World Renewal International

Pictured today is my great grandfather, "Happy Harris." I just love the hat and little dog, he looks cool to me. My dad really loved this man. He was dad's mom's father. It seemed my dad saw the not so good and best in his granddad. "Happy" was a barroom musician for much of his life I am told. He played many stringed instruments. I am told he often sampled the beverages sold there way too much.

He was 55 when he gave his life to Christ. Dad said people laid down bets in the bars on when he would come back for the beverages and all that went with them. They lost their bets, our family won a Godly heritage. He died before I was born so I never got to meet him. However the joy that could be heard in my dad's voice and on his face when discussing his granddad made me convinced that this is a man I should look forward to meeting one day on the other side. At times he attended the little Friends Church in Shirley, Indiana. (I have preached and sung there on many occasions.) Dad described hearing him stand during testimony time and share how God saved him from his life of drinking and such with tears rolling down his cheeks. He said "Happy" would get pretty happy at such times of expression. He was also known to play his musical instruments flipping them backwards over his shoulder, between his legs and then back up to playing position when he became overly blessed or happy. He would state "I used to do this for the devil, now I will celebrate for the Lord." I am not sure that is an exact quote but something like that was said anyway. I sure am sorry I missed that one. Think they will let him do that in heaven? Maybe we will be able to see replays of precious moments here on earth. Whatever, I hope I did not miss such for all time.

FAVORITE QUOTES

I am trying here to keep anyone from saying the really foolish thing that
people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic---on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher.
He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

Thanks for stopping by.

The C.S. Lewis quote worked well there.

I love hearing of the simplicity and joy of faith in Christ. It's a good reminder in a world of academic complexities.