Early Childhood

  My mom found out she was pregnant with me. She told her boyfriend and he said “well I guess we        have to get married.” She told him she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to. He said fine if it’s a boy I will take him. My mom said no you won't, and left. She loaded up her Chevy Luv pickup truck and head home leaving a Ford Mustang behind. I was about 17 when my mom told me this story I cried not over what happened but over the Mustang. That was my dream car. I told her, mom I could have had a Mustang. She told me other things were more important. Boy was she right.

           I was born December 28, 1972 in Pryor, Ok. When I was 10 days old I became deadly sick.   My mom rushed me to hospital, and found out I had a double hernia on the groan that I was born with. The doctor said I was lucky to be alive, if she would have waited much longer I would have been dead. Lucky NO, but by Gods MERCY. When I was little we lived above Western Auto, in an apartment. I would take my blocks and throw them out the window and my mom would go down and get them. She told me that she finally stopped going down to get them so I lost my blocks. First lesson learned.  About this time she got married to this guy I have no memory of him what so ever which is a good thing. My mom says she came home from work and I had bruises on me. He had beaten me because I had an accident and didn’t go to the potty. My mom left him immediately.

                When I was about 3 years-old the man I would call Dad came into my life.  He drove a truck at the time. And one of the first things he brought me home was a stuffed monkey with a banana in its hand. I think it was meant for Christmas, but I spotted it early. My parents tell me I would never let go of it. It just finely fell apart. Also about this time he brought me home a Santa Claus that was made out of a Dawn dish bottle. I still have this and place it out every Christmas now for my kid’s enjoyment. One other thing while he was driving he bought my mom a painting of Jesus pointing the way for a trucker in a rain storm going around a mountain and it says “Fear not I'm with you”. My dad gave me that painting this year. I cried he had no idea what that means to me. It now hangs on my living room wall. Also from this time of my life I still have a ceramic Santa Clause that was hand painted by my preschool teacher Patty I got this back in 1975, and I still have it I also place it out every year.

                 Some time around 4yrs old I asked my parents for a baby sister. They told me I had to ask the doctor about that. Well as faith would have it I would get my opportunity. My parents were fishing below a bridge in Salina, and I was climbing all over the rocks. They told me several times to set down, as typical little boys we don’t listen. I adventally feel and busted my head wide open. Off to the hospital to get sewn up. Guess what I asked the doctor? Yep I asked him for a baby sister. He told me that was up to my parents I informed him that they told me to ask you. Silence, he finished sewing me up and left.

About a year later my baby sister was born. The night before my dad and I were setting in the floor building Lincoln log houses, when my mom said it was time. I don’t remember were I went, but I remember the next day.  It was Oct 8, 1976 it was the Founders Day Parade in Saline. I was an Indian on a float. When the parade was over my dad asked me if I wanted to go see my new sister. At this time kids were not allowed back in the nursery in hospitals. My dad however told me I could see my mom and sister and took me back there. The nurses were not pleased to say the least. I did get to see my baby sister and mommy and the first thing I ask her were the hole was in her tummy she said there is no hole and I asked her then how the baby comes out. She never did answer. At this time while we lived in Salina, Ok. I was in kindergarten, and had a St.Bernard dog named Toby. He would lie across me at night when I was in bed. I remember my parents having to go down to the jail and bail him out. Cause the cops in the town were scared of him.

                  He was nothing but a big puppy might lick you to death but that about it. Me on the other hand I was already a heathen. I was already setting in my desk up by the teacher’s desk. Another occasion I  remember one incident in particular we just had a big snow fall and Kevin a boy that lived kind of next door to us belt a snowman , well he left and Evan and myself tore down his snowman and moved to a place between our yards.

                  It was the Christmas parade in Salina, and the kindergarten classes were to be the raindear on Santa’s sleigh. Well I wanted to be Rudolph so my mom painted my noise red. What do you know all my other class mates wanted to be Rudolph to. So my mom painted red noises on the whole class. We had a sleigh full of red noised raindears. On another occasion my dad was in the front yard making me a wooden airplane for me. The saws were noisy and it was interrupting my playing. I told my dad to go in the back yard that he was making to much noise. This is the first time I remember getting a spanking by my dad. He told me I am never to tell him what to do. Much like we can’t tell God what to do.

                

                  Shortly after my sister was born we moved to a farm, about 5 miles NW of Pryor, Ok.

On my last day of school in Salina my teacher took the class and we walked down to the Dairy Dell to get an ice cream cone after I got mine I sat down and was stung by a bee I dropped my ice cream cone. I don’t remember if I was mad I dropped my ice cream or if I got stung.

                        After we moved we had to give Toby to my grandfather who lived in Strang. Cause he wouldn’t leave the rabbits alone. Shortly after we gave him to my Grandfather his neighbor poisoned my dog. I was heart broken this was the first time I experienced death of something I loved.

                    I was enrolled into Adair elementary school. Once again I was getting into trouble.  I was in first grade and the school determined I couldn’t have any sugar, they thought that was the problem.  So they banned me from having it. They did this with out telling my parents. This was during the fall bake sale at school. So the next day my mom gave me some money so I could get some cookies at school.  Needless to say I got in to trouble and got swats, for eating a cookie.  So the school contacted my parents, and the result was in the long run I was diagnosed as ADD.  This however didn’t solve anything even with the meds they had me on. I believe it was Ritalin. Shortly after this incident my parents took me out of Adair Schools and placed me into Pryor, Public Schools.  New place new start everything will be better. Or so I thought even at the early age of eight. Now in 3^rd grade, Mrs. Gores class. One of my favorite teachers ever, I really can’t remember getting into trouble hear, but I had a hard time making friends, and my grades were failing. And I was placed into LD classes, and received counseling, the counseling went on till high school when I just stopped going. Began not to like people trying to figure me out or what was wrong with me and why I didn’t fit in.

                 So my escape was the land we lived on. We had over 100 acres that I could play on with Pryor Creek running threw the middle of it. I would ether go down and play in the creek or ride my bike threw the corn and soy bean fields with my BB gun. Times were different then. My sister and I had a watering troth we swam in it was about 12ft in diameter and maybe 3 ½ foot deep. The joys of farm life. We had rabbits, chickens, geese, ducks pigs, my hoarse named Toby, and he was my Shetland pony. And accurse we had cows. However we had one cow that was a pet. Yes a pet it would come to you when you would call him. His name was Coco. My mom cared him home in her lap from the action. My dad said it would die before we got home. My mom bottled feed that calf and it grew up. Nothing like seeing a cow run up to you when you call it. We also had a pet pig a piglet named Porky he would put his hooves up on the stove standing up warming his belly on the stove. Yes this pig lived in the house.

             By the end of my 3^rd grade year I was still failing.

            My parents refused to hold me back thou. Now in 4^th grade Mr. Dotson’s class I do remember getting swats several times for being disruptive in class, and once again my grades were failing. I remember this year very will I was allowed to stay up to midnight for my 10^th birthday putting puzzles together. I got a big blue toy truck, later that day for my birthday. It spent a lot of time in the sand box. That was an old tractor tire. About this time one night I went to hug and kiss my dad goodnight and he said “don’t you think your getting to old for this”. I was devastated I could not understand why he would say that. And that was the last time I showed any affection to my dad in that manner till this day not even a hug. Now in 5^th grade Mrs. Prather’s class. I once again, secluded from rest of class my desk was in the very front of the room up against the wall.  Still not many friends and my grades were straight Fs. About this time my Granny Patton passed away, she was my great grandmother, I truly loved her, and I was devastated I understood death at this age from were we lived on the farm, but my parents would not let me go to the funeral. I just didn’t care about anything at this age. School didn’t matter, I had only a couple friends, and I believe this is about the time I began to fear my dad. I always wondered if what I did was going to make him mad. I thought at the time that no matter what I did he wouldn’t be happy.  These fear lasted for most my life even up to and past the time I moved out.

       While in the 5^th grade is when my sister and I started going to church. We attended a couple different vbs. We found a church home at an Assembly of God church in Pryor.

My parents however didn’t go. I attended Sunday school, children’s church, youth groups and youth conventions and youth camp at Falls Creek. But I didn’t find Christ. Even thou I walked the isle more times than I can count. I always made a false confession of faith; my heart was never in to it. However I pay close attention to what was being said and I absorbed it like a sponge. I also did some reading on my own. I recall one time a deacon asked me a question about the battle of Jericho or when the spies went into the Promise Land and I knew the answer. He laid his hand on me and said “That my knowledge was excellent for someone my age, and that God had great plans for me and He would use me in great ways” I wish that I remembered his name, or the question. 

      In 6^th grade my troubles started to greatly increase. I decided to skip school one day and take my sister with me she was in kindergarten.  As we were walking around town, my parents showed up. I don’t remember my punishment cause by this time I learned to tune out everything, didn’t care really ether way. Later that year I had my first fight after school. We were walking home two brothers named David and Allen and my self. When I finely just snapped and started fighting David, I don’t remember what it was over. But the principle showed up and told us that we were to get swats tomorrow and go home. I went Home and told my dad what happened He said I would never get in trouble for defending myself and went to the school and had some choice words with the principle needles to say I never got in trouble for that fight.

      That was not the end of it that fight would continue few days later in my back yard when I broke David’s glasses. Don’t remember the repercussions for this but David, Allen and I did become good friends and that would last up to high school, till we just lost contact.  

This concludes my early childhood Jr. High and High School to follow in a few days I will elaborate on some stuff mentioned that needs clarifying.   Thank you for following And GOD BLESS.

My Story begins

There was a time in my life that John 3:16 " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

didn’t mean anything to me, it was just words in a book. I knew the book (head knowledge), not believing it in my heart,(heart knowledge).

At one time in my life I would have liked to have blamed my father for the problems in my life. Much like I was blaming God for every wrong thing that I felt was happening. But as I grew older I realized that I was the one to blame for my own mistakes and that my parents did what they could to guide me in the right direction. It took a few years to figure this out, and several more before I realized God was trying to get my attention. By Gods grace and mercy I’m here today to write this. I give him all praise and glory.

Looking back on my life there is no doubt that God was involved in it, I just didn’t see Him at the time.

If you have no regard for your own Father, you have no regard for God. For the bible says you should honor your father and mother. And that you should love God with all your heart and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. If you don’t do these three things how can you follow God, without honoring your own father?

Now I couldn’t of asked for a different father, he always made sure we had what we needed, not necessarily what we wanted.(Much like God does) But at Christmas time I don’t know how they did it but my sister and I always got that one thing we wanted more than anything. One for instance was in the early 80s Atari was popular and we wanted one with Pac-Man. It was a rough time that year. We didn’t have much money because my dad was unemployed but my parents cut wood and haled hay to pay the bills. My mom saved changed all year, and come Christmas morning there under the tree was a callico vision with games, and a used black and white TV. (Pac-man came later) Recently I told my dad that was the best Christmas we ever had. Because I realized how much he and my mother sacrificed so that my sister and I could have that for Christmas. Just like when I realized what God sacrificed to show his love for us. 1John 4:9 says "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."

We went on more vacations then I can count, several a year. We went camping swimming fishing hunting, and to other states. We just had great quality time as a family. He also taught me the value of hard work, from the time we lived on the farm till the time I moved out. As children we don’t really realize what our parents are doing much like when your lost you don’t relize that God is calling out to you.

Now as you will see when I learned to honor and respect my dad, I found God some time later and realized that God was trying to discipline me and get my attention much like my own father guided and directed me. Heb 12:5-9 says

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

(Note you don’t become good to find God, you come to God as a sinner through faith by grace you are saved not by works)