Be kind.

It takes so little effort.

While visiting my friend Robin last month, we ate in a delightful restaurant and engaged our young waitress, Jeanise, in a conversation about her life. No big deal.

To us, at least.

To her, it was a very big deal. At the end of our meal we were stunned when a waiter came over with a flaming Crème Brule, a gift from our waitress. When Jeanise returned to give us our check, we asked what had prompted her generosity and were told “because you were so kind to me.”

Her words reminded me of a time when I was eating in a diner with my son, Jeff, in a ski area in Colorado, and I struck up a conversation with our waitress. At the end of our meal, she said, “Thank you for being so kind to me.” I asked why I wouldn’t be, and she said, “Most people aren’t.”

Why wouldn’t people be kind to those serving them? Why wouldn’t people be kind to those not serving them? Why wouldn’t people be kind all the time? Kind isn’t hard. Kind is…well, kind. It is giving with no ulterior motive, no desire to get something in return.

My husband, Dave, recently was introduced to Wayne, a restauranteur who previously owned several restaurants. Dave asked how he was so successful, and Wayne said that he treated his employees well, especially his dishwasher (not the answer Dave expected, for sure). Wayne shared that people typically compliment the manager or chef, but he wanted those who never are recognized to be valued.

Being kind is no trivial matter. Perhaps that’s why Paul’s letter to the Colossians listed kindness as one of the ways “God’s chosen people” are to clothe themselves. Dr. Laurence M. Gould, president emeritus of Carleton College, recognizes its importance and shared his thoughts with this statement: “I do not believe the greatest threat to our future is from bombs or guided missiles. I don’t think our civilization will end that way. I think it will die when we no longer care.”

If you’re like me, you love stories in which people go the extra mile to show kindness. Ginger Keith, whose two-year old daughter, Vivian, is being treated for leukemia at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, told the Today Show that a group of construction workers spray-painted “Get Well” on a beam across from her two-year old’s hospital window. At All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, Fridays have become days of celebration. The young patients are brought to their windows and encouraged to dance (with parents, nurses, or alone) along with the dozens of construction workers who line the floors of the high-rise they are building across the street while a DJ on the roadway between the two buildings blares upbeat music.

Kind isn’t costly. A smile. A wink. A touch. A hug. A word. A listening ear. A prayer. I’m not sure there are many other things as inexpensive that offer as many rewards…not just for the receiver, but also for the giver. Why not give it a try? As someone once said, “Kind people are my kinda people.”

Roy Clifford Jackson, 90, of Fort Scott, passed away, Thursday evening, October 3, 2019 at his home. He was born November 7, 1928 in Neodesha, Kansas the son of Roy Frank and Myrtle Mae (Combs) Jackson. He married Ruth I. Evans on June 12, 1949 in Fort Scott, Kansas, she survives of the home. Roy and Ruth recently celebrated 70 years of Marriage. He will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him. He was a loving father and devoted husband as well as a proud grandfather and great-grandfather. He will be remembered for his sense of humor, quick wit and love of the outdoors.

Roy retired as a Printing Supervisor from Ennis Business Forms after more than 20 years. He also farmed during this time and ran a Dairy Farm, and also raised Cattle, and Hogs at different times. Roy loved hunting and the outdoor life, he was an avid Coon Hunter who raised and trained generations of Registered Treeing Walker Coon Hounds. He raised many quality Coon Hounds and was most proud of his Night Champion named “Queen” and her offspring “Josie” who was a Grand Night Champion. Roy and his dogs won acclaim and were featured in the magazine popular for Coon Hunters everywhere “Full Cry”

In addition to his wife, Ruth, he is survived by 6 children, Pamela Sue Russell of Fort Scott, Connie A. Jackson of Fort Scott, Gwendolyn K. (Danny) Norbury of Hume, Missouri, R. Mark Jackson (Lynette) of Fort Scott, Brenda Leigh Denby of Fort Scott, Jan Elaine Kierl of Mound City, Kansas, 15 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, and 2 sisters, Bernice (Joe) Jump and Virginia (Jim) Herring.

Funeral Services were held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. The family received friends from 1:00 p.m. until service time Tuesday at the funeral home. He was laid to rest in the Oak Grove Cemetery North of Fort Scott. Condolences may be submitted to the online guest book at konantz-cheney.com.

The P.E. teacher questioned Debra daily. Was she okay, dressing out for gym class? Were the bruises noticeable, or was this a “good” day? Depending on her answer, Debra would suit out or not. Her beatings at the hands of her father were not uncommon, but during that era, those things were “hush-hush.” At the age of 16, her father told her that she needed to have sex to keep her from being “a frozen fish” like her mother. So, Debra did.

When dates brought her home five minutes late, more than once her dad met Debra on the front porch and physically dragged her into the house while her dates watched from their cars, horrified. Punching her in the face and spanking her with his policeman’s belt were not unusual, she, the prime target who protected her two siblings whenever she could.

Her mother offered no support, daily calling her a “stupid idiot” and many times holding her arms while her father lashed away. When her dad, drunk and confusing her with his wife, held her head in the toilet, enough was enough. The police were called, but because Debra’s dad was “one of theirs,” nothing happened.

This past October, Debra’s father, at the age of 75, lie in a hospital bed, dying. His daughter visited him several times, the final one, devastating. When it came time to leave, as Debra shared, “My dad’s eyes were evil, like a demon was speaking to me. ‘Get out. And never come back.’ That was the last time I saw my father alive.”

I listened intently as this lady, a beautiful, talented, successful artist/esthetician I met through a mutual friend, shared her story, the craziest part being, her dad “knew Jesus.” I had questions. Was he bi-polar? Demon-possessed? Debra didn’t know. She knew only that her childhood was cruel and painful.

“So, why is it that you are so normal, so fun, so engaging, so “together?” I asked.

Her answer? “God.”

Debra went on to share that from the time she was little and the beatings and emotional abuse progressed, she would go outside and find a reclusive area where she could have alone- time to talk to God. She admits that it makes no sense, since her parents did not take her to church or teach her about God. “I just knew He cared,” she said.

Should you walk into her salon today, you would be greeted with an open Bible lying on a countertop. Her faith is real, and she is not ashamed of it. I told her that I had no doubt that God would use her story to bless others. She laughed and said that more times than she could count, clients had shared their personal ordeals but concluded with, “What would you know? It’s obvious your life has been perfect.” They, like me, were shocked to hear otherwise.

Her mother, still alive, now depends on Debra for physical and emotional support. Debra said that she has chosen forgiveness, but “sometimes I have to tell my mom that she is not being nice when she berates me or focuses on the negative.” I asked if her parents ever apologized or asked for forgiveness. Debra said that was not part of their vocabulary.

The best part of the story was how Debra turned her childhood trauma into good. She, determined not to allow her children to have similar memories, daily affirms and blesses them. Happily married to a Florida firefighter, her life is all about being an encouragement to others, to let them know that they too can overcome. As Debra said, “That’s what God wants for all of us.”

Have You Been to the Woodshed?

My godly parents believed in the saying, “spare the rod, spoil the child.” My parents must have loved me a lot because I sure wasn’t spoiled.

Believers are the children of God, so we should be thankful when our heavenly Father disciplines us. The Bible compares this to how we discipline our own children. As parents, we have a responsibility to train them in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). If we don’t step up to the plate and accept this assignment, we’ll have an undisciplined and untrained child who will grow up to be an adult with these same characteristics.

As born-again Christians, we should accept God’s discipline with joy and quickly make the changes required to become more like the Master. God will always let you know if you’ve done something that displeases Him, and that is your warning light to make the situation right. God’s discipline can be severe and very unpleasant. We tend to ignore Him at first and harden our heart against the pangs of conscience. We need to learn to listen to His voice and obey in order to avoid severe correction.

In Daniel Chapter 4, there’s an amazing Old Testament account of God’s severity. Because of the sin of pride, the King of Babylon spent seven years out behind the woodshed. Daniel 4:29,30 NKJV: “…He (King Nebuchadnezzar) was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, ‘Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?’” The very same hour he spoke those prideful words, God took away his sanity and he was driven from society. He ate grass like a cow and was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.

When his sanity returned, he was restored as ruler of his kingdom with even greater honor than before. Nebuchadnezzar praised, glorified, and honored the King of kings. It’s astonishing what a radical trip to the woodshed can do for a person. Nebuchadnezzar finally admitted that God’s acts are just and true, and that He is able to humble the proud. The king of Babylon should have humbled himself, thereby avoiding such a severe correction.

The Bible tells believers to examine and judge themselves. “But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:31,32 NLT). If we stubbornly continue in disobedience, the consequences will be severe. Because God loves us, He will discipline us in order to turn our heart back to Him.

The Bottom Line: Humble yourself and obey, or you just might find yourself eating grass behind the woodshed.

Pastor Jimmy Tucker

(620) 223-1483

Diamond Community Church

2591 Jayhawk Road

Fort Scott, KS

Worship 10:45 a.m.

Recently I spent three days in Charlotte, North Carolina, with my friend, Robin, who makes me laugh like no one else I know. No matter if we were walking, shopping, eating (too much) or just hanging out, our conversation almost always turned to Jesus. (And yes, many times Jesus and laughter existed on the same timeline.)

Robin constantly seems to be in the middle of a predicament in which God blesses her unexpectedly. Sunday was no exception. Her husband told us about an after-church street fair that “stretched for several blocks.” We both love craft shows where booths line the curbs and you can find anything from yard ornaments to fresh tomatoes to crazy-fun jewelry.

Since Robin is as directionally-challenged as I am, I set my phone GPS on the location, and off we went. About six blocks from her house, Robin put on the brakes. “We aren’t going to get on a FREEWAY, are we?” Yes, we were. Her jolting U-turn, accompanied by “I CAN’T DRIVE ON THE FREEWAY!” let me know that I would need to look for an alternate route.

When we finally did arrive, I noticed the perfect parking spot and told Robin, “We won’t get closer than this.” Her answer shouldn’t have surprised me. “I CAN’T PARALLEL PARK!”

“You’re not serious!” I said. “What can you do?” Her answer cracked us both up. “Well, I’ve gotten us this far, haven’t I?” Mind you, this is the same person who drove herself into downtown Charlotte a few weeks ago to listen to a band. When the concert ended and she tried to exit the indoor parking facility, the bar (that prevents cars from leaving until the driver pays) would not go up. Thirty minutes after she had alerted everyone but the F.B.I., a parking attendant was sent to fix the problem. Apparently, Robin was sitting at the entrance where you get your ticket and not the exit where you pay. Need I say more?

Anyway, after finding an easier parking spot, we walked around a bend and up a hill, dodging dozens of bikes and strollers as we did. The first booth was occupied by an elderly man with a cassette player, singing “New York, New York” off-key while reading the words from his I-phone. Not exactly the excitement we anticipated.

Six small tents later—two selling snow cones and the other four handing out health information—the booths ended. I stopped a man walking our direction and asked if there were more up the hill and around the bend. He said the booths were scattered for a few miles and questioned what we were looking for. “Crafts and jewelry and things like that.”

“This is a bikeathon and a walkathon,” he responded. “There aren’t any crafts here. Just booths with water and some things for kids to do like chalk painting and bubble blowing.” I turned to Robin and said, “Yes indeedy, you’ve gotten us this far, haven’t you?”

All the way home, driving, of course, on back streets, we laughed, a blessing that exceeded any craft expectations. It wasn’t the only time that day that being in the wrong place was the right thing to do, as we found out later that evening. Robin and I exited a downtown Charlotte restaurant and walked towards our parking garage, my friend insisting that we turn left a block before I thought we should. Soon we passed a homeless man crouched against a building, trying to light a cigarette while clutching a box of cereal. A few steps past him, Robin said, “I can’t go on.” I said that was smart because we were on the wrong street. “No,” she answered. “Did you see how skinny that man was?” (I had not; my priority was to find the garage.) We turned around, gave the man money and hugs, and Robin told him that God loved him. He answered that he wasn’t “a religious person,” but he “sure” was grateful.

“See?” Robin said. “We weren’t on the wrong street after all. God wanted us here to meet that poor man.” She was right. I mean, maybe my sweet friend can’t drive on a freeway or parallel park or find a craft fair, but she recognizes God’s presence when I miss it. I think we all know which is more important.

In last week’s article I shared that the people in the Florida subdivision where Dave and I are living aren’t very friendly. That’s not all bad. Most of the time Dave isn’t at the ballpark we are together, finding new ways in which our differences complement each other. That’s a good thing.

Actually, it’s how God designed the spousal relationship, as described in the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve’s partnership balanced independence and interdependence as they worked in tandem in the Garden of Eden. Only when the enemy enticed Eve, telling her that she could be like God, that it all went to pot. Our Creator’s best is that we are a team…which brings me back to Dave and me having fun together.

One way is crossword puzzles. I start them, get as far as I can and then hand them over to Dave because he knows a lot about categories in which I am inept: geography, history, sports, old movies and vehicles, all of which, in my opinion, require way more crossword knowledge than I care to know. As for the blanks remaining after Hubby corrects my mistakes and fills in his answers, we turn to Google.

We now have progressed from 1,000 to 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzles. Dave thought it challenging to buy ones in which nine-tenths of the pieces are the same color, and since I rely on color and Hubby relies on shape, for every 100 pieces he finds, I find two, and yes, I admit, in my frustration I have squeezed some into places in which they don’t belong. Dave does not think that brings us closer together… but it does give us something to talk about.

My husband has introduced me to TBN, the network with old movies and no commercials. We watch two or three a week. I have tried to introduce him to the fact that there are better actors than John Wayne, but sometimes we just have to “agree to disagree.” Because of me, Dave now watches America’s Got Talent, and then we discuss who should win. When there is confusion, like last night when we watched a “Transformer” movie and I couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad, Dave explains what’s going on. (Seriously, you’ve seen one robot, you’ve seen them all.)

I have learned to help Dave chart (using codes) the daily activities for the pitchers he is rehabilitating. He is patient with my questions: “What is PTP?” “What is “PFP?” “What is TF?” “What is FG?” “What is sock?”

Answers, respectively, in case you are interested: pitcher’s throwing practice; pitcher’s fielding practice; touch and feel; flat ground; sock.

I press for more information. “What does S.O.C.K. stand for?”

“Sock.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The pitcher throws a sock.”

“A sock? Like a sock you wear? Well, if that isn’t the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Patty, I just need you to code, not comment.”
“Okay, but I still think it’s silly.”

When Dave is at the ballpark, I am writing my book or an article. For most (ahem!) of the things I write about him, I ask his opinion. This past week, he deleted an entire article when I tried to give him credit for saving a pitcher’s career. Daily we discuss our family, that we need to give up potato chips, how President Trump should stop Tweeting, our frustration with politics and prayer requests.

Interesting, isn’t it? All that time I spent wondering why it was so hard to make friends here in Jupiter, and the best one I ever could have was sitting right beside me!

The Bottom Line by Jimmy Tucker

When I was in high school I decided it would be cool to fill a huge glass jar with pennies; I eventually filled it full. I also started saving change out of my pocket and dropping it into another container. When I took these coins to the bank, it made a substantial deposit. There may have been some collectible coins in those jars, but I wasn’t interested enough to examine all of them in the hope of finding one that was valuable. However, a real coin collector would have looked diligently. Although I’m not interested in coins, I am interested in something more valuable — the “pearl of great value.” Matthew 13:45-46 NLT: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” 

The “pearl of great value” is the message of the gospel of salvation. When an interested person hears the gospel and realizes its great value, he immediately takes God up on His offer. God offers eternal life to those who believe in His only begotten Son and follow His teaching. Christ Jesus teaches us to repent of our sins and turn to God. There’s two sides to a coin, and in the message of the gospel there’s two commands in one. Jesus said, “You will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God” (Luke 13:3 NLT). There’s no turning to God without repentance. You can’t have one without the other because they’re like the two sides of a coin.

Repenting of sins is not a politically-correct sermon topic these days. A pastor is constantly under pressure to not offend people. But we have a mandate to preach the gospel message which includes repentance. People don’t like to hear that they need to repent of their sins and turn to God. Believers who practice sin may be socially acceptable, but God says they will not inherit God’s Kingdom. “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people — none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9,10 NLT).

Repentance is turning away from sin and living for God with all your heart. “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you” (Matthew 15:19,20 NLT). Those who think they can repeat the “sinner’s prayer” and be ready for heaven, but continue to live for themselves and enjoy the pleasures of sin, are deceived.

Jesus came as God’s remedy for sin and to make forgiveness possible to all who believe in Him. Those who believe in and know Him will follow His teaching. The fallen sinful nature is to be replaced with His divine love nature. “The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith” (1 Timothy 1:5 NLT).  Are you interested in eternal life? Then consider your two choices: eternal life in heaven or eternal death in hell. Don’t procrastinate in making your decision, because if you wait too long you’re choosing hell by default.

The Bottom Line: What would you do with a valuable coin? Store it in a jar until you die, or cash it in for what it’s worth?

Pastor Jimmy Tucker

(620) 223-1483

Diamond Community Church

2591 Jayhawk Road

Fort Scott, KS

Worship 10:45 a.m.