This is just a sort of diary that I plan to supplement now and then for the few, if any, who should care to read it. My daughter, Cheryl, sent me an empty book several years ago to begin writing my memoirs. Well it didn't start, so maybe this will be something of that nature. I had several months on this page as a beginning of the millennium, but they were erased somehow. So this is just a restart that I'll update from time to time.
Another month gone like a streak of light. I recall some words from my youthful awareness of time, "days fly past; life goes with them." Then there was a song: "Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last." A very nice talking fellow called yesterday from the local funeral home wanting to come talk with me about "final arrangements." Wish that I had told him that mine were made above, but he was so courteous that I said he could call back later. When you expect to live until the Lord returns, you find it hard to bargain about a grave site or tombstone. Besides that, there's a line from the "Vision of Sir Laughnfall" that's stuck in my head all these years after high school, "Earth has earth's price for what earth gives. The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in. The priest hath his fee who comes to shrive us. We bargain for the graves that we lie in." Of course I know that's the way it is down here, like it or not. Just hate to see funds spent to lay away this old body that's to be transformed into a new glorified one anyhow. I think we've backed off fromd cremation all these centuries because it looks too much like hell. But those spiritual flames never consume; they only burn eternally the bodies of those who suffer the "second death." Cremation, on the other hand, is less costly, safer for the living, and takes up less ground space. It's also common already in so much of earth's polpulation. It could also remind of the Holocaust and how much the Jews suffered last century. Yet look at the "resurrection" out of ashes given to them in the state of Israel as home for world Jewery. The new meaning of cremation could become resurrection in this age just as Israel's where we specifically expect our Lord's return. Our Gospel isn't linked to the physical body today, though it was in the New Testament with rising from the dead as a final exclamation point. However, even Jesus's body was new and glorified so that He could pass through material barriers such as closed doors and even transcend distances. His final appearance is in both Galilee and Jerusalelm, which is compatible with a glorified body. And so with Him, we will go clear across the universe in a single step as time and space no longer hinder nor limit us. The famous Catholic anthropologist, Tielhard de Chardin, said that human consciousness was evolving toward an "Omega point" where it would all finally merge. He saw that as the Second Coming. I might try to fit the Internet into such a vision if it wasn't for all the porn, prostitution and gambling which are being promoted on it. Thank GOD, there's a lot of healthy spiritual stuff on there too which might become that Omega point some day. Shalom for now.
I typed in "mama" to locate that familiar giant search engine this morning and it came up "Jesus Christ" instead. I enjoyed what I read but couldn't figure out how that happened. Going back and repeating the process yielded the search engine, but left me wondering if the Holy Spirit works even within the Internet. Was I being told the REAL source to search? Now that's such an exciting possibility. Christ online could exorcise so much of the wickedness being offered by serving up the good instead. Lord, let it happen again and again for others as You have for me. I even spelled mamma wrong, but it brought me some Good News nevertheless. Praise the LORD!
Couldn't understand just why I felt so down at Rotary. The program on girl's basketball was ok, though not my cup of tea. But I left without speaking to hardly any of the others. Then I recalled my feeling about the news of that child to be handed over to Castro. I had even failed to recite the last half of our pledge of allegiance to the flag because of such disappointment. I stopped with "and to the republic for which it stands" and couldn't say "one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all" because I felt that we had wimped out. We want better relations with Cuba so bad (for business reasons of course) that we are willing to sacrifice a six year old boy. No wonder I couldn't enjoy the program.
The editor was kind to me yesterday. He let my column have more than just the right edge of the "Opinion" page. It was my Holy Week column, so I guess his heart just softened a bit. Since my articles have been reduced to one a week, and that not to be very long, I've ceased including local stuff and focused on national or international issues. If I ever get the Sunday space again, it will be for local items. But one weekly paper down at Davis is considering the use of my Tuesday morning production. And of course they wouldn't want local stuff from up here. Maybe I can pick up a number of weeklys at places where I've served as pastor. At least it's worth a try since I feel called to say things in the name of the living GOD as times seems to be running out for the whole world. Whoever reads this and knows Christ Jesus, I ask for your prayers to Him in my behalf. Shalom
I went to the ecumenical Communion service at PV's 1st UMC last night and was pleased to see such a good attendance. Looked almost like our regular morning worship congregation, though lots of folks I didn't recognize. Besides the Presbyterians and First Christians, a bell choir from First Baptist was there also. I wondered if they would take the sacrament and finaly they did after all the rest had come. My own attitude was a struggle and I came away thinking it had been an "attitude adjustment" for me, because I didn't expect those youth to partake. It brought back memories to me of that "Key '73" rally in Tulsa that I had worked so hard to coordinate under the theme of "Come Together." We were so pleased that even the Baptist youth took part, but then they took over the rally when it was their turn to perform and I was getting pressured by fellow Methodists to interrupt them. But I waited and there was still time for our speaker from Nashville. Yet I had to take the heat because I was the one who recruited that biggest youth group in Tulsa to participate. Some of those feelings were still with me after all the years and Communion helped me get rid of them. What a wicked thing it is for followers of Christ to be jealous of each other. I see how Peter felt when Jesus invited young John to sit beside Him at the Last Supper, when everyone knew that Peter was leader. So he went to the very foot of the table in protest without realizing that place would make him "foot washer" if no servant was present. Since he failed to perform, the Lord Jesus finally did it and Peter saw how arrogant he'd been. When the Lord got down to him at the end of the others, Peter protested "You will never wash my feet!" But when Jesus told him it was necessary, then Peter said "Not only my feet, but all of me." And Jesus used that to refer to the uncleanness that was present in their midst, "You are not all clean," meaning Judas. I'm so thankful my attitude was washed last night as I continue to await His glorious return. It was like that Communion so long ago at Perkins School of Theology when I was inwardly critical of my classmates. Suddenly I realzed that I was as much a sinner as all of them. So Communion meant "We all need you Lord, even me.l"
As I woke up this morning, the name Elian was on my mind. It's one that I don't ever recall hearing until all the story about that little Cuban rescued at sea a month or so ago. Now it's probably the best known name on earth. As always, I tried to consider the meaning of that name, which I presume to be Spanish. Then it came to me that "El" is Hebrew for God in the Bible's O.T. and "ian" is Greek in the N.T. for a little copy of the big reality, as in the name Christ-ian. So Elian draws from both testaments to mean "a little replica of the great GOD." I just add that in with all the signs and wonders that those Catholic Cubans in Miami have associated with the six year old now become a divine figure. Now they are praying for a second rescue for him from Castro just as he was rescued from the sea. And I join them if the father can be rescued too. I simply can't see why my own denomination if financing that lawyer, Gregory Craig, who wants them sent back to Cuba; nor the National Council of Churches working for the same goal. But I hear this morning that the Miami Cubans believe all this publicity is doing some good by exposing Castro to the world for the tyrant that he is.
Our General Conference of nearly a thousand delegtates meeting up in Cleveland OH has been completely ignored by the mainstream media so far as I can tell. I guess it's got to be at the million level anymore i.e. Million Man March and now Million Mom's there in the nation's capitol for Mother's Day. The gay issue was hardly visible at the Men's but I feel sure it will get extensive exposure this Sunday, though the Mom's are supposed to be speaking out against guns. United Methodism has seen two demonstrations there in Cleveland, the first by U.M. Reconciling Churches and the second by an inter-denominational "Soulforce," both seeking full acceptance for gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgender persons to be members or clergy in our denomination. They hurled the charges of "homophobia" as usual and declared themselves Christians just like all the others there. One UMC bishop was arrested along with 180 of the Soulforce demonstrators as they joined hands to block off the parking area of Cleveland's convention center. All the bishops had met together previously with Soulforce leaders in an effort to let them be heard in the Conference, but the offer was declined as they preferred the demonstration that was conducted around the Center while a distinguished guest, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was speaking. (And CNN did cover it Thursday) As in all their "out of the closet" efforts toward acceptance, these seemed to me to come across as spoiled brats. And their word for us implies that heterosexuals fear them. I, for one, pity them, and fear GOD lest we condone their lifestyle. Jesus foretold that "as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be with the coming of the Son of Man." What could be a clearer sign that He's at the very door ready to come in. This struggle's been going on since 1970 and each concession the church has made has only lead to greater demands. It's been like the camel getting his nose in the tent. So I pray we'll stand firm against the pressure and not yield another inch. The General Conference is supposed to conclude on Sunday. One proposition it rejected was to require that evey minister pledge to agree "that homosexuality in not in accordance with God's perfect will and that he/she will not pomote it nor conduct any gay weddings." That didn't seem too much to ask since there are other things our clergy pledge to observe such as showing hospitality in worship toward all who attend services. But the majority voted to leave the issue for individual ministers to be led of the Spirit in handling.
Did you know that in Roman Catholicism the month of May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary? Or that Saturday, as the Sabbath, is designated "Mary's Day?" just as Sunday is "The Lord's Day." Surely these facts had something to do with the date for Mothers Day being in May. We've heard tell of how Jewish mothers give their sons such strong support in their careers. And what Jewish mother fulfills that role like the mother of Jesus, gentle Mary. In Hebrew it's Miriam, from the word for bitter. My aunt, who was Catholic before turning Methodist when she married my uncle years ago, asked me recently if the Bible says any place that Mary was taken up bodily into heaven. I told her that was a tradition but not in Scripture. I said it respectfully, because she had told me in years past how much the Blessed Virgin meant in her faith. We Protestants need to realize that the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican churches all teach the perpetual virginity of Mary, placing a nonliteral interpretation on New Testament references to Jesus' "brothers." Thus she had only one child and that one's birth a miracle. We see her also mothering James, Joses, Judas and Simeon; plus their sisters, there in the home at Nazarath. Joseph was older that Mary and so she was left a widow who had to depend on her eldest son's carpentry income until He turned thirty and began His ministry.
Her life spanned the entire 20th century. Born Jan. 5, 1899 in Pauls Valley, Indian Territory, she died March 27, l996 at age 97.
Mary Blanche Hightower Hazlitt was the first of eight children born to E.G. and Amy VAught Hightower, early residents of Pauls Valley and in l917 she would be the first of the six surviving children to graduate from Pauls Valley High School. The struggle of getting an education in such hard times built strength ande endurance into her character that would see her through much harder times yet to come.
After some higher education, Blanche became a teacher at Fairfax, OK, where whe met and married John Hazlitt. Soon they had three children; John, Joseph and Jane. Their life together took the away from Oklahoma for a few years [seven] before returning to Pauls Valley to settle down following WW II.
The lean years of the depression forced Blanche back into teaching in the State Boy's School at Pauls Valley. Her loving spirit brought a caring constructive influence into the lives of these homeless boys. And during this time, family relation provided many happy times with aunts, uncles and cousins in the area.
Later, when John went off to serve in WW II Blanche took her two sons and went to California where all three of them worked the night shift in a defense plant building ships for the Navy.
Following the War, her days were filled with caring for a husband recovering fromn War injuries, and the busy lives of her three teenagers. Soon college, marriage and grandchildren became her life's focus.
Blanche was a constant supportive wife to a husband acive in chuch and public life, adapting her life around his role. Her own public life included the Methodist Church, the Library Board, and the Alternate Saturday Club. Her private life centered on refelction and intellectual pursuits.
It was at this stage of life that Blanche devoted herself to a program called Child Evengelism. And and all children were invited to her home for a weekly Bible lesson--complimented by cookies--for an hour of memory verses and fun in a happy atmosphere. For more than three decades she faithfully brought the Good News of Jesus to children from all walks of life, making sure they had the opportunity to accept Him into their hearts. Her Good News Club meetings are well-remembered by men and women all over the country who received a foundation in faith as a child in her home.
This sketchy history of a woman of great strength of character speaks so little of the sort of person she was: gracious, genteel and modest with a pleasant disposition and a whimsical wit. Because I am her daughter I have first-hand knowledge of her constant even temper, ready smile and her gentle manner. She believed mightily in the benefit of laughter, and encouraged joviality with light-hearted conversation.
Blanche always brought beauty to her surroundings. Even when there was very little to work with she added a touch of loveliness here and there-- a bit of color, some flowers, or a decoration to catch the eye.
Family and friends often were the delighted recipients of one of her delicious little lamb cakes, complete with cocout frosting and a bell tied around it's neck ("plus Noah's Ark cakes with animal crackers all around"-JA). And her hearty tamale pie was the cold weather favorite. She was truly the ultimate homemaker where warmth and hospitality always endured.
A woman of the 20th century was Blanche Hightower Hazlitt, who embodied the courage and character to move gracefully through even hard times, the technical revolution, the war times, the rebellious times, the challenging times.
She was there when women first were given the right to vote--
She was there to drive when automobiles appeared--
She was there to sell everything and pick up her fammily to move when war called--
She was there to reconstruct life following the upheaval--
She was there for little children just beginning their faith journey--
She was there for a woman in state prison whom she adopted--
She was there every week for persons in the local jail--
She was there for her beloved aging mother all her remaining days--
And she was always, always there for each of her three children and their families long into adulthood.
Truly a woman of the 20th Century
[who continued serving the Lord faithfully as a "soldier of Christ" for years after John's death in 1969]. Submitted by my sister Jane
The explosion of that PV home last Sunday afternoon was first told to me by Glen Simonsen as we drove up to Lexington for prison services that evening. He'd seen it on TV, so on the way back we drove through PV hoping to see the site there on south walnut. It was closed with a barricade but we got to speak to a lady officer about it. She confirmed that no one was killed or seriously injured, which seemed a miracle considering the blast. She also said that it was the result of gas being turned on illegally where a stove had been romoved with the pipe left uncapped. Something really seemed deliberate and we are anxious to see the culprits apprehended.
Driving back had given Glen the opportunity to recount for me how this had happened to his family in NYC back in 1960, when he was just 16 years old. The bottom level of the three story apartment building exploded and Simonson's second story apartment completely burned. He said that his parents were poor enough, just living from paycheck to paycheck from his dad's job. And then they lost everything. But no agency offered help either, though the Red Cross came to the scene. Relaties took the five of them for a time, Glen & parents,step brother and little sister. Then their only help was clothing from a Jewish synagogue and a hundred dollars cask from the Arminian Orthodox priest where the kids had been attending. It wasn't from his congregation, but out of the pastor's own pocket. Residents of the third level apartment moved away. So they left their badly damaged furniture for the Simonsons, who gladly accepted it for lack of having anyting at all. It was a traumatic time, Glen said. He mentioned an uncle who had helped them out. But Glen had never mentioned that ordeal to me or to the inmates in all the years we've ministered together. It took the PV house explosion to bring up the subject. And the home in PV was just a short way down Jackson Hill on which my folks lived for years. In fact, the blast did a lot of damage to Jackson Elementary school right across S. Walnut from it. Fortunately on Sun. no one was there.
I don't seriously expect anyone to read all this Lord, so I'm writing it mainly to give You glory and praise. One of the lessons You let me learn the hard way early this year was that my stream on consciousness wasn't for personal enjoyment but for praise and adoration to Thee. It was that collision back in Jan. or Feb. when I ran into the side of that van being driven by a young mother with her son strapped in beside her. Their name was Bray and they were going west on Schmid as I pulled out heading south from Gardner. I was feeling so great that day because my old Shylark seemed to be running so good as I listened to classical music on KOCO or KTSH. Even felt prompted to offer a prayer of appreciation for such a good day. Then kawham, I hit that van that never made a sound as slipped down the hill from the east. It only veered to the other side but that wasn't enough, and then it slid aroung sideways across Schmid and ran into the northside bank. For a terrible moment I thought it would turn over as I jumped out and ran to the passenger side front window. The young woman driver was sacred half to death and I said "Thank GOD you didn't turn over." When I saw that she was OK, I ran to the nearest house to phone police. Had to go to two or three places before finding anyone home. Then as I returned a man and his wife, with their child, arrived at the scene. They were the Ellets who are now on my paper route. J.R. was the officer who came and then I called a tow truck from P.V. that took me to my mechanic's shop up there. Telling Niece was the worst part of all, even though I got the car running for a month or two. I became angry with You and even suggested to my insurange agent that You let me down. Roger Camp said "God didn't cause you to do it" and I knew it was my neglect. I decided to keep the radio off and sing praises myself as I kept a wary eye toward dangers around. "Always Alert" has been my motto since and it carries over to spirtuality as well.
Well I'm to give up a route at the end of this month, the one that takes me into Pauls Valley Convolescent Center. It's been a privilege for me to go in there with the papers each day. A lot of precious people that I had come to love went on to glory. And I feel close to most of those I see each day and call by name. Irene Hartley is a lady I admire. She keeps herself looking so nice and her mood is the same. Nin Parkey is a zealot about her paper and since my picture was on today's front page, I gave it to rolled up instead of the usual hug and said "You can hug your paper today. You'll understand when you look at it." In all the years I've never made front page until today. My first bit was an editorial for the Valley Hi Times that the Democrat carried in about '43. That was even before my dad started his "Sounding Off," a daily column that was far more popular than mine has ever been.