The Great Bean Caper

“A righteous man who walks in his integrity, how blessed are his sons after him.” (Proverbs 20:7)

Growing up is a tough job, but now that I am raising children of my own, I believe that helping a child to grow up is much tougher. I thought that discipline was harder when I was on the receiving end, but I understand now that discipline is much more than thoughtless spanking or grounding…it takes wisdom to know what to do & when to do it…as in the case of “The Great Bean Caper”.

When I was a small tyke, about knee high to a grasshopper…whatever that means, my dad would take my brother & me to “Moore King Hardware” in our hometown of Oxford. My brother & I loved going to the hardware store. It was one of those old stores, that had the wood floors that creaked with ever step & it had a distinct smell, kind of a light musty smell, I guess a nostalgic smell, because to this day if that scent hits me, it takes me back to that store or my granddad’s shed, both kind of smelled the same. While dad shopped for…whatever he shopped for, my brother & I would play in the beans. There were five gallon buckets down the middle of the store filled with all different kinds of dried beans, you could scoop out the amount that you needed & they’d weigh them out. I always liked to just stick my hands down in a bucket & pick up a hand full & just let them filter through my fingers back into the bucket…why…I don’t know…I guess it’s because we didn’t have video games when I was that age. 

Now the story of “The Great Bean Caper” was a little before my time, but every time I saw those beans, I remembered the story & it has stuck with me throughout my life. The caper took place before I was born or just around that time. My older brother had accompanied my dad to this hardware store where he of course stopped to play with the beans while my dad picked up the items he needed. After checking out, my dad & brother returned home, but not long after arriving & walking inside, my brother pulled out a hand full of dried beans from his coat pocket, beans that my dad knew they had not paid for. It all came down to a game my brother had learned at school or somewhere called…oddly enough…“beans”. Though my brother was young & had no idea that he had just pulled off the crime of the century for that small hardware store, my dad did something that would remain in his mind & mine forever. My dad took the beans & little Chuck "sticky fingers” Mason back to “Moore King”, where my brother would have to go in, give back the “hot” beans & apologize for the class 4 misdemeanor that he had committed…all of which he did with my dad standing right beside him. For my brother I’m sure it was embarrassing, but a very good lesson, that would shape & mold not only him, but myself as well, forever.

To this day I have never seen my dad take advantage of another person. I’ve seen him taken advantage of, not foolishly like he had no idea it was happening, but willingly, in order to keep the peace. 

I may have been rebellious & at times seemed as though I didn’t soak up anything my dad said, truth be known, what I didn’t soak up from his words of wisdom, I was overfilled with as I viewed & still do view his actions, & have been blessed for it.

“The best way to teach character is to have it around the house”

(unknown)

Vern

You Can’t Please Everyone

An ancient story is told about a father & his son who were walking along a road one day with their donkey. Soon they met a man who told them how foolish they were to walk when they had a donkey that could be ridden. So the father & son hopped on.

They hadn’t gone far when another man criticized them for both riding on the donkey. They were too heavy for it, he contended, & were being inhumane. So the boy got off.

It wasn’t long before a third traveler accused the father of being inconsiderate because he made his son walk while he rode, so the two switched places.

Soon they met another person who charged that the son was not being thoughtful of his father, who was so much older than he.

When last seen, the two were trudging down the road carrying the donkey.

We often find ourselves in bad situations, when we try to please everyone. We find ourselves frustrated when we try to put a smile on everyone’s face. There are times when some, no matter what you do, will be upset with you.
There was a song years ago call “Garden Party” by Rick Nelson. In the song he states that “You can’t please everyone, so you gotta please yourself”. The statement has a little truth to it. There is no way to please everyone, but you can please the main One & be just fine, that main “One”, not being “yourself”…but God.

Paul wrote “For me, to live is Christ!” He was more concerned with pleasing Christ than just living life, he knew that truly enjoying & living life could only be accomplished in a life devoted to Christ & His will. He knew that we were ultimately accountable to God, “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4)



Vern

Peepsology

“O taste and see that the LORD is good…”
(Psalm 34:8)

I truly enjoy springtime, green grass, blooming trees, baseball, people out in their yards sprucing up & most importantly Easter. I love Easter...a time to remember what God did for the world, when He gave His Son. I also love Easter for another reason…nowhere near as important as the death, burial & resurrection of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, but it still warms my heart…the return of “Peeps”. I stinkin’ love Peeps! You what? You don’t know what a Peep is? It’s only the best candy that has ever been made…the fresher the better. Peeps are sugar covered marshmallow nuggets of amazing wonder. Peeps are great, not only do they taste great, but they come in different Easter colors like pink & yellow (yellow holding the best in the flavor category). They also come in two different shapes, a bunny & a chick…which looks more like a blob than it does a chick, but no matter, they are heaven sent.

I remember when I was young & my brother & I would get our Easter baskets early in the morning before heading to church & just after opening them, the trading would begin. The best trade that took place every year was his Peeps, for my fruit filled, chocolate egg. UHGGGGG… I hated the fruit filled chocolate egg! I don’t know who made them, but fruit & chocolate just don’t go together, but I was lucky, I had a big brother who would eat anything & he loved those nasty eggs & he wasn’t too fond of Peeps (he got that from my mom, she says they are like eating marshmallows covered in sand). This trade always resulted in an over abundance of Peeps for me…which usually left me nauseous during Sunday school.

Now I may not know much, but I know my Peeps & if someone came up to me while I was enjoying a fresh, delicious pack of Peeps & said, “There is no such thing as a Peep, Peeps aren’t real, I don’t believe in Peeps & if there was such a thing as a Peep…it wouldn’t be any good.” I would have to beg to differ with them. I just tasted them; the proof of their existence is inside me. I can vouch for the Peep, not only are they real…but they are in the words of “Tony the Tiger” “Their GGGGGGreat!

No matter how hard you argue against Christ, I know He’s real, Acts 5:32 says that “we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." I know that salvation isn’t just a fuzzy feeling, but I know that the Holy Spirit is real because He lives in me. I’ve experienced God’s goodness; I have tasted & seen that He is good. The proof…is in me.

Learn More About Peeps!


Vern

"Slippery Conscious"

“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”
(Romans 3:20)

Sitting in one of our local restaurants Saturday evening, with a hand full of peanuts waiting on a table to become available, we watched customers walking in & out of the lobby. They were all sorts of people, short tall, large, thin, young, old, hungry & full. Some were dressed-up others were dressed down, some came in, in groups, others were alone. There were all different races & genders; there were families & friends…even some that didn’t get along. Some people were working, others were there to relax. No matter what they were there for, who they were or even how they were dressed, they all had the same problem… walking in or out of the front door.

It had been raining all day & just inside the lobby it was very wet, which made it very slick, the peanut hulls that I was throwing on the floor didn’t help the matter at all. But everyone who walked in slipped, they were all just trying to get in or out of the door, but all would hit that slick spot & they would start to dance, kind of a “James Brown” sort of dance.

While watching these people, I noticed a “Caution, floors are wet” sign folded up in the corner, back behind the door. I told my son to go get it & put it up in the lobby before someone breaks their neck. I realized that something happened when people saw that sign. If they were coming in or going out, no matter who they were, they became very cautious & kind of shuffled their feet over the wet floors in an attempt to not fall down. It made them more cautious & made me think of Romans 3. In the 20th verse it states that through the Law or the Ten Commandments, we become conscious of our sin. I believe in our land today that we are seeing the effects of a world that is becoming less & less conscious of its sin. Just like those people who were not conscious of the wet floor & needed a sign to show them how to walk, we too need a “sign” a law to show us what sin is or to show us the danger ahead.

We do need to realize that the Law can not save us, I heard a pastor once say, that the Ten Commandments is like a bathroom mirror, it shows us that smug on our face, but it can’t wash it away, only the sink below can do that. But once we see our sin through God’s law, then we can come to Him for cleansing, by accepting Christ as Savior & Lord.

Have you accepted Christ, as your Lord & Savior? If not, Click on the links to the top right of this page & find out about God’s plan of salvation & what it means to have a relationship with Him.

Vern

"Limited Liberty"

“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.”
(1 Corinthians 10:23-24)

After I accepted Christ at age 20, I struggled with smoking for a few years after. Is smoking wrong? You know the Bible doesn’t say that smoking is wrong, it does tell us in 1 Corinthians 6:19, that we are the “temple” of the Holy Spirit, but it doesn’t say that we can’t smoke or use tobacco. To go a little farther I was listening to Rick & Bubba the other day & Rick made a statement that the Bible doesn’t say that Drinking is wrong it says that drunkenness is. He went on to say that for some, who are of age, when they drink if they do not come to the point of drunkenness then they are not breaking the worldly law & are not Biblically wrong. But if they go into drunkenness, they are breaking both.

Back to my smoking story, I struggled with smoking after I accepted Christ, wondering if it was okay for me or was I in conflict with God. I felt convicted & did read the verses above, but as a new Christian, I remembered seeing one thing that made me really confused…I remember some deacons that I looked up to & thought of as men of God, that while I was growing up, they would be standing out front of the church smoking. Now I’m not saying that this wasn’t something that they were struggling with or that they weren’t right with God, that’s something that I couldn’t know…I’m not God. But the image was burned into my mind & made me, in my struggle, again, very confused.

I did stop smoking, but I started using tobacco in other forms, like dipping & chewing. This is where the verses 23 & 24 of 1 Corinthians really came to play a huge part in my life. I dipped & chewed for about three years after I quite smoking. During that time I helped teach the Royal Ambassadors at our church, that is the 1st thru 6th grade boys, it’s kind of a Christian Boy Scouts, where we taught missions. We would have class for about 30 minutes & then allow them to go outside & play for the last 30. While I was out with them one Wednesday evening, of course with a pinch between my cheek & gum, the Lord slapped an image in my head that broke my heart. I knew that dipping & chewing was very unhealthy, heck I watched a dude who had lost some of his bottom jaw & chin & had nothing but a small pile of skin sown in it’s place. He was giving a speech about the dangers of tobacco use…& he could barley talk. The image God placed in my mind was of me…in the place of those puffing deacons & one of those kids in the place of that dude who lost his chin & some of his bottom jaw. This verse at that point & time came to mind. Even if the use of tobacco was Biblically okay (I’m not at all convinced that it is, the addiction & health risks show that), I was by my actions leading those kids to believe that dipping was fine. I’m nothing great, but I still know that some of those boys looked up to me, if for nothing else other than me being an adult. I thought, what if one of those boys starts doing this filthy habit that I wish I could quite & ends up with cancer or dead. I stopped & never looked back.

There are things that I believe are in the gray area. Now I’m not talking about things like abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, lying, gossiping, ect…these things are said to be wrong point blank. But when you look at things like smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, ect… things that Biblically are not spread out in plain English as being wrong or okayed. But does that mean that they are right? I’m not writing today to say I know without a doubt, but I do know one thing… “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.”

Romans 14:21 goes a little farther to say that, “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” Now your brother would be another Christian, he maybe a new Christian or maybe a weaker one. We want to be careful not to be a stumbling block for anyone, especially our brothers in Christ.

But why should I have to rearrange my life because others have a problem with it? “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” God’s word tells me to do that very thing, put others before myself. I’m not talking about those who are just out there looking to cause a problem, the ones that would pitch a fit if you didn’t pick your nose just right. But those who would be devastated & may even be lead astray if they saw you doing something in question. For example, I teach 9th grade boys Sunday school, am a deacon & speak at an occasional youth event. Let’s say that I’m out to eat & decide to have a beer. Now, let’s say that this is the only time I ever drink & it’s just one, I don’t even plan on having one for another year. But while I’m sitting there with my drink in hand, one of the youth that I teach walks in & from across the restaurant notices me with a beer in my hand, now the next time that he is out with his buddies & he is offered a beer, where do you think his mind will go…that’s right straight to Ol’ Vern with a beer in his hand… “Is it okay to drink?” he’ll think sure, my Sunday school teacher was & he’s following God. See the problem?
I don’t have to have a beer, so I don’t. If I’m drinking it for the taste, tea or Coke is much better.

With all this I’m not trying to come in & lay down a burden of law on us, we are no longer under law, but we do have a responsibility to live in a way that glorifies God & helps others to follow Him. We need to be leaving stepping stones behind everywhere we go…not stumbling blocks. But again these things are between you & God, I have no doubt that if you ask Him to show you what to keep & what to let go of, that He will give you clarity in what you should do.

Vern

Love "Reality" Style

“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
(Revelation 2:4)

Struggling with my manly side last week while watching the Blahhhhchelor, I found myself excited about the last rose, & when he handed it to the little black headed girl that looked like Beaver Cleaver in the face, I stood up & did a little victory dance in the living room…I didn’t like the blonde, she seemed like she would be the high maintenance type & snotty…does my actions disturb only me?
I promised myself after last year’s show that I wasn’t going to get into this years show…but I did. I mean, it’s really a goofy show, anyone can feel happy, romantic & in love hanging out in the places & doing the things that they get to do. It’s only when they get back to the real world that they see the “reality” show, ain’t so real.

In the case of the bachelor in this seasons show, he seemed to have found out this little nugget of knowledge. Of course you already know that he picked Theodore Cleaver & proposed, but then when the show was over they had another show called “The Bachelor ‘After the Final Rose”, were they usually bring out the happy couple & show you how they are doing together, but this time it was more like an episode of Jerry Springer. The bachelor came out & told this girl (Beaver Cleaver), that he was wrong when he thought that he was in love with her. Then after she stormed off, they brought on the other girl that he dumped on the regular show & he told her that he was wrong when he thought that he didn’t love her & now he loves her…confusing huh? In all this confusion, I really came to realize something…people seem to have no understanding of real LOVE. Love for most is an “all about me” thing. It’s just a funny, butterfly feeling in their stomach when they really like someone. But what happens when that feeling isn’t there, when times are tough & there’s no tropical beach to run on or room service & limos? What happens? Just exactly what happened on that show, they start believing that they fell out of love & at times end up in divorce, adultery or both.

Jesus told the church in Ephesus that they had done good things in their actions, but there was one problem, one thing that he had against them…that they had forgotten their first or most important love, their love for Him. This was going to make all the good deeds worthless, if they didn’t have a love for Christ, the kind of love that makes you want to spend time with Him, learn more about Him & live for Him. I’m afraid that in our society, we are trying to “love” God as they do on the “reality” shows, love Him only when things are going good & we feel as though we are up on the mountaintop.

This last Sunday we had a few guest speakers, one missionary & two young men from the Sudan, who are here now attending college, with plans to take their education back to the Sudan & start a Christian school. Long story short, one of the young men told a story of their worship services in the Sudan. He told how they would dig foxholes around where they would meet, because of the Islamic/Muslim soldiers who would flyover & drop bombs on the area during their services. When they would hear the planes, they would all climb into the foxholes. When the bombing was over, they would all climb back out & continue with their worship service & praising God for his protection. The whole time he was speaking, he had this wonderful glowing smile on his face…you couldn’t help but see that he love God.

During the time that he was sharing about the joy they had in Christ, in the midst of all that war & plain terror, I couldn’t help but think of how I laid out of Church the Sunday before…because it was snowing. Not a travel advisory, impassable roads snowing, but Alabama snowing, an inch or two during the morning & melted away that evening. They worshiped during bombings & the fear of death. I skipped because of laziness & the thought that most churches might call it off today.

I’ve come to realize that love, is much more than what we say & what we feel, it truly is a lifestyle, an honest “Agape” kind of love…the only true love.

“YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD…” (Luke 10:27)

Vern

P.S.

Thought I was just kidding didn't you? Could be brother & sister.