The Trent Family at Change Point
Every once in a while you have one of those experiences. I had one yesterday.
A family came into the Center to continue parenting classes. I was blessed to be the one to spend time with them.
Bobby Trent, the one with the hat on in the picture above, is holding his grandson James. Bobby is Shandi’s father. Shandi is the one with the big smile on the left of her Dad as you look at the Picture. James is Shandi’s son.
Cindy Trent, Bobby’s wife (pink shirt) was there also, along with Vanessa (blue shirt). Vanessa and Shandi are sisters.
We had our session in one of the counseling rooms at Change Point (There is a link below if you would like to see the Change Point website). The subject for the day was communication, and James was in the mood to do just that. He was chatting from the time we walked into the room, was very patient with me throughout, and clearly understood most of what went on.
While playing on the floor during the discussion, James reached over and grabbed my shoe. I had been accepted.
About half-way through our “class,” Vanessa was clearly startled by something that had happened.
I asked her about it.
“James just walked,” she said. “He walked for the first time.”
“I didn’t see it,” said his mom.
“It’s OK,” I said. “You’ll see plenty of it.”
The room was quiet.
I wish I could quote word for word what Shandi said next. Maybe Shandi remembers and can tell me. She has a great memory. She knows how I know this.
“My job just got harder,” she stated.
Laughter filled the room.
I didn’t see James take his first step and I can’t remember mine. However, I felt it an honor to be there on the day a young child began his journey.
The word “walk” is used many times in the Bible.
God said this to King Solomon:
“If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”
Solomon began his prayer of Temple dedication with these words:
“O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart.”
These are the first words in the Psalms:
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.”
Luke describes Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, like this:
“They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.”
In his letter to the people of Rome, Paul wrote:
“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
James took his first steps yesterday. He is a blessed little boy. He has a mom, aunt, and grandparents who believe in the words quoted above.
I was blessed to be there for his first steps. May God continue to be with James and bless his walk through life.
Chris Reimers
Posted by Chris 
Wings of the Wind 
AMERICA IS BROKE
May 18, 2010As I made my way down Grand Avenue a few weeks ago, another sign was up. It read, “Retirement Sale.” Tommy’s, a furniture and appliance store, is another local business that is calling it quits.
Yesterday, the destination was Sears. The brakes had to be fixed. Surprisingly, several businesses had closed on the “happenin” side of town since the last time I’d been there. In fairness there were a few new ones.
Why mention these observations?
It doesn’t take a financial guru to know that we’re in trouble after reading this line from an online article yesterday:
The United States’ national debt will soon reach 100 percent of gross domestic product, the International Monetary Fund predicts in a new report.
(A more recent report says that Debt held by the public is projected to rise in relation to the size of the economy each year, reaching 118 percent of GDP by 2033.)
We are not that far away from facing numbers similar to Greece, a tiny country whose financial situation caused the New York Stock Exchange to plunge 1000 points recently.
Many baby-boomers are expecting soon (and for a long time) to collect social security benefits from a system that they have paid into for years. One can reasonably question how the money will appear.
It looks like Bible prophecy, as I understand it, may soon be fulfilled. The scriptures tell of a time when all buying and selling are monitored. They speak of a time of travail.
“Do not worry about your life.” These are the words of Jesus. The words are mentioned here because the above information could easily cause anxiety. The Bible also says that if you don’t work you won’t eat. Many Americans are hard working people. There is a growing number, however, that expect others to do their work for them. There is another group that is willing to go deep into debt to have what their friends have.
Some schools are now providing more than breakfast and lunch to hungry youngsters. Dinner is also a part of the school day in some school districts.
Admittedly, many parents have lost jobs and can’t provide food for their children. A majority of Americans used to feel unwarranted shame if their hard work wasn’t enough to put food on the table. Today, a large portion of the culture has come to expect “help.” Many buy things they can’t afford before thinking of paying for the “free” meals their children are getting at school.
The cost of today’s cultural attitudes is our freedom. Nothing comes without a price. The government will feed our kids in exchange for the ability to shut the possibility of the existence of a supreme being out of our classrooms.
Why are we broke?
We have decided, in a slow and methodical manner, to remove God from the process. If you want to see where we’ve come from, check out the following story. It is found within another “Wings” post.
https://chrisreimersblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/is-the-census-bureau-encouraging-people-to-lie-is-the-national-day-of-prayer-unconstitutional
Christian principles, practiced by those who came before us, took this nation to great heights. Over the past 120 years or so, a growing segment of our society has decided that Christian principles are intolerant. This view has accelerated in the last few decades.
The God who blessed this nation is someone that many don’t want to hear from anymore.
Why should anyone be surprised that we are in our situation? We are not only broke financially. It is much worse than that. We are also broke spiritually, something that can only be fixed by turning back to the God that made this country great.
Chris Reimers
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