Top Ten Things I Loved About Texas

 

I have now been enjoying Tampa for four years now. When I first moved here I wanted to write my memoirs about living in Texas for ten years. It was just too long so instead I would just like to share a top ten list about some of my favorite memories of the Lonestar state.

 

Top Ten Things I Like About Texas

 

 

1.     The People. I am not saying this just because it sounds good but because it is true. The people made me feel loved and special. They always went the extra mile for me. When my car was down and I asked them for a ride to the car rental place, they loaned me their car instead. There was this one lady who, when she noticed I was working late at the church office would stop by and bring me dinner. The list goes on and on. In short, whenever a hurricane hits Tampa, (God forbid) I won’t be evacuating to the Superdome or Astrodome, I will be at a friend’s house in Texas (or Oklahoma or Tennessee or ….).

2.     Braums Ice Cream Stores!  As much as I love Tampa one thing Tampa does not have are nice clean comfortable ice cream stores. Dairy Queen and Baskin Robins are no match for Braums. Braums has great ice cream (real ice cream, not soft serve) delicious food and are very clean with a nice atmosphere. It was a great place to hang out after prayer meeting or to take the kids from church, or just stop in and grab something for myself. I loved dipping their French fries into my root beer freeze.

3.     Quick Trips. Quick Trips are the greatest convenience stores ever. They are very clean with a very wide variety of items. They have the best selection of fountain drinks and snacks, including fresh donuts, and their gasoline is guaranteed. Sorry 7-11s and Hess Expresses don’t come close. I loved Quick Trips in Tulsa where they originated and they finally made it down to Fort Worth and Dallas before I moved away. Now I am waiting for them to come to Tampa. I know a convenient store may sound like a strange thing to miss. Being an L.E., deliver driver, and Bible Worker I have spent a lot of time on the road, and when you spend a lot of time on the road convenience stores become a big part of your day.

4.     TCU Basketball. When I first moved to Fort Worth/Dallas from Tulsa the first thing I looked forward to, was going to all the major league games. However after a baseball strike and basketball strike I found myself going to the TCU college basketball games instead. The parking was free and closer to the arena. The tickets were cheaper and closer to the court. The games were exciting as TCU had one of the top basketball teams at the time. The games also did not last as long as the NBA games, thus easier to fit into my schedule. The atmosphere was comfortable and homey. I miss TCU sports more than the Cowboys, Rangers, Stars and Mavericks put together.

5.     Taco Mayos and Taco Buenos. These are fast food Mexican restaurants that are way better than Taco Bells. Taco Bell is the only choice you have for fast Mexican food in Tampa. I can live with that. As a matter of fact I think I will go to Taco Bell now.  Okay I am back now.

6.      UPS. While I was working in Texas as a Bible Worker I thought I was a pretty good Christian. However, when I had to get a job at UPS I found my character being tested and tried in ways it never was while I was just sitting in Peoples living rooms reading the Bible. UPS did a lot for my character and self-esteem. UPS was a hard demanding job and it felt good to know I could handle it and even become a supervisor. I also felt better about myself as I had a “real job” and was putting money into the church while not taking my salary out of it. UPS was an athletic type job and I loved the challenges. I always left work feeling like I had really accomplished something. At UPS I learned organizational skills and how to multi task and manage time better. I think these skills may make me a better Bible Worker today than I ever was before I went to UPS.

7.     Bass Hall and the Fort Worth Symphony. While in Fort Worth I turned over a new leaf and started listening to classical music. I liked listening to music while on the computer but the lyrics would distract me from what I was reading. So I listened to classical musical which had no lyrics. Then I met a friend who was into classical music and started going to Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth. I found the symphony cheaper than ball games, and unlike sports, no one loses at a classical music concert, which I found refreshing after 30 years of being a Texas Rangers fan. My lady friends were also more prone to go with me to a symphony than a ball game. I have been to the symphony here several times and it is very nice but the music halls they play in do not compare to Bass Hall. I have also been to several concerts in the park which are nice. Its funny, in Fort Worth the concerts were inside and the ballgames were outside. But here with a domed baseball stadium and concerts in the park, the concerts are outside and the ballgames are inside. Just goes to show there are several ways to do things, not just one way. WRR is the first radio station in Dallas and plays classical music. I still listen to it today over the Internet.

8.     Doug and Donna Bolan’s Hot Tub.  Doug and Donna, good friends of mine from church lived out in the country in Springtown. They had a pool and hot tub. Several evenings after prayer meetings and board meetings and some Saturday Nights we would go hang out in the hot tub with a nice cold drink. We would dip back and forth from the hot tub and the pool. It was especially fun in the winter. Even if it was freezing I would jump in the pool first and then get right out and jump in the hot tub. It gave us a great sensation. Some said it was like being high but how would I know?

9.     The Back Roads. Being a Bible Worker for three different churches at the same time I traveled through a lot of small towns and old highways and back roads. I loved it.

10.                         Famous Landmarks.  I am a history buff so I feasted on everything from the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells to the JFK museum in Dallas. Gave up trying to find Oswald’s grave at Rose Hill Cemetery though.

 

                                                                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nightmare on the Golf Course

 

Tom and I golfing in Chattanooga. 

I so wanted everything to be perfect. That is the golf match last week between me and an ole college buddy. Last time we played together was Christmas Eve on a course in the Chattanooga Mountains. I scored a 137 in the mountains that day and we did not even have time to finish all 18 holes! But now, five months later, I have been practicing every week on my day off as well as golfing with my church’s small golf group. I have been going online and reading tips and watching instructional videos. I have paid for private lessons and those are not cheap! After five months of practice, effort and dedication I thought I was beginning to get my game under control. I was excited about meeting my friend Tom for a re-match in Chattanooga. I felt confident, as I was more experienced now, and we would be on a course this time that was not in the mountains. I was looking forward to impressing my friend on the golf course.

 

Imagine how my confidence went up a notch when Tom told me he had not played since our last meeting five months ago. I thought surely my five months of hard work would pay off. The rest of this story is a total nightmare. The first hole was a par 4 and I made it in 8. Not exactly what I had planned. Even though I get an 8 every now and then, I was sure I had gotten my “bad hole” out of the way, and I would sail through the rest of the course. Wrong! That day I scored an 8 seven times! On a par 5 I scored a 10! What I had been looking forward to on the entire 9 hour trip up was now turning ugly for me! Meanwhile my friend Tom who had not even played or practiced all year was cruising along just fine.

 

The worse I play the more frustrated I get and then I play even worse. I would get frustrated every time I had a bad hit and would yell at myself, “William!” I then realized I did not need to broadcast my name to the entire golf course while playing so badly. We decided that we could do no more than double par. So on one hole that was par 4, 8 would be the maximum number of strokes I could take to make it. I was at stroke number 8 while still in the middle of the fairway, nowhere close to the green yet! I yelled out to Tom across the fairway, “I am in the middle of the fairway and already have 8 strokes!” Once again I realized I did not need to be broadcasting my misfortune to the entire golf world.

 

On the next fairway I had a great start! I was on track to make par when I hit into a sand trap next to the green. If I could just hit out of the trap onto the green I could still make par. That never happened as my next 4 strokes never left the sand trap. I was so frustrated I did something I have never done before. I threw my golf club into the sand in disgust! I had just planned a vacation and traveled 9 hours just to make a fool out of myself! At least I was gentleman enough to sincerely congratulate Tom, who easily made par on the same hole. He even mentioned how amazingly easy all of his shots just fell perfectly into place. Hhhmmpphh!! Why me Lord? Why can’t I be like Tom? I try so hard! The whole day was not a complete disaster. Besides enjoying a beautiful day with a long time friend, I did get par on the last hole which was a par 5. In the end though, my friend who has not even been practicing beat me by 16 strokes! I practiced hard for 5 months only to get beat by 16 strokes by someone who has not practiced at all!

 

I hid my frustration well, (besides throwing my golf club into the sand) but was very disappointed that I had nothing to show for all my hard work. Then I remembered reading something in the Spirit of Prophecy years ago. It was to the effect that while some people may have a lot of flaws in their characters, some of them are trying harder to live a Christian life than some of the so called polished Christians. I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me; “William you are frustrated that Tom saw no evidence of your hard work and effort on the golf course. Meanwhile you are studying and associating with people all around you who are really trying hard to be better Christians, even though it may not look like it to you. Some of the people you get discouraged with are actually putting more effort into their Christian walk than you are putting into yours.” Then I remembered how easily Tom’s par came to him on the same fairway that I failed on, even though I was trying very hard. I realized what I had experienced on the golf course, many struggling Christians are experiencing in real life. Just like I would try my best to do everything right and make the perfect shot, I was missing the mark by a mile. Likewise, just because people miss the mark in the Christian life does not mean God does not know they are trying, maybe even trying harder than the polished Christians.

 

I got the message. I decided instead of being discouraged over my nightmare on the golf course, that I would use this experience as a reminder to be patient with others who are making all kinds of mistakes in the game of life. Just like I wished my golf buddy could have looked past my three digit score, and seen into my heart, and known what I was actually trying to accomplish, I will assume that those around me are trying harder to be a Christian than it may appear to me.

 

When I got home I looked for and found the quote I was thinking about earlier. Here it is from Testimonies Volume 2 page 74 in the chapter called, “Love for the erring.” I recomend reading the entire chapter! “While some are continually harassed, afflicted, and in trouble because of their unhappy traits of character, having to war with internal foes and the corruption of their nature, others have not half so much to battle against. They pass along almost free from the difficulties which their brethren and sisters who are not so favorably organized are laboring under. In very many cases they do not labor half so hard to overcome and live the life of a Christian as do some of those unfortunate ones I have mentioned.”

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Single People Are Kind of Like Real People

I don’t usually make a big deal either way about being single. I don’t think of myself as a “single person”, I just think of myself as a “person”.  While I have heard other single people complain about married people treating them differently, I can only count on one hand the number of married people who have treated me differently because of my single status.  98% of the people I come in contact with treat me no differently than if I was married.

 

In relation to the topic of celibacy in this week’s SS lesson, I contemplated writing a blog about being single, but decided against it. Then I ran across a statement in Friday’s section of this week’s lesson that I really took exception to, and decided to write something. Here is the statement that I found not only to be unbiblical but also offensive. “Celibacy is not the ordinary, normal state, and it is a deception of the devil that, of itself, it can lead to a superior state of holiness than would otherwise be possible. Among the Jews celibacy was frowned upon or pitied, and it was practiced only by extreme ascetic groups such as the Essenes. . . . The Scripture record states specifically that Peter was married, and probably the other disciples were as well. . . . Jesus never recommended celibacy, either for Christians as a whole or for Christian leaders. It is not natural, and does not contribute to the development of a symmetrical character in the way that normal married life can.

“The words of our Lord (in Matt. 19:12), if understood literally, would run counter to the whole tenor of Scripture. The idea of bodily mutilation is abhorrent. It seems proper to see this statement as analogous to Christ’s declaration in Matthew 5:30 (about cutting off an offending limb)”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 455, 456

 

Okay, I agree that celibacy is not the norm. I also totally agree that being single does not make you more holy. (Of course being married does not make you more holy either.) Yes, the Scriptures tell us that Peter was married. However the scriptures also tell us Paul was not married at the time of his ministry and even more so Jesus was never married. So- are Paul and Jesus unnatural misfits? The quote says that Jesus never recommended celibacy. I (and many other Bible students married and unmarried) totally disagree.  While Jesus and the scriptures never forbade marriage, Jesus and Paul both have given us enough counsel to see that celibacy has many spiritual advantages. (Matthew 19:12, 1 Corinthians 7)

Satan always takes things God says to extremes. For example Satan suggested to Eve that God told her she could not eat of “any” of the trees when in reality He only told her not to eat from one. While the Bible clearly suggests that it is good for some people not to marry, the Bible never forbade marriage and even warns us in 1 Timothy 4 that the antichrist would be the one who forbids marriage. Clearly extremism is to be avoided. No one has to get married and no one has to remain single.

I will gladly admit that being married can and should lead one to be a better Christian, and also admit that being single is a very convenient way to be selfish. There is no one as free as a single adult. You answer to neither spouse nor parent. You just do whatever you want whenever you want. (Now in my case add to this that even my job is really not a job but rather my passion. So I have no one in my world telling me what to do other than my boss who just tells me to do what I want to do anyway! I can not begin to describe what a wonderful feeling that is!). While marriage calls for self sacrifice there are many wonderful single Christians who crucify self every day while there are many married people who never think of their spouse or children. While many people say that you have to be married to understand what it takes to make a marriage work, I totally disagree. I do know exactly what it takes to make a marriage work and maybe that is why I have chosen to remain single to this point in my life. On the other hand you have married people who are married only because they did not know what it took, or they found their wedding vows to be too inconvenient. I know of many single people who have sacrificed to care for the needs of neglected children who are not their own, even though they never made a vow to. There are many single aunts and uncles, “big brothers” and “big sisters” out there who will never get a Father’s Day or Mother’s Day card though they are quite deserving of one.

There are those who believe an elder must be married to give counsel to families. While I have never been a husband or father, I have been a son, brother, uncle, nephew and grandson. So I have been in a family and I do know how families work. Also please don’t slaughter Paul’s counsel to Timothy to mean that you have to be married to be an elder. As 98% of Bible scholars clearly understand, Paul simply meant no more than one wife. Not that you must have one wife. Is ones ability to be a spiritual leader dependant upon being married or being anointed by the Lord? I had someone tell me once that I could not be an elder because Paul says that an elder must rule well his own home. Well I do rule my own home well, by not marrying anyone who would corrupt my home. I heard someone say once that I could not be an elder because I can’t counsel with married people because I don’t know what it is like to be married. So if married elders are the only ones who can help married people then wouldn’t single elders be the only ones who could help single people? But single people don’t need or deserve elders who understand them? Only married people deserve elders who can relate to them? See what happens when we slaughter Paul’s teachings? The logic just gets more and more absurd.

 

Okay now I am going to talk about an obvious issue here- sex. Single people long for intimacy just like everyone else. However not all sex is intimacy and not all intimacy has to be sex. As a matter of fact I read a book once about sexual purity that stated that many people will have sex to avoid intimacy! Intimacy takes place in the mind and heart, not the sex organs. Getting naked together does not make you intimate until you have shared your heart and mind.  I know married people who are still very lonely and some even celibate. In the 5^th volume of the Testimonies Ellen White writes of a man who had sexual issues that not even marriage could cure. Marriage is not the sole solution for intimacy.  Neither is marriage necessarily the solution for sexual desires.

 

What I long for is a woman that I can sit and talk with for hours while it only seems like a few moments. A few years ago, I lost a friend to breast cancer, who had a double mastectomy. When I started visiting her in the hospital, we quickly became friends and could talk and laugh together easily. I really enjoyed her company and while I don’t know what was going on in her mind, the day she died, she told me that she really wished we could have known each other longer here on earth. I’m not sure, but it seemed she was implying that she may have liked me for more than just a friend. If she had lived, the fact that she didn’t have a perfect body would not have gotten in the way of our relationship. She and I could talk together forever, and I loved every moment with her. Please understand that marriage does not guarantee intimacy and being celibate does not prevent it. 

The Bible condones marriage or celibacy. Married people can be beautiful Christians, and their marriages can be a living example of what a true self sacrificing Christian ought to be. On the other hand single people can be very devoted to their families, church families and most of all to Jesus.

I really appreciated the last men’s ministry convention I attended. For years our church’s preaching and teaching has centered around married people and the message to single people has been, “Listen to this message – it will help you when you get married.” But this time, while they talked about married men and their ministry to their family, instead of telling us single guys that we could apply these teachings later when we get married, they taught us how to apply them now to our church family and our friends who are all around us. They emphasized that even though we are single, we make a significant impact on the lives around us today. They treated us like we were real people!

What a contrast to the Valentine’s banquet I attended in another state around ten years ago. Several of us singles sat at a table while the emcee spent the evening recognizing married couples and their accomplishments. That is all well and fine, after all it was a Valentine’s banquet, what do you expect? The problem came at the end when the emcee tried to “console” us single people by telling us even though we were single, we were still “kind of like real people.”

Thank you to the 98% who treat me like a real person even though I have chosen to remain single up to this point in my life. Thank you for letting me live my life as a “person” instead of a “single person.” To all I pray these thoughts will be enlightening and a blesssing in your christian walk and fellowship. 

Below are several quotes from the Spirit of Prophecy relating to marriage and singleness in the last days. I pray they are a blessing to you.

Ellen G. White Estate

The Adventist Home (1952), page 68, paragraph 1, Chapter Title: Forbidden Marriages;

Counsels for the Church (1991), page 123, paragraph 1, Chapter Title: Chapter 19 – Marry Not an Unbeliever

The believer thus makes a sacrifice for Christ which his conscience approves, and which shows that he values eternal life too highly to run the risk of losing it. He feels that it would be better to remain unmarried than to link his interest for life with one who chooses the world rather than Jesus, and who would lead away from the cross of Christ.

 

Letters to Young Lovers (1983), page 81, paragraph 4, Chapter Title: Section Seven – Shadow Over the Nest

The believer thus makes a sacrifice for Christ which his conscience approves, and which shows that he values eternal life too highly to run the risk of losing it. He feels that it would be better to remain unmarried than to link his interest for life with one who chooses the world rather than Jesus.

The Kress Collection (1985), page 129, paragraph 5

Brother and Sister Hickox are working in East Maitland. Brother and Sister Colcord are working in West Maitland. Sister Colcord, having a family, does not work much among the people. But it is altogether better to have married people in the work. Workers who are married can work to much greater advantage in the families they visit than can those who are unmarried.

 

Testimonies for the Church Volume Four (1876-1881), page 503, paragraph 3, Chapter Title: Unscriptural Marriages

We are living in the last days, when the mania upon the subject of marriage constitutes one of the signs of the near coming of Christ. God is not consulted in these matters. Religion, duty, and principle are sacrificed to carry out the promptings of the unconsecrated heart. There should be no great display and rejoicing over the union of the parties. There is not one marriage in one hundred that results happily, that bears the sanction of God, and places the parties in a position better to glorify Him. The evil consequences of poor marriages are numberless. They are contracted from impulse. A candid review of the matter is scarcely thought of, and consultation with those of experience is considered old-fashioned.

 

Testimonies for the Church Volume Four (1876-1881), page 515, paragraph 2, Chapter Title: The Cause at Battle Creek

There have been marriage relations formed in Battle Creek with which God has had nothing to do. Marriages have been ill-assorted in some cases, immature in others. Christ has warned us that this state of things would exist prior to His second appearing. It constitutes one of the signs of the last days. A similar state of things existed before the Flood. The minds of the people were bewitched upon the subject of marriage. When there is so much uncertainty, so great danger, there is no reason why we should make great parade or display, even if the parties were perfectly suited to each other; but that remains to be tested.

General Conference Daily Bulletin, February 6, 1893, paragraph 13, Article Title: Unpublished Testimony Relative to City Missions

“Many of the marriages contracted in these last days prove to be a mistake. The parties make no advancement in spiritual things; their growth and usefulness ended with their marriage. There are men and women throughout the country who would have been accepted as laborers together with God if Satan had not laid his snares to entangle their minds and hearts in courtship and marriage. Did the Lord urge them to obtain the advantages of our schools and missions, that they might sink everything in courtship and marriage, binding themselves by a human band for a lifetime? By accepting the work of rearing children in these last days of uncertainty and peril, many place themselves in a position where they cannot labor either in the canvassing field or in any other branch of the cause of God, and some lose all interest to do this. They are content with a common, low level, and assimilate to the position they have chosen. The bewitching power of Satan’s deceptions wrought within the human heart its evil work. Instead of candidly considering the time in which we live, and the work they might do in leading others to the truth, they reason from a selfish standpoint, and follow the impulse of their own unconsecrated hearts. “The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.” The natural appetites and passions become a controlling power, and the result is that spiritual growth ceases; the soul is, as it were, paralyzed.

 

Living by Principle (1898), page 28, paragraph 4

Many of the marriages contracted in these last days prove to be a mistake. The parties make no advancement in spiritual things; their growth and usefulness ended with their marriage. There are men and women throughout the country who would have been accepted as laborers together with God if Satan had not laid his snares to entangle their minds and hearts in courtship and marriage. Did the Lord urge them to obtain the advantages of our schools and missions that they might sink everything in courtship and marriage, binding themselves by a human band for a lifetime?

Please check out my studies and photos on my personal website!