REMEMBER

REMEMBER a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally)

TO SEND THIS DAYS BLOG TO A FRIEND JUST CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ON “TELL A FRIEND”
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Yesterday was Memorial Day, I wrote the following which hopefully will be shared with folk here and there.

REMEMBER

When the Civil War had come to an end in 1865, a druggist in the little village of Waterloo, NY was concerned that all those who had died in that great struggle would soon be forgotten.

It did not seem right, so he spoke quite firmly to the need for a day of remembrance.

His concern became a committee, and by the spring of 1866 the townspeople had adopted the idea of making wreaths, bouquets and crosses for each veteran’s grave. Flags flew at half mast. There were black streamers and evergreen boughs.

A year later it was all repeated again with speeches and services by a local clergymen commemorating the almost 700,000 lives lost on both sides. They were determined that those who had died would not be forgotten.

In memory of those fallen soldiers, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem simply titled Decoration Day:

Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been
The memory shall be ours.

Decoration Day, before it was officially recognized as Memorial Day; continued as a series of impromptu celebrations honoring the brave men who had died in that war.

Over two dozen claimed they were the birthplace of this Day, but Waterloo was officially given the credit by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966.

During this transition it survived for the obvious reason that remembrance of our brave soldiers good not be allowed to pass to oblivion. What they done and what they had given was too much to even think of letting that happen.

After World War I, all who have died fighting in any war were included, and in 1971, Congress made the last Monday in May the official Memorial Day.

And in so doing gave permanent meaning to some words written by the late Rev. Robert Zoerheid, “Death is what happens between where we are and where the universe is…” Which is to give the celebration of all the battles we have fought for freedom a new and deeper meaning.
All member of our armed forces know theirs is an occupation not without risk. They only ask that those in roles of leadership think long and hard before a conflict is begun and that when the time comes to end it all, it be done with honor.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower put it well when he said, “…let us reconstruct ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”

There are certain words that fit the day, indeed seem made for it; courage, respect, sacrifice, commitment, consecration. One soldier summed it up well when he wrote, “All soldiers need the knowledge of one thing…someone must want them to come home.

If a soldier has that …they may be able to make it through anything.”

The timeless challenge is always there and it was spelled out for all future generations by no less than our first President George Washington, “How soon we forget history…Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence.

It is force. And like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

We will always argue about wars. It has been so since the beginning of time, but one thing we cannot argue, and that is the Founding Fathers of our country would be proud of all the patriots that have continued to believe in and fight for these United States.
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And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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DO YOU HAVE A PHD IN COMPLAINING?

REMEMBER a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally)

TO SEND THIS DAYS BLOG TO A FRIEND JUST CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ON “TELL A FRIEND”

BELOW ARE.SOME RECENT POSTINGS ON MY OTHER BLOG
“ONE A DAY YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS”…
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http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

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Complaining is nothing new. It is as old as Biblical times.

“That’s just not the way it ought to be,” complained John and his brother James, or in words to that effect.

It was just too much for these Sons of Thunder to see Christ treated with such disrespect by some of those to whom He preached.

The 13th Chapter of First Corinthians hadn’t been written yet, but if it had been, you can be sure that some of the Disciples would have found fault with it.

Especially Peter when he lost his temper.

Or Thomas complaining when Jesus told them He wasn’t here to be an earthly king.

Or Judas not happy with how the money was being spent.

Of course, I don’t know, but perhaps Jesus just gave a deep sigh and went on doing what had to be done.

Then, there was Moses leading his people out of bondage in Egypt.

Free buffets of manna from heaven along the way, the promise of a Promised Land just ahead – who could ask for anything more? They could. And they did. Just kept on complaining. I’ll admit that 40 years is a long time to wander and that they were maybe justified in saying, “What have you done for me lately?” but then complainers are seldom patient.

Yes, there are always two ways of looking at things, but out of what life gives, make music not discord.

What have you been saying and thinking about people recently? When she sings it is like listening to an angel… or do you think, when she sings I want to throw up.

When he preaches I could listen to him forever… or, when he preaches on eternity he takes it literally.

I watched the sunrise yesterday it was so beautiful… or, I watched it, too, and it blinded me the last five miles before I finally got to work.

Professional complainers are consistent - they’re unhappy with a host of things and sometimes seemingly everything and everybody.

Are you one who is always complaining because things are not as you would wish them to be? What does this say about you?

There is a scripture that speaks to this. “Show me your words, and I will show you your faith.”

The person of faith says, “I see war and its mutilation. It sickens and saddens me, but then I am reminded that creation is more than body.”

The person of faith is not blind, but learns from adversity rather than adding to it.
The person of faith says, “I see the crude, the cruel and the crass, and still I believe in the ultimate decency of people.”

The person of faith is not just a Pollyanna, but remembers the crucifixion looked terrible until something wonderful happened – the Resurrection.

The person of faith says, “I believe that people change and are saved and that wounds are healed and that the impossible takes just a little longer than the improbable.”

Life is so beautiful that it needs progress reports, not failure essays.

Sure there are bad moments and weak people and sin and mistakes, but from the cradle to the grave, life is an education - a challenge. It is a long, long journey and its beginning is a miracle, its end a mystery. And the man of faith says, “It is God.”

If this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

 

Or…go the bottom of this article and click on “Tell a Friend.”

 

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU
CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

RUST ON MY SOUL (7th in Series of Novel)

If this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this Friday blog and click on “Tell a Friend.”

 To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally) ******************************************************************************

INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)

In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step.
Morning

Nancy must have seen the ad. She says our house lacks affluency. What she means is she wants me to take out a home improvement loan. When you start improving a house that cost as much as ours you’ve either got to be in the chips or out of your mind. For us, living just short of financial collapse has become a way of life.

I parked down the street from my childhood home last week and sat for a long while as memories marched through my head like a parade. It doesn’t look like it once did.

The picket fence is gone now and the screened-in-porch is enclosed behind red brick walls. I wonder if the living room walls are still beige and the floors shiny and clean enough to eat on. Both mother and dad were meticulous to a fault. Everything in its place and a place for everything. And if cleanliness was next to godliness then our house was certainly a sanctuary.

What fills the space where our old player piano once stood? Do the new owners have a green sofa or an overstuffed easy chair? A dark stained, soft pine magazine rack made by a young boy’s inexperienced hands as a gift for his mother?

I remember the outside usually needed a coat of paint. I wonder: did mom nag dad, too, to take out a home improvement loan?

Evening

We join the church tomorrow. It’s been a long time since we belong to any congregation. A little coffin lowered into the ground is never forgotten, nor the terrible anger sent heavenward. Hyaline membrane disease. Such a fancy name. It took our baby twenty-five years ago as it did President Kennedy’s infant son in 1963. Was Nancy’s grief greater than mine? I don’t know, but her reaction was the same. A total rejection of God.

Yet here we are pretending it all means something to us now. Well, in an absurd way it does. My boss goes to this church and I’d do anything to stay in his good graces. Once a long time ago, this wouldn’t have been my reason for joining.

Once, a long time ago, twelve years old with a bright and shining soul, I affirmed a faith alive and well. Once, a long time ago, I was tender young and had no soul wounds to bleed my believing until it died. Once was a long time ago.

Afternoon

To hear the preacher talk you’d think Christ never thought about anything but love. Just try being a business man in today’s market and he’d soon know that there’s darnn little room for love. Check the ladders of success and you’ll find blood all the way up – and all the way down.

I admit I don’t love people. I dominate them, demand respect. Getting the job done and my getting the credit is what counts.

Joe’s gone now and his job is mine. It was simple enough. His car kept breaking down and constantly making him late. His wife was in the hospital for the third time in a year and his managerial skills had become minimal at best. So all I had to do was spread a word and expand a rumor till one day I was called in and told Joe was no longer with the company and they wanted to see if I could handle his job.

It isn’t just that nice guys finish last; sometimes they don’t finish at all. Not many would call me a nice guy but then I’m not trying to win a popularity contest. I’m only trying to make my way to the top.

Evening

We sat around the conference table this morning and planned how to increase business. We finally agreed on what is referred to as a “pseudo-even.” Our public relations man sold us the idea with charts and statistics.

So now we are going to celebrate, with all the trimmings, our thirtieth anniversary. By afternoon a special committee had been formed; it consisted of a prominent lawyer, a wealthy matron, the president of the local bank and Dr. Hodges, one of the more influential ministers of the area. There will be a banquet with self-laudatory speeches about our contributions to the community.

The company will be presented with a plaque – designed, printed and presented to ourselves by ourselves. It’s not dishonest. We have shown community concerns. It’s just that somehow I wish it had been spontaneous reactions of the citizenry. Maybe I still have some vestiges of old-fashioned honesty left in my bones.

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TO BE CONTINUED

(Complete book available on amazon.com) (great prices)
Neil is also the author of THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (His last book)

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU
CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

WHAT IS A FOOL?

And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this Friday blog and click on “Tell a Friend.”

REMEMBER EACH TUESDAY a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally) This serialization began Tuesday April 13, 2010.

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL 

http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

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Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 5th edition, published 1947 (now that dates me doesn’t it) defines a fool as a simpleton, a dolt, a professional buffoon.

The book of Proverbs 26:1 -12 hits at the jugular vein “The fool hath said in his heart “there is no god.”

To not believe in God is to become one’s own God. To write ones own ten commandments for living.

There are really only two areas in which you can be a fool. One is in the area of God and the other is in the area of men. The wise man chooses to be a fool in neither.

Getting our act together isn’t easy for as a great Danish thinker once said, “We understand life backwards but we must live it forwards.”
Meanwhile the Bible warns us “Whatsoever a man soeth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7)

You know…sometimes it is good to be caught with your excuses full blown. It is then you and I and all of us…stop and take a look at what we have become and are becoming.

So what have you been thinking? With salvation staring you in the face, with every beat of your heart moving you closer to your Almighty God.

Well? May I make a suggestion? Open a bag? A bag that is deep and wide and precious. It is untied for there is still much to be put within. The bag I am talking about is a bag of memories.

But right now…reach in and dig deep. Pull out a memory and look closely at it. Is it a memory of the first time you ever told a lie or a golden memory for the first time you paid dearly for telling a truth?

Is it a memory of your first kiss? Or your first real bout with immorality? Or your first theft or many moments of honesty? Your first real prayer with roots that dug deep into the very fabric of eternity?

Your memories but prove that “That neither libertines nor saints are made suddenly.” (Hazel Werner)

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DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU
CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

ARE YOU GUILTY?

REMEMBER EACH TUESDAY a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally)

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL

 http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

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Are you guilty of parental or grandparental blindness? Good manners make a nicer world for everyone to live in, but we humans weren’t born with them encoded in our behavior patterns. Manners must be taught.

Some would argue that good manners just don’t fit into today’s societal habits (though I can’t quite handle those comments) Fact is, many leaders once they get far enough up the ladder have to go to Seminars to learn the good manners they should have learned when they were kids.

It’s not a question of perfection. But on going imperfection is unacceptable behavior.

There are certain basics, so check this partial ist of partial solutions.

1. At an early age teach your children to cover their mouths when coughing.

2. Tantrums should not be allowed. Easier said than done, I know, but if youn’t nip such behavior in the bud it’s only become a bouquet of stinkweeds. Explain that you are willing to listen to words, but screams only bring banishment from polite society until they are over. Think your little ones are too young to handle such talk? It’s amazing how soon younguns begin to understand. Be sure you don’t match their actions with your own tantrums

3. Table manners are just as important at home as they are at a restaurant. In fact, don’t expect them anywhere if you haven’t enforced them at home. Don’t be afraid to send your child away from the table. A few missed meals won’t be disasterous to his/her health and will usually get your point across.

4. One of the fascinating gadgets that kids can’t wait to use is the telephone. However, it’s not a toy and how to use it should be learned before handling is allowed. Does “Good Morning, this is the Jones residence” , “Julie speaking” sound artificial to you? But it’s so much better than “Hello (often spoken too loudly” or “Yeah.” It also reflects on their upbringing…YOU.

5. Loud and unruly behavior in stores, movies, etc. are verboten! Ever heard a parent say (when the child can hear) “I never discipline her/him in public.” This is like “Open Sesame” to any kid. You don’t have to spank or create a scene – taking the misbehaving child quickly out of the movies…or no more shopping for the day…send a very strong message. A few times of sticking to your guns and not iving in will work wonders.

6. Please. Thank you. Ah, sweet music to everyone’s ears. Once again when taught young it’s easier. You have to be consistently persistent or it’s in one ear and out the other.

Of course, these aren’t the only problem areas children have. It isn’t easy learning how to grow up to be responsible adults. But they will keep you busy for a while. And needless to say, the best training tool is “Monkey see, monkey do.”

Or the worst training depending on what they are seeing.

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And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just
click on "Tell A Friend" at the bottom of this article.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU
CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

RUST ON MY SOUL (6th in Series of Novel)

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL

 http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally)

  ***********************************************************************

INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)

In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step.

Evening

My memories have come slowly, waking all out of sequence from their sleep of years. Can their importance be gauged by how fast they wake? I remember how I always loved to climb, how any thing up was like a magnet, always pulling me skyward.

We had three special trees that magnificently branched up and out – the transfer trees. We had an old rope tied high and far out at the end of a limb. We’d grab that rope and swing out, briefly experiencing a weightless ecstasy. Growing up was a million years away.

We Ketterings have peopled this area for so long some argue we must be bound to have some Indian blood in us. We’ve gazed out in earlier years at a sky whose only blemish was drifting smoke from the clearing of the fields. We’ve watched long grey pavement laid down, holes ripped in the earth for malls spread across what once was farmland, and seen unwritten agreements that promised to leave areas unspoiled ignored. But we’ve left beauty, too. Beyond our city limits streams still play fast waltzes over their rocky bottoms, echoing against the soft pines, splashing against the hard red earth.

I know our town and its history. Like so many it rose from triumph and ashes, victory and despair. Like a living thing it fought death. Large parcels went up in smoke during the Civil War. Indian forays diminished its minimal population. An old mill flourished and died. Manufacturers came and went. We lost more than our share at Flanders Field and white crosses, marking the graves of veterans of several wars dot our cemetery. But we endured, as I must endure.

I’m so glad I was born and raised here, and did not permanently move away. Now, if I can just be glad I was born.

Evening.

Planned togetherness is what we have, but not community. A new couple moved in six weeks ago and the closest I’ve come to being a neighbor was to let him pass before I backed out the other morning.

Evening

We put on a show! I mean we turn the music up loud, hop into hock like it was the law of the land, rejoice on Saturday night, recuperate on Sunday and join the get-and grab-it brigade on Monday. Charge us with anything less than respectability and watch the fur fly. God knows, it’s a rat race where the winner loses.

Evening

I read an ad in the home section of the paper today that was the ultimate in snob appear. “C’est Magnifique! Une Maison Ranch tres’ original 8 rooms, 2 ½ baths, 2’Cadillac garage.” Its living room was referred to as The Family Forum and the master bedroom as the Sleeping Chamber. And, of course, one doesn’t buy a house and a lot anymore. One purchases an estate.

One of my associates bought a Cadillac last week. It was a toss up that a BW almost won. Though he lives a five-minute walk from the office he parks ten minutes away so an undetermined number of people can know he drives a new Cadillac. He’s never said so, but what other reason could explain such idiocy? I ought to know. When I got mine, I dropped it, for the first few weeks, into every conversation I could.

I wonder…is it time to buy a Lexus…or a BMW…or…one has to keep one’s ear to the ground to know which car carries the greatest attention. It changes.

We’re all caught up in a materialistic binge, overcrowding our lives with more and more as we learn how to live less and less. But how you gonna keep us down on the farm after we’ve seen the ads?

TO BE CONTINUED

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(Complete book available on amazon.com) (great prices)

Neil is also the author of THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (His last book)

Neil Wyrick newest book

“LETTERS TO 21st CENTURY AMERICA FROM CHARLES WESLEY, Hymn Writer Supreme is available.

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CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

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Serialization of Neil’s Internationally Distributed Novel (Rust On My Soul) (Published by Bridge Press (1985) starts on his blog Wyrick’s Writings until finished. Thursday and Sunday will continue to cover a variety of subjects.

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Build a cathedral,

Let its spires be love,

It’s sanctuary brotherhood.

Its windows open to the breath of God.

Worship there on your knees,

With all kinds of folk on either side,

Without contempt, without rancor, without prejudice;

Without any of those seeds of discontent, that mock the cross.

Make a miracle there.

Meet like citizens of heaven without rebuke.

Mind your manners and mend your dislikes and certainly any hates you allow to hover.

Lay your heart on an altar of love and whisper softly but sure…

“Thy will be done Lord, Thy will be done…”

HOW WELL DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOURSELF AND HOW?

REMEMBER EACH WEEK a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally) 

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL

http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

There is biology by which we can study the living cells.

There is psychology by which we can probe the id and the ego.

There is physiology by which we can study the function of bodily organs.

And then there is theology by which we can study and influence our relationship with God. And if you really study God, you are also studying yourself. Or as one man put it, “As God became more real, I seemed to become more real. As I began to know more about God, I began to understand more about myself.”

And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this article and click on “Tell a Friend.”

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU
CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TO RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world

RUST ON MY SOUL (5th in Series of Novel)

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally) (A new Series until finished) (Thursday & Sunday will continue to cover a variety of subjects as in the past)

INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)

In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step.

Morning

I’m wired for instant irritation these days. My house is neither castle nor home. Nancy has become a gatekeeper who’s more married to my paycheck than to me. My children are strangers living in a teenage land so different from my own teenage days that I don’t even try to understand them anymore.

My boss is a tyrant who rewards my compliance with a sneer and makes it palatable with a raise.

By day I work at business. By night I am father, husband, and human being (Not necessarily in that order). But I do work at these, or do I take these roles for granted?

I’ve forgotten how to laugh, but my business smile is always intact. This whole scenario is being played out against a backdrop of good pay and executive privilege, but it isn’t what I earn or where I work that’s doing this to me. It’s who I have allowed myself to become.

I keep asking questions, but am I really seeking answers?

Evening

There’s a mockingbird nest in our mulberry tree. It’s home. No mailbox, no posturepedic mattress, no mortgage, just home. Where is his heart and his song and his dreams. Does a mockingbird dream? Does he seek to be known far and wide among other mockingbirds? Is life for him as simple as it seems?

A finger of light faintly strethes across the lawn to reach me as I swing silently in my hammock and study, in the dusk of this starless night, the emphasis of my days. In a short while I shall walk back into civilization; a controlled atmosphere, a well-stocked kitchen, my easy chair and my color TV, I demand more than a mockingbird. I demand more than some of my fellow human beings.

Emerson, I think, wrote that a man is happy in proportion to what he can do without. In a philosophical discussion around a campfire such an idea can momentarily provide warmth. But how does it apply to real world of creature comforts?

I’m not so sure.

Evening

Picking an event of yesterday isn’t always as easy as reaching down for the morning paper. Memories raised back up are sometimes just headlines. YOUNG MAN’S FIRST DATE A DISASTER – PRIVATE THOMAS KETTERING HATES ARMY LIFE – THOMAS KETTERING JOINS FIRM.

My searching has given me more dreams these nights; I fly or walk on water or am clever or brilliant beyond belief. Sometimes I am paralyzed and there is a monster comng ever nearer. I scream and wake up – and it was all a dream, or nightmare. But sometimes it isn’t a dream. I’m not asleep. Sometimes it is real life—

THOMAS KETTERING THIEF. Today I had a golf date with a client of one of my competitors. He’s a lousy golfer and has the personality of a cold lobster but the contract in m pocket has his signature on it and consequently my prestige at the office will rise by several notches. He won by a stroke. It was hard to play so badly on purpose.

The first eighteen holes were strictly emotional strangulation, but when I began to liquefy his reasoning o the nineteenth hole he was in the bag, and I don’t mean golf bag. Hated to steal him from my good friend, Rich, but then in business it’s every man for himself.

Isn’t it?

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT TUESDAY
(Complete book available on amazon.com)

Neil is also the author of THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (His last book)

Neil Wyrick newest book
“LETTERS TO 21st CENTURY AMERICA FROM CHARLES WESLEY, 

And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this article and click on “Tell a Friend.”

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CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

WHAT IS MEEKNESS?

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

The third Beatitude – Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

We are not a nation in love with meekness. Humility as a virtue has been out of style for quite a while. Indeed, what do many motivational speakers offer as the solution to all ills?

They offer controlled, and sometimes not too greatly controlled, arrogance. Win at any cost, for winning is everything.

Higher salaries? They are sought these days not just to better be able to pay the bills but rather as a sign of respect. Many today have become a rude, arrogant and greedy people. Few would, or could, argue with that.

And so into this battle of egos steps Jesus teaching blessed are the meek. Good idea. Hard sell.

Therefore, before we get defensive let’s make sure what it is we are trying to defend.

In the first place, Jesus didn’t mean meek before men for there are times when meekness before men really is weakness, the kind of meekness that makes the devil dance with glee. However, and make no bones about it, He did and does mean meekness before God.

Almost 500 years ago, Martin Luther, the father of Protestantism, defied an established church.

Had he been meek before men he would never have nailed his 95 thesis to a door in Wittenburg.

He would never have stood before the Pope and the Holy Catholic Council to plead his cause.

He would have quaked like a coward and run like a frightened rabbit. But he didn’t run.

He took his stand.

He was meek before God which enabled him to be filled with might before men. He knew what he believed in and come hell, high water or being burned at the stake he would not, could not, did not give up or give in.

The same can be said of Moses.

His meekness before God gave him strength before the Pharoah of all of Egypt and therefore won freedom for his people from their slavery. He was basically a shy man, but he was God’s shy man and all his natural meekness went out the window when God spoke and he, without equivocation, listened.

The same can be said of Jesus himself.

He didn’t accept the Devil’s invitation for worldly wealth. He never trembled before Pilate. He never backed down in the presence of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He whipped the money changers from the Temple. But, in the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed, “Lord…not my will, but Thine be done.”

Matthew 5:3-11
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.

His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peac

And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this article and click on “Tell a Friend.”

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU

CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

HOW HEAVY WAS THE LAST GRUDGE YOU HELD?

REMEMBER EACH TUESDAY a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally) 

 

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins” GO TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN NEIL WYRICK SPIRITUAL VITAMINS
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Do you hold a grudge for days or weeks or years?

Do you require that everyone in your family dislike everyone you dislike and every thought you espouse and the list is long? Does everyone feel they have to walk on eggshells when they are in your presence? Are you an individual who cannot manage your emotions, and part of the reason is because it is just you by yourself trying to manage them? I’m not suggesting that you should work at being dead in the water emotionally. You want to be able to get excited and dance and sing, but you also don’t want to become permanently hyper and out of control.

Psychiatrists say that anger is the hardest emotion to master. So we need a doctor to tell us that? A few years ago, some people were teaching that we should let it all hang out. It was called “Scream Therapy” - that if you didn’t scream on a regular basis you would perpetually steam. In other words, gain control by losing control. The theory, thank goodness didn’t last.

Certainly there is a better way of doing it, infinitely better than having screaming sessions. It is called “reframing” or “reinterpreting” what has just happened in a more positive light. I’ve been doing this for years, I just didn’t have a name for it. It made sense to me that if someone gave me a hard time, it was because they had just finished having a hard time, or the night before, or were just having a bad day. I figured it was a waste of time and common sense to take it personally.

Now some people really are nasty and mean on a regular basis and they do not like you, along with a host of other people they don’t like. But they are in the minority and if you run across someone like that, pray that you don’t emulate them.

What we are talking about is a personality upgrade. A faith lift might be another way of putting it. Allowing the Lord, who knows and always has known your potential, to let you find it and do something about it.

There is the classic story of the artist Michelangelo pushing a gigantic rock down a cobbled street and being asked by someone why he is going to such extremes and effort. “Because,” answered the great sculptor, “there is an angel inside that rock and I am going to let him out.” Don’t ever underestimate your potential because, my dear friends, there is an angel inside of all of us wanting to be let all the way out.

And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this article and click on “Tell a Friend.”

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU

CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

RUST ON MY SOUL (4th in Series of Novel)

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

RUST ON MY SOUL (A Novel) (Published by Bridge Press in 1985 & Distributed Internationally)

INTRODUCTION (Repeated for those new to the series)

In an old loose leaf notebook, Thomas Kettering wrote when there was a cry from his heart. He wrote when his inner longing spilled over into the reality of his days. He did not write every day, only when he felt he must. How often he wrote or when is not important. The journey is what counts, for it is a diary about all of us, to all of us. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and even a stumble is a step.


Morning

I can turn a radio off. I can hang up a phone. I can shut a door in a man’s face, but that not-so-friendly voice called conscience will not be shut up or out, or off. I can still see the fifth-grade textbook pictures of the Pilgrims dressed in grim grey and black, distinctly unappetizing as role models.

“Duty calls” describes the ancient Pilgrim ethic and the twentieth century, addlepated audience replies, “What does it pay?”

Is duty just a cold and rock landing place, valid only in some time long past? Or is it timeless?

Can I find a scent to fool the nostrils of my conscience? Is it fool enough to be captured by such a con.

When finally my conscience catches on, as it most surely will, how often can I keep playing the same game by merely changing the name? That’s what you do now, isn’t it, Kettering?

It was your duty to discipline your child. But you were tired so you did nothing and called it patience. It wasn’t patience, it was parental laziness.

It was your duty to be honest in that sales presentation. But you might have lost your commission, so you lied and called it embellishment. A wondrous word that sounds too good to be bad.

It was your duty to leave the ball where it landed in the rough just off the eighteenth green in last Saturday’s golf game. But it was just a game so you improved your lie and called it physical enhancement. A cheat by any other name, even in something as frivolous as a game, is still a cheat.

If there were a hardware stone in Hell that sold off-and-on switches for my conscience, would I quickly fly in and out, buying two – one for a spare – and then screw it in place with anticipated joy.


Noon

Well, I got that promotion after all. Along with it comes a substantial raise, a new office and a key to the executive washroom. I can’t forget, however, that my doctor has assured me that I’m well on my way to the ultimate status symbol, an ulcer, and that if I don’t slow down I’m a prime candidate for worse than that.

The promotion therefore may involve the subtraction of a few years from my life expectancy, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay.

I know what Nancy’s immediate reaction will be “How much of a raise did you get?” This will followed by, “When will you get another one?” She asked that question the day after I got my first one and no success afterwards has ever made her stop the ceaseless repletion of those questions. Nancy’s nagging is the closest thing to a cheer I’ve gotten in a long time.


Late night

Damn! Nancy and I had another fight. This time is was over Billy. She wants him to have a car of his own. I told her we already have two cars and that I’m not running a used car lot. As always, she ran to her room crying “You don’t care what Billy’s friends think.” Sometimes I wonder who runs our lives, our neighbors or ourselves.

Nancy always has her gearshift in “P” not for Park but Push. It feeds my discontent and out of it has come a restless impatience, an impatience that magnifies the picayune.

“Tom, can’t you hang your towels straight after you take a shower. You’re a grown man, act like one.”

“William Carter, don’t slam that door! You know it gives me a headache and I don’t think you care…spoiled…spoiled…spoiled.” And I know our son will probably slam the door even harder the next time she shouts at him.

“Connie Louise, must you always wear your hair like a mop?” And I can imagine the expression on my daughters face. She handles the emotional indigestion it causes by saying nothing and ignoring this and all other of her mother’s advice.

Rancid comments that have broken down all lines of communication.

Who took the first step toward homestead anarchy? Who took filial democracy and turned it into feuding camps? Oh, God, it didn’t happen overnight. It never does. Did we just created darkness so slowly from tattle tale grey that we never noticed until it was too late?

TO BE CONTINUED
(Complete book available on amazon.com) (great prices)
Neil is also the author of THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (His last book)

Neil Wyrick newest book

“LETTERS TO 21st CENTURY AMERICA FROM CHARLES WESLEY, Hymn Writer Supreme

WHO IS CHRIST?

REMEMBER EACH TUESDAY a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally)

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”
 

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL

 http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

To the artist He is all that is beautiful in this world of ours.

To the architect He is the Chief Cornerstone, a building block offering the ultimate security.

To the astronomer He is the Sun, the stars, the moon and all the firmament stretched an infinity of light years beyond.

To the baker He is the bread of life.

To the banker He is the greatest of treasures. An investment with an eternal guarantee.

To the biologist He is the mystery of life come alive in the miracle of the Resurrection.

To the carpenter He is the builder of all things good and just and upright with measured diligence.

To the doctor He is the Great Physician.

To the educator He is the Great Teacher.

To the student He is the incarnate truth.

To the farmer He is the Sower and the Lord of all harvest, spiritual as well as earthly.

To the florist He is the Lily of the Valley and the Rose of Sharon.

To the geologist He is the Rock of Ages.

To the horticulturist He is the True vine.

To the conciliator He is the Righteous Judge.

To the juror He is the true and faithful witness.

To the jeweler He is the pearl of great price.

To the editor He is the good tidings of great joy, filled with wisdom and truth and clarity.

To the oculist and optometrist He is the light of the eyes, the wonder of sight and insight.

To the philosopher He is the wisdom of God.

To the servant He is the good master.

To the toiler He is the giver of rest, the green pastures, the still waters.

To the sinner He is the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

To the Christian, He is the Son of the Living God, the Savior, the Redeemer and Lord. (Anonymous – edited and rewritten)

And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this article and click on “Tell a Friend.”

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

DESERVE?

REMEMBER EACH TUESDAY a continuing addition to my novel “RUST ON MY SOUL” will be added until the entire novel has appeared. (Published by Bridge Press, 1985) (Distributed Internationally)

To view my other blog “One A Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins”
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL 

http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

Everyone here this morning has had their back to the wall, and probably more than once. We all, without exception, have known pain as a reality, and been forced to endure it. In short, we are all in the same boat together. Therefore, how do we learn better how to swim rather than to sink?

Well, first it is important to accept the truth that most likely none of us get ALL of what we deserve, either good or bad.

And secondly, we do not have to pass a spiritual litmus test before the Lord repeats the words first heard from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

These two truths seem elementary, but they are not. Because time and time again when tragedy strikes a family, I’m met with the words, “We deserved it. Let me tell you what we did” or “Why did this happen to us? We don’t deserve this!”

Have you been incredibly good, or terribly bad in your life? Unlikely. Most folks major in being lukewarm. Did God one day kneel down and draw a line in the sand of life and then dare you to step across that line? And if you did, did He then say, “The back of my heavenly hand to you. You deserve the punishment you are receiving.”

I doubt it. God’s bigger than that.

There is no doubt that much pain and suffering really comes from abuse of freedom; moral anarchy, really bad choices, a philosophy of life that says, If it feels good, it’s okay, even when it’s not okay.

You see, though we human beings really are just a little lower than the angels, if we choose to sin, and then do not even feel badly about the sinning, we court chaos.

“Turn left,” says God and we turn right for the simple reason we don’t want to turn left. “Give me guidance,” we pray when sometimes we don’t really want guidance, what we want is clearance.

I remember when I was a little boy I would ask my parents for permission to do some-thing. And they, seeing a bigger picture than I, would sometimes say no. But I, not interested in bigger pictures, only in what I wanted, ignored their advice and followed my own foolishness. And then got in trouble. We do that don’t we, with our parents, with God, with common sense.

Pays our money and takes our choice.

TO BE CONTINUED (Complete book available on amazon.com)(Great prices)

And, yes, if this site or the One A Day site has met any of your needs share it with a friend. Just have them go to “Google Search” and type in “Wyrick’s Writings”

Or…go the bottom of this article and click on “Tell a Friend.”

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE

CLICK ON THE TO RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SCREEN WHERE IT READS “CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEIL AS WESLEY, LUTHER, FRANKLIN & LINCOLN”…His presentations have been called equal to Hal Holbrook and were presented all over the world.

Neil is also the author of THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (his 9th book)