Walking down memory lane

Today was a wonderful walk down memory lane! Here's what happened:

From 1995-1997, I was a member at Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis, Tennessee. 

I can see the 3rd story windows of the Military Sunday School class I used to teach!
It's under the center overhang.

In those years, I was also the Assistant to the Military Minister. The fringe benefits that I enjoyed included sitting under the preaching ministry and leadership of Dr. Adrian Rogers while getting an insiders look at an incredible church. 

I cannot adequately express how grateful I am that God gave me those few years! Some 20 years later, I still think back on them with great fondness!

In the Spring of 1996, I began dating Kim. It didn't take me long to realize that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. 

Our dating relationship was almost completely long-distance (she lived in Lexington, KY and I lived in Germantown, TN). So, when I heard that she and a singles church group were coming to Bellevue to watch the annual "Singing Christmas Tree" performance, I formulated my plan to propose to her. After the performance, we went out to see some Christmas lights. About an hour later, I came back to Bellevue's property, the front lawn was lit up with festive lights, and I knelt down beside a pond and proposed to her. I had to ask a second time because she began crying and didn't give me a "yes" quickly enough.  

She told me the next day that she didn't sleep a wink that night. Here's a picture she took with her new engagement ring:

The next day, the singles church group headed back to Lexington, KY. On the way, they saw a couch on the side of the road and decided to take a crazy picture on it. Kim is in the red sweater.

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It's hard to believe that this all happened 20 years ago! (Time flies by too quickly!)

So, today, it was surreal as I was listening to a sermon by Adrian Rogers on my podcast app as I pulled onto Bellevue's property. I was overwhelmed with wonderful memories from when I frequented this place. 

But, there was one special place I wanted to visit - the place where I knelt down to propose to Kim! They've changed the spot in the past 20 years: the road has been widened and there is now shrubbery and a waterfall near the spot. (That would have made it even more romantic 20 years ago!)

I proposed to Kim at the far left of this picture.
The trees and shrubbery weren't there 20 years ago.
There is also now a bench and a small waterfall.
I guess they are commemorating the spot where Kim said, "Yes." HA

I proposed to Kim on the other side of this tree (that wasn't there 20 years ago).
It's neat that there is now beautiful flowers and a small waterfall in this spot.

Heaven is real

Too often, we treat our life like it is the only reality. We wake up, we get ready for the day, go to school or work, come home with family, do some chores and then settle in for a night's sleep only to do it all over again the next day. It's what we experience so it is "real."

We talk about Heaven and may even say we are looking forward to being there. Yet, if we are completely honest, too many Christians treat this life as "real" while treating Heaven as something surreal, "spiritual," and foreign. Since we can't see it, hear it, or touch it, (being completely honest) it may not even seem relevant to many who claim to follow Jesus.

So, with this mindset, we settle into this life and live it as an end in itself. We may not think about laying up treasures in Heaven like Jesus told us to because we are too busy laying up treasures in our garage. We aren't consumed with living in such a way that we will hear Jesus' words of affirmation on Judgment Day because we are consumed with hearing words of affirmation from our co-workers and peers.

In 1 Peter 2:11-12, the Lord speaks directly to this propensity when He tells us to change our thinking. We are to intentionally force our minds to realize that we are only temporary residents in this life and we are on a pilgrimage to our eternal home which is more real than anything we presently experience. And as we keep our eyes focused on Heaven and the day when Jesus' will assess how we lived this life, it will motivate us to see this life as an opportunity to show others that our God is so wonderful that we gladly submit to His authority. In so doing, we will provide a powerful example to those who are watching who will also stand before Jesus one day.

1 Peter 2:11-12

"11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."

A hope-filled future for the down-and-out

Is life tough for you right now? Maybe you even feel like things are out of control.


Sometimes life can get that way. But, the promises of God that He has given to His children are intended to keep our chins up. They are intended to give us the motivation to keep going.


I came across a precious promise this morning. Looking at it with the lenses of the New Testament, it reminds us that our God is fully in control. He is far above whatever things we are dealing with. And even... if we are in desperate straits, we will one day relax among royalty (in Heaven). So, dear believer, take heart!

Psalm 113:5-8 (NLT)
Who can be compared with the LORD our God,
who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down
on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!"

National Mall with my boys (July 11, 2016)

We intended to take it easy today after a big day yesterday. Yet, after walking Kim to the National Gallery of Art this morning, my sons and I put in quite a few miles. We visited the Capital Building, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Holocaust Museum. Some of the pictures appear below.

I took this picture after walking a mile to the National Gallery of Art and moments before we

said "good-bye" to Kim as she embarked on her first day as a fellow at the National Gallery.

The moment seemed surreal to my sons as we approached the Capital Building. I pointed
to the spot where our U.S. Presidents have taken the oath of office and they seemed
to have an incredible feel for this location in American history.

I took this picture only because it looked pretty cool. I wish their had been a few clouds
to add yet more color.

Here, we were standing outside the Library of Congress. My sons really wanted to visit
this location because of it's use in the movie, "National Treasure."

Here we are near the U.S. Supreme Court.

Standing on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

I'm REALLY getting tired of expensive, greasy meals. But, this is the best we could find
as we neared the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

I took this picture of my boys on the second floor of the Air and Space Museum.
I liked the visual of Kim's workplace in the background. You can see the National
Gallery of Art between Zach and Sean.

Another picture of my boys in the Air and Space Museum.

We ended our discovery tour by visiting the Holocaust Museum. Yet, I didn't take many pictures there. It was too solemn of a place to snap pictures.

Family Visit to the National Mall (July 10, 2016)

We went out this evening looking for a place to eat supper. While out, I took a few pictures.

Family Visit to Arlington Cemetery

My family visited Arlington Cemetery for the first time today. Little did we realize how powerful the experience would be. Here are some pictures and comments ...

As we made our way into the cemetery, two things struck me:

First, how many graves there were, and

Second, how beautifully and symmetrically they had been placed.

If you go to Arlington Cemetery, you absolutely must go to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Every top and bottom of the hour, as the bell tolls, the changing of the guard takes place.

It is such a quiet, solemn, precise experience that it inspires awe in everyone present.

Part of the changing of the guard.

It was an absolutely beautiful day!

Inscription: "Here rests in honored glory an American Soldier known but to God."

Kim, Zach, Sean and Joseph observing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This picture was taken from Arlington House at the highest(?) point of Arlington Cemetery.

Robert E. Lee lived here for 30 years but his family lost the land when he lost the war.

Arlington House with flag at half mast. I assume it is because of the horrible tragedies that have

happened across our land in the past couple of weeks.

Below Arlington House rests J.F.K.'s body alongside his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

One of the quotes J.F.K. is best known for saying. This appears a few yards from his resting place.

Family trip to Lexington, Virginia

My family is headed to Washington D.C. where we will spend a week visiting the monuments and museums on the National Mall while Kim works in the National Gallery of Art. On the way, we decided to visit Lexington, Virginia.

I've been a fan of Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson for many years. I have enjoyed watching "Gods and Generals" where Stonewall Jackson's story (that begins just before the Civil War began) was beautifully depicted. I have also enjoyed reading James I. Robertson, Jr.'s massive biography, "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend." While I would hardly consider myself an expert on General Jackson, I have developed a love and respect for this man that makes me long to spend time with him when we share our eternal reward in Heaven.

Rather than make this a lengthy, wordy blog that recounts our visit in Lexington, I will simply post pictures and put some comments underneath each picture.

This is T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson's home. He lived here from 1851 until he left for the Civil War.

While here, he taught at the Virginia Military Institute which was a half mile walk away.

While visiting here, it felt surreal to stand in the rooms that he occupied about 150 years ago.

This picture was taken in the back of Stonewall's home. A garden is visible in the background

that may be very similar to the one he grew while alive.
We were asked by the tour guide not to take any pictures inside. Wish I could have.

If you expand this picture, you can read a brief history of the Jackson house.

If you expand this picture, you can read a very concise biography of Stonewall Jackson.

This is Lexington Presbyterian Church where Jackson attended while in Lexington, VA.

While in Mexico years earlier, Jackson considered the Catholic church. Later, the Episcopalian.

Yet, in the Presbyterian Church, he found a home. Particularly, he agreed wholeheartedly with

their view on predestination. He staunchly believed that God had ordained the events of this life

and that nothing, absolutely nothing, to thwart God's hand. Therefore, he was able to stand bravely

on the battlefield as the bullets pierced the air around him. He believed that if it wasn't his time to

die, he wouldn't. If it was, there was nothing he could do to stop it. So, his bravery was based upon

a deeply theological believe in God's sovereign control of His creation.

This monument rests atop Jackson grave and the graves of his close family.

This monument is in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery about a third of a mile SW of his house.

Couldn't believe I had the opportunity to visit this man's gravesite!

The day of his death is the day of Kim's and my anniversary, May 10th - separated by 134 years.

This was the tombstone of his original grave site about 25 yards from his monument.

However, it was later agreed that such a war hero needed a much larger monument. His body, and the

body of some of his family were exhumed and put under the large monument that bears his image.

This is Lee Chapel on Virginia Military Institute's property about a third of a mile from Stonewall's house.

This it the plaque that hangs outside the front door of Lee Chapel.

One may not expect to see President Washington's picture inside of Lee's Chapel.

The explanation is given below in the picture: "Educating to Build and Rebuild a Nation."

This picture hangs on the right side of the stage wall of Lee's Chapel. You wouldn't expect to see

such a thing in a chapel, right? Yet, it was made clear that while chapel services occurred frequently during

Lee's time here, it was no longer used for chapel services. Only infrequently did gatherings take place here.

The sign on the wall reveals where Robert E. Lee sat during his time as President of Washington College.

This recumbent statue of Robert E. Lee was "backstage" from where the pulpit used to be in this chapel.

Noticeably absent were the rebel flags that used to hang on the back corners of this room.

This is where Robert E. Lee's body rests in the basement of the chapel.

This area is directly below the recumbent statute.

This picture that hangs on the lower level of the chapel explains what Washington and Lee had in common.

This picture which also hangs on a wall in the lower level shows how George Washington

and Robert E. Lee were related.

Some might ask me, "How can you respect a man who was known only for his valor in serving as a Confederate general?" The answer to that question would take longer than you are willing to read but let me provide four responses:

• First, he was a devout follower of Jesus. He didn't simply claim Christianity - it impacted every area of his life. In fact, as previously mentioned, his valor on the battlefield wasn't simply a part of his character. It was rooted in a deeply-held theological belief of predestination. He believed that God had already ordained the time of his death. So, his task was not to worry about when that time would come, only to be ready when it should overtake him. This is how he could sit atop his horse unafraid as the bullets pierced the air around him.
• Second, he wasn't fighting for slavery. He would have never done such a thing. He was fighting for states' rights. His loyalty was to the state of Virginia. He only wanted to answer to it. He did not want some overarching government, made up primarily of people who did not live in his state nor care about his state, telling his state what to do. (Regarding slavery, he believed it would die of natural causes.)
• Third, his Sunday School class was made up of black children. Further, it was an illegal class - he was teaching them how to read and write which was against the law. He believed that if they learned these skills, he could assist them in their plight in life and even help them to secure their freedom. When he went off to war, he continued to send money back to the Lexington Presbyterian Church to guarantee that the class would continue to teach young black children these needed skills.
• His life was filled with tragedy (too many things to recount here) but he persisted. And, he continued to improve himself. He never gave up. Finally, eventually, he was provided an opportunity for which he had been tailor-made as he served in the Mexican-American War and then the Civil War. When he was shot in 1863 and his left arm had to be amputated only days before his death, Robert E. Lee showed how much he valued his general when he said, "Stonewall has lost his left arm and I have lost my right one."

Well, that ends my reflections on our time at Lexington, VA. I'm looking forward to visiting Washington D.C. and provided even more reflections on the memorials and sights there!