From the Minister

Roadsigns

Kate and I recorded these church signs on a trip from Chattanooga to Fort Worth and back. Enjoy!

For those who want to be rooted in the word, not stumped by it.
—Somewhere on US Route 11, Alabama

Take it to Jesus.
—Gadsden, AL

Don’t focus on the mountain, but on the mountain mover.
—Somewhere on US Route 11, AL

We appreciate all our fathers, especially our heavenly father.
—Tuscaloosa, AL

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
—Meridian, MS

No Jesus, no life. Know Jesus, know life.
—Meridian, MS

TRUTH
—somewhere on Route 11, MS

Under the same management for more than 2000 years.
—Laurel, MS

Tithe if you love Jesus.
—Hattiesburg, MS

We appreciate our pastor and family.
—Purvis, MS

We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God.
—Pickayune, MS

Donate your organ. Give your heart to Jesus.
—Lumberton, MS

Walk in God’s love and give it away,
—Biker church in MS

Prayer is the bridge between panic & peace.
—Slidell, LA

Never lose a chance to say a nice word.
—United Methodist church in New Orleans

God cares about you.
—Mary, LA

Kajun Jesus
—somewhere in LA

Kids need your presence, not your presents.
—Plaquemine, LA

You are not too bad to come in nor too good to stay out.
—Gramercy, LA

Some children are afraid of the dark. Some adults are afraid of the light.
—Slocum, TX

Lighthouses don’t make noise, they just shine.
—Slocum, TX

Bad parents often raise worse parents.
—Palestine, TX

Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of God.” John, 4:34
—Palestine, TX

God speaks through his word. Take time to listen.
—Palestine, TX

God speaks to those who have time to listen.
—Greenville, TX

Jesus is King of Kings.
—Montalba, TX

If God is your co-pilot, better change seats.
—Athens, TX

Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119.
—Corsicana, TX

TRUST OBEY PRAY
—Hillsboro, TX

When you know Jesus, you are free, indeed.
—Paris, TX

One God, one people.
—United Methodist church, Paris, TX

Think it’s hot here?
—Blossom, TX [100º on June 27]

Don’t leave earth without God.
—Blossom, TX

Do you know the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming?
—Clarksville, TX

Is God satisfied with your life?
—Clarksville, TX

He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.
—DeQueen, AR

God’s answers are often better than our prayers.
—Dierks, AR

Wanna make God laugh? Tell him your plans.
—Dierks, AR [Woody Allen?]

To have friends, be one.—New Hope, AR

A closed mouth gathers no foot.
—Glenwood, AR

God loves fathers. He is one.
—Pearcy, AR

Open minds. Open hearts. Open doors.
—Pearcy, AR

This is the place of new beginnings.
—Lake Hamilton, AR

This is a cool church.—Lake Hamilton, AR [100º+ June 29]

God’s strength will keep you standing.
—Hempwallace, AR

Take God to work with you.
—Hempwallace, AR

If the Son has set you free, you are free, indeed.
—Hot Springs, AR

Triumph is just umph added to tri.
—DeVall’s Bluff, AR

Free trip to heaven. Details inside. John 3:16
—Forrest City, AR

Does God feel important to you?
—Forrest City, AR

God our father; man our brother.
—Forrest City, AR

Faith honors God; God honors faith.
—Memphis, TN

Don’t let your past ruin your today.
—Sommerville, TN [$100 speeding ticket]

Experience the place where love abides.
—Sommerville, TN

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice.
—Sommerville, TN

Being cheerful is healthy. Being gloomy dries the bones. PR 17:22
—Bolivar , TN

The 4th without freedom is like Christmas without Christ.
—Selmer, TN

When things go wrong, never go with them.
—Crump, TN

If you make a mistake and do not correct it, you make two.
—Savannah, TN

A Bible being read is worth two on the shelf.
—Olive Hill, TN

Prevent truth decay. Brush up on the Bible daily.
—Olive Hill, TN

A child of the King should show resemblance to the Father.
—Deerfield, TN

God answers knee-mail.
—Lawrenceburg, TN

The most important person to be honest with is yourself.
—Lawrenceburg, TN

Obedience brings blessings.
—Lawrenceburg, TN

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
—Lawrenceburg, TN [2 Cor 3:16]

Each of us is No. 1 with God.
—Lawrenceburg, TN

The truth will make you free.
—Cowan, TN

God is awesome in power.
—Cowan, TN

God’s garden—let us be patient, kind & faithful.
—Cowan, TN

SEEN IN CHATTANOOGA

Do you love me? Feed my lambs.

Where will you be 1000 years from now?
[Other side]➙Come and you will learn.

The love of God is better than life.
—Terrace Road Church of Christ.

Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye–opener.

What you plant, so shall you reap. What are you planting?

When you are down to nothing, God is up to something.

Not praying helps no one.

It is rightly impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible.

A smile is the same in any language.

He who angers you controls you.

Are you a prisoner for Christ?

God is in control.

BILLBOARDS FROM GOD

Sin is a reproach to a nation.
—God.

Do you have any idea where you’re going?
—God

Will the road you’re on get you to my place?
—God

OTHER RELIGIOUS SIGNS

God Bless America.
—Several places, car washes, used car lots, convenience stores, etc.

VBS—just about every church

After this...the day of judgement.
—Young girl [12?] holding sign on street corner in Fort Payne, AL

Jesus saves.—sign hanging from a tree in Alabama

A Moment of Grace

The words below are from an editorial in the NY Times edition of August 17. I thought you'd like to read it.

A Moment of Grace

In an age whose crabbed sense of justice finds expression in dismal phrases like "zero tolerance" and "three strikes and you're out," the events in a Long Island courtroom on Monday came as an undeserved gift, something startling and luminous.

It happened when Ryan Cushing, a 19-year-old charged with assault for tossing a turkey through a car windshield last fall, approached the driver he nearly killed, Victoria Ruvolo. Ms. Ruvolo, 44, suffered severe injuries and needed many hours of surgery to rebuild her shattered facial bones.

When Mr. Cushing left the courtroom after pleading guilty, he came face to face with his victim for the first time. He said he was sorry and begged her to forgive him.

She did. She cradled his head as he sobbed. She stroked his face and patted his back. "It's O.K.; it's O.K.," she said. "I just want you to make your life the best it can be."

Mr. Cushing was one of six teenagers out for a night of joy riding and crime, which often happens when childish aggression and stupidity merge with the ability to drive and steal credit cards. The five others have pleaded guilty to various acts like forgery and larceny, but Mr. Cushing, who threw the turkey, could have faced 25 years in prison. At Ms. Ruvolo's insistence, prosecutors granted him a plea bargain instead: six months in jail and five years' probation.

The prosecutor, Thomas Spota, had been ready to seek harsh punishment for a crime he rightly denounced as heedless and brutal. "This is not an act of mere stupidity," Mr. Spota said. "They're not 9- or 7-year-old children."

That is true. But Ms. Ruvolo's resolute compassion, coming seemingly out of nowhere, disarmed Mr. Spota and led to a far more satisfying result.

Many have assumed that Ms. Ruvolo's motivation is religious. But while we can estimate the size of her heart, we can't peer into it. Her impulse may have been entirely secular.

Court testimony by crime victims is often pitched as a sort of retributive therapy, a way for angry, injured people to force criminals to confront their shame. But while some convicts grovel, others smirk. Many are impassive. It's hard to imagine that those hurt by crime reliably find healing in the courtroom. Given the opportunity for retribution, Ms. Ruvolo gave and got something better: the dissipation of anger and the restoration of hope, in a gesture as cleansing as the tears washing down her damaged face, and the face of the foolish, miserable boy whose life she single-handedly restored.