Christmas Edition 2008: Celebrating the “Reason for the Season” in Ashe County.
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was fortunate to grow up in a loving home with parents who were strong disciplinarians. We went to church regularly and they instilled good values in me, including a strong work ethic. I guess you could say I grew up good. Because I went to church, I knew about Jesus and God and I even got baptized. But, as I think back on it now, I wasn’t really saved. I knew about being good, but I really didn’t know God in a personal way. Now that I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I’ve come to realize that there’s just enough difference between being good and being saved, to spend eternity in Hell. That realization is one of the things that motivates me to use my influence to share with others, the difference a real relationship with God can make in a person’s life. As I have thought about my life and upbringing, one thing I’ve come to appreciate is the impact that other men have made upon my life. There have been key people along the way who didn’t just teach me about football, but taught me about life and set a good example for me to follow. Because of that, I want to be the same way for those young men who God brings into my life. In other words, I don’t just want to coach a winning football team, I want to have a positive impact on the souls of the young men who play for ASU. You don’t just accidentally win championships, and I think that a key ingredient to our success has been our concern
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Born To Coach
Photo by ASU Athletics/Keith Cline
Coach Jerry Moore
for our players as people and not just their athletic ability. The first man, besides my dad, who made a strong impression on me was my high school football coach in Bouham, Texas. His name was M.B. Nelson and he became my coach after my freshman year when my team went 0 and 10. We were so bad, about the only thing we had to be excited about was winning the coin toss. Even though I started my freshman year, I didn’t know one thing about discipline, hard work and technique until Coach Nelson came along. He was more than a coach, he was like a father to all of us on that team. He was so good at what he did, he molded us into a team that was undefeated my Junior and Senior years. High School football in Texas is huge, so that was no small accomplishment. From the time Coach Nelson came into my life, it solidified in me the desire to be a head coach some day. As I think back on my years in football, I honestly think he was the best I’ve ever seen at teaching the fundamentals and instilling the type of values in us as young men that it takes to win. He was more than a coach, he was like a father to all of us on the team. Besides this, he set a great example for us in the way he lived his life. He was my Sunday School teacher and a leader in our community. He didn’t just change the (Cont. on Pg. 3)
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director obviously didn’t feel the same way, because he called me into his team, he changed the school of and the town. office before our last game to inform me that I wouldn’t be coming back After high school, I went to Baylor University where I played wide for the next season. This was a devastating blow to me, my coaching staff receiver for the football team. This was another positive experience for and our families. Though I immediately got offers to coach at other me in terms of determining my future in football, but the very best thing places, I turned them down because Margaret and I didn’t want to move about Bayer was meeting a beautiful girl named Margaret Starnes. She our daughter from her school. used to sit beside my roommate in chapel and when I began to show For 18 months, I was completely out of interest in her, she let me know real quick that if I football. I got a job in real estate development was going to date her, we were going to go to where my responsibility was to travel all over the church. When I went home with her to meet her U.S. to find contractors to build developments. family, their commitment to Christ really made a As part of courting these potential builders, we positive impression on me. It wasn’t long before would treat them to golf at some of the finest I realized that this was the girl I wanted to marry clubs around. Here I was making more money and we did so in the springtime of my Junior year than I ‘d ever made in coaching, playing golf at at Baylor. some of the best courses you could imagine and I After Baylor, I tried out for the Dallas was miserable. There were times that I would Cowboys where I was cut by coach Tom Loudry. literally cry myself to sleep thinking how I wasn’t It was then that I got a call from my high school like Coach Nelson anymore. position coach who wanted me to be his assistant Margaret saw how miserable I was and at Corsciana High School in Corsciana, Texas. I she encouraged me to try to get back in coaching. went from there to assistant coaching at Southern I called Coach Osborne and some other football Meth. University in Dallas and from there to the folks to get my name circulated again. That’s University of Nebraska where I was privileged to when Coach Hattfield of Arkansas called to ask be with another very positive influence in my me to be a volunteer coach for him. Being a life, Coach Tom Osborne. In my seven years volunteer coach means you don’t make any there, I learned a lot about football, but I was also money, so you can imagine how apprehensive I impressed by Tom’s example and by his demeanor was about that. But Margaret, who is a great with the players. I had originally met Tom at a school teacher, said, “I can teach and we can Fellowship Christian Athletes meeting that I make it.” So, with her encouragement I took the went to when I was at SMU. He was the first job, got paid nothing, but had the thrill of being coach who I had seen offer devotions for the Photo by ASU Athletics a part of winning the South West Conference players who wanted it. In fact, it was at that FCA Championship with Arkansas that year. Because of that, Coach Hatfield conference, where I met Coach Osborne, that I experienced something was going to offer me a paid position, but that’s when ASU called. profound in my relationship with Christ. The effect of being around so The athletic director at ASU back then was Jim Garner. He knew me many men who loved God and were openly devoted to Him challenged from our days in the same staff at Texas Tech. Though I’d never heard of me. I remember coming home from that conference, getting on my ASU and didn’t know where Boone was I jumped at the chance to be a knees in my bedroom and asking God to take complete control of my head coach again. I honestly felt as if this was my last chance in coaching. life. When I got off my knees I knew something had happened deep in Little did I know how things would turn out here in Boone. I look back my heart and ever since that time I’ve tried to be as much of a servant as and it’s interesting to see how God put all the pieces of the puzzle together I could. to allow us to do what we’ve done here. My first head coach opportunity came when I was offered the job at I could talk about beating Michigan or about winning 3 national North Texas, this in turn opened the door from me to become the coach championships, but I can honestly say that my greatest thrill in coaching at Texas Tech where they were struggling to rebuild their football is seeing young men develop and grow and change for the better. To program. I was there from 1981 to 1985 and was pleased when the have some kind of role in being a godly example and influence to those progress we were making. We were just a few bad breaks away from players and others is an honor and a privilege for which I’m extremely having a winning season and we played very well against some tough grateful. teams. Because of this, I was excited about our potential for next year and felt we were on the verge of a break-through. But, the athletic
ASU Coach Jerry Moore, Boone
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Merry Christmas A-1 Vacuums................................10 AA Boot Store..............................12 Appalachian Brian Estates..............6 Ashe Abattoir................................30 Ashe ADAP....................................8 Ashe County Ford........................32 Ashe County Garage Doors..........27 Ashe County Pregnancy Center....12 Badger Funeral Home...................24 Bald Mtn Baptist Church.............20 Basic Finance................................15 Beauty Bar....................................27 Belladonna...................................27 bluemoon Guitars..........................8 Blue Ridge Electric.........................7 Carolina Farm Credit...................27 Cheap Joes...................................15 Classic Homes..............................15 CMS Tile.....................................13 Day’s Body Shop............................8 Dr. Pepper....................................29 Faith Fellowship...........................27
From These
December 2008
High COuntry Businesses
Gambill Oil................................1,27 Guardian Insurance......................26 H & W Oil...................................24 Happy Tails Pet Supplies..............17 Hardee’s........................................24 High Country Stone.......................7 High South Realty..........................3 Hobby Barn..................................17 Jefferson Rent-All.........................28 Jesus is King.us.............................25 Jones Hardwood Flooring...............6 Landmaster...................................26 Lewis Construction.......................23 Libby’s............................................8 Liddle’s Plumbing.........................28 Los Arcoiris...................................26 Magic Video..................................20 Mark of Eden................................26 Meineke........................................26 Melissa Gooman, CPA..................14 Mountain Advantage Landscape......4 Mountain Aire Seafood.................29
Moutain Select Properties............16 Mystery Hill................................13 Parker Tie...............................11,31 Pollard Glass.................................8 Precision Printing........................21 Regency Properties........................9 Remax.........................................17 Riverchase Homes........................18 Sally Mae’s...................................17 Scott Brothers..............................22 Sears............................................19 Sheets Brothers..............................2 Spin A Yarn Weave A Web............16 Taylor’s Collision.........................13 Tis The Season.............................16 UPS Store....................................16 Wall To Wall Construction..........20 Wayne’s Vacuums.........................26 West Jefferson Chevrolet................4 WKSK.........................................17 Yamaha........................................27
At this time of year, when our thoughts turn to Christmas this publication is released to turn our attention to the real “Reason for the Season, Jesus Christ. Whether you’re a Christian or not, I believe you’ll be refreshed by the good news that’s conveyed through the stories of people from our community. Please take note of and do business with the advertisers in this magazine, because without them this publication would not be possible. -Ben Cox, Owner Main
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The Roller Coaster Ride of a Coach’s Wife
eing married to a football coach is a lot like riding a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs, twists and turns and just when you think it might be slowing down, off it goes at breakneck speed. I was reared in a Christian home in Mineola, Texas. Mother was the organist at the Baptist church and Daddy was a Methodist. All I ever knew was church life. When I was six years old, my pastor called me into his office and walked me through the plan of salvation. Although I was so young, it really took with me. The next Sunday, my Methodist father walked me down the aisle and we were baptized together. I was discipled in my church by loving Sunday school teachers and youth pastors. My Christian walk was consistent and I escaped the baggage of teenage rebellion. Mother had always prayed that God would send me the right husband. I met Jerry at Baylor University and fell in love with him on our first date. Mother’s prayers were answered. We dated three years and after graduation we were married. A Christ centered home was my fervent goal, not as a duty but out of a sincere desire to honor God. I loved Jesus and I loved Jerry. Texas Tech offered Jerry his first major head coaching job and off we went to Lubbock, Texas. In retrospect, Jerry says it was the only job he didn’t pray about. They called, dangled the carrot in front of him and he accepted the offer. We were there five years. I got a teaching job; we bought a beautiful house on a golf course. We went to church, but never really got involved for lack of time. The move was hard on our teenage children. They missed their friends and schools. Jerry was gone constantly. The entire football program had to be rebuilt from the ground up. It required long hours. At one point, our daughter thought her parents were separated because she never saw her daddy. I became bitter. I felt the whole responsibility for family weighing on my shoulders. By this time my father had died and my mother had Alzheimer’s disease so we had moved her to be near us. In my bitterness, I deliberately walked away from my relationship with my Lord. I decided to do my own thing and I felt God folded His arms and said, “I’m here when you decide to come back.” I literally went through adolescent rebellion in my forties. Though I felt guilty and miserable, I was also desperately lonely. I filled my life with parties and anything else society had to offer. I was never unfaithful to Jerry, but I stopped being the loving, supportive wife he needed. I no longer honored God in my life, my home, my marriage or in being a godly mother. I couldn’t see that it wasn’t Jerry’s fault that our family was suffering. He was trapped.
Bum Phillips once remarked, “There are two kinds of coaches. Those who have been fired and those who are going to be fired!” The school hired a new Athletic Director and Jerry was fired for not having a winning season. He felt he had not only let our family down but also the families of his assistant coaches. When the head coach gets fired, his assistant coaches usually lose their jobs, too. Jerry went to work for a company in Dallas making more money than he ever thought possible, but he was miserable. I stayed in Lubbock for a year so our daughter, Elizabeth, could finish high school. God was no longer the center of our lives. We were out of His will. He was allowing us to run our own lives. We moved to Mt. Vernon, Texas, about an hour from Dallas and I got a teaching job. Jerry was unexpectantly transferred to Atlanta, Georgia. I finished the semester at school and then joined him. We both realized we needed to re-examine our lives. We were out of God’s will and we desperately needed Him back in control. On his knees, Jerry called out to God. “If you really want me to coach, put me where I can be a spiritual force in the life of my players.” This is where we began to feel God leading. Jerry called Ken Hatfield at Arkansas and put out the word he wanted to get back into coaching. “Would you be interested in doing some volunteer coaching here in Arkansas? We can’t pay you but we sure could use you.” With three kids in college, we accepted and once again I got a teaching job. I will forever love that coaching staff and their families. They were all believers. They took us in and loved us back to life. God restored our Christian lifestyle and reminded us how sovereign He is. This was indeed His plan for us. We were only there a year when a position opened at ASU. Jim Garner, the Athletic Director, called to ask if Jerry would be interested. We prayed and with our faith rebuilt, we stepped out in faith. We didn’t hear God say yes or no. The afternoon before Jerry was to be introduced as the new coach at ASU. Ken called and offered him the position of Offensive Coordinator at Arkansas. It would have meant total security and was hard to pass up. Once again, Jerry was on his knees. The Lord gave us the option. We could stay or launch out. We came to Boone in 1989. Since our time in Arkansas until now, God is indeed the center of our lives. We have learned our lesson well. Never again will we neglect our quiet time with the Lord, prayer for His direction or His written word. More necessary than our daily food, they provide the strength and confidence that keep our lives on track.
Margaret Moore, Boone
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A Trophy of God’s Love and Grace
have a word for the parents of prodigals and that word is “HOPE”. Regardless of the circumstances, stand firm and cling to hope no matter how things appear. During five years of great despair over my daughter and her lifestyle, the Lord gave me this word in Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” In the midst of overwhelming sadness, the whole theme of my life changed to hope. He is our hope. As a little girl, my daughter gave her heart to Jesus and was baptized. She was raised in the church. However, in 2002, my adult daughter, after an abusive marriage, met and fell in a love with a man she adored. Her happiness was short lived when he was brutally murdered. At thirty-three years of age, her whole world fell apart. She was a wreck and in desperation she turned to drugs and alcohol to numb her pain. On October 14, 2002, she called from Texas to tell us she was pregnant. Because we love her unconditionally, we rejoiced that we were going to be grandparents. We also felt this little one might be the motivation she needed to give up her addiction,
thus saving her life. She moved back to South Florida with her birth father and gave birth to my grandson. While she was there, someone she had known from her high school days came into her life. They were married in 2004 and we sighed a sigh of relief. However, the addiction habit was stronger than she was and she soon entered the darkest three years of her life. She would simply disappear into drugs and leave her son with her husband. He never knew if she would be home or not. She was in and out of rehab twice but she was hopelessly hooked. In April 2007, she reached her lowest point. She had such darkness of soul she had given up all hope of recovery. Her husband called to tell us he was taking out a loan and placing her in another rehab center. I pleaded with him to please send the two of them to us. He agreed and put them on a train. On May 4, 2007, I drove to Raleigh and picked them up. She looked horrible. She was heart-breakingly thin, but she hadn’t used drugs in a week. God had taken charge of the situation and we were told to simply love her. She was at the end of herself and knew this would be her last chance. To honor my mother, I always attended church with her on Mother’s Day at her church, the Assembly of God in Jefferson. My daughter and grandson joined us. Four year old little boys get restless, so during the message I took him outside and we walked around the building. I wanted my daughter to hear every word of that message without any distractions. After the service, Pastor Keith prayed over her and she was filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit. She has been fully delivered from addiction. God gave her life back to her, restored her marriage and made her a trophy of His love and grace. They live in Statesville, currently, and she possesses an earnest, faithful, unwavering trust and hope in a sovereign God. She offers a living powerhouse testimony for those who have lost hope. Hope based on anything less than Jesus Christ is as powerless as wishing on a star. We can stand on our Rock. He declared nothing is too hard for Him!
Susan Shipe, West Jefferson
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Called to Preach
We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” (II Corinthians 6:1). For over forty years it has been my privilege to colabor with my Lord. With these eyes I have witnessed His building of His Kingdom. I have seen Him touch the hearts of people and utterly transform their lives. He first touched my life when I was fourteen years of age. On a Thursday night in October in a country church in Upper Crossroads, Maryland, I went to revival service. Bill Rice preached and I realized I needed a Savior. The Lord and I began our walk together that night. I felt God calling me into full time ministry when I was eighteen, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. For two long years I ran from the Lord. I couldn’t get away from Him. In an effort to find peace of mind, I went to a revival service for twenty-three consecutive nights. Right here in Ashe County, W.H. Caldwell preached from the first chapter of Psalms at Chestnut Hill Baptist Church. I stopped running and surrendered fully to God’s will. The next week at my home church I announced God’s call for my life. I preached my first sermon September 6, 1961, at
Beaver Creek Baptist Church. In 1963, God called me to pastor at Landmark Baptist Church. Through the years, I’ve pastored in Maryland, Wilkes County, Ashe County and Henderson County. For the past seventeen years, I’ve been at Bald Mountain Baptist Church. Every church has its own personality and I have to say I have no favorites. I have truly enjoyed the pastorate. It’s what I was called to do and I deem it an honor. Looking ahead, I fully believe we’re living in the last times. They are times that will be perilous and difficult but also exciting as we watch God execute His plans in all the earth. It’s the best time to be alive and the greatest opportunity to reach people with the good news that Jesus saves! “And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:27-28)
Lawrence Goodman, West Jefferson Pastor of Bald Mountain Baptist Church
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Girlfriend Therapy and Amazing Grace
ow blessed I was to have been raised in a strong Christian home. We were singers in our family. We sang when we were happy and sang when we were down. Even today when I sing to Him I feel His presence surround me. I was in the second grade when I gave my heart to Jesus. My sister Jackie had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and I wanted to know all about it. Jackie and I talked and talked and I decided I wanted to be His too. When Pastor Rex Campbell held the baptism service, he baptized the two of us together. Jackie and I were in the youth choir at church and sang duets. I remember the two of us singing at my grandparents funerals. Later, when my mother lay in a coma, we sang to her day in and day out. My mother’s favorite hymn was “Blessed
Redeemer.” Once I mentioned this in a radio commercial and a lady heard the commercial and called the shop. Nancy, one of my sales ladies, answered the phone and the lady said she hadn’t heard that hymn in such a long time. Nancy told her that she didn’t sing, but as soon as Libby came in she would have me call her. I called, discovered she was a “shut in” and sang all the verses of “Blessed Redeemer” to her. Daddy’s favorite hymn was “How Great Thou Art”. Daddy owned a department store in West Jefferson called Jon Marc for 36 years. I cut my teeth on retail sales business. For my 13th summer, Daddy came flying home for lunch and asked Mother to make him a tomato sandwich. He didn’t have time to sit down, he had to rush back to the store. I asked if I could help. He took me with him and told me to go help in the children’s department. That afternoon I sold one lady over $500 in sales merchandise. I ran to find Daddy because I didn’t know how to ring it up! After ringing up the merchandise, Daddy turned to me and said “You’re not going home, you are here to stay!” Daddy died in 2000. I closed Jon Marc November, 2001 and opened Libby’s in March 2002. Daddy had always sent out a newsletter from the store and I have continued that tradition. My customers tell me it touches their hearts and lifts their spirits. We have over 3,000 names on our mailing list. It’s expensive but I feel it’s well worth the price. It’s a pleasure helping ladies look better and feel better about themselves. Sometimes, they need an encouraging word or a cup of coffee. Here at the shop, we call it “girlfriend therapy”. Women need a friend and I plan to be that friend. I am so very blessed. I have a wonderful husband who plays golf with me each week, three precious children and three grandchildren who complete my joy. I have a business that brings me pleasure and I’m still singing in the choir. What is my favorite hymn? “Amazing Grace” because I never cease to be amazed at how gracious He is.
Libby Cockerham, Jefferson
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Learning to Be an Overcomer
n my early childhood and adolescence, dysfunction was spelled with a capital “D”. My father and my stepfather were both alcoholics. I learned early on if I was going to make it, I would have to take responsibility for myself. So, I set childhood aside and moved into survival-protection mode. Fast forward to October, 1976. I was 33 years old with three children and my marriage was falling apart. My best efforts weren’t enough to salvage my life. I had tried to control every circumstance, tried to hold everything together, but nothing was working. I finally realized it was an impossible task to make life work the way it was supposed to. I saw no hope for the future. But that October I met Jesus. I handed the hopeless mess into His hands and by Christmas of 1976 my whole family was saved and praising Him. He had presented me my first miracle. After this, I threw myself into becoming the best wife and mother possible. The Lord was extremely patient with me as He taught me how to do it His way. I vowed that my family would have the kind of life that I had missed out on. I still believe that my primary calling is to be a
godly wife, mother and grandmother. One of the first lessons the Holy Spirit taught me was one Jesus had taught His disciples while He walked the earth. “In this world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration, but be of good cheer (take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted)! For I have overcome the world. (I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you). John 16:33 (Amp. Bible). A year or so after our salvation experience Denny was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and required major surgery. He received radiation treatments five days a week for three months. These radiation treatments irritated the lining of his heart causing fluid to gather around the heart. At one point, while he was recuperating at home, he lost consciousness. I quickly piled Denny and the three kids into the car and headed for the hospital. Instead of calling 911 for help, I reverted back to the old pattern of doing it by myself. Old habits are hard to break. In 1991 we moved from south Florida to Boone, N.C. Denny thought it was “heaven on earth” and still does. I, on
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the other hand, felt completely separated from our adult children and friends. I became more depressed each day. One day the Lord broke up my pity part with this message “It’s your choice. You can either wallow in your misery or serve me”! He sent me to Phillipians, chapter 4. It pulled me out of my depression and has become my life chapter. Little did I know how often I would need it. In a one and half year time span, death claimed my mother, my father , my son-inlaw, two aunts, an uncle and my dog! With each loss, He held me, walked beside me and taught me to be an overcomer. I can personally testify to Romans 8:28: “We are assured and know that (God being a partner in our labor) all things work together and are (fitting into a plan) for good to those who love God and are called according to (His) design and purpose.” (Amp. Bible) Today, my greatest joy is seeing my children serve the Lord and watching my grandchildren build their own relationship with Him. Personally, right now I’m in a “seeking stage”. God alone knows what our future holds.
Susie Barhite, Fleetwood
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The Anger Disappeared
ne night I found myself in a Pentecostal revival meeting. As a nineteen year old Baptist guy, Pentecostals scared me a little bit, so I sat in the back of the building. There was a guest speaker from Florida preaching and throughout the service I felt he was looking at me. When the meeting was over, I did my best to avoid him. I moved to the right and then to the left of the building looking for a door, but he chased me down. He looked at me and called me by name. Then he told me something about my past and things about my future. One of those things was ministry. At this point, I started running from God, but when he calls you to preach, He calls and calls and keeps calling until you answer.
Both my dad, who is a Baptist pastor, and my mother knew I was called to preach but I didn’t want to hear it. For eighteen more years, I continued to run. I loved the Lord, but I didn’t want to be a preacher. It just seemed too big a sacrifice. But the Lord wouldn’t let up. From age thirty-seven to forty-two, I wrestled with Him over this call. I fought to be released from it. It was during these five years I began to have a problem with anger. I was filled with frustration. When I talked to my wife, Sandy, about becoming a preacher her only comment was “I don’t know, Tim. You have so much anger. What about your temper?” At age forty-two, I pulled over into a parking lot and surrendered “I’ll preach your Word, God. I’ll preach your Word.” I felt all that anger disappear. I was just voted in as pastor a few months ago at Big Springs Baptist Church. It’s a simple church and our aim is to love God and people with all our hearts. We want to worship Him in all His glory and serve Him with all our strength. I’m a bi-vocational pastor who not only leads a church but serves Him in the market place here at Ashe County Ford. I don’t think we can divide our lives up into different segments-part church and part work place and another part for family and friends. It can’t be separated because it all flows together and it all belongs to Jesus. He paid for our whole lives and wants the entire package. It’s been my experience that God can be trusted to handle whatever each day brings. Ruth Graham commented that God didn’t promise we wouldn’t have a rocky ride, only that He would see to it that we had a safe landing. Everywhere I turn I’m surrounded by love. In my church, at my work place and in my home I feel His love. Surely, I can agree with the Psalmist, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant place; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Psalm 16:6
Tim Hamm
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From Our Heads to our Hearts
wise man once made this statement “God has no grandchildren!” As a preachers daughter, I received Jesus as my Savior when I was nine years old, but I didn’t honor Him as Lord of my life until I was an adult. I guess you could say I was a “slow motion” Christian. I attended church and was a “good” person but I chose to live my life the way that pleases me. One day, my best friend called me and told me it was time I got my life straightened out with God and she was coming over to pray with me. I gave her a dozen excuses why this wasn’t a convenient time. She, however, wouldn’t be put off and even arranged for a babysitter for my 2-1/2 year old daughter. I finally gave in and said she could come. She was on a mission from God and as she prayed for me, my entire life began to change. I was filled with an unexplainable peace as my Lord took control of my life. I realized I could lean on, rely on, trust and depend on God. I didn’t have to figure life out on my own. Ironically, on the same day, four hundred miles away, the Lord had arranged a divine appointment for my husband, Charles. In November, 1971, Charles had to fly from our home in Raleigh, NC to Tallahassee, FL on business. He had to change planes in Atlanta, GA. When he arrived there, he found the plane was late. Later, he was told they had to bring one out of mothballs, check it out and make sure it was in good condition. Meanwhile, they gave him a meal ticket and told him to go to lunch. Usually, Charles isn’t much of a talker, but that day as he was walking down the corridor of the airport in search of food, he struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger. Jimmy was an absolute stranger, but the two of them sat down together to eat lunch. Jimmy then boldly asked Charles about his Christian experience. So, Charles began to tell him that he was a “good” person, had always gone to church, was president of a couples Sunday School class and was married to a preacher’s daughter thinking he had married his way into Heaven. Charles was feeling really good when Jimmy looked him in the eye and stated, “Your Christianity is all in your head, not in your heart. You’re missing it by about eighteen inches. This is how far it is from your head to your heart.” Charles recognized the truth and asked Jimmy to pray for him. He expected him to pray for him sometime later, perhaps that night when he reached his motel room.
But to his surprise, Jimmy began to pray right there in the restaurant. He asked God to help Charles see that he needed Jesus in his life. Charles joined Jimmy in prayer and gave himself to Jesus. We have been married now for forty-eight years and the past thirty-seven years have been an incredible adventure. We adopted a son, Chuck and a daughter, Nicole. Today they are parents themselves and joyfully serving the Lord. For those who would like to learn of my son Chuck’s rare cancer at the age of five and his heart transplant at the age of twenty-eight and/or of my daughter Nicole’s trauma of finding her birth parents as a young adult, contact me at Barbara Stophel, P.O. Box 163, Todd, N.C. 28684, and I will send you a copy of my complete testimony. The Lord’s faithfulness to our family is truly extraordinary.
Barbara Stophel, Todd
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December 2008
A Miraculous Change
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hen I was 10 years old, my life and the lives of every one of my family members was radically changed for the better. It all happened because a church in the neighborhood where I lived reached out to my family with the love of God. Before we moved to the neighborhood, my family was nominally involved in a Baptist Church. Occasionally, we would go to church on a Sunday but it wasn’t something any of us took seriously. When we moved, we didn’t attend church at all, even though there was a church within 1/2 mile of our house. At the time of our move, my father was a successful businessman. It was because of his business relationships that he began drinking socially. That social drinking led to fullfledged alcoholism which began to destroy the success he had built. Eventually, he lost his job, his car and we were behind on our house payments. It was in this very time-frame that the church down the road began to reach out to us. One Sunday my mom looked at my older brother and me (he was 12 and I was 10) and said “Why don’t you boys ride your bikes down to that church.” We did just that and people of the church really showed love to us. Because of that we kept going back, until one Sunday my mom went with us. She was so moved by the love she felt there and the message she heard that she gave her heart to Christ that very Sunday. When we got back home she told my dad what happened and encouraged him to come with her the next Sunday. He was somewhat defensive and said, “I joined a church when I was a boy. It didn’t do me any good then and it won’t now.” My mom tried to tell him that what had happened to her was real and had nothing to do with joining a church, but he wouldn’t listen. Yet, in spite of his belligerent attitude, the next Sunday he went to church with us. I’m guessing he went because he had seen a real change in mom. When we left the church service that morning my dad was visibly angry. When my mom asked him what was going on he said, “That preacher talked to me like I was the only person there and I’m not putting up with that.” I remember him literally swearing to never go back to church. There were over 200 people in the service that morning, so it was ridiculous for my dad to think that the pastor had singled him out. Of course, I know now that it was the Holy Spirit who was dealing with my dad and drawing him to God because the very next Sunday he went to church with us again. That very Sunday my dad responded to the altar call and went to the front of the church to speak with and pray with someone about receiving Christ as His Lord and Savior. As my brother and I saw our
dad go forward it made such an impression on us that we went forward too. I remember distinctly the man who explained salvation to me and led me in prayer to receive Christ as my Savior. Since I’ve been involved in church work so long, I know that there are times when children or teens follow a buddy or an emotion to the altar and that whatever it is they experienced wears off. But I know something deep and profound and real happened to me that day. I remember that afternoon saying to my brother “I don’t know about you, but I feel so clean inside. It’s like I don’t even want to do some of the bad things we’ve been doing anymore.” My brother agreed that he felt the same way. Just a few weeks after that, my 8 year old sister got saved too and my whole family got baptized together. From that day on, things changed dramatically in my household. My dad, who had been to rehab centers several times for his alcoholism, completely stopped drinking from the time he responded to that altar call. He got a new job in sales and quickly rose through the ranks of his company to become the Executive Vice President. He went from being a drunk to someone who made a sincere effort to honor God in all he did. Though I didn’t know it at the time, I found out later that it took my dad 2 years to pay off his liquor bills. That’s in addition to paying off all the other debt we had run up. I knew then that when his life had turned around he made a decision to tithe no matter what. It made quite an impression on me to see what a tangible difference it made in a person’s life when they sincerely purposed to put God and His interests first. That example and the way God blessed and changed my whole family laid the foundation for my call to the ministry. Experiencing the miraculous change God brought about in my family, motivates me to share that those miraculous changes are possible for anyone’s life, marriage or family.
Allan Blume, Pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church
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December 2008
Homes for the Homeless
s a little girl, about nine years old, church was important to me and even more important was my relationship with God. About this time, a missionary from China spoke at our church and God used her to plant “missionary seeds” in my young heart. We were singing the hymn “Where He Leads I’ll Go”, when I realized this hymn was a vow, an oath and I stopped singing. I couldn’t sing it unless I really meant it and I wasn’t sure. In the early nineties I had the occasion to visit China. I was a part of the Teacher Exchange in the Language Arts department of ASU. A co-worker asked me to go to China with her as part of the exchange program so I spent six weeks in China. That was the end of my mission trips. I retired in 2000, knowing the Lord had something else for me to do. I accepted an invitation to take a mission trip to the Ukraine where I encountered a feeding program for street kids. It so impacted me, I thought of little else. On the plane ride home, the Lord put on my heart to build a home for these children. When I got off the plane, I announced to my husband, David, “We must build a home for the homeless children!” In the beginning, David didn’t get involved. He thought this was some passing fancy and I would get over it. However, once he made a trip to Ukraine, he was as hooked as I was. The children and the older people followed him around as if he were the “Pied Piper”. We have established Eurasia Center for Homeless Children. With all the red tape necessary to establish this ministry, both here and overseas, it has taken approximately four years to reach this point. We have a second organization in Ukraine so we can locate a building or property to build a house. Some people have asked why we don’t do this here. We weren’t told to do it here. He said to build it there and has provided people in Ukraine, who have a vision but no funding to oversee the construction and day-to-day labor involved in the project. God has met our needs every step of the way. What He initiated He pays for. When money is needed, it will be there. After this home is up and running smoothly we will build others. Eastern Ukraine is the poorest part of the country yet alcoholism and drug use are rampant. There are so many street kids and so few to help them realize their purpose and calling. There are orphanages there, some good and some bad, but at ages sixteen or eighteen these children are put out on the streets with no family support and are truly homeless. A sixteen year old girl was put out of an orphanage and found a job at a restaurant. Through an accident with
either hot water or hot grease the entire front of her body was scalded. Because she had so little money, all she was able to get for her burns was basic first aid. In desperation she called someone back at the orphanage and asked how many pills she would need to take in order to kill herself. That person called the church. The church there is absolutely amazing. Instead of being ingrown, they are out on the streets daily evangelizing and getting the Word out that Jesus cares. I will never understand how they can accomplish so much with so little. They had started a home for girls to keep them from turning to prostitution in order to survive. They sent some of the older girls to go get the sixteen year old and bring her to the home where she could recuperate. Then they sent her to school so she could learn a trade and support herself. They found an abandoned building that would have been condemned and torn down here in the states. Out of it they were able to house a drug rehabilitation center for men. The men have to work and attend Bible study each morning. In a separate part of the building they have made a place for handicapped women who cut out gloves from fabric that is then sewn and used in the steel mills. These women feel they have worth because they are useful. They have a house for older women and a separate house for older men who can no longer work. In James 1:27 we are told, “Religion that God our Father accepts is pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Each time I return to USA from Ukraine I suffer culture shock. How very rich we are in comparison yet we do so little with so much. May God have mercy on us and change our hearts.
Pat Greene, Todd
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December 2008
My Own Decision
ntil I was about fourteen or fifteen years old, I hardly knew what a church was. There was a little Baptist church near our house in Surry County and Mama started going. Now where Mama went, the young ‘uns went too. I was even baptized, but I don’t remember much about it. I wasn’t going to church to serve and worship God, I was going to please Mama. In 1951, I moved to Greensboro near my parents. Every Sunday morning, I drove over to their house and together we rode to church in my car. I was going to church just to please my parents. In 1963, I married a wonderful woman and together we had a son and a daughter. Mama had taught me well that families belong in church, so now I was going to church to please my family. But in a revival meeting on May 22, 1972, I made a decision for myself. I want to serve you, Lord, instead of pleasing everyone else. Since that day pleasing the Lord has
become my goal in life. We were charter members of Shining Light Baptist Church. My dad and I helped with the construction of the buildings there, and I served as an usher. In 1996, my wife died of a brain tumor. The kids were grown and I was lonely so I decided to relocate to the mountains. I met a lady, a school teacher from Boone and in 2001, I married her. We visited several churches in the area but ended up at Bald Mountain Baptist Church. I have come to appreciate the opportunities offered here to serve the Lord. Through the Brotherhood we serve the needy and work with “Ashe Deeply Cares” in distributing toys to children at Christmas time. I’m the chair person for the building and grounds committee. God didn’t call me to preach and I’m not a teacher. The Bible says that when Jesus walked the earth, He went about doing good. I’m just following Jesus trying to do good.
A.D. Hawks, West Jefferson
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December 2008
Living the Good Life
uring my schooling at ASU, I was privileged to play football for Coach Jerry Moore. I consider him to be one of the people who greatly influenced my life at that time. His consistent Christian walk both challenged and inspired me to be bold for the Lord on campus and contributed to the building of my character. “Leave family, friends and all that is familiar and follow Me.” My uncle, Andy, heard this call and served in Nigeria, Africa, for fifteen (15) years. My cousin, Sara Beth, heard this call and went to China. My dad, Dan, heard this call and went on short-term mission trips for a couple of weeks each year. I didn’t fully understand how they could just pack up and leave their lives behind until I heard this call. I had gone on some short-term mission trips with my Dad and had taken a trip to Mississippi and New Orleans with Campus Crusade for Christ after Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, I took a mission trip to Hawaii with my mother and brother. I graduated in December from ASU and planned to return to Hawaii for a three month mission trip in February. However, in January I went to Nicaragua for a week’s mission trip with my parents and granddad. I expected to play with the kids there and help out for one week. As we were leaving and saying our farewells to the congregation, I had a strong impression I would be back. I even voiced to them I would return. On the flight home, they were all I could think about. Within twenty-four hours, I knew I was headed back for a minimum three months. Three weeks later, I returned not for three months but indefinitely. I joined New Song Mission Nicaragua full time and began working with the youth. On short-term missions I had been somewhat limited on what I could achieve because of time restraints. We could only deal with immediate problems, but as a full-time worker I can now make plans and projects that will affect not only this generation but generations to come. Primarily, I work with young people twenty-five years of age or under. As youth pastor I have to build a foundation of love, letting them know I love them and Jesus loves them. The concept of love is foreign to them. Survival they understand, but not love. This village was built to house field workers by San Antonio Sugar Cane Plantation. Ninety percent or more of the men in the village work the cane fields for next to nothing. Pesticides used in that work have affected their health and wrecked their kidneys. Men are dying at thirty and thirty-five years old due to renal kidney failure. The majority of the kids here are growing up without fathers. There is a hospital here, but it only serves to try to keep the men alive. It does nothing to prevent the cause of kidney failure. The choices are limited for these men. They can stay and work the cane until it kills
them or abandon their families and head for Costa Rica where there are more job opportunities. Our goal is to stop this cycle. We want to show them that a loving God wants more for them than this lifestyle. The work is always evolving and we sense God giving us new strategies to break both physical and spiritual poverty. To address their spiritual needs, we offer Bible studies and church services geared to their age group. We are teaching and living before them, Christian values and morals. Our aim is to build healthy, growing communities of Christians who love God and each other. We push education because without it they are trapped into repeating the same dead-end life their parents and grandparents endured. We want to enable them that they might find employment that will raise their standard of living. Our strategy for this is linking them to families in the USA who will sponsor them financially, families willing to contribute to their needs of pencils and paper, notebooks, clothing and medicine. Living in unsanitary conditions, they are often ill and miss weeks of school. They get behind in their school work, become discouraged and drop out. We also enlist families able to support students we need to go on to college in order to achieve their goals and dreams. In the nine months, I have been in Nicaragua, God has allowed me to establish relationships that are life-changing, both theirs and mine. I’ve been in Boone for a week visiting family and friends, but this isn’t “Home” anymore. I can’t live anywhere but there. I no longer fit into this culture and God assures me daily I was created to serve the people of Nicaragua. My passion for them increases as I’m about the call assigned to me. I’m in the center of His will and nothing compares to that. As far as I’m concerned, I’m living the “good life”-the only life!
Jim Bob Norman, Nicaragua
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December 2008
Back To The Basics
y Dad worked for the N.C. Fish and Game Commission, so I learned early that the outdoors was “important”. It was a place of peace and refuge, especially for a little boy who lost his mother at five years of age. Living in Alaska was Dad’s big dream. At one point he applied for a position there, but Mom developed cancer and died and the dream died too. However, my wife, Tracy and I leaped at the opportunity to go to Alaska. We packed up our two children and headed for adventure. Alaska was everything that we had hoped for. It was “outdoors” personified and we jumped in with both kids. We went back country camping, blueberry picking, prospecting, fishing creeks with grizzly bears, catching salmon, halibut and graylings hunting. It was the adventure of a lifetime. We were so infatuated with Alaska. I’m sorry to say we put Christ on back burner. The architecture business was booming and money was flowing. We invested in a large house, property in a mountain side, a camper, cars and other toys. Life was great! But in the late 80’s, the economy in Alaska, went “belly up”. Basically, we lost everything in the process. Our whole lives were turned upside down. About this time, my niece, Lisal, came to visit us. Lisal was a seminary student who, on Sunday, wanted to go to church to worship. We didn’t even know where to find a church so we began to make inquiries. It seemed the “big” church in town started at 11:00 a.m., so Sunday found us lined up in a pew. Pastor John Tindall’s sermon was from the book of James. We were told to count it all joy when we encountered trials and hardships, because they would teach us endurance, steadfastness and patience. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I was desperately trying to solve financial, business and family problems. Yet, the harder I tried, the deeper in the hole we got and more depressed I became. Anchorage is a relatively small town so you soon begin to recognize everyone. I knew most of the folks around town at least by face. One day we went into town for ice cream. I was mad at Tracy, mad at the kids and mad at the world. As we sat there in stoney silence, a stately, elegantly dressed older gentleman came into the store. Among men who wore bear claw necklaces, he definitely stood out. As he passed our table, he paused, looked at me and said, “Sir, you have a fine family here.” He then smiled and walked away. We had never seen him before and we never saw him
again. We looked at each other and that was the turning point for us. The reality of what was really important sunk in. I began looking to God for direction rather than trying to solve everything myself. Pastor Tindall had mentioned “heavenly nudges” in his sermon. Some of use needed a “heavenly hammer”. Everything changed: our relationship with each other, with the kids and with God. We got involved in church. I went to “Promise Keepers”. During the early 90’s I experienced the greatest explosion of spiritual growth in my entire life. I began to think about coming back to N.C., but we were literally so broke we couldn’t afford to come back. For the next four or five years, we learned about the joys of a simple, quiet life and trusting God and enjoying one another. When we recovered financially, we headed back to North Carolina. The kids are grown now, but this past summer Tracy and I found ourselves once more caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. We knew we needed to go away and take stock of our lives, get quiet and seek direction. We got in our little Volkswagon camper and spent the month of July with our God getting back to basics. After all, isn’t that what Jesus did? He found a quiet place on a mountain top or beside a lake and talked everything over with His father. I can relate to that. Economic crisis and world events don’t shake us anymore. We’ve seen what God is able and willing to do, so we just take a deep breath and relax.
Don Woodruff, Deep Gap
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Realizing the Depth of God’s Love
hough I was reared in a Christian home and grew up in the church, I didn’t make the connection that I was a sinner in need of a Savior until my freshman year of high school. During the month of October, the church where I attended held a revival meeting and I gave my heart to Jesus. A few weeks later, on November 1, my twin sister Melanie and I were baptized outdoors in a cold, frost creek much to my parent’s delight. All of our lives we had been surrounded by Christian family and friends. Because of these positive influences, we escaped many of the pitfalls common to teenagers like alcohol and drugs. I believe God delivered me not out of these evils but from any involvement in them, saving me a lot of pain and baggage. Melanie and I had each other to lean on when our Christian walk became difficult. After high school, Melanie and I left West Jefferson for Mars Hill College. There I met my future husband, Rick Goodman. We had grown up in the same county, but our paths never crossed until we reached college. I graduated
from college in May and Rick and I were married in June. This year we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Rick and I were married ten years before our daughter, Lindsay, was born. I had believed that God loved me, but until I fell in love with that little girl, I hadn’t realized the depth of His love for me. My heavenly Father and I shared something in common—we were both parents who loved our children with all our hearts. Six years later, the Lord gave us Caroline. Caroline was in such a hurry to get here, she tried to be born eight weeks too early! My doctor put me to bed and my Lord filled me with peace and Caroline came in due time. Shortly after Rick and I were married I took a job in Boone with an accounting firm where I gained experience and put into practice my schooling. One day I got a call from Steve Goodman (no relation) asking if I would be interested in taking over his business in West Jefferson. After much prayer, we decided to accept his offer. I came to work with Steve for a year, and then purchased the business in 1996. As a business owner, I feel the Lord’s guidance every day. I constantly seek Him for direction. From the beginning, I decided to apply Christian principles in every area of the business. I determined that honesty and integrity would be our foundation. During a Continuing Professional Education seminar, one of our speakers challenged us by asking “How much is your integrity worth? Would you sell it for $200 or $500 or $1000?” This business is held accountable by the Supreme Judge; therefore there is no room for any dishonesty within these walls. I think my clients sense the Christian atmosphere in the office and have never asked me to misrepresent or manipulate their accounts.
Melissa Goodman, West Jefferson
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December 2008
Pray Until Something Happens for You
n November 25, 2008, I will celebrate my seventh spiritual birthday. Reared in an Episcopal church, I knew about God but didn’t have a relationship with Him. In the fall of 2001, I experienced the lowest point of my life and was diagnosed with clinical depression. At the time, my wife, Dee, and I were unchurched. A business associate suggested we try Bald Mountain Baptist Church and we did. The worship service followed the usual format of praising the Lord through music, then the preaching of the Word and an invitation to give your heart and life to Jesus. We had sung the closing hymn, “Just As I Am” and I thought the service was coming to a close. However, Pastor Goodman said, “Let’s sing it one more time.” At that point I lost it and with tears streaming down my face, I headed for the altar. One minute I was singing and the next I was crying uncontrollably. Jesus moved into my life and changed everything. I began to pray and got involved with church. Scripture became a very important part of my life and I began to grow
spiritually. There are days when I still struggle. However, I’ve discovered when I’m weakest, He shows Himself strong. I’m aware without His love I wouldn’t make it. I’ve found that trials and tribulations build character. I haven’t been called to preach, but I feel I’m called to witness His goodness and love through my lifestyle. I want to be known as a man of his word. God has abundantly blessed my real estate business and I’m determined to manage it with utmost integrity. My wife, Dee, and I have been married for twenty-eight years. The last seven of those years we’ve managed to get on the same page. In the morning we don’t leave home until we’ve prayed together and we pray together again each night before we go to sleep. The future is a question mark and the past can’t be changed so we’ve learned to live each day as it comes. We now enjoy a great Christian life. My only regret is that I didn’t meet Him sooner. My philosophy of life is reflected in my license tag. PUSH FOR U means “Pray until something happens for you.”
Walt Peterson, West Jefferson
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