Be Careful of What You Dump on Those Who Are Listening to You

by Rick Renner 

My Grandfather Miller lived on a large parcel of land that was located just outside Tulsa. Right in the middle of his land was a small lake that the local people called "Dead Man's Lake," because a dead body had been found at the bottom of the lake many years earlier.

The water in that little lake was muddy red and terribly dirty because the entire lake bed was comprised of red clay. I can remember fishing with my grandfather on the banks of that lake, thinking with great distaste that we were actually going to eat the catfish we pulled out of that filthy water!

That little lake was fed by a notorious little river in Oklahoma called Bird Creek. Not only was Bird Creek known for being muddy, but it was also well-known for the oversized water moccasins that would slither over the branches and debris floating in its waters. This little river was so close to my grandfather's property that my family would cross over a Bird Creek bridge every time we drove to his house.

Nearly every spring during the Oklahoma tornado season, the waters of Bird Creek would rise during heavy rains. It would rise and rise until, finally, those filthy, stinking waters would spill out of the banks of the river and inundate the entire local area. Of course, whenever the waters of Bird Creek rose, they would also rush into Dead Man's Lake on my grandfather's property. The grimy waters would then flood out of the banks of that little lake and literally slime my grandfather's entire property with gunk and goo.

As a boy, I thought it was fun when my grandfather's property got flooded because it meant we had to get in our own boat, pull the motor, and ride across highways covered with water in order to reach Grandfather Miller's house. He and his wife would be standing on the porch, waiting and waving, as we pulled up to the house in our boat.

But when the waters finally receded, the fun was over. Now it was time to clean up the stinking mess left by the flood. Everything in sight was slimed with filth by those rising waters. Believe me, the mess left by a flood was always pretty nasty!

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Pastors Steve and Pattie Reeves Salute Our Veterans

Performances Have Begun for "A Night to Remember"

We (Pastors Steve and Pattie Reeves, co-owners, Covenant Home Care) would like to invite you, your family and friends to attend "A Night to Remember" Christmas Celebration.

We are singing with Thurlow Spurr and the 300-voice CMI Michigan/Ohio Concert Choir and our children are dancing and singing. The performances have so far been outstanding and we expect them to get even better. It's great to be with a group of people of "Faith" who are faithful in taking "Music to the World."

There are six more performances and you can select a venue near your home and join us.  We would love to see our family and friends at our performances in Novi, Grand Rapids, Midland, Flint, Lansing, or Toledo, Ohio.

For more information about the CMI Michigan/Ohio Concert Choir, or to order tickets online, go to www.cmichoir.org.