The Sea Shell

My grandparents loved to go to the coast. This was in the mid 60’s. They went to the coast about every two weeks during the summer and fall. Grandma liked to look for shells, and Grandpa liked to fish. While Grandpa fished, Grandma would walk up and down the shore looking for special shells. One day she was blessed and very happy. She found a lovely big shell. This shell was not broken. It is about 10 inches long and about 5 inches in diameter.

She took the shell home and placed it beside the heater in the living room. At night, she would use it to keep the bedroom door open. Everyone who saw the shell wanted to it. Many people offered her money. She would not sell it. I saw it many times and loved it.

Years later, I had a daughter. When she saw it, she also loved it. I had always told my grandma, “When you die, I want the shell.” After my Grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary, my daughter, Janie, and I were visiting them. She asked, “Janie, do you want the shell?” Janie said, “Yes, I do.” Grandma said, “Go get and old towel and wrap the shell up. Then take it home with you. Promise me that you will pass it down to you children. Always keep the shell in the family.”

Janie loves the shell and is taking care of it. She plans to see which one of her children to pass it on to.

Written by Karen

The Snakes who terrorized a young girl in Mississippi

My family lived in a Ranch style house that was in the middle of a bid field.  On the ranch were many ponds to water the horses and cattle. There was a large pond in front of our house. We had a long cement porch that reached around the whole house. The bad part about this house was there were three large rooms, but you had to go outside to get to the next room. I am 6 or 7 years old.

One day my mother, my 10-year-old brother, and I were in the living room. I wanted something to drink.  I had to go outside and down towards the pond to get to the kitchen. Right there on the porch was a 5 or 6-foot diamondback rattler. The snake was hissing at me. I started yelling. My mother and brother run out to see what was wrong. They see that the snake is way to close to me and it seemed to be charming me. My mother comes up behind me and Paul, my brother, goes around to the other side of the snake. My mother pulls me back while Paul hits the snake with a hoe many times. This causes the snake to lose its head. When my daddy comes home from work, I tell him, “The snake lost his head.” Daddy was glad that we were not hurt and that the snake lost his head.

It seemed to me like at least one time a week I found a snake on the porch. I found diamondbacks and water moccasins. All of the snakes were deadly. Thank God, none of the snakes ever bit me. All of them lost their heads. However, I became scared to go outside by myself. Finally, I refused to go outside by myself. One day, mother checked the porch for snakes. Since there were no snakes, I came outside onto the porch. I started praying. It came to me to ask my mother and daddy to pray with me. We went to church about 4 times a week. That night when daddy got home he asked, “Did any snakes lose their heads today?” I said, “no, but I know how to keep them away.” Daddy then said, “I want to hear this.” I replied, “Help me ask God to please keep the snakes away.  Even though my daddy was studying to be a preacher, everyone including him, laughed at me. This made me feel very bad.

The next day I went outside by myself to talk with God. I walked the porch and all around the yard.  I told God, “Please help me. Show them you will keep the snakes away from me, the house, and the yard.” My family lived there for another 4 years. No one found another snake in the yard. However, many snakes were found on the other side of the fence and in the pond. The owner of the land finally had to get a group together to go kill the snakes that were in and around the pond that the cows drank from.

Daddy told the owner that I had been finding a lot of snakes in the yard, but lately none had been seen. The owner of the house and land said, “I wonder why?” I spoke up, “I know why. I talked to God and asked him to keep the snakes away from me and my play yard.” This time no one made fun of me.

Written by Karen

Just Vaccinate Me

When I was about 2 or 3 years old, my daddy, Marcus, worked for a seismograph company. He was the head leader. Therefore, his job was to cut the trail. We went to church 4 times a week because daddy was in training to be a preacher. While cutting the trail, Marcus would come across many bad things. He had a machete that helped. Daddy wore long sleeves, long pants, and boots. All of this helped to protect him. Marcus had a wife and two babies at home. He needed to work, and this job paid top dollar at this time. However, Marcus was allergic to poison ivy and poison oak. The trails were covered with both. Marcus would come home covered in a rash. Only his eyes did not get any poison ivy or poison oak in them. Marcus would go to church. While there, he would be prayed for. He always prayed for God to clear the rash up. The next time Marcus cut the trail the poison ivy and poison oak rash would return. Marcus was badly tongue-tied. This made it very difficult for people to understand him. This night was a church night. As usual, Marcus was covered in a bad rash. Therefore, he went down to be prayed for. However, he was feed up with being healed and then getting it again. Therefore, Marcus said to the church and the pastor, “Ju-st Vac-cin-ate me!” The church prayed again. God cleared up the rash. The next day Marcus went back to work. He cut a trail that was full of poison ivy and poison oak. However, he did not get a rash. Marcus lived over 40 years from that night and never got poison ivy or poison oak again. My mother, my brother, nor I ever got poison oak or poison ivy. God saved us from that bad stuff and vaccinated daddy for the rest of his life.

Written by Karen 

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Church Bloopers

This little church sits about halfway up Cedar Valley near Winona, MN. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grandpa told stories about bloopers that happened inside the church. Here are a couple of them.

1. Announcement Blooper: The pastor was telling what was going on in the coming up week. He said, “A fun outing will be a taffy party. There will be a peter pulling at Brother Candy Smith’s house on Tuesday night.” A man in the back of the church stands up and says, “I don’t know about you, but I will be there.” This man’s nickname is Buck. The pastor was supposed to say, “There will be a candy pulling at Brother Peter Smith’s house on Tuesday night. 
2. Revival Blooper: One night in a revival the power of God was falling. Many people were being to stand up. Now this was a new church in the 1960’s. The pews were made of small, long slats. All over the church people were standing. On a certain pew a large lady, who was very well dressed and very well to do, was still sitting. Many people were sitting on this pew with her. Suddenly everyone but her stands up. The slats close. The Lady goes to yelling and waving her arms. The other people around her starts yelling, “Come on Sister, you are getting it.”

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O' The Joy (A Poem)

O' The Joy

No more weeping

No more sorrow

Jesus is alive.

Alive forever more.

The Stone was rolled away.

O' What Joy

Jesus walked away.

Death could not hold him.

The stone could not block him.

The guards could not stop him.

O' The Joy

No more weeping

No more sorrow

Jesus is alive

Alive forever more.

Delivered from Cocaine

Christian cross (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I recently heard the story of a man that I believe is a wonderful testimony to the grace and love of God. The man has now gone to be with the Lord. Therefore, I am going to tell his story for him.


Marvin was a man of 6’4”. He was addicted to cocaine and alcohol. His wife, Annabel, was a Christian. She went to Pastor Roy’s Church. Pastor Roy suggested that she leave her husband because he was abusive to her and the children. She said, “God is going to change him.” Pastor Roy said, “Yeah to the grave. This man is down to 90 pounds. He is nothing but skin and bones.” Annabel just kept praying.


One night not long after this conversation, Marvin came to church. He was high on cocaine. However, the power of God still got to him. He went straight to the alter and fell down. He did not get up until he had been filled with the Holy Ghost. He stayed at the church for 3 days and 3 nights. He prayed and was prayed for during his withdrawals from cocaine and alcohol. Pastor Roy and Annabel stayed with him. They held him and offer support. They also brought him food and water.


After he went home, he was a changed man. He stopped being abusive to his wife and daughters. He started holding down a good job. However, there were still times that he felt cravings for cocaine and or alcohol. Every time this happened, he went and lived at the church until it passed. Pastor Roy and Annabel always went with him to support him. Over time, the cravings got less and less, but the cravings never fully went away. However, with the help and grace of God, Marvin never gave in to the cravings. About 30 years after his 1st trip to the alter, the Lord called him home. Annabel stayed by his side the whole time.

Most popular Book

The Bible is the best-selling book in America, yet it remains one of the least read. This presents a paradox as one might expect the most popular book to be the most read. It raises the question: why do so many own multiple Bibles but seldom read them? Bibles are ubiquitous, found in hospitals, waiting rooms, nursing homes, and hotels. Many display a large family Bible prominently in their homes. This leads to the query: do people believe that mere possession of a Bible garners favor with God? If so, they may be greatly mistaken.

The Bible does not claim that ownership leads to salvation. It states that salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone. Thus, it is advisable to become acquainted with Jesus, which involves spending time with Him daily. In doing so, He desires communication and deeper understanding, which can be achieved by reading the Bible. Hence, it is time to move beyond merely showcasing the Bible to actively reading and understanding it.

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