our angels

Daughter Ruthie

Mom with a fruit basket

Brother-in-law, Michael

Our friend, Rob D. that we met in Kenya

Music at our church

Chirch Christmas Party

Our Pastor

 

My computer friends - You - maybe you don't know what a lift some of you give to my spirit when I read your blogs.  I pray for you and yours to have a blessed and prosperous New Year!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Yes, it's a happy one for me.  One year ago, today, November 22, 2011, I arrived before daylight and checked into the hospital in nearby Chattanooga for surgery to remove three cancerous tumors from my colon.  At my last check-up (Nov 5) the Oncologist gave me a clean bill of health and stated that he wanted to set up a date now for the removal of the "surgical port" from my chest as he could not see any further need for it.  The LORD has kept HIS WORD to me:  "I'm healing you!"

Two days after my Oncologists visit, I visited my Optometrist - and she said sshe was surprised that she did not see more damage to my eyes.  "In fact," she said, "Your eyes look better today than they did a year ago!"  Isn't God good?

I was up at 3:30a.m. last Saturday, drove an hour and a half with my 4 wheeler on the trailer behinc me and hunted for deer all day.  Came home in the evening and then went to church the next morning and night and sung in both services.  Came home and fell asleep with no trouble.  On Monday morning I got up, collected my Mom and we went out to sing at the Senior Citizen's Center.  Tuesday I drove an hour north of here to Madisonville to collect 55 lbs of deer meat given to me by my friend who owns the property where I hunt.  How blessed can a man be?  Too much?  I don't think I'll get to the place that I think it was by my own strength, nor because I am any better than anyone else.  I know it is all because of what the Lord has done.

To HIM be all glory, honor, and praise!

 

I just finished off two bowls of deer-chili and am preparing to go out to my sister's for our annual Brannen Family tradition (which we call Thanks-mas!). 

The Appalachian Trail - Only 2180.7 More Miles To Go!

In Africa I learned that I can eat an elephant - if I eat it one bite at a time!  The Appalachian Trail is like an elephant.  It is 2,184 miles of footpath, leading from Georgia to Maine.  I began this most exciting and chilling, awesome and aweful, wonderful and full of wonder walk on Wednesday, September 5, 2012.  The section we walked was the "100 mile wilderness" section.  There were 4 of us who entered the trailhead at 1:00pm that day with intentions to walk to the Hurd Shelter where we were camping for the first night of ten anticipated nights on this trail.

Just a month before (on August 2) I had a CT-Scan showing that there were no more signs of colon cancer.  Jesus had kept his promise which he spoke to me last fall before my surgery.  In that dream He said, "I'm healing you."   My great friend Jack L. Darnell and his dear wife Sherry invited me at some point to go with him for a hike of the "100 mile wilderness" section of the trail beginning at the base of Katahdin and walking south to Manson; something I have always wanted to do.

My grandparents on my Mother's side were an outdoors family.  They hunted in central Florida out of Yankeetown - mostly in a place called Gulf Hammock.  I always loved the time I spent with them: mostly Christmas and Spring, just at the time when school was out.  Sometimes I was also allowed to stay the whole summer with them until it was time for school to begin in the fall.  I have always been healthy and never was in the hospital except for a bout with malaria, sufferred after a mission trip to the Pomeroon district of Guyana, South America.  That was 1985.  I recovered quickly and went on to serve in Africa for 20 years without ever suffering with malaria symptons again.

For over 20 years I had been a pastor in the Southern USA.  My first church was at Tellico Plains, Tennessee.  There I learned many things about hunting and fishing in a mountain environment.  I was a scoutmaster for the Tellico Plains Kiwanis club.  I've hiked short distances in Alaska, carrying skis on my shoulder, never having skiied before.  It was "breath-taking" adventure to say the least.  That is all to say that I have had some experience in the outdoors before0 the beginning of this venture.   (Reflection:  I was younger then - and I had not had cancer surgery nor had my body been bombarded with chemical cocktails for a solid 6 months.  Haha.)

However - after all of my experiences with the few pieces of the trail I've been on, I had no way to anticipate the difficulties I encountered on this trail.  It was absolutely "R&R" as my good friend Jack Darnell said.  "Roots and Rocks"!  That's o.k.  Cause I'll be back, friends. 

So today I went out and bought a map of Springer Mountain to Bly Gap (the southernmost leg of the AT) and started my plans for another big adventure on the trail!

On The 100 Mile Wilderness In Maine

Your's Truly - Enjoying The Trail
But Can You See The Tiredness In My Eyes?
It's because I had to fight with my ENO Hammock Most of the night.  (Well, that plus the five hour hike I had into here to the shelter).  Man - was I tired?  I had stretched out the hammock and slept in it a couple of hours at home - but without the sleeping bag.  Now I had a wonderful sleeping bag that was toasty warm to my back - but it insisted on staying bunched up in the middle.  It was a "Mummy Style" bag, which requires putting one's feet into before zipping up from the bottom.  It was dark and this bag was so warm - but I could not pull enough of it up around my body to stay warm.  I pulled at the legs first - then I pulled at the edges of the bag behind my shoulders.  While doing this I could not, no matter how hard I tried, pull the bag out froim under my back.  I would lift my hips high and try to jump-pull and push at the same instant - all to no avail.  The more I worked the hotter I got.  Then I felt warm.  Warm, that is, until the sweat I had worked up began to turn to ice-water!  Ha.  So - I'll roll over, I thought.  When I did - OUT - onto the roots and rocks.  When my knee hit that root I called out, "OH!"  "Are you all righ down there, Fred?"  Mark called out.  "NO!"  I replied.  So at One o'clock A.M., Mark came down to help this old man get back into the hammock.  What a WONDERFUL NIGHT!

Sherry D And Her Two Sons, Mark and Jack, Jr.

Missionary Friend, Gordon B., President Of The Bible College
In Kenya For Fourteen Years

Everyone Needed To Rest On This Trail

Hurd Shelter
By the time I reached here my vision was blurred.  ☺

Inside The Shelter Where The Others Slept

The Trail of Roots And Rocks
Goes Right By The Base Of That Tree

Jack and Sherry D.
Two WONDERFUL Friends

 

 

Inside The Shelter of My ENO
I fought all night with my Sleeping Bag
Which I could not get to cover my shoulders!

Climbing into the ENO Hammock
Thru The Bug-Net

T

A Taste Of The Trail

 

Our Trail-Master and good friend, Jack D of Shipslog
Attempting to get a signal on his cell-phone

Mark, Jackie and Sherry the morning we began our hike

 

Jack, Gordon, Me, Mark at the beginning of our trek
The sign says
It's only 3.3 miles to the shelter where we will camp
the first night

 

Gordon getting settled into the shelter

 On Tuesday of last week my missionary friend (Gordon) and I boarded a plane and flew to Bangor, ME to begin our trek on the Appalachian Trail.  We were two kids again!  School was out.  And we were both excited about the adventure that lay before us.  Jack (of Shipslog) had invited us to join him and one of his sons for the "100 mile wilderness" section of the trail that begins at Abol bridge at the base of Mt. Katahdin and travels southwards to Manson. 

To sum it up, it took me 5 hours to lead the group in to the first shelter where we camped for the night.  I had begun to run out of steam by the time we got through the bog; the first hurdle along the trail, which took about an hour of walking.  Did I say walking?  It was more like slowly creeping as I tentatively sought for a solid place to plant my hiking stick without it sinking into the marsh from six inches up to two feet!  I would say hahaha - but it wasn't funny at that time.  Plenty funny now that I'm safely home anmd sitting in the comfort of my office. 

After reaching what I think was about the half-way point I became over-heated, so much so that my glasses had gone from fogging over to being wet and streaked completely with sweat.  When I stopped and took a drink from my canteen I decided to pour some water on my head and face.  Steam flew into the air like you had poured ice onto a hot Model A Ford engine. (Well, that's what it seemed like to me.)  I was nauseous.  I felt I would surely lose my lunch.  My  pack felt like it weighed 450 lbs instead of the 48.5 lbs that the airport scale had showed. 

At that point, my good friend Jack insisted that we swap packs.  I believe his pack weighed 30 lbs or less.  He carried my pack and I carried his for a couple of hours.  Then Jack's son, Mark sped on ahead to the shelter and hung his pack in a tree before returning to take the pack I was carrying on the rest of the journey.  I knew at that point that I was not ready yet to hike the entire trail on this trip so decided that if we could possibly get a cell-phone signal that I would do the smart thing and go back out in the morning. 

Sure - I struggled with my male ego before making this decision.  The "man" in me wanted to "do it or die" but I thought - I don't have to die from my an attack of over-grown ego.  Ha.  Common sense told me to let the others go on and for me to turn back.  I was to learn from Jackie (Jack's first-born son) that this was not "common sense" but rather "uncommon sense".  Just like his Dad!  Always trying to make others feel better about themselves. 

More to follow.  However, I can't wait to show you the Tee Shirt that Frances bought for me and presented to me when I reached home! 

I had seen this shirt in Gatlinburg, TN and remarked to
Frances over the phone that I wished I had bought it.
So appropriate for a beginning of an
Addicted Trail Hiker!
Don't you think?

Preparing To Hike

My Brother Wil and his Wife join me on the Greenway

I'm so happy to report that I'm finished the Chemo and am now preparing to hike the "Hundred Mile Wilderness" with good friend and fellow blogger, Jack Darnell.  My brother and a missionary friend, Gordon B. are also going with us.  We anticipate a great time of solitude and evening stories around the campfire!

Dinner?

I have been so busy this summer that it was next to impossible to do anything here at the Blog.  Missionary friends were taken up to the cabin, one of my brothers and his wife (Lowell and Janis) were taken to the cabin specifically to pick black berries.  One day Lowell and I dug sassafras roots for tea.  At other times we just went to mow the grass and check for storm damage.

It seems we have had an unusual amount of storms the last couple of years.  Our cabins were spared - but there have been numerous trees that were felled by the winds, clogging the roads.  Our neighbor lost several huge trees.  Power outages were caused by trees knocking down power lines.  But we and our families were spared.  Thank you, Lord!

It seems I have more to thank God for than anyone I know.  I had my last chemo-treatment about three weeks ago.  Then at the CT Scan two weeks ago - the doctor said he could see no more cancer...but...he referred me to another doctor for an ultrasound on my thyroid gland as he thought he saw a nodule there.  I had a call a couple of hours ago from the ultrasound doc and they said "ALL CLEAR" on that!  Ain't God Good?

Through All Kinds of Weather

Brother Wil and I have been hiking on the local hiking trail in anticipation of the AT.  We have been also preparing our backpacks, meals, shelter, etc.  This is the brother that lived in Texas for over 40 years and only recently retired and moved here to our town.  I'm enjoying having him around. 

More Ducks

Missionary Gordon Bloodworth Shows His Strength

Clearing The Trail

I MUST SAY  - Thank You, my friends who have prayed for me so often over the last six to eight months as I battled cancer.  Thanks.

Missionary Jack Morris Takes Aim

Having Difficulty Reading The Bible Through?

For several years now I have made it my personal goal to read my Bible through four (4) times a year.  This requires only twelve chapters per day and twenty chapters on Sunday.  To read it through once in a year only requires three chapter per day and five chapters on Sunday.  (Sorry folks - In this original article I made a mistake and said one chapter per day when it should have been three per day in order to read through once in a year!)

I was a pastor in my younger years (started at the very young age of 22 years) and I felt that it was part of my duty to read the Bible through at least once a year.  As I began, I would do fine until I came to the long lists of difficult names.  I would often come to the end of another year filled with guilt and disappointment because I had read only the Old Testament and sometimes a few chapters of the New Testament. 

It was not easy in those early years.  I had tried from my very first day as a pastor to pray one (1) hour each morning as I began my day – a habit I acquired from watching my Dad who was a pastor before me.  After prayer, I would read the first few chapters of Genesis without great difficulty – but then I would come to the genealogical sections with all those foreign names that were so difficult to pronounce and I quickly lost interest.  Here are some suggestions that I hope will help you if you are one of the few who really want to be knowledgeable of the Word of God

I.                 Know that YOU CAN do it!

a.     Even if you cannot read, you can now get an audio Bible in some form.

b.     You can now have someone read it to you as you read along silently by going to BibleGateway.com or YouBible.com on the Internet.

c.      You can get a CD or DVD or cassette tape  of the Bible being read aloud.

II.               Know that you should do it! 

a.     Question:  What is prayer?  Is it not conversing with God? 

b.     Question:  What is a conversation?  Is it not when two people speak to each other?  If one does all the speaking while the other only listens and never says anything, is that a conversation?  Of course not.  So I decided to let God do most of the talking.  Yes, I still pray, and at times can get "lost" in prayer, asking God to meet many of my perceived needs.

c.      Question:  How does God speak to us?  Through visions, dreams, prophets, tongues and interpretations, circumstances, and also our feelings?   Yes.  But human lips can make many mistakes.  Paul the Apostle indicates that "Prophecies shall fail and Tongues shall cease - but the Word of God abideth forever." 

d.     Question:  What is the single most reliable way to know what God wants to say to us?  It is found in the written Word of God.

e.     So I am suggesting that if you really want to hear from God – then READ HIS WORD!

III.              Get an easier translation to read than the KJV.  I highly recommend the Living Bible if you want a read that is easy to understand.  NOW - For Bible Study (especially when it comes to debatable points) I prefer the King James Version,  You know – the one used by Jesus and Paul.  (Of course, you know the KJV was not first printed until the year 1611) so that statement was completely “tongue in cheek”.

IV.             Get Started by making up your mind that you will do it.  You will not accomplish anything unless you make a start.

V.               Set a time that is convenient.

a.     Are you a night-owl?  Then make it the last hour before you sleep.

b.     Are you (like me) a morning person?  Set your clock an hour early and spend that first time of the day with your Lord.  You have as much time as the King or a Queen has.  Use it wisely. 

c.      If you work 50 to 60 hours a week, you can still find time to do whatever it is that you strongly desire to do.  It only takes an average reader 15 to 20 minutes to read three (3) chapters.  If you want to watch a movie you will.  Most Americans will watch TV or the Internet or read the newspaper for hours with very little complaint.

d.     Find a specific place that is comfortable and well lit but gives you as much privacy as possible.  Find a place where you can read for an hour without interruption.  This may require spending time with your wife and family and letting them know your plan.

e.     Don’t answer the phone.  Let the caller leave a message and then call them back after your Bible reading time.   Inform your family of what you are doing and seek their cooperation in not disturbing you. 

VI.             Just Git-er-done!

a.     Whatever sacrifices you have to make will be well worth the effort!

b.     Get started NOW.  Don’t wait until tomorrow for tomorrow never comes.

c.      If you find yourself reading and suddenly discover that you don’t understand – DO NOT GO BACK.  Simply focus at that point in your reading and keep moving forward.  Rest assured – you will never understand it all – but as you read over and over each year you will find more and more meaning as you read.

Postscript:

            If you have questions or comments you would like discuss in a reasonable manner, please feel free to post your comments here.  I would love to hear from you, especially if you have discovered a method or some way to make the reading of the Bible easier and more rewarding.