Lightkeeper's Journal

Holy Week and the Love of a Savior

 

 

Photography and Article by Norma Beaird 

 

Holy Week and the Love of a Savior

 

Sunday, March 24, 2018, we celebrated Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week on the Christian Calendar.  Palm Sunday marked Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11).  As we enter into Holy Week, this is a time of great reflection for Christians all across the world. No matter your current situation.... No matter how stressful, fearful, sad or lonely your corner of the world may be right now, allow JESUS to touch your life by laying your hopes, fears, prayers and burdens at the feet of the cross.

JESUS CHRIST paid the ultimate price for our sins. He gave His life so that we may live free from the burden of sin and shame. He died so that we might have eternal life. He endured a heart-wrenching crucifixion so that we may be free from the worldly entrapments that keep us in bondage.  

As Isaiah 53:5 says, ".....and with His stripes we are healed".  We can be healed spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. The cross represents love, peace, healing and deliverance.

Let us be encouraged to seriously reflect upon where we are in our Christian walk with the Lord. Maybe you don't know JESUS as your personal Savior. Maybe you need to confess JESUS as your Lord and Savior and repent of your sins so that you may know the freedom of forgiveness. Forgiveness will free your mind, heart and soul.

Right now, we're living in a very tough and unforgiving world. People are more stressed than ever. People are rude, impatient and angry. They are dysfunctional and living in a spiritual fog, not knowing which way to turn for help. In other words, people need JESUS.

Isaiah 53:5 will reach deep into your soul and allow you to feel the love of a Savior Who wants to free you from the burdens of a sin-filled world. Money or material possessions will not save you or give you peace. Strong drink or drugs will not satisfy that void that lingers in your soul. A successful career will not give you eternal life in Heaven. Only JESUS can bring you the peace and contentment that you need to live in a world of chaos and confusion.

 

Isaiah 53: 5

"But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon Him;

and with His stripes we are healed."

 

This coming Holy Week, let us be constantly reminded of the love of JESUS and His sacrifice at Calvary. Let us continually be praying and reading scripture. Let us honor the Lord by attending church and participating in the Lord's Supper. Let us be examples of the love of Christ by having a heart of gratitude and reaching out to those in need. Let us be reminded every day that we need to praise Him, thank Him and serve Him with our "whole heart".

If you are not a Christian and you want to know a Savior who will love you more than you have ever been loved and Who will guide you and fill your life with joy, repent of your sins and confess JESUS as your Lord and Savior. He will change your life forever.

 

Romans 10: 9-10

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,

and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,

thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;

and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

 

 

Copyright 2018, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.

Lights on the Water

 

A Montgomery County, Georgia pond nestled in the trees  

 

Lights on the Water

 

Photography and Poem by Norma Beaird

 

In the cabin by the pond,
Looking out the window pane,
the light danced on the water,
on this chilly Georgia day. 

 

She moved back home from up North,
Leaving parties, clothes and cars,
to introduce herself to peace,
the birds, the moon and stars.

 

She found the peace in scripture,
and the faith in quiet prayer,
the freedom in the pine trees,
in the humid Georgia air. 

 

Her thoughts reclaimed in sunlight,
while the truth shined on her soul,
the lights danced on the water,
and the Lord had made her whole.

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

The Homestead

 

 

The Homestead

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

Poem by Norma Beaird

 

The goats and the roosters,

the ducks and the geese,

the hens and the guineas,

the fence and the trees.

 

The cabin and pasture,

the tractor and shed,

A day on the homestead,

with Mavis and Fred.  

 

Miss Mavis cooks biscuits,

while Fred milks the cows,

and gathers the hen eggs,

and pushes the plow.   

 

Their homestead is busy,

there's no time to waste,

The time's quickly changing,

and they must make haste.

 

They moved to the pine trees,

 and deep in the woods,

with oil lamps and cast iron,

and plenty of food.

 

 Their country is changing,

 and it's getting worse,

and freedom is riding,

in a long 'ole black hearse.

 

For freedom is dying,

and fear rides the wind,

the changes are coming,

and they're 'round the bend.

 

So Fred and Miss Mavis,

will homestead and farm,

and gather up hay bales,

for their weathered barn.

 

And they'll count their blessings,

and spend time in prayer,

while reading the scriptures,

in their rocking chairs.  

 

The times, they are changing,

but God's Word is true,

while skies may be stormy,

the Lord's sky is blue.

 

 So Fred and Miss Mavis,

will live free and dine,

when rich folks are losing,

their money and minds.

 

When freedom is buried,

and money is gone,

and chaos is reigning,

and life is all wrong.

 

Their homestead is quiet,

the table is spread,

with bounty and blessings,

the family is fed.

 

Like Fred and Miss Mavis,

let's trust God today,

and cling to His promise,

and He'll make a way.  

 

The times may be changing,

but cast fear aside,

Prepare and be faithful,

and He will provide.

 

 

Psalm 37:25

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Entire Chapter of Psalms 37 can be read here. 

Psalm 84:11

For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Philippians 4:19

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

 

Religious Freedom Day

 

 

Photography by Norma Beaird

Article by Curtis Beaird

 

In 1991, President George H. W. Bush signed the first proclamation recognizing Religious Freedom Day to be January 16th of each year. When I heard this, I thought “Religious Freedom Day”?  Why was this an issue? 

After a little research, this is what I learned.  President Bush’s proclamation was designed to recognize the first part of the First Amendment to the Constitution. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”  After thumbing through some American history, it was clear that the First Amendment was not in response to what the state was doing with religion, but what the church wanted to do with the power of the state. 

History shows us that the church tends to grow impatient with the will and way of the God it proclaims. The church can and has become so convinced of its position, that it will seek the power of the state to enforce its will on the population. The Founding Fathers led by Jefferson and Madison recognized this situation; and, with the adoption of the First Amendment in 1791, saved us from a state church.

We owe President George H. W. Bush a debt of gratitude for his foresight in recognizing the separation of Church and State by establishing the Religious Freedom Day. 

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Jesus, Birds & Gospel Music

 

Northern Rough-Winged Swallows

Photographed at Little Ocmulgee State Park in Helena, Georgia

 

Article and Photography by Norma Beaird

 

Happy July 4th!  In many parts of the United States, today is a celebration of freedom, a celebration of flags, food and fireworks!  People everywhere will enjoy barbecue chicken and steaks on the grill.  Children will play in the backyard and adults will enjoy relaxing on their deck or front porch.  In some towns, there will be parades, festivals and concerts.  In other places, families will enjoy their yearly vacation in the mountains, at a campground or the beach. 

Physical celebrations are great, but spiritual celebrations are life-changing.  

Even though the flag is our symbol of freedom, true freedom comes from Jesus Christ.  Winning a battle or a war may give a country freedom from the bondage of an oppressive government.  Jesus fought our spiritual battle by giving His life on the cross of Calvary.  The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ensures that we can have freedom from sin and the bondage of spiritual oppression.  Salvation is a gift of living water in the desert of despair.  Ultimately, salvation gives us eternal life.  

The Bible says in John 8:36:

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

When we photograph birds, we are constantly reminded of the love of God and the freedom that He has given to us.  As God gave birds the wings to fly, the Lord has given us spiritual wings through His work on the cross. If we will repent of our sins and confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we can spiritually spread our wings and fly away from the burden of heaviness that so easily weights us down.  When Jesus gives us freedom, our lives become more productive and our hearts more receptive.  

Spiritual chaos is traded for heavenly peace. 

When a person becomes a Christian, they will find that every day is a spiritual journey.  Each day is a blessing from God.  Every day, we have the opportunity to shine a light into a world of darkness.

We must fill our heart and mind with the inspiration of the Word of God.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost.  When we become followers of Jesus Christ, each day we must work on our spiritual building.  We must seek to grow and learn.  We must seek to love and edify others through our relationship with Jesus.

As this BlueGrass Gospel song says, we're working on a building....... 

Featuring The Maharreys singing and playing "Working on a Building"!

 

 

 

Copyright 2014, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

   

Just Toss It

 

Article and Photography by Curtis Beaird

 

Oh yes! The urge to clear it out, clean it up and live without clutter is more than inviting. The mere thought of it sets us free.  

We know with this one that we are not alone in our desire.  Off-loading stuff has become the new goal, even if it is only a fantasy goal. It is strange but true.

The dream of less has become our vision of freedom. 

What happened?  Why the desire to dump it?  

The 1982 economic bust ended more than a few parties, and at least one bumper sticker. It read, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”  The 1982 pull-back and the dot.com meltdown that followed were laughable compared to the 2008 crash.

We have become a garage sale nation. Have you noticed the For Sale signs on everything from Harley's to lawn mowers sitting at the edge of most neighborhood streets?  The front yard as display case.  “We need to move. I want to down size,” are constant refrains.  Read the forum on City-Data.com from any part of the country.  What will you find when you do?  The belief that another location and less stuff will equal more sanity, echoed again and again.  

Minimalist is the new mantra. That peace is found in less has spilled over, even into blog design.  Clutter is out.  Sparse is in.  I do wonder if people wish they were clearing out their debt. 

If you want to spread a dark veil over the declutter conversation, ask this,

“How many months have you paid rent on that 10 X 10

at

Pack-it-Tight Storage?"

 

Copyright 2013, Curtis Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Those Who Would Remain Free Will Read

 

Article by:  Curtis Beaird

Photography by:  Norma W. Beaird

 

If you have read this far, you are already armed to survive, maybe even thrive in the barrage of noise, rancor, dissonance and  shrill-voiced jangle that passes for communication today.  You are reading. 

 

The willingness to pursue ideas by way of words on a page or screen

gives you, the reader, the advantage. 

Readers, unlike watchers and spectators, if they have a shred of independence and individuality left, retain the freedom to talk back to the author.  They can scribble notes in the margins or mutter under their breath.  Reading provides the space for the individual to generate ideas as well as feelings. Readers participate.

Unlike our time as passive viewers, when we read, we are free to read and re-read and read again what is before us.  We hold in our hands the words used to persuade us.  The reader is in control.    

Viewers enthralled by sight and sound are emotionally messaged in the direction of the commentator’s point of view.  Once we have become “fans” of the image on the screen, the sound of logic replaces facts associated with truth.  At that point, the viewer will believe anything as long as it sounds logical and feeds our preferred feeling. 

Today, we have been trained to choose anger as our primary emotion.

The joy of being enflamed by the man on the six o’clock news is a delight.  What is more delicious than to sit passively in a recliner and flirt with rage?   In feeling our anger, we actually think we took action.  We never realize the experience is an addiction.

Readers have the opportunity to maintain control of thoughts and emotions.  Reading is our first line of defense in the constant assault on our person today. 

Those who would remain free will read.

 

2 Timothy 2:  15 - 16

¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

¹⁶ But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

Copyright 2012, Curtis Beaird.  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Color is Your Day?

 

 

 

Article and Photography

By:  Curtis Beaird

 

Grim.  It's always grim, or seems to be.  To begin the day is to discover what went wrong while you slept.

Sometimes you just have to take a step back and check, ask and wonder, “Is the shade of gray always the color of every day?”

If anyone could weigh in with a defining "Yes", it should be Victor Frankle.  Three years in various Nazi death camps to include Auschwitz.  There, a person was a number, never a name.  Frankle was not Dr. Frankle, he was Number 119,104.  While he existed daily with the possibility of extermination, he spent the waiting time digging and laying track for a railway line.  Grim.

Surely every day, that experience would strip life to naked existence, turn the context into a joyless void and squeeze even the memory of a fluid life from all thought and conversation .  It would be expected that a person, even a Dr. Frankle would define today and tomorrow in the gray tones of grim.

But, not for Frankle.  In the context of the absurd, he not only survived but discovered.  While his body weakend and became frail, he never surrendered his identity nor falsified himself to himself.  He defined what he called the last of human freedoms --- the ability to “choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances”.   

Who knows, there might be a better way between the romantic and the grim, between the idealist and the failed idealist i.e. the cynic.   There might be.

Depends, I guess, on the color of your day.

P.S.   I looked.  I looked right out my window.  Sure nuff, nature managed a blue sky today.  What is she up to anyway?  How dare her present me with a bright day, a cool breeze, butterflies and the drilling sounds of a red-headed woodpecker.  She's not going to get away with it.  I'm turning away so I can watch the news.  Grim.

 

Copyright 2011, Curtis Beaird.  All rights reserved.