Tuesday, June 30, 2009

THE KING

I don't usually pass on other blogs on my blog, but I must share this one. It came to me from Bryan McAnally.

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock, is dead.
James Brown, the King of Soul, is dead.
Kurt Cobain, the King of Grunge, is dead.
And now Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is dead.
But Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, is alive forevermore. Let's tell people that, so they too can live forever.
Jesus said, "I am he who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death" (Revelation 1:18 NKJV).

Greg Laurie blog 6-30-09

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

WE CAN'T BE THAT OLD


I'm always fascinated how my mother, age 102, can speak about other "old" people, people she sees as old. That same malady has struck me recently. For instance, there is no way that Ruth Lynn and I can be celebrating our 48th anniversary today. I must be talking about some "old" couple.
I started dating RL when she was 16 and I was 17. It's not too hard to figure out how many years it has been. As I look at my beautiful wife, she looks just the same. She is still the wonderful teenager that I married in 1961.

There are some things that have changed. First of all, she has taken on a lot of my idiosyncrasies. And I also have some of hers. That's not good, but that's what 48 years will do to you. In the second place, we've also learned a lot of wonderful things from each other. The main thing we've learned is how to live a life for our Savior. That is really the fun part.

June 24th was also RL's parents anniversary, and both of them are now gone. Today is also Bryan and Kelli's 14th. Today is also Terry and Sandy Holsinger's 48th. We didn't know them till much later, but they were married about one hour ahead of RL and me. We usually celebrate together, and tonight we'll meet them at the Cracker Barrell to laugh and remembetr.

To Ruth Lynn . . . Happy Anniversary Sweetheart. I hope we can keep dancing for a long time.

Friday, June 19, 2009

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO CLIFFORD VICTOR



Every person needs a loving father. That is why I have spent a lifetime telling people about our loving heavenly father. The Biblical example was given to us for a specific purpose. We are to use God's example as we becoming earthly fathers.




My Dad has been gone for 22 years; that's hard to believe because I can still see and feel his wonderful Christian leadership. He came from very humble beginnings, the first son and third child of 14 children. I really can't describe the family as "poor"; the best word would be "poooooooor".







There must have been something extra special about my grand father. He raised a tremendously godly and productive family, and he passed those characteristics along to my Dad.




My Dad could do anything, or he was willing to try to do anything. He married my Mother at the beginning of the Great Depression, and he had to do anything and everything just to make a living. He built a stone fence in northern Arkansas in the early 1930's after a man asked him if he could do the job. His answer was yes even though he had never done any stone work in his life. He must have done a good job because the wall is still standing.




I remember my Dad as a Deacon and Sunday School Teacher and Superintendent at First Baptist Church of Weatherford, Texas. He once taught a teenage boys class, and I often went with them on outings. He loved those boys. He had seven younger brothers of his own, and he knew how to deal with them.






He was also a leader in starting three new churches in Weatherford, Texas, and he helped to build literally dozens of churches all over the United States. I can't think of my Dad without seeing him with a hammer in his hand. The picture is one I gave to him as a gift at his retirement.






As a 70 year old man, I would really enjoy sitting today and talking with Dad. We had a great relationship before his death, but there are a lot of questions I'd like to ask him. That is just part of life. It is really over before many of us learn how to live it.






Anyway, Happy Father's Day Dad. Thank you for a life well lived and for a tremendous Christian influence.






Now, to all of my relatives who are fathers. Let me suggest that you look around and find a good Christian example. Then pass it on to your children. That's the way to have a really Happy Father's Day.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

CHASING THE DRUM



The statement on the drum is "Age 12 years . . Pearl Clabaugh . . Sevierville, Tennessee". That's not much information, but I've found some clues.

There is a tremendously long list of Clabaughs on-line, but the only Pearl than I can find was born in 1908. She was the daughter of Samuel H. Clabaugh and Mary Jane Cotter Clabaugh. There is the connection. Her mother was a Cotter.

Now I'm off to the larger search. I have not yet figured out how Mary Jane was related to me. I've tracked her daughter Pearl (really Mattie Pearl) to 1920. She would have been 12 years old at that time. That was just about the time she wrote on the drum, and her name and parent's names appear in the 1920 census in Sevier County, Tennessee.
I can't find her name in any records after 1920, and I still don't know how the drum with her name came to Texas.
If you have any ideas, I'd appreciate a contact. The detective work will continue.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

SURPRISE . . SURPRISE . . SURPRISE

In the famous words of Gomer Pyle, are you surprised?
Donald Trump finally did it. He fired Miss California. She wouldn't say and do the things she was told.
Christians, do you understand the attack?
Do you understand that it is time to say and do the correct thing?
It is time to quit playing the church game.
It is time for Christians who stand tall for God's kingdom.
My congratulations go to Carrie Prejean.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

TENNESSEE TO TEXAS WITH THE DRUM







My Great Grandfather, George Wray Cotter, moved his wife and 10 children to Texas in 1890. They came from the hills of Sevier County, Tennessee. George had one desire for his growing family, and that was to find wives and husbands for his many children. Wears Valley Tennessee didn't offer many opportunties outside of the family bloodline. So the long journey to a new land and new opportunities was begun on a very long train ride.
As a side story to the drum, the first child born in Texas after the move to this new land was Ethel Texas Cotter. She is the only person I've ever known with that name. And Ethel Texas, who was 15 at the time of my father's birth, gave him the name of Clifford Victor Cotter. So I have a close contact and love for Ethel Texas.

Travel during that time was not easy, and it was probably not practical to take all of the family goods. Much was possibly sold or given away as preparations were made for the departure. I imagine that only the most valuable and most loved items were loaded for the journey. One of the valuables brought to Texas was an old drum that had been part of the history of the War Between the States.

My Great Grandfather had been a 12 year old drummer boy during the final months of the war, and he had saved the drum as a remembrance of that historic experience. The drum had probably been used in Wears Valley to "talk" with the neighbors throughout the hollow. This "family treasure" was probably acknowledged with some reverance. I can just hear George telling his entire family that . . "the drum is going to Texas."

My Grandfather, William Reuben Cotter, was the oldest son in the family. I don't know for sure, but I assume that the drum was passed along to him before or at the death of his father in 1928. My Grandfather moved to many locations over the years, but the drum always was taken to the new home. I first remember the drum hanging in the barn at my Grandparent's house in Littlefield, Texas. Many of the children and grandchildren often played with the drum.

Howard Lee Cotter, the 13th child of 14 children in the family, now has the drum in his possession. He is now 81 years of age, and the drum will soon pass on to his grandson Quade Crawford. I gave Quade, now 15 years of age, the "be sure to take good care of it" and "you'll realize its value in the years to come" speech.

At a recent family reunion, we carefully examined the drum for some clues to its history. We found some writting on it that no one in the family every remembers. It says . . "12 year old . . Pearl Clabaugh . . Sevierville, Tennessee." No, we don't know what that means, but we're beginning some detective work. We'd love to have some more definite information on this wonderful family relic.