Library Books

I can remember even before going to first grade, sitting quietly holding a picture book with a little yellow duck on the front. And I remember the storybook of the Three Little Kittens who have lost their mittens.

I remember walking to the library in the city hall. I loved walking the halls of the library, reading the names of the books in the dark wooden shelves. Starting with the Bobbsey Twins series, I read through series after series—the Nancy Drew books, the Hardy boys. I read through a series of books written about the kings and queens of England and Frances. Then I read every book written about the early American heroes. I found books about archeology and dinasours.

My eyes were opened to the world outside of my little town of Vinita, Oklahoma. When I read, I was lost in a world I was had never known, and might have never had an opportunity to see or experience in real life.

I learned of the power of words.

In church, I was the student of a children’s teacher, Marie, who understood the power of teaching the Bible, the Word of God, to children. I also came under the teaching of a little old lady pastor, Elmira McDonough, who could see the possibilities in me and those few young people into whom she invested her teaching.

When I re-dedicated my heart to the Lord after a failed marriage, I again came under the teaching of the Bible, but this time my teacher was the Lord Jesus Himself. I still had that insatiable desire to read and study the Bible. I made a decision to accept the Bible as true and that brought me to the place where I recognized I had a choice. If I really believed the Bible was the true word of God, either I could do what it said to do, or be disobedient and not do what it said.

“Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven,” Psalm 119:89.

If the Bible is really the true word of God, the only choice we can make is to do what it says.

Lavon Hightower Lewis

Diamond Fireflies

 It’s about the time of year when the fireflies come out.  Sitting out in the backyard at twilight, seeing the twinkles in the air  around me, the sight brought wonder to my young heart. We called them lightening bugs. And we pulled their little light off and placed it on our ring fingers, like a brilliant diamond.

 Every little girl loves jewelry. We invented our own play jewelry. We licked tiny rose petals and stuck them to our ears for earrings and to our fingernails for nail polish. We put thin washers or cigar wrappers on our fingers for rings and made hair ornaments from chains of  clover flowers.

 Every woman loves jewelry. She looks forward to the day when her love presents her with an engagement ring, a symbol of his love for her. She treasures every gift of love she receives throughout her life, usually either passing on to her daughters her precious jewelry wardrobe or wearing them to her grave.

 God must love jewelry too. In Haggai 2:23, He says, “I will make you my signet (ring)” and in Malachi 3:17, He says, “they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.”

 All the diamonds in the whole world could never have bought the salvation of even one person. All the pearls, rubies, or sapphires God ever created could not ransom you. He valued you enough to pay a great price for you–the precious and only Son of God–as a ransom for your salvation.

 God sent the Crown Jewel of Heaven, Jesus Christ, to purchase you for Himself, so you could become His signet ring, the jewel on His finger.

 

God’s Favorites

My little sister was spoiled. She was Mama’s favorite. She was sickly when she was a baby and Mama always catered to her and let her do whatever she wanted.

My little brother was Mama’s favorite too. Mama lost a little boy before I was born so when my little brother came along she absolutely spoiled him rotten.

My older sister was also Mama’s favorite. She was 6 years older than I was, and she got to go places with her friends, but I couldn’t ever go with them. She always got to do way more things than I did.

My sisters and my brother always claimed that I was Mama’s favorite but I didn’t think so. Since I was older than the two littler ones, I was responsible for them and got in trouble if they did something wrong, since I was supposed to be looking out for them. Mama always expected more out of me than she did out of them, ‘cause I was older.

Daddy said we were all spoiled. I don’t know why he thought that. Sometimes when it was time for him to come home from work, Mama would give us The Speech, about how she would have to spank us if we didn’t obey her when Daddy was around. She never let us get away with anything when he was there, so I don’t know why he thought we were spoiled.

Everyone always says that God has no favorites, that He is impartial. It’s true He shows no partiality, “But glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” Romans 2:10-11.

But God does have favorites. David, the shepherd-King, was the man after God’s own heart.  Abraham was called the apple of God’s eye.

Psalms 5:12, Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Everyone always says that God has no favorites. It’s true He shows no partiality, and partiality has been interpreted as favoritism, but God does show favor to those who are in right-standing with Him. That could be called Favor-ite-ism. We are all God’s favorites just like we kids were all Mama’s favorites too.

 

Cruise Night

CRUISE NIGHT

When I was a teenager, we had cruise night every Friday and Saturday nights–when we drug Main, Main Street, that is.

 We went around the circle drive at Trails Inn drive-in, then back down Main to the post office where we did a U-turn, then back to Trails Inn again. Sometimes we stopped for a pop at Trails Inn, then up and down Main again.

 There were usually 3 other girls in my car with me–my sister Frances, next door neighbor Velta, and good friend Sandy. When the car was  getting low on gas, everyone dug around in their purse for spare change and we asked the gas-station attendant for 50 cents worth of gas, about 2 or 3  gallons.

 When it appeared my old car wouldn’t make it from one end of Main to the other, we would “lay hands on” my old worn out ’53 Chevy and pray for it.

 Some people refer to those days as the “good old days.” Gas 19 cents a gallon. Small-town fun. It is easy to look back and feel nostalgic about the past. We idealize it and remember only the good things, but those were hard days too.

 We are living in the “good old days” now. I wouldn’t want to go back those days. I love driving a vehicle with power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, that starts every time.

 In Isaiah 43:18-19, the Lord says, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

 Are you still lingering in the past, wishing for things that can’t return? Let it go. You can remember those days fondly, but don’t try to relive them, except maybe one day a year, like we do at the Annual Car Show and Cruise Night in Vinita, Ok.

What is the new things that God is doing in your life?

Lavon Hightower Lewis