LETTERS TO OUR GRANDCHILDREN

Dear Angela, Tiffany and Daniel,
It has been said that families who really love the way God intended…think they are the only family in the world who loves that way.  Okay, it was me who said it.  Ha.  Only I have seen evidence that it may be true.  There are things that we want to say to you and a letter is the best way to convey it.

Dear Angela…Our first born grandchild.  How sweet you are!  We were at your Great Grandmother’s 80th birthday party on September 24, 1983, at the Tupelo school cafeteria when your Aunt Betty came in and said that your dad had called and was trying to contact us.  The message was too precious for us to hear second-hand, so he just told her to have us call him back.  We knew probably what it was about and we hurried home to call him.  Sure enough, you had made us grandparents!  What a wonderful feeling!
We hurried back to the party and told the great news!  We hurried home and packed our stuff and left for Fritch, Texas.  We got to hold you and take pictures of you when you were only23 hours old and you were already settled in at home.
We are so blessed and so glad that you all moved here in February of 1986.  It has been great following your progress through school and your growing up years…through your infant years, kindergarten, T Ball, grade school, soft ball, basketball, academics, spelling bees, graduation from 8th grade (valedictorian), Going to state several times in high school softball, home coming queen, high school graduation (Valedictorian), and college.  It has been a joy following you through it all. 

We are proud of your current endeavors and pray that you reach your dream in life…that of realizing your dream of wanting and being able to help people as much as you can.  What a great way to spend your life.  We are so proud of you and we love you so very much!

Dear Tiffany,
Our second born grandchild. If anything is sweeter than a granddaughter, it has to be two of them!
We didn’t get to go to Fritch quite as soon when you were born, but you were only two weeks old when we got to hold you for the first time.  What a joy it was!  Aunt Ke Ke once had told your dad, because he complained at times of her being so moody, that she hoped that he had six girls just like her.  LOL  When he had two baby girls in a row, he was beginning to think she had put a jinx on him.  LOL   But he was really proud of his two little daughters.
It has been great following you through the years too.  You have gained many honors also…T ball, kindergarten Queen, spelling bees, 8th grade graduation, (valedictorian), high school (Valedictorian), college, marriage and four precious children.  You and Beau are doing a wonderful job of rearing them up for God.  We are so proud of you and we love you so very much!

Dear Daniel…It’s so great having a grandson too!  Baby boys are sweet too...as you well know now.  You were about 20 minutes old when we first laid eyes on you!  We saw you turn over in your little hospital crib before you were 30 minutes old.  You had already gotten tired of lying on your back. 
You had a big audience that day.  Your dad, Angela and Tiffany, Pa-Pa and me, Maxine, Brenda, Janice and Maggie and I think Jared was there.  We have pictures of all of us there.  Nanna and Granddad came a little later.
You have always been a tough one.  We all think you had to be …the way your big sisters roughed you up all your little life.  (But Dan, as rough as they were on you, we have proof that they loved you.  We have a picture of you as a tiny (Well…you were never really tiny)  little baby…and Tiffany is up in bed with you and Ang is on her way up and they are both there with little puckered up lips…ready to give you sugars.)
We are proud of your accomplishments, Daniel.  You have also excelled in whatever you were involved in.  Drug poster contest winner...and getting to go see the governor, baseball, basketball, 8th grade graduation (valedictorian) winning state baseball in 2005 your senior year,  high school graduation (valedictorian), college years.
We are proud of you and Shanelle and the way you are raising your 3 precious sons.  We love you so very much!  

Pa-Pa and I and your Mom and Dad speak often about how very blessed we all are in you three Grands.

PREPARATION

Bobby goes through a lot of preparatory stages before he puts the knife to the wood in his carving of guns or airplanes. Here is a picture of the specs of the one he is working on now. Not comparing him to NASA but they go through even more preparation in building space shuttles, satellites, etc. This reminds me of a spiritual thought:

Not comparing God to NASA and Bobby...but God went through much, much more preparation in the building of His church. He prepared a nation and then a tribe for His beloved Son to come through. This Son would come in human form and have the name of Jesus...and it was prophesied that He would die upon a cruel cross in the fullness of time. It was prophesied that this would happen during the Roman empire.

If Jesus had been guilty of what they accused Him of, the Jewish Law's penalty would be stoning. During the Roman empire, the penalty was crucifixion. It all comes together just as it was prophesied. He was born, he lived about 33 years, he told about His kingdom for about 3 years and then He was crucified for the sins of the world, because of His great love for us.

Then on the third day, He was resurrected and after He had left instructions for His apostles that He had chosen, He ascended back to heaven... and they remained in Jerusalem until power came from on high. On the Day of Pentecost after the resurrection (50 days from the Passover) the church began and 3,000 heard the apostles teaching, believed, repented, confessed Christ and were baptized into Christ on that first day. Since that day many more have been added to His church by being obedient to the gospel of Christ.

Sadly, there is another prophesy that will come true someday, stated in several places in Scripture and in different ways. This one:

(2 Thessalonians 1: 7-12) “... And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed ) in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

OUR FLAG

Thanks to Janice Parks Hudson & Maxine McWethy
for helping me to rhyme this poem.

 

Do you think our flag is weeping
As it floats along the air?
Does the way our country's going
Throw it down in deep despair?

 

It's amazing how things change
  When so many want their way;
And it leads us on as blinded
And it's plain we have no say.

 

Many soldiers felt encouraged
As they fought to keep us free;
When they saw Old Glory waving
They did this for you and me.

 

All our founding fathers wanted
Were things to stay the way we've heard;
When we honored God and family...
And obeyed the written Word.
©Edna L. Ingram.


ISLAMIC JIHAD: WHAT IS THE ATTRACTION? By Wendell Ingram

ISLAMIC JIHAD: WHAT IS THE ATTRACTION?

With the increasing Islamic Jihad activity in the Middle East there is a phenomenon that is occurring in many western countries. From many countries, including our own, young people are traveling to the Middle East to join the Islamic Jihad movement. Young men are joining to become Jihadist fighters and young women are joining to become wives of Jihadist fighters to raise up the next generation of Jihadists. Many of these young people were not raised as Muslims but have been converted to the religion of Islam and attracted to the radical Islamic
ideology through Internet propaganda. But what is attracting these young people to such violent, barbaric and oppressive groups as ISIS and Al-Qaeda?

Finding the answer to this question is imperative to stopping the spreading violence that is propagated by these and other Jihadist groups. This question is being discussed and debated by many in our society but no definitive
answers have been found.

It seems to me that this question is closely related to other questions that have been raised concerning young people in our society. Questions such as, why are so many young people in our society attracted to destructive behavior like drug abuse, violent crime, gang activity, cults and even suicide? The answers to such questions are never simple but I would suggest to you that our society has adopted and promoted philosophies that are encouraging these destructive behaviors. Several decades ago our society began to reject the principles of God and the Bible and replace them with the principles of Darwinian evolution.

Though the principles of evolution directly contradict established laws of science, they have become the foundational principles of our education system with the youth of our society being taught these principles in every level of public education from kindergarten to college. The principles of evolution are being propagated by our government and the media and have so permeated our society that those who challenge them are deemed to be simple minded and uninformed.  Darwinian evolution begins with the denial of a Creator and the logical conclusion of the principles of evolution is that we are all products of a series of cosmic accidents with no purpose and no destiny. When young people grow up with this mindset, it is no wonder that they look to drugs, alcohol and even suicide as a means of escaping a perceived meaningless life.

As acceptance of the principles of evolution has steadily increased and church attendance and Bible study have steadily decreased. With the knowledge of God and biblical principle on the decline, it is no wonder that the youth of our society are desperately looking for something in life with real purpose and meaning.

As knowledge of the Bible declines, Christianity in our society is being reduced to little more than a family tradition and a weekend hobby. The devotion, commitment and sacrifice that Jesus demands of his followers is not often preached and even less often practiced. The abundant life that Jesus came to offer has been stifled by hypocrisy and materialism. When the young people of our society see the growing hypocrisy in the Christian religion and experience the futility of living life for pleasure and material possessions, many seek fulfillment elsewhere— many are turning to Islam. In spite of the oppressive nature, the violence and brutality of radical Islam, it is impossible to deny their devotion, their willingness to sacrifice and their deep commitment to a cause in which they strongly believe. These qualities are rare in American society.

As our nation desperately searches for solutions to the growing and spreading violence of radical Islam, we need to understand that we ourselves have created the atmosphere that encourages our youth to be involved in such activity.

As long as our nation’s predominant philosophy is founded in the principles of evolution... as long as Christianity is treated as a weekend hobby instead of the abundant life that Jesus came to offer... as long as Christianity is devoid of devotion, commitment and sacrifice... as long as Christians are willing to compromise with the worldly principles of Darwinism, humanism and materialism... as long as we continue to raise our children with the perception that life has no real purpose or meaning, we will continue to see an increase in young people turning to drugs, alcohol and suicide to escape a perceived meaningless life and we will continue to see an increase in young people turning to gangs, cults and violent religions in search of a life with meaning and purpose.       -Wendell Ingram

 

Dear Father
The children that you loaned to us
And helped us raise so true
The ones we love and treasure so…
Are faithful still to You.

 

The one You took away from us
At young age thirty-two;
We have her in our hearts today
Though she is now with You.

 

The one you’ve let us keep till now
You’ve blessed with many days;
He has three precious ones to love
And has trained them in Your ways.

 

Thank you, Dear God, if it be short…
Or long on earth we’ll be;
We’ll try to do Your will always
And live our lives for Thee.



BE VERY CAREFUL WHERE YOU BUILD YOUR NEST!

 

Our dad sang this song a lot while we were growing up, but this chorus is the only part he sang to us.  I guess it is the only part he thought we needed to hear.  :)   I bet this part was a life lesson for him...I know it was for me.  :)   We need to be careful where we build our nest and who we build it with, and we certainly need to teach our children how to... marry...the 'who' is actually more important than the 'where'....

 Now if I were a little bird
I'd never build my nest on the ground;
I'd build my nest in the high oak tree,
Where the bad boys could never tear it down.
 
 
 Bobby told me the name of it and I didn't believe him, but I looked it up and he was right.  Here is the rest of the song:
 
Katie Kline

Now who else knows Katie Kline
She lives at the foot of the hill
In a cool shady nook, by an old babbling brook
That runs by her dear old father's mill
 
Chorus
So tell me that you love me Katie Kline
Tell me that your love's as true as mine
Tell me that you love your own turtle dove
Tell me that you love me Katie Kline

Now if I were a little bird
I'd never build my nest on the ground
I'd build my nest in the high oak tree
Where the bad boys could never tear it down
 
[chorus]
 
Now if I were a little bee
Away from the hive I would fly
I'd steal me a kiss from my true lover's lips
And back to the hive I would fly