AMERICA'S CORN MAZE

 Well, folks, it's that time of year again, Autumn, when the trees turn multi-color and coffee shops serve pumpkin spice coffee.  It's also time for corn mazes, you know when farmers cut mazes in their corn fields and people try to navigate through them.  Most places have maze maps to help in case there are lost adventurers.  Some stubbornly refuse because they claim they don't need maps...until they do!

Imagine if everyone was given a different map, but there was only one true map.  Some might make it through by sheer accident, but most would be at a dead end.  People can claim the right map but that doesn't mean they have the right map.

Mr. Holland's Opus with Richard Dreyfus is one of my favorite movies.  Here is a composer who has to support his trade by working as a teacher.  He is not thrilled about the job, and in the clip below, his principal gives him a piece of her mind:

Mr. Holland is not giving the students direction and an example to show them the way.  Years later, when the principal retires, she has a different message for him.

Remember the corn maze map?   Consider being lost in a wilderness (like the reality show, "Lost.") and someone has given you a compass from a pile of compasses with a different North.  That compass may send you to a place you don't want to go.  At that point, you better send up a flare...if you packed one!

By living in a world where everyone has their own truth, we bump into each other without finding True North.  What is to become of our moral compass and how do we know what is right and true?  We may find sound advice from Fredrick Douglass, a former slave who became a leader of the abolitionist movement in the 1850s and '60s:

"There is no such thing as a new truth:  error might be old or new, but truth is as old as the universe."

To whom can we look for an objective truth?  It was a carpenter-builder from Nazareth who said,  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

How do we know if Jesus was who he said he was?  And how do we know the Bible is reliable?  Those questions go beyond the limits of this post, but if you are truly interested in knowing the answers, I direct you to the following YouTube videos: The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith

In the meantime, try not to get lost.  It's no fun in the dark!

(Please share your comments by clicking the pencil icon below.  I look forward to hearing from you.)

How Do I Say This?

 If you are a follower of this blog, you know the posts have not come out on a regular basis.  That was not my intention, however, there is something you should know.  I have some chronic health conditions that make it impossible for me to get things done in a timely fashion.  I have decided to rethink this blog.  I need to have at least 6 posts ready for publication before I start publishing again.  That will make it easier for me to handle and hopefully you will be able to depend on a weekly post.

Another goal I had was more comments from you, the readers.  I wanted it to be a place to share our stories. Your story is important and I believe others should hear it.  So please share! Just click on the pencil icon at the bottom of each post.

I would appreciate your prayers and thoughts for me.  They will be greatly needed and appreciated.  You can also drop me a line at journeyintostory@gmail.com.

In the meantime, weary traveler, enjoy this song below.

Until then,

Wally Johnston

He Lifted Me Up

 

Tonight, I saw a stage production about Jesus.  They showed Peter walking on water toward Jesus.  His mistake was taking his eyes off Jesus and focusing on the waves.  He started sinking. His mistake was taking his eyes off Jesus and focusing on the waves.  He started sinking.

I know that sinking feeling. One day Jesus called me out of my old life.  I felt like I was walking on water, and other times I let the waves of doubt, old addictions, and sin get my eyes off of Him.  Each time He lifted me up and pulled me out to a place of safety.  I couldn’t do it without Him.  Believe me, I tried a few times and it just doesn’t work.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.  By Jesus overcoming death and the grave, he paid the price for us to escape whatever keeps us down.  

If you don’t know Jesus Christ personally, listen to His voice to call you out of the boat of your present circumstances.  If you are willing, He will pull you out as well. If you do know Him, keep holding on!

HAPPY EASTER...HE HAS RISEN!

Cough Drop Encouragement

Sometimes we miss the little things around us because they are always around. It’s like hiding in plain sight. Once, I was looking for my eyeglasses. I was looking everywhere except the one obvious place. Yep, I was wearing them!

Here is an example. Nearly everyday I have at least one Hall's cough drop. I popped one in my mouth and, being a little bored, I started reading the cough drop wrapper. Of all the years I’ve used Halls honey-lemon cough drops, I had no idea they had little phrases of encouragement! Seriously. I had a little difficulty reading the small print. I would need a seeing eye dog to tell me what it said. (Okay, I just used a magnifying glass). Here are some examples:

“Take ‘Can do” into ‘Can did.’” “You’ve survived tougher.” “Nothing you can’t handle.” “Tough is you middle name.” Here’s one for shoplifters- “Its’s yours for the taking.” “You can do it, and you know it.” “Power through” “You’ve survived tougher.” “March forward.” “Get back in there Champ.” “Flex your Can Do muscle.” “Buckle down and push forward.” “Elicit a few ‘Wows’ today.” “Be resilient.” “A pep talk in every drop.” “Hi five yourself.”

One of my favorite programs on CBS News is “Steve Hartman--On the Road.” He finds stories of encouragement and community spirit. On one of his recent shows, he featured elementary school children who offer an encouragement hotline. The students offer one line advice. Check it out below:

The question is: Where do you find your encouragement? If you are lacking in that department, try encouraging others. Before long, you find your attitude lifting and will make some new friends along the way.

(c) Wally Johnston 2023

Two Stories for the Price of One

We recently had new countertops installed. I’m kind of a do-it-your-selfer, but my wife drew the line when it came to the kitchen. “Okay dear, we’ll have someone do the work,” I said reluctantly. Since our kitchen had no sink at that time, It was convenient for my wife to say, “Where are you taking me for supper tonight?” We ended up at one of our favorite places, Buddies. When we sat down at the restaurant, I noticed Hunt’s ketchup on the table.  I always notice Hunt’s Ketsup when I see it. It all has to do with Phil. Phil was a good friend who proofread my book. He was a stickler for proper words and English. One day he noticed something out of place on Hunt’s ketchup bottle on their table (see photo). 

 The average person would not catch this, so I guess I’m an average person :) As you look at the word Hunt’s on the bottle, you see a capital “H” followed by small case letters, “unt’s.” At the time he was looking at the bottle, he saw a capital “H,” followed by a capital “U” and then a small case “nt’s.” A small case “u” has that little squiggly in the lower right of the letter. The older bottles had the “u” without the squiggly, making it a capital. Well, Phil could not let this happen, so he wrote to Hunt’s company to inform them of their fo pau. Eventually, they changed it. We have my friend, Phil, to thank for that. Now doesn’t that make you feel better?

Here is the second story. You notice the photo of me holding Hunt’s bottle. 

Now, look at the close-up of my face...go ahead, it won’t hurt too bad :) 

 Do you see that little nail sticking out from the bridge of my glasses? The glasses have little magnets that hold sunglass lenses. I had put my glasses on the top of my chest of drawers. As I picked them up to put on, I didn’t notice the nail until at the restaurant when my wife looked at me kind of funny and said, “Do you have something stuck to your glasses?” I hadn’t thought about it since I get some long eyebrow hairs hanging down. It was stuck to the magnet that holds on my sunglasses.  The first thing I did when I got home was to cut back my eyebrows!

I hope you enjoyed my two-for-one story today. Check back again. You never know what unusual things I will share. 

(C) 2023 Wally Johnston

THE CHRISTMAS BLENDER

The older you are, the more Christmas memories you have. I have a lot of Christmas memories. Please allow me to share a few with you.

My Johnston grandparents, George and Mattie, were married on Christmas Day, 1900 (okay, I wasn’t around for that, but please let me continue.). Travel was by horse and buggy, so entire families seldom got together...except for Christmas.

My grandparents' wedding Christmas Day, 1900

We probably think that Christmas Day would not be a good day for a wedding, but you can understand how it worked at the beginning of the 20^th century.

Some people are fortunate, or not so fortunate, to have been born on Christmas. The best man at my wedding is an example.

As a kid, I received exactly what I wanted from Santa, a double-decker car garage, including little cars. After a full day of playing with my new treasure, I put it on my bed and then dozed off to sleep. The next morning it was flattened! I forgot to mention my younger brother and I slept in bunk beds, me on top and Jim on the bottom. In the middle of the night, Jim had a dream and rolled off the bed and came crashing down on top of my new car garage! I wanted to hit him, but couldn’t very well punish him for such a thing. To this day I wonder if he really did do it on purpose. Oh well, love you, Bro!

My neighborhood friend had an Uncle Dick who came each year pretending to be Santa Claus for neighborhood children. If I recall, he was juiced up at the time, which made him hilarious.

Some memories of Christmas were also eventful, but not always in a good way. I served many years as a Law Enforcement Chaplain. I would see the darker side of families who probably shouldn’t have been together for the holiday. I’ve had to go to fatal accidents and then report to parents the deaths of their children. Others experience abandonment from family. I’m aware of someone whose father said, “I don’t ever want to bother with you again.” Some go through the agony of estrangement or illness.

You probably have your own stories. But mine have balanced out somewhat. When I was a young boy my Mom spent some time in the hospital for depression. My dad worked swing shifts, so I became his overseer. Christmas was fast approaching and we didn’t know if Mom would be able to take a leave from the hospital. On Christmas Eve I saw someone pull up in our drive. It was our pastor. He went around to the passenger side and opened up the door...for our Mother! That was the best Christmas gift I ever had, even better than that car garage.

I close with this memory. In 1996, my wife and I went with a church group to Israel. We went to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity. As we descended into that small cave under the floor of the church, we stood by the place that tradition says is the birthplace of the Lord Jesus Christ! 

The birthplace of Jesus Christ

You may never get to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, but you can still experience it, every time you have a new birth among your family and friends. Every birth is a fresh start, a new beginning. 

“Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (The Message Translation).

How does God give us that fresh start to become a new person? The answer is a call to the manger. That gift overcame all brokenness, and estrangement from others and God, and provides eternal life itself.

Fake Thanksgiving News Uncovered By Native Americans (Updated)

William White

This will be the first Thanksgiving I’ll celebrate knowing that my 10th great-grandfather, William White, was a Mayflower passenger and signed the Mayflower Compact.  He died that first winter, so my 10Th great-grandmother was there for the first celebration.

There is a lot of fake news we learned in school that wasn’t accurate about that so-called “First Thanksgiving.”  Here is what I learned from the Wampanoag, the Indians who helped the Pilgrims.

“…most people do not know about the first Thanksgiving because the Wampanoag and Pilgrims did not sit down for a big turkey dinner and it was not an event that the Wampanoag knew about or were invited to in advance.” (Tim Turner, Cherokee, manager of Plimoth Plantation’s Wampanoag Homesite.)

The Pilgrims sent out four hunters in the morning who brought back an abundance of fowl (could have been turkey, but who knows).  Besides feasting, the men had target practice with their flintlocks.  The natives were alerted and set out to ensure the Pilgrims were not under attack.  That was when the Wampanoag invited or co-hosted themselves to the festivities.  Massasoit, the Chief, sent out a team who brought back five deer to add to the meal.  Fortunately, he did, because the number of Indians was two to three times the size of the settlers.

The food included venison, seafood, waterfowl (not to mention of turkey), maize bread, pumpkin (not pumpkin pie), and other squash.

The natives later did not look at Thanksgiving as a celebration, but as a day of mourning because of their treatment at the hands of the white man.

“At noon on every Thanksgiving Day, hundreds of Native people from around the country gather at Cole's Hill, which overlooks Plymouth Rock, for the National Day of Mourning. It is an annual tradition started in 1970 when Wampanoag Wamsutta (Frank) James was invited by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to give a speech at an event celebrating the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival and then disinvited after the event organizers discovered his speech was one of outrage over the “atrocities” and “broken promises” his people endured.”

Frank James was supposed to address the crowd at the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival, but the organizers learned what he would share from the Indian perspective. They canceled him.  The message he was supposed to give contained this statement:

“This action by Massasoit was perhaps our biggest mistake. We, the Wampanoag, welcomed you, the white man, with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end.”

 

I certainly understand their feelings, but I have learned that it’s best to not look back at all of the injustice done to us.  Letting go of the injustice in my life has freed me to enjoy life better.  Take, for example, my friend Donna.  She is Japanese American and was born in a relocation camp that the government were so kind to set up after telling them they had to leave their homes and businesses within six days.  These were American citizens who were unjustly treated.  Many of the Nisai Japanese were bitter over their plight.  Donna’s parents  tried to put a positive spin on things and make the best of the situation.  After their release, the family had to start over again.  They worked hard and were steller American citizens.  Donna and all of her siblings went to college, earned degrees, and had a career. 

As I was watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, I saw a float made by the Wapanoag Indian tribe whose ancestors had to put up with the mistreatment of the white man at Plymoth.  The chiefs were smiling and waving at the crowd.  Apparently not all Wapenoag descendants view the Plymouth setters in the same way.  Some forgave and moved on.  This is not to say we should ignore injustice, but as time passes, we do ourselves a favor by forgiving and living a productive life.

Regardless of what historical view we have of Thanksgiving, the idea is for us to be grateful for what we have.  I know I am.