The Epic Truth

Long before I knew my name, Jesus loved me.

Long before I committed a sin, Jesus forgave me.
Long
Long before it all, Jesus had a plan just for me.

Thank you Jesus!

Jesus Knew, Jesus foresaw, my destiny and hope were secured.  My life and my future was secured in a very unselfish act. 

He Loved Me

We Christians sometimes forget what Jesus dying on the cross was all about. We sometimes see  the cross just a ceremonial or spiritual act, but we were the object of God's love, his unselfish act on the cross. Because he loved every single man and woman that would be born into this world. By his death, he would save us from the Devil's plan of our destruction and eternal damnation. Jesus came to secure our health, our welfare, our prosperity, our faith, and to establish us in him. Oh what love.

He Forgave Me

One of the greatest acts of love is to forgive. By his death on the cross Jesus dealt with every one of our sins.

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow.

The effect of sin is to stain our relationship with God. It places us out of relationship with him. It is a charted destiny to eternal damnation. Jesus chose to redeem me (pay the price) for my sins.  He forgave me. Oh what love.

It Was His Plan From The Beginning

Long before the world begin, God thought about me. There was a 'love provision' in his plan. He would not let anything happen to me to destroy me. I was the apple of his eye. He would think of me just me. Where the bible  says in the beginning God created... a plan was already set in place. It would contain everything about me from life's start to life's end here on this earth, but reach all the way to an endless eternity. It would include a provision for my every up and down. It would include all things that pertain to life and godliness. Satan would try to blind me to the fact that I have access to the stores of heaven but it's in God's plan and provision. There would be times that I would have to speak it and let all heaven and earth  know that its in the provision, the love provision established before the world began. There also would also be a time that I would have to declare it to hell and its minions to let them know they have no legal right to try and block it. God would protect his investment by the word of his power. It is all in the 'love provision' of his plan. He, in his infinite wisdom saw all
the things I would need in this world to thrive.

Long before I knew my name, Jesus loved me.

Long before I committed a sin, Jesus forgave me.

Long before it all, Jesus had a plan just for me.

Thank you Jesus!

In Your Hand

I look to you alone to  keep me
I look to you to supply my every need
In your hand there is no want or lack
You alone are my keeper indeed
I look for you hands to guide me
To lead me in the places I am to go
You will refresh and sustain me
You are the caretaker of my soul
In the time of distressful trouble
I see your hand and I do not fear
You alone are my keeper
Your protection ever surrounds me near
Your hand is seen by the enemy
He knows that you are my protection
Even he envies how you love me
As he sees my overflowing blessings
In your hand is goodness and mercy
In your hand there is never anything less
Your hand will always guide me
In your presence I'm forever blessed


Based on the 23rd 
Psalm

Good night, Go to Sleep, I Will See You in the Morning...

In February 28, 1980, my father passed away, leaving my mother, my brother, and me by ourselves. We were used to Dad taking care of of everything for us. In essence, he was our total provider. All that we knew, loved, and respected was now gone, but we didn't lose a beat because of all the things he put in place just in case he was not there with us. The provisions he made for us would last many years to come. In fact, thirty- four years has come and gone and the provisions he made for us are still going strong to this day.

On the night of his death, that evening he came home from the doctor's office, he was quiet and not really saying too much of anything. He came home helping my mother with the things she needed to complete. No one really thought about it too much back then, because it was his normal way of doing things. Reflecting back on it now, he must have been consumed by the thought of not making through the night. For the doctor wanted to admit him into the hospital and put a pacemaker in his chest right away. My dad did not want anything to do with that. He just wanted to come home and spend time with his wife and two boys. He did not mention it because he did not want to upset us. He wanted to  be with his family. His family meant the world to him.

He made choices that brought him to this place, and brought him to this expected time, the end of life. In my mother he found the perfect mate, a life long friend, not just a partner. He made the choice to move from the larger city to the smaller town because he did not want his sons to deal with the snares of city life. He made the choice to build his own house. He felt that he could leave his wife and sons his legacy in the form of a brick home. He also made the choice to get into the church. He made many if those choices with his wife, my mother. The choices that he made would encompass his family. He made those choices for his family.

He sat at the dining room table counting loose change. Suddenly his hands went to his chest, his eyes rolled back in his head. He went straight to the floor. My mother screamed out, "Not now Lord." I ran to him to resuscitate him as I had learned in school. My brother ran down the street to my relatives home. Chest compressions, I began to count off... I breathed in to his mouth and covering his nose. Within minutes my Uncle Wilbert and cousin Billy arrived and took over. Minutes later the paramedics arrived and was carting my father to the hospital, my mother riding along with them. My brother stayed home. A police officer took me in his squad car. I kept saying to the police officer, I tried to revive him, but I couldn't. I kept apologizing for my tears. As I arrived at the hospital, I was taken to a small room where my mother was sitting  talking to one of the nurses. The nurse was bantering about. She finally said to my mother, sorry we were not able to save him.  My mother, only in the way she knew, begin speaking in tongues. The essence of what she was saying was, I'll see you again. We all wept bitter tears.

The next few days were spent making preparations for the home going services for my dad. I must tell you, we were as backwards as could be. We didn't know up from down or in from out. We were blessed that we had our family and the funeral director to fill in the gaps. They helped with everything from clothes to go on the body, finances. We were not prepared for this time at all.

The night of the funeral was on this wise. Momma was not taking it very well although he had smile on her face. It was only there for my brother and I and the rest of the family. I realize now we all fell into a pattern of sadness. We arrived at the front door of the church. Lining up we we ushered into the church edifice to the front row. Many of our neighbors were there, as was friends of the family, our family from both sides.  Leon Amos one of the neighborhood children begin playing softly. The program called for many songs. I even sung a song that I had written, that my dad liked, called "Destiny". There were so many spoken remarks and condolences. For me it just seemed like the routine eulogy, by my dad's friend Bishop Leonard Rimpson. I never remember saying goodbye to my father.

Today after 35 years I would like to say to my dad,

Goodnight Dad, sleep well, I will see you in the morning...

You did well and you kept the race to the end...

You were gone too soon...

Forever are you in my heart and actions...

I pray that you are proud of your two sons...

Thank you!

Affairs of the Heart

In our lifetime, we may fall in love with someone special. Sometimes they have the same feelings for us, sometimes they do not. We reach out to them as one reaching of darkness to the light. Sometimes they may reach back. Sometimes they may shut their light off. Our hearts break in the process. They don't always feel what we feel. Over and over again we go through the same thing. After a while, our heartbeat breaks cadence and our flow of life stops.
We must protect our hearts.
We have to give our hearts to God in prayer.
No one blames you for falling in love, that's a good thing.
God gives us love.
In fact, God is love.
Don't ever think we know more about loving than God.
God will give you the best mate in His timing. I encourage draw nigh unto the Lord. He will give you your best mate.

Strong Hands

Today I am remembering and honoring my father, McKinley Crisler.  


When I think about my father, I immediately think about his hands. My father had very large strong hands. His hands were like the hands of a giant. In pictures, his hands are most prominent. His hands showed the full spectrum of emotions, anger, passion, love, happiness or joy etc... His hands usually reflected what he was feeling at any given moment. They were also precise and given to deliberate, best course of action. Like the hands on a clock, he knew one decision of action would impact the next. This moment is the building block of what will come in the future.


He was also a builder. The home in which we grew up in, was built by my father. It was great because the only thing he built before that was a chicken coop. Nothing in the world could stop him once he put his mind to doing something. It was an undertaking he could not afford at the time, but he did it step by step. It was one of his greatest undertakings. There were times on the weekend when he would take his two sons to be his little helpers. Every once and a while we would take a break and walk to the corner store for his favorite snack, a Pepsi and a bag of peanuts. He was determined that he would not raise his sons in the fast life of a large city, but in the environment of a small town. Always thinking ahead of what was best for his wife and family, he built our home. He was also a builder of relationships. Oh boy could he build relationships. My father's hands told the story of who he was in this life time. He had calloused hands because over the years he worked very hard with his hands. He told me he never wanted my hands to ever become callous like his hand had become. He told me I was made to be more than he was. I think back on that and wonder, how can I be more? I have a great legacy.


My father played and wrestled with us so much when my brother and I were children, even all the neighborhood took notice. There wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for his boys. He was a hands on father. As much as he was a loving man, he was also a disciplinarian. The neighbors saw the playfulness of my father as well as the strictness as my brother and I getting spanked. Yes we had our share of public spankings. He said he did it because he loved us. It was very hard to see that type of loving when you are young and growing up. I know now it was his approach to steering my brother and I in the right direction. We were his sons and we knew we were his sons. He made sure we had food on the table and clothes on our back. He considered it his job to not only to provide the materialistic things of the household, but it was his job to provide the love and guidance. And with his hands, he would guide us.

I remember when I was about ten or twelve years old, my father had to change a flat tire for my Aunt Jean. It was freezing outside. His hands became stiff and almost frozen. He kept going and would not stop until the job was complete. He didn't think it made sense to stop in the middle of a job. That was another mantra he kept.

As a pastor, he would use his hand to lay hands on the sick and infirmed. I would see healing after healing and miracle after miracle. He was given to counsel. I remember many would search him out for his counsel.  

My father, he did what his hands found to do, he did. He completed his course in life. He completed it with the gift God gave him in life, strong hands.

Golden Voices 3

I looked her directly in her face. She was sure of who she was in God. The character lines on her face say that she has seen much and she understands much more than the average churchgoer.  And she was not full of pride, but she was very humble.
Then when the pastor
said  what he said, it clinched it.
"When she began to pray I felt the Spirit of God enter into the building."
Suffice to say, she brought the Spirit in with her.
I suppose at ninety years old, you either know how to pray or you do not. She is an old soldier. She is an experience warrior. She knows how to get in contact with God. She reminds me of my mother. She did not come to church just to be seen or heard, she came to have church. She was not there for a form or fashion, she was there to lift of the name of Jesus, and that she did. She danced and shouted unto the Lord. She sang with her whole being. I enjoy seeing  this great woman in the service of the Lord. She was a testimony against all young people that came as spectators. She is a living testimony of God's amazing power to keep his own. God knows how to preserve his own.

Lady Wisdom

Lady Wisdom
She is different from all that I have ever met.

She thinks before responding.
She will not answer if she is not sure.

She never speaks out of turn. She never speaks out of anger, but waits until the proper time to strike a blow to ignorance.

She learns by listening rather than speaking.

Her words wins her favor with all men.

She speaks with the tongue of the learned.

The elders come to her for counsel.

She is praised for the weight of her words, for they are worth more than gold.

She gathers in the early morning before the sun has had a chance to warm the earth. She prepares long before all things happen because time is to her a tool to be used with understanding it will never come again. When all others are sleeping she is still planning the day ahead.

She is Lady Wisdom.

Warrior of Truth (final)

Warrior of Truth (final)

"Keep your chin up," is the phrase I use with Alison

I believe in her quest to be one with the Lord and to arrive at the truth of the word and life. She knows how to pray. She knows and have relationship with the Lord. She loves and honors the Lord with her life.

She is and will forever be my friend. Our friendship will last way beyond this earthly realm.

When we go from labor on this earth to reward, we will see our family and love ones.

We build on friendships here on earth. We build on knowledge here on earth. We are living to live again.

Keep you chin up is the phrase I use to let her know no matter the obstacles and disappointments we run into God is able to keep us.

She has taught me also to be a warrior of truth. I strive to hear, read and write the truth. I am learning more and more daily.

She is my gift, for I have learned so many things from being around her. she has been my friend and companion. I thank God for the day she was born. I thank God for the day we became acquainted. I am especially thankful for the day I discovered our purpose as friends.

God forever bless the Warrior of Truth.

Warrior of Truth 7

Warrior of Truth (7)

I never called her perfect, I called her righteous If she was perfect she would not be human. She is righteous by the will of God, through his Son Jesus Christ. However, to hear others speak of her, they say:

Every time Alison comes home, she brings the family together. She is most like Mama.

Every time Alison comes to the city of Indianapolis, she prays and we see things change.

I do not know what we would do without Alison, she works hard a finishing all project deadlines.

Alison, your voice has that special quality that adds that fullness to all of our worship services and musical groups.

Thank you for praying with me, I already see the difference.

The Warrior of Truth is a catalyst for change for the good where ever she goes. What she brings with her is a spirit of excellence. When she leaves, she also leaves a spirit of excellence. When she goes to a congregation she goes there praying and waring in the Spirit. She prays for the one is preaching because she knows that pastors have to break through multiple layers of "stuff" that people bring with them from various places. She prays during different segments of the service for the success of the service. She has learned that there must be someone praying at all times in the service of God.

Alison, the Warrior of Truth is a righteous and holy woman. She believes in the truth above all things and she will fight for it.

Golden Voices 2

Golden Voices 2

Today I had a really good conversation with  a woman of 73 years of age. Other than broken bones that will not heal and arthritis, she said its just old age, with a smile.

Looking back in reflective retrospect, she spoke to me of long years past. She said all the people she knew are dead.

She spoke of fashions she wore and loved so many years ago. She  and I both smiled when she said they brought the mini skirt back too late. She spoked of metal  belts and 1960's garb that was the fashion of many fashions ago.

She sadly said, she left Cuba at eighteen years old, in 1959, due to the repression of the Cuban government. If was very difficult for her and her family to live under Fidel Castro's government. They did not allow people to gather on the streets; they did not allow you to have company in your home, because everything was aways under suspicion. Finally she told me she was a school teacher, which explained her demeanor and way with words.
If you listened very close you could almost hear the Cuban accent.

She is what I describe as a golden voice. I had the fortune of speaking and gleaning from.

She lost all she had to the communist regime. Her father was killed by the Cuban government. People gave up large homes for freedom.
She asked. what is better wealth or freedom?  She said, "yes freedom is better."

"People waste a lot because they take everything for granted she feels so sorry for the people coming along after." She said, "there could possibly be another 911. She senses that it is on its way."

Warrior Of Truth (6)

Warrior of Truth (6)

Don't let people declare themselves above you, better than you, or their calling is higher than your calling...

The Warrior of Truth said to me. I see that you are a man of faith and integrity. You live for prayer and talking to God. I see that you love the Lord with all of your heart.

Someone told me that you were not living by faith and you were not trusting God for your life. He doesn't have anything to show that he is trusting God. He is not living in the abundance of faith. What makes you say that, she asked? Well he doesn't have what we have. He is living like a pauper. We have cars, a home and many great things that God has given us because we trust him.

We are living by trusting God, and he is not. The Warrior of Truth did not want to be disrespectful to whom she was speaking, so she listened courteously from that moment on.

I went to God in prayer and inquired about it, she said. God told me that you were rich and that you have abundance because you do not trust in material things, but your trust is in God.  

People will sometimes judge your relationship to God by the material things you possess. People will judge you by the things they see or think they see.

Who is there with you when you give up your sleep in the middle of the night to pray and have communion and fellowship with God?

Who is there with you when you give to others when you you go lacking?

Who is there when you are called in the middle of the night to pray for the sick?

Who was there for Job when be lost all that he had and all he owned?

Those 3 friends that accused him of not being righteous enough.

It is those that cannot see or know the whole story. It is those that cannot see what God is working out in your life.

The Warrior of Truth said to me, God has shown me your wealth and abundance, and it is not based on what others think they see or know. Keep on doing what you do until all things are manifested.

Don't let people declare themselves above you, better than you, or their calling is higher than your calling.

Warrior of Truth (5)

" I don't want apologies from you, I just want the truth"...

All of my adult life I had to apologize for being on the wrong side of the argument. How dare I take that position with a woman.

No one likes arguing all the time, especially with the ones you  have relationship with.

I felt like it was just keeping peace. I wasn't trying to lie, I only wanted peace. You have heard it said repeatedly,

"if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".

Now she was not Mama, but she was my best friend. She wasn't trying to offend me, she only wanted to arrive at the truth. Appeasement was for someone who didn't care about being honest. Arriving at the truth was a process for her when dealing with family and friends. She did not want to waste words, just tell me how you feel about a particular thing, or what your thinking about a particular thing. Lets arrive together at a common ground. Now I had to unlearn some of the things I learned growing up.

She said, I want you to deal with me the way you deal with the word of scriptures.

Now that was odd to me, because I never put those two thoughts together.

Different concept here, I thought to myself.

I didn't mince words when speaking scripture. I said what I believed whether you liked it or not. It was my belief system. No one was going to convince me to change to their way of thinking. I am responsible for what I believe about God. To you it may not seem right, but it is what I am. For someone to change you they must convince you that you are wrong. What satisfies you is not what satisfies me. With all that said, she wanted to know how I arrived at my position. I didn't have to change. She wanted to know what I stood for.
Apologies or fake apologies was not what she wanted to hear. To her it was saying I don't think you are able to comprehend what I am saying.
Not everyone is like this, but I have learn from this warrior of truth. I will be honest with out  apologies

Golden Voices

Golden Voices
I remember listening to the experienced voices of the aged. The words they spoke were not borrowed, but were bought and paid for by experience. It afforded them a little power to discern the foolishness of the young. They would say to me, that boy is not going to make it past forty if he keeps on doing what he's doing. Some were not around to see their words come true, but they did come true. I am not talking about old-folks-isms, I am talking about their experiences that got them to their old age.  
I also remember hearing them talk about the experience of friendship, love interests and people they lost along the way. To sum it up, we must not allow ourselves to become inebriated with contemporary voices and not listen to the golden voices that are still among us.

Warrior of Truth (4)

Have you not heard?

We met for a reason.

Either you are a lesson or a blessing.

Concerning the Warrior of Truth, she was both a lesson and a blessing.

One morning she called me on her way to work. I would often wait for her to call me because she also spent her early mornings praying and searching in the word for her morning message from God. She would allow the scriptures to speak to her so that she could have a daily word from the Lord , first thing in the morning. After that, she would share the message on Facebook. On her way to work she would call me and give me her personal insights on what God was saying directly to her. We would sing, pray and encourage each other.
On this day she was sharing her message with me and she screamed JESUS!

I immediately became unglued. It is strange how life in a matter of seconds can go crazy. MY most dominant emotion was fear that I had lost my friend to a car accident. Most people just don't scream JESUS in mid sentence. There was terror in her voice. Something was wrong. What's wrong
Alison, I asked in terror? I heard the sound of a crash. She did not say anything for a few moments. I felt helpless. I knew I had to let her gather her thoughts and I had to gather mine. Those few moments felt like an eternity. I knew God was protecting her from dangers in which she was aware.

I just hit another car and my car is totally demolished. I gotta check on the older couple inside the other vehicle, she said.
She in her calamity, was showing me how a person should act when all of hell's forces break loose on you.

She was not only a friend, but  a teacher. I was learning from up close how a person must trust God when  I became troubled by the forces against mankind. When my thoughts become irrational I must trust God to bring me through every situation.
Yes she struggled at times, but God kept meeting her at every turn. It is easy to praise God when all things are going well. Can we trust him when we cannot see the means by which he will deliver us?

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us out of the ALL. I must report to you that through the battles with the insurance companies and police report God took the old car in which she was having troubles, and gave her a brand new car. For the intended attempt to destroy her, the Enemy of God lost his bid. The purpose that God set was a new vehicle for her future move which neither she or I saw coming. God held her future in his hand. God knew the thoughts he had for her. Thoughts of good and not of evil to bring her to expected completion.
This Warrior of Truth is both a lesson and a blessing.

Love Is...

Love is...

Today I responded to a blog that asked the question, what is love to you?

My response was:

Love is...

Us nurturing and growing each other's life, making our lives better, changing circumstances around us with all the resources we are, making our existence better. We become more than we could have been without each other.

To me there is nothing like "falling" in love with the anticipation of being with a person for the rest of our days upon the face of this earth. This is God's perfect plan for imperfect beings. We have no guarantees, however I am so grateful that he gives us the necessary tools to accomplish it.

The picture in my mind is that of a gardener. The gardener plants the seed. He waits for it to sprout. If the sprout is in a container, he transplants it from the container to the earth. The gardener with give time energy to keep healthy until the sprout until it grows into maturity. He cares for the plant by dressing it and keeping it. He rids it of all weeds and all that would choke it out. He protects it from predators. He makes sure it has every thing it needs to survive. He provides a steady supply of sunshine water and nutrients as components it must have to maintain its integrity.

By my illustration we are gardeners to each others life. We are the caregivers and caretakers of each others lives.

Love for me is, providing and receiving the care that can be given by each of the couple.

For me it gives meaning to the phrase, we love God because he first loved us

Some purposely choose to have love weighted to their side to accommodate their needs only. Some do not know how to give of themselves in love. Love is not one-sided nor is it always equally balanced.

We go from marriage to marriage until we get it right. Love is more than a "me" thing.

Warrior of Truth (3)

Warrior of Truth (3)
Monday nights was date night with the Lord. It was a special time that she would set aside and spend with Jesus .  She prayed. She worshiped. She gave thanks. She had no human interaction.

Monday nights are given to the Lord. She did not call or receive calls. Not from me; not from her pastor; no one was getting through but the one for whom she prepared.

The Warrior of truth was pure unto her call. If you want me to tell you she was perfect, I cannot. If you want me to tell you she was 100 %, I can not. I can tell you she was more committed to God than anyone I know. Her commitment to God was not just on date night. When she committed to writing, she wrote. When she committed to reading the word, she read. What ever she committed to, she was steadfast.

During my time with her, many called her to pray for their various circumstances, God would intervene.
After date night was over, the next morning she called and we prayed. We sang songs unto the Lord and we offered up thanks. She and I shared fellowship.
Alison  is committed to doing what is right  She is the Warrior of Truth.

Warrior of Truth (2)

Warrior of Truth (2)

There were those that didn't like her for their own various reasons,... but to sabotage her work. She was a mighty praying woman. She was as a warring princess.
She found out long ago, the more she prayed the better things would work out. She began to pray for all of her coworkers. Not the prayer of, sick them Lord, or get them Lord, but took in account of the scriptures that said, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you. It was done by purpose and by design that she would not return retribution for their unkind acts against her.

The powers that be, moved her to another office. They based on the claim that she was not doing her fair share of work.

Once she was shown the job and how to do it correctly, she would go at it full throttle. There was no need for you to try to keep up with her. By purpose, she believed in giving maximum effort to the point she was very tired at the end of each day. She treated the job as if she was working for her Lord and Master. After she moved to the new office God gave her a plan to work at maximum output. Working at maximum output according to the plan was less stressful and less demanding. The work began to accelerate with less exertion. There came a time when work became a gift to her.

The powers that be, called a meeting to call in to question all that she was doing. In the meeting they read the minutes from the last meeting. They met their obligations that were given to the various personnel and officers.
The time had arrived for the ones who set her up for failure to make their case against the warrior of truth.

The first accuser Mary said let see what has been going on at the office where Alison is working. She proceeded to say our office put out 501 work orders, and 300 mailings. We finished up the month with 399 assists.

What did you do in your office, Alison?

Under her breath she said, thank you Jesus!

Before she began she ask, and how many personnel did you have working on that?

Mary said we had 4 employees working on it. This is a 100 % improvement in all areas over last month.

Karl, Alison's boss smiled with exuberance.

Karl speeding this process alone ask Alison, how much work did you complete?

Alison smiling and happy from head to toe said,

Concerning work orders: I have completed 1200 orders
All checked and signed by Karl.

Concerning mailings: I completed 500 with 200 coming from your office.

Mary and Teresa mouths dropped with abandoned hope.

Lastly concerning assists:
I only did 200 assists.

Karl winked at Alison and no one saw it.

Anticipating question, Karlin said, all of Alison's work was certified by the county offices.

The Warrior of Truth

Warrior of Truth
The thunder struck with purpose, announcing her entrance, as she walked in  her doorstep triumphantly. The lightning streaked across the northern sky, filling the night with light. The rain was coming down very heavy with voices that said "win" with every drop. She stepped inside to get out of the inclimate weather.
She has won many battles and this was just one more.  Usually there were no great celebrations, where the  victors would tell the tales of  military engagement. Many times she walked alone. She was a service person in the air force, but it had nothing to do with that, she  was a warrior of truth. She always engaged the enemy in the Spirit. She did not hesitate when it came to doing the Lord's work. She considered it her honor. She was never afraid of the enemy. He taunted her all of her life. Many times he tried to destroy her from the inside out. He tried cutting her down long before she developed. Every trial and every test only made her stronger. When I met her, she always showed forth praises unto God. She was a called worshipper. She gained much strength during her time with the Lord, which was usually all day long. She always had praise and worship music playing in her ear. She was always thanking the Lord. There were many times her coworkers would rail against her. God would always come to her rescue.
There was a time that the Prayer Warrior invited me into her time with the Lord. To her surprise and to mine also. We worshipped together. It was spectacular. We flowed in the Spirit like a stream of water flowing around the throne of God. It was surprising to her. She couldn't believe God allowed me to be part of her worship with him. We became twins. We prayed together. We sang songs unto the Lord. We prayed for each other. We compared bible notes. She is also one of the greatest writers I know. I loved reading what God would speak to her heart. There were times when I wanted to write like her. She declared the truth of God's love. She spoke from the library of heaven.
In Indianapolis Indiana, I became her assistant, as I witness her battle against the maniacal underground forces. The demonic activity was great in this city. The underworld waged a great war against the churches. She stood in the place of the arch of the church, it was the only remaining structure left of the demolished building
She laughed the enemy to scorn, as she rebuked their activity, the activity that allowed the building to be demolished. When she laugh, the atmosphere shifted. Heaven now focused it's attention to the place of demonic opposition. As cars passed by, the passengers cheered. Perhaps they sensed a change.
This is one of many stories of my friend,
Alison the Warrior of Truth.

Love (Friendship) Without A Mask

Love (Friendship) Without A Mask

To my Friend, Warrior of Truth (my blessing);


I refuse to speak against you.
I refuse to even see you in an evil light.

Teeth and tongue learn to share the same space, yet every once in a while, teeth will bite tongue and hurt the whole body. Oh my what pain that causes.

No one is going to get along always.
No one will ever agree all the time.
As friendship is a sustainer when times are strained,
So God directs us in to different places of learning that we may know his  power in love.

When friends grow apart it is not growth.
When friends grow weary of each other it is not growth.
Growth is to know that the illusions of life seem real, but they are not.
Growth is better determined by the love we share, not as lovers but as friends.

The true measure of love is not a stomach of butterflies or starry eyes.
It is care and concern that no one else can or will give, but is given because we know it is the right thing to do and it is God's purpose for us.
Those who seek out the  fairytale love, will always live in fantasy. Those who seek to fulfill God's destiny will always be full.

You and I are God's creation and to be regarded as beautiful.
If we allow "over thinking" to rule, then God's purpose in us will never be served.

Heaven is the place of Gods purpose.
Earth is the place where God's purpose is manifested.
When we pray, we pray God's desire to be fulfilled in us.
There are times when his will and our desires do not align. We must trust him to know what is best.

I never sought physical love, while it is good, it is a deceiver,
I never sought wealth or riches, for they are deceivers also.
I want what David had with Johnathan, love that surpass that of physical love.
God is forever blessed when we delight in him.

For some, they believe it to be in a church service. We do not live in a church building we live in him. For some it is the music, prayer and praise offered up to him. The greatest offering I can give, is me. Somewhere it is called a reasonable service.
When I give me, it cannot be the junk that I have acquired here on this Terra firma. It must be without spot or blemish.  Or it is rejected by a just and sovereign God.

When giving love to one another it must be without dissimulation. (a hidden agenda). Some will show only the part of themselves that they want the other one to see. That is pure deception. They will put best foot forward. This too, is deception because the real person is never known until it is too late. That is a foundation built on a false premise. Like cracks in a foundation, the building can never have the value it should. As long as that fault exists the building is faulty.


Friendship is more than just words. It is words put into action. Friendship can be weighted and one- sided at times, very much like a balance. There are times when one is up and the other one is down. There are times when one carries another but that is not the rule, that is the exception. Friendship is God's gift to us.

The Old Tree

We never miss something until it's completely away from us.

Why is that?

Is it that we assume that it will be with us always?

Much like time it soon passes us by, before we know it, it is gone.

Concerning my uncles and aunts respectively:

I can still hear your voices in proper southern american dialect. I see your faces that gleamed at every family gathering as you carried yourself with dignity honor and respect.
Melvira, Eugenia (Jean), Fredna, Ethel, William-Taft, and
Wilbert (Brother).
Elmira and Clara whom I never got the chance to meet.

You were my mother's brothers and sisters.

We were all told the old stories of a depressed south, but the joy and laughter you found in one another. We listened to your talks about how being family got you through.
We could always come to each one of you for help and advice. We could always chat and laugh about everything.

You made sure we had what we needed when we needed it. If you knew about anything, you would share it. You all learned skills that gave you a lifetime of work. And you had the stories of your many adventures and your good times.
And the stories still live on.

We are carrying our legacy of family and devotion. We are doing what we learned from you. We have the roots and branches that extends the family tree. We grow, we therefore grow into the great tree knowing those who follow us will remember where we came from.

Respectively submitted,
Wilbert