MINI-SERMONS BETWEEN 3/26/86-01/8/97
Hello my friends,
In the years above I wrote many “Mini-Sermons” . I wrote one item faithfully every week until I went into a depression. This was caused by sleep apnea which I didn’t find out until 2007! In that time God was teaching me much.
This is the story about how the Mini-Sermons were born. God has unique ways to show you what He wants you to do.
As I would read the Bible, I began to “see” it in pictures in my mind. I would jot down what I “saw” by using simple little stick people in different actions. There was a group called “Learning unlimited” in Pittsburgh. People dressed like clowns
passed out brochures offering classes in just about everything you might like to take a stab at. I took a 4 week course in drawing. It’s amazing because I hated art in school. I could not draw a straight line! I had no perception of it. I could not make things with construction paper---I still can’t. I was use-less. Amazingly, I didn’t do too badly.
When God tells you to do something, don’t say “I can’t . Ask Him to help you! God is great for asking you to do the impossible! From there I took a correspondence art course through ICS. I was taught different media, drawing and painting---animals and people etc. A little dab will do it.
I happened to mention to a regular customer what I was doing. I was so excited about learning something new. Then along came Charles. He was sitting next to her and heard me telling her this. He asked me what I was doing. Couple days later he brought me 3 tubes of paint and 2 good brushes. He was an artist and displayed it at the Art Festival and sold some. When my co-worker saw him talking to me, she was astonished. She said he had been coming in for about 15 years and not once did he speak to anyone! Why me? Well he had to be an angel to get me on the t right track! He is a great big guy with a baby face and an “other worldly” air about him. He was also a good listener and soft spoken. Never said anything out of line and always encouraging.
He always had something good to say about everyone. If he was sitting there when I was done working, I went to lunch with him. He didn’t say much about himself and I didn’t ask.
I began to talk about the Bible. He said he didn’t understand it. I won a $25 gift certificate from Kaufmann’s in a safety contest so I bought him a Bible in simple language; through the Bible in a year. In the meantime he gave me a gift to give to my new grandson. He gave me flowers for my birthday. I was never treated so well in all my life!
My blood pressure went up. I couldn’t handle when nice things happened. I had so many bad things in my life (which now are growing so strangely dim!) I became immune to it.
Every chance I got I explained some of the stories to him. One day I told him I would write some of it out. For him so he could understand. He said “Make it simple”. It was also what God was telling me to do. I like to complicate things. That’s how the Mini-Sermons” got started.
It’s enough for you to digest now. I will continue another time.
Thanks for listening to my story this far. God bless you.
p.s. so timely!
Haven't thought about Charles for ages until I began wriiting teh sermons again. Ironically the news man said the Art Festival in Pittsburgh was opening this week. Charles enters his painting in it!
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