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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
RELIGION
Lessons
Parables to Ponder
Billy
Powell
Columnist
Author Joel Chandler
Harris of Eatonton,
Georgia, became famous
for his writings about the
old South, so famous in
fact that the Walt Disney
Company was inspired
to produce a movie of his
Uncle Remus stories.
The movie, entitled Song
of the South, became a box
office hit when it debuted
in 1946. Set in the late
1800 s, the movie centers
on Johnny, a 7-year-old
boy, who is excited about
Andrew UMC holds fall festival today -- great bargains, food,crafts
A really popular mid-county event, the Andrew United Methodist Church,
annual fall festival, which will be held today, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event,
held at the church in Kathleen, will begin with a hot breakfast. There will
be “gently worn” clothing sales and a jewelry booth.
A bake sale will be held for, with all homemade items from the kitchens
of church members. There will also be a booth of items contributed by the
members for sale, and a beautful quilt, stitched by the ladies of the church,
will be raffled off.
Child’s adoption is a blessing to be celebrated
Focus on the Family
»? s•"' jfll
Dr. James
Dobson
Columnist
QUESTION: How would
you go about telling a
child he or she is adopt
ed, and when should that
disclosure occur?
DR. DOBSON: First,
begin talking to your tod
dlers about their adoption
before they can understand
the meaning of the words.
That way there will never
be a moment when disclo
sure is necessary. To learn
of adoption from a neighbor
or other family member can
be an awful shock to an indi
vidual. Don’t risk the devas
tation of a later discovery by
We each have a shadow of our own to cast in the world
Reflections
Earline
Cole
Columnist
One of my very best
friends and I have children
and grandchildren who
have grown up together.
We call her “Granny”.
Several of her children
and their children know
me as “Grandma Cole.”
Granny is a down-to
earth person who sees
the best in everyone she
meets. She feels superior
to none. Our friendship
has surpassed the “gold
en anniversary” stage. It
began at a time when I
Prime lime at Perry UMC
Dr. Don Adams, son-in-law of Dr. and Mrs. Billy Key,
and Superintendent of the Valdosta District of the Southe
Georgia Conference, will present the program at the Perry
United Methodist Church Prime Time Luncheon on Nov. 6
at noon.
Adams will present a monologue of the Rev. John Wesley in
full costume, sharing Wesley’s experience in Georgia and how
it led to the birth of a spiritual movement that eventually
became the Methodist Church in America.
Reservations must be made by 9 a.m., Tuesday, by calling
the church office at 987-1852. The cost of the lunch is $5.
If cancellation is not made by the deadline, the payment of
$5 is due.
in love and laughter from Uncle Remus
going on a vacation to his
grandmother’s plantation
in Georgia.
Accompanied by his par
ents, John Sr. and Sally,
Johnny becomes distraught
when he learns that his
parents are separating and
his father is returning to
Atlanta.
Upset by his father’s
abandonment, Johnny
decides to leaves that night
under cover of darkness
and sets off for Atlanta with
only a small hobo sack.
As Johnny sneaks away
from the plantation, he is
attracted by the voice of
Uncle Remus, spinning
tales of Brer Rabbit. Johnny
is instantly drawn to Uncle
Remus, and a strong bond
develops between the two.
As the movie progresses,
Johnny doesn’t attend his
own birthday party, caus
ing his mother to send
servants looking for him.
failing to take the sting out
of the issue in babyhood.
Second, celebrate two
birthdays with equal gusto
each year: the anniversary of
her birth, and the anniver
sary of the day she became
your daughter. That is a
handy mechanism by which
the fact of adoption can be
introduced. It also provides
a way to equalize the sta
tus of siblings. Biological
children have a psychologi
cal advantage, which they
sometimes lord over their
adopted brother or sister.
That one-upmanship is neu
tralized somewhat when the
adopted child gets a second
birthday.
Third, present the adop
tive event as a tremendous
blessing (as implied above)
that brought great excite
ment to the household. Tell
about how badly you and
your wife wanted a baby to
hold even though it looked
like you wouldn’t get to raise
another boy or girl. Then
was sure I lacked the abili
ty to do much of anything.
I was strongly convinced
that whatever I could do,
surely someone else could
do better.
Through the blunders
I have made, Granny
has always offered genu
ine encouragement. She
helped me step out of
shadows cast by others
who are more qualified,
and to realize that I have a
shadow of my own to cast.
Shadows, like individu
als, are unique. No two
are the same. Today I am
still hesitant to put my
cooking on the same table
with food prepared by
those with reputations of
being excellent cooks.
I would shy away from
singing in the midst of tal
ented vocalists. And, I am
well aware that I am far
Johnny is found with his
newly found friend, Ginny,
at Uncle Remus’ house lis
tening to his Brer Rabbit
stories. Sally forbids Uncle
Remus to spend any more
time with Johnny.
Saddened by the . misun
derstanding of his good
intentions, Uncle Remus,
packs his bags and leaves
for Atlanta.
Johnny, seeing Uncle
Remus leaving from a dis
tance, rushes to intercept
him, taking a shortcut
through the pasture where
he is attacked and gored by
a bull.
While Johnny hovers
between life and death, his
father returns and recon
ciles with Sally. An injured
and weakened Johnny
calls out for his friend,
Uncle Remus, who soon
arrives.
To cheer Johnny’s spirits,
Uncle Remus tells Johnny
Crafters will sell their wares, including everything from baby dolls to
jewelry to quilts.
Lunch will be served from the grill by Bill Stokes and Jeff Douglass.
Children can enjoy hayrides by the “tractor man” and several inflatable
children’s jilay spaces have been arranges.
Houston Educare will provide a health care screening. Blood pressure will
be checked at no charge. Blood sugar checks will be $1 and the fasting lipid
profile will be done for a fee of $25. There will also be a blood drive.
describe how the news came
that “you had arrived,” and
how the whole family cel
ebrated and cheered. Let
your child know your delight
when you first saw him lying
in a crib, and how cute he
looked in his blue blanket,
etc. Tell him that his adop
tion was one of the happiest
days of your life, and how
you raced to the telephone
to call all your friends and
family members to share the
fantastic news.
This is the point: The
child’s interpretation of the
adoptive event is almost
totally dependent on the
manner in which it is con
veyed during the early years.
Most certainly, one does not
want to approach the sub
ject sadly, admitting reluc
tantly that a dark and trou
blesome secret must now be
confessed.
Fourth, when the founda
tion has been laid and the
issue is defused, then forget
it. Don’t constantly remind
from reaching the top of
the ladder as a writer.
With all my inadequa
cies, the shadow I cast is
just that. It is my shadow.
World Community Day
at First Presbyterian
Church Women United is celebrating World
Community Day on Friday at First Presbyterian
Church Fellowship Hall at 1139 Watson Boulevard,
Warner Robins, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
The program, “God’s Wisdom Sets Us Free” will
celebrate how we, as women of faith, can make a dif
ference the lives of others by sharing our faith through
the ministry of presence. This celebration explores
how we can reach out with God’s wisdom and love to
those behind bars, whether made of steel or of human
limitations.
This interfaith service will share with others
through music and scripture and will feature our
guest speaker, Jordan Dotson, an 18-year-old Houston
County High School student, whose classmates call
“Preacher Boy,” and who, in April, started his own
prison ministry.
Come and be blessed by what this young man has
to share and learn how we, like the caterpillar, can
change and grow and escape the binds of our own
human failings and help others grow beyond their
prison walls. Our special time together will end with
a covered dish lunch.
For more information, call the First Presbyterian
Church office at 478-923-8856.
Church news every Saturday
In the Houston Home Journal
the tale of Brer Rabbit’s
Laughin’ Place. The boy
miraculously survives. In
this tale, Brer Rabbit out
smarts Brer Fox and Brer
Bear who attempt to roast
him over an open fire.
As Brer Rabbit dangles
over the flames, he fakes
laughter to invoke their
curiosity.
His adversaries fall for
the ploy and remove Brer
Rabbit from the fire to
learn why he is laughing.
Brer Rabbit tells them he
was thinking about his
Laughin’ Place.
They respond exactly
as Brer Rabbit expected
and demand he take them
there.
As the trio bounces down
the road, Brer Rabbit hears
a humming bee hive inside
the woods and points to
the nearby thicket as his
Laughin’ Place.
The story ends with Brer
the child of his unique
ness to the point of foolish
ness. Mention the matter
when it is appropriate, but
don’t reveal anxiety or ten
sion by constantly throw
ing adoption in the child’s
face. Youngsters are amaz
ingly perceptive at “read
ing” these thinly disguised
attitudes.
QUESTION: My four
teen-year-old boy is
flighty, mischievous,
irresponsible and lazy. If
I don’t watch him very
carefully, he’ll find ways
to get into trouble - not
really bad stuff, just stu
pid kid behavior. But I’m
afraid I could lose him
right at this time. What
can I do to keep him on
track?
Dr. Dobson: It is most
important to keep your ram
bunctious youngster moving.
If you let him get bored, he’ll
find destructive ways to use
unstructured and unsuper
vised time. My advice is to
I trust my shadow will
blend in with other shad
ows of others in places
that will count for Christ.
Psalms 91:1 sums it all
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2008 ♦
Fox and Brer Bear, badly
bitten and fleeing the scene
with a swarm of angry bees
in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, Brer Rabbit
is rolling on the ground in
rib-splitting laughter.
Uncle Remus makes the
point that everyone, adults
and children alike, need a
Laughin’ Place. Laughter
is the best medicine.
It can sooth a troubled
soul and promote body
healing. A good belly laugh
can do wonders for emo
tional well being.
In another sense, our
Laughin’ Place can repre
sent the inner peace and
eternal security we experi
ence in reflecting on God’s
promises.
The scripture states that
“No eye has seen, no ear
has heard, no mind has
conceived, what God has
prepared for those who
love him.”
by family
get him involved in the very
best church youth program
you can find. If your local
congregation only has four
bored kids in its junior high
department and seven sleepy
high schoolers, I would con
sider changing churches.
I know doing that could be
disruptive to the rest of your
family, but it might help save
your volatile kid. This can
be done not only through
church activities but also by
involvement with athletics,
music, horses or other ani
mals, and part-time jobs.
The hope is that one of
those options will grab his
fancy at some point, and
his boundless energy will be
channeled into something
constructive. Until then,
you must keep that energet
ic kid’s scrawny legs churn
ing!
Dr. Dobson is founder and
chairman of the board of the non
profit organization Focus on the
Family, Colorado Springs, CO
80995(www.family.org).
up. We should seek only to
“live within the shadow of
the Almighty, sheltered by
the God who is above all
gods.” - Living Bible
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"Let the spirit move you"
Keep youp eyes
on Goft agenda
By DON MONCRIEF
Journal Managing Editor
Man being man, I don’t
think it was that easy.
Last week our Sunday
School lesson was on I Samuel
24.
The chapter, 22 verses, is
about how Saul was chasing
and trying to kill David. Saul
was king but he knew David
would soon take his place and
he was trying to prevent it.
He got word that David
was in the “Wilderness of En
Gedi”, so he went after him.
Well, as it so happened he
had to go to the bathroom and
seeing as there were no port
a-potty’s in sight, he went
inside a cave.
And guess who was hiding
in the cave with his men?
That’s right. David.
In fact David came right up
to him without his knowledge
but instead of killing him -
more on that in a second - he
cut off a portion of his robe.
The Sunday School lesson
was on “God’s agenda” versus
“man’s agenda”. Along those
lines, David later showed Saul
what he had done, basically
said I could have killed you
but I was following God’s
plan, not mine.
The rest of the text is their
conversation, important in
and of itself, but what kept
coming back to me later was
verse 4: “Then the men of
David said to him, ‘This is the
day of which the Lord said
to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver
your enemy into your hand,
that you may do to him as it
seems good to you.’”
As you have read, he ignored
them, and the Bible makes it
appear as if it were an easy
thing for him to do.
I can’t help but wonder.
Can you just imagine? You’ve
got three or four guys leaning
over his shoulder. “Oh, you’ve
just got to do this.”
And then when he shows
signs of thinking for himself,
looking to God, someone else
speaks up - whispers: “Oh
look at him now, he’s a cow
ard.”
And you’ve got the expert:
“Why if it were me ...”
The gossiper: “Oh just wait
until everybody hears about
this.”
The dissenter - I guess they
all could be considered dis
senters: “And you’re going to
be our next king?”
Peer pressure in other
words.
Our world today is full of
it. And man’s history being
man’s history, I’m sure David
got a good dose.
Yet he kept his eyes on God
and His agenda. And he was
blessed as a result.
Remember that the next
time you feel sin hunting you,
the whispers of Satan, and the
walls of darkness closing in.
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