Faith, Family and Freedom

By Judy Davis –

I noticed once again how beautiful our country is as our family traveled on vacation. We passed through the rugged mountains of Tennessee, the blue grass of Kentucky, and the amber waves of grain in Indiana.

While visiting Ruby Falls, in Lookout Mountain Tennessee, a lady leaned over my shoulder and whispered, “How can anyone see this and not believe there is a God?” My granddaughter softly spoke pointing to her chest, “God is real and He lives right here in my heart.” The lady laughed and said, “You are so right my child, don’t ever lose the child that is in you.”

Later, I thought of the lady and her words realizing it’s not that we don’t believe there’s a God, but do we know Him? How can we know Him if we don’t read His Word? If we begin each day reading our Bible with a joyful attitude, it can break bondages of despair.

America seems to have forgotten the Bible but our founding fathers knew the value of the Bible as the foundation of morality. George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” Abraham Lincoln said, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.” Patrick Henry said, “The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.”

Years ago our former president Bill Clinton spoke the following at the state of the union address. “Let’s be honest. Our problems go way beyond the reach of any government program. They are rooted in the loss of values, the disappearance of work, and the breakdown of our families and communities. We cannot renew our country when, within a decade, more than half of our children will be born into families where there is no marriage.”

Look at our nation today and this is exactly what has happened. Our leaders need to wake up and move forward ruling under the admonition of the Lord. America is beautiful, but has many problems. What can we do? We can start where we are by taking it back to basics, back to truth, back to honor, back to character, back to integrity, back to morality, back to work ethics, and back to the Bible.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Alaska – Land of Adventure

By Judy Davis –

The sun was rising over the mountains when our airplane descended into the remote wilds of Alaska. The splendid, snowcapped mountain peaks with the rushing rivers were an awesome sight. I gazed in awe at the stunning contrast of the snowcapped mountains against the blueness of the Gulf of Alaska.

It was at that moment I remembered the Scripture: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good… Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array” (Genesis 1:31, 2:1).

After unpacking and settling in our motel, we met many wonderful people. They told us about all the different places to visit. We had a wonderful opportunity to see much of the native culture.

We drove over to an amusement park. Our children were delighted riding all the rides and seeing the thrilling shows. Watching the native Eskimos weave their braided rugs and make colorful beads added to the adventure.

We visited North Pole, Alaska. The house Santa lived in had silver and gold tinsel, huge red and green bows and a sidewalk covered in snow. It was a cold and windy day and as we started walking up to the front door I slipped and fell on the sidewalk. My wig blew off! When my husband leaned down and asked, “Are you OK?” I hollered, “Yes, run get my wig before it blows away!”

Moose and caribou scraping snow aside to find bits of scraps was a sight to see. Huge bears with their cubs walking beside the road made taking photos fun. Camping at Mount McKinley National Park in a tent was an added treat especially with signs on trees stating: “This is Grizzly Country. This is their home. You are a visitor.”

The beautiful northern lights (aurora borealis), all different colors splashed across the heavens. Visiting Alaska was an adventure. A trip we enjoyed immensely and will remember forever.

The long days of summer were exciting in Alaska. The longest day was June 22 and the sun came up and stayed all day and night. On the shortest day December 22, the sun rose and set almost at the same time.

The remoteness of Alaska appeal to many seeking a slower, simpler life. As we packed to leave to return to our home, I we knew we had been on a journey many would love to see. We have traveled to numerous states, but Alaska was one of the most magnificent places God created.

All Aboard

By Judy Davis –

My daughter, Cindi, and I always dreamed of going on a cruise. The excitement of thinking about the rest and relaxation thrilled us. We decided to celebrate our birthdays on a cruise to the Bahamas.

As I reflect on the memories, I know God blessed us with this time of fun and fellowship. We had the opportunity to not only enjoy rest from our jobs, but time together reading and meditating on God’s Word. Each morning we started off the day reading our devotions and sharing prayer time.

Cindi picked me up early in her red sports car, all dressed in a straw hat, shorts, and sandals. She said, “Hey Mom, let’s stop at Waffle House.” After eating delicious waffles, we were on our way.

I had made reservations at a motel for our first night in Florida. The ocean view room was breathtaking and the weather delightful. After checking into the Holiday Inn, I said, “Let’s eat lunch at the Cove, a nice little sea food restaurant.” We ate a delicious lunch filled to the brim with shrimp, clams, and fish.

We woke up bright and early the next morning and got ready for another great day. “Oh, Mom, look out your window,” Cindi pointed at the great big ship with a huge red fin on top. Wow! We were ecstatic! We arrived at the Cruise line by 9:00 and couldn’t board until one o’clock. But we found a close parking place. I laughed, “We have the whole parking lot.” We found a nice cool area to sit and dream of our next few days.

The stewards treated us so special. They placed neat little towels folded like cute little animals on our bed each evening and left little pieces of chocolate on our pillow.

We shopped at the straw market and bought a few souvenirs. As I was looking through my selected items, I heard Cindi yell, “Hey mom, look, take a picture.” She ran across the street to have her picture made with one of the native Bahamians.

Later that evening, we dressed up in beautiful black and gold evening dresses for the Captain’s dinner.” The crew always takes plenty of pictures so we have special memories of a most delightful journey.

Then, of course, the midnight buffet was “a sight for sore eyes” my grandmother would have said. We took plenty of pictures as no one would believe us if we told them how much food was on the buffet.

What a blessing we shared on our first cruise! It was truly a wonderful trip full of memories. Our birthdays will be remembered forever as a time of celebration, reflection, and most of all, the love of a mother and daughter. “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” Psalm 90:14.

Visiting Israel

By Judy Davis –

I visited Israel many years ago and I’ll never forget seeing God’s chosen land. I bought several souvenirs including slides of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, The Sea of Galilee, Garden of Gethsemane and other significant places in the Holy Land. As I was walking by the shops, I saw a shirt in a window. I stopped and purchased this keepsake for my sister. Across the front was written in bold letters, “I went to Israel and all I brought back for my sister was a t-shirt.”

Jerusalem was our first stop on the bus tour, then on to see the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Dome of the Rock. We arrived in Nazareth at the home of Joseph and Mary. Can you imagine the angel Gabriel telling Mary she was going to have Jesus, the Son of God? And here I was at the very place it occurred.

We had many places to see on our tour and such a short time to visit. Another area in the Holy Land that grabbed my attention was the bridge over the Jordan River. Today many Christians are being baptized in this river. “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River” (Mark 1:9 NIV).

Our new youth pastor, Greg, baptized several of the youth at our church last week. In a baptismal, of course – not in a river. One teen walked out to be baptized and he stood over a foot taller than the youth minister. When Greg went to baptize him, he literally could not lift him out of the water. This incident brought much laughter from our congregation. After the baptismal service was over, our pastor walked up to the podium and said, “This alone was worth the price of admission.”

In getting back to my trip of years ago, Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ was one of the most treasured places we visited. One of my favorite souvenirs was an olive wood nativity from Bethlehem. I recently wrote a children’s book, “The Olive Wood Manger,” and it’s full of pictures of this nativity.

After touring Bethlehem we went on a boat across the Sea of Galilee. I’ll never forget going to a restaurant on the other side and eating a delicious Saint Peter’s fish dinner. Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on these shores.

Visiting the Garden of Gethsemane was a sight to behold. The garden is at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Walking where Christ walked was the highlight of this trip and a place never to be forgotten.

Laughter: Making the Best of a Bad Situation

By Judy Davis –

Several years ago I was a contestant in a humorous speech contest at Toastmasters. Barbara Johnson’s book, Pack Up Your Gloomies in A Great Big Box, Then Sit on the Lid and Laugh, was instrumental in helping me to compete.

Barbara mentioned in her book, “Humor is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles.” This reminded me of an incident I had with my new Honda.

My day started off great, but ended with a thud. I decided to get up early since I had a big day planned. After Bible study, prayer and meditation, I drove to the newspaper office to drop off my weekly article, then to the library to research material for a book proposal.

Turning the corner to my house, I hit a curb—I’ve hit it before, only this time I heard a loud noise. I parked in my driveway and looked at the damaged, right rear tire. I walked into the house and my husband was in the den. I thought (only for a few seconds) that I wouldn’t say anything. Then immediately, I said, “Honey, you’re not going to believe what happened!” I proceeded to tell him about the curb getting in my way.

He said, “That was the third time you hit that curb.” The last time I was driving my mother’s car. I told him I was sorry and it would never happen again. He went outside and looked at the bubble in the tire. He then informed me that I would need to buy a new tire, a new cover, and possibly a new rim. Needless to say, I had to use my own money.

My daughter didn’t make the situation any better. When I called her and related the incident, she calmly said, “Mom, you could have bought a brand new outfit!”

I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. From now on, I will be very careful, since I not only blew my tire, but $100 and my whole afternoon.

The day before in our Women’s Prayer Group we had studied about giving thanks in all things. “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Ephesians 5:20.

I started thanking God that the car was not damaged any worse and no one was injured. And thank goodness I didn’t have to get a tire cover, saving me $20. We can always find something to be thankful for.

Learn to laugh at yourself as laughter is good for the soul. This experience not only taught me a lesson, but I also won a First Place Trophy in the humorous speech contest at Toastmasters International.

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