Barnabas Letter for May 17, 2006, Just Jeremy
Barnabas Letter
# 2
May 15th 2006
The Stale Hostess Twinkie
Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Psalm 24:3
Not too many days ago I had the shock of a lifetime.
I was home alone, working on some chores around the house, when a rather disturbing grumbling occurred within the confines of my stomach. Instantly pity took its place as I headed for the kitchen, and one of my favorite food groups, the infamous Hostess Twinkie.
Padding across the kitchen floor in my sock feet I spotted the box of Twinkies centered on the kitchen table, its top hastily torn open and sagging off to the side, much like a broken wing. Without the slightest concern for its broken aperture I reached in and took two Twinkies. Mind you now, all this was accomplished without spilling the cup of coffee firmly grasped in my left hand. Ah Yes, a sign of a Twinkie veteran.
Hauling my prey off to the living room, I sat down in my easy chair so as to dispose of my two victims in comfort.
The first one went without a fight, and was washed down with a couple gulps of steaming, black coffee.
Reaching for the next victim, my hand clasping around its cream filled housing, I couldn’t help but sense, my life was about to change forever. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
Bringing the defenseless Twinkie into my line of sight I saw nothing unusual, but it still felt so wrong. I then held the poor Twinkie in both of my now trembling hands, carefully inspecting every inch of it with my old, steel-blue eyes aged from many years of experience in the art of Twinkie indulgence.
At first glance everything looked normal, but after careful inspection and handling of the Twinkie I discovered much to my great alarm, that this Hostess Twinkie was “STALE!!!!”
Yes my friend, the outside of the Twinkie was hard, with a slight bit of crust taking place on its outer shell.
Never having seen such a thing as this, I chalked it up to a sign of the times. Surely we are in the last days!
Alarmed, I ran into the kitchen and quickly inspected the rest of the Twinkies in the box. I was relieved (and I am sure you are too) to find that the rest of them had survived the infirmity of the single, infected Twinkie.
Yes my fellow Twinkie lover, I broke into a cold sweat just telling the story of the stale Twinkie, but there is an analogy behind this story, in which I hope you will find a life changing blessing.
This morning, after dropping my nine year old son Elijah off at his school, I sat in my study and thought about him, and my dear bride Jackie. I considered how wonderful life is with them, and how lonely and dull, life would be without them.
I am blessed to have more time than most to spend with my family.
Jackie leaves for work in the morning around 6:30 am. I give her a kiss goodbye, and set about preparing myself for the day. Elijah usually wanders out of his bedroom all wrapped in his blankie around 7 am. After our good morning hug and, “I love you dad,” he and blankie snuggle up in his big chair together, while I fix him some breakfast. At 8:20 in the morning, Elijah and I head off in my car to his school, which is but a short trip down a country road.
Returning home I find myself immersed in writing or auto repair for most of the day as I watch the time swiftly disappear in a plethora of diverse tasks.
Soon enough 2 pm arrives, and it is time to quit whatever I am doing, and prepare to pick up Elijah at school.
I always wait for him outside the door of his school room so he can see me through the window in the door. When I do that, it always changes a frown into a smile when he sees me waiting for him, and he will look towards the window often, just to be sure of me. After school we head for home to do his homework, and play together until mom comes home.
You see friend, I am Elijah’s dad, a very important part of his life. I am his security in life, his strength and one to imitate. I am his hero, and guiding light in a tough world. I am his best friend, and his protector. My life must become a well designed compass, true to its course for my son as he grows older.
Jackie arrives at home from her work around 4:30 pm., another time of the day I look forward to. She is my bride, my friend, and lifelong companion. We will grow old together, and as the years rapidly disappear, we will lean on each other for strength in the hard times, and deeper in love in the light of many a beautiful sunset.
I dearly love my wife, and son, but I will say that I haven’t always made the right decisions regarding their spiritual welfare. I have made some poor decisions that could have destroyed all we had together, but for the grace of God.
As I have drawn closer to God in the years, I have discovered a deeper desire to serve God in such a way that blesses my family. Could it be true to say that my relationship with God is directly related to the spiritual inheritance of my family, especially my son Elijah.
My son Elijah is watching me all the time. He sees all I do, and hears all I say. I want for my son to hear me pray, and see God answer. I want for my son to see me work hard to provide for my family, and see me honor God with what He gives me to support my family. I want for my son to see adversity come, and see, and hear me respond appropriately. I want for my son to see me love my wife in a Godly way, and love his wife the same. See me love my neighbor and love his as well. I want for my son to become a man of God, much more than I have ever been.
My wife must be proud of me, and pleased with my love for her. I must earn her respect, and trust in me if I expect her to submit to me as the spiritual leader of our home. I must remember she is a woman, and can feel, and sense when things are wrong as much as she can feel, and sense when things are right in our lives. She must know she is the most beautiful woman in the world, and always my bride.
Am I good at all this? No, but I strive for that goal, to keep the faith and finish the race as the Apostle Paul would say. I strive to become more and more of a Godly blessing to my family, ever aware of the fact, that if even a Twinkie can grow stale, so might I. I have an obligation to God and my family to not let my relationship with God become crispy and harden around even the edges of life. I must remain solid in my Savior Jesus Christ, close to Him in every step of life. I must remain soft and pliable clay for the Master, that He might find me a good and faithful servant. Then perhaps one day, hand in hand my wife, son, and I might ascend the holy hill of the Lord together, with clean hands and pure hearts.
May Our Lord Jesus bless you my friend and keep you close throughout your days.
Oh Yes! The Twinkie……Well, I ate it of course.
Jeremy
# 2
May 15th 2006
The Stale Hostess Twinkie
Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Psalm 24:3
Not too many days ago I had the shock of a lifetime.
I was home alone, working on some chores around the house, when a rather disturbing grumbling occurred within the confines of my stomach. Instantly pity took its place as I headed for the kitchen, and one of my favorite food groups, the infamous Hostess Twinkie.
Padding across the kitchen floor in my sock feet I spotted the box of Twinkies centered on the kitchen table, its top hastily torn open and sagging off to the side, much like a broken wing. Without the slightest concern for its broken aperture I reached in and took two Twinkies. Mind you now, all this was accomplished without spilling the cup of coffee firmly grasped in my left hand. Ah Yes, a sign of a Twinkie veteran.
Hauling my prey off to the living room, I sat down in my easy chair so as to dispose of my two victims in comfort.
The first one went without a fight, and was washed down with a couple gulps of steaming, black coffee.
Reaching for the next victim, my hand clasping around its cream filled housing, I couldn’t help but sense, my life was about to change forever. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
Bringing the defenseless Twinkie into my line of sight I saw nothing unusual, but it still felt so wrong. I then held the poor Twinkie in both of my now trembling hands, carefully inspecting every inch of it with my old, steel-blue eyes aged from many years of experience in the art of Twinkie indulgence.
At first glance everything looked normal, but after careful inspection and handling of the Twinkie I discovered much to my great alarm, that this Hostess Twinkie was “STALE!!!!”
Yes my friend, the outside of the Twinkie was hard, with a slight bit of crust taking place on its outer shell.
Never having seen such a thing as this, I chalked it up to a sign of the times. Surely we are in the last days!
Alarmed, I ran into the kitchen and quickly inspected the rest of the Twinkies in the box. I was relieved (and I am sure you are too) to find that the rest of them had survived the infirmity of the single, infected Twinkie.
Yes my fellow Twinkie lover, I broke into a cold sweat just telling the story of the stale Twinkie, but there is an analogy behind this story, in which I hope you will find a life changing blessing.
This morning, after dropping my nine year old son Elijah off at his school, I sat in my study and thought about him, and my dear bride Jackie. I considered how wonderful life is with them, and how lonely and dull, life would be without them.
I am blessed to have more time than most to spend with my family.
Jackie leaves for work in the morning around 6:30 am. I give her a kiss goodbye, and set about preparing myself for the day. Elijah usually wanders out of his bedroom all wrapped in his blankie around 7 am. After our good morning hug and, “I love you dad,” he and blankie snuggle up in his big chair together, while I fix him some breakfast. At 8:20 in the morning, Elijah and I head off in my car to his school, which is but a short trip down a country road.
Returning home I find myself immersed in writing or auto repair for most of the day as I watch the time swiftly disappear in a plethora of diverse tasks.
Soon enough 2 pm arrives, and it is time to quit whatever I am doing, and prepare to pick up Elijah at school.
I always wait for him outside the door of his school room so he can see me through the window in the door. When I do that, it always changes a frown into a smile when he sees me waiting for him, and he will look towards the window often, just to be sure of me. After school we head for home to do his homework, and play together until mom comes home.
You see friend, I am Elijah’s dad, a very important part of his life. I am his security in life, his strength and one to imitate. I am his hero, and guiding light in a tough world. I am his best friend, and his protector. My life must become a well designed compass, true to its course for my son as he grows older.
Jackie arrives at home from her work around 4:30 pm., another time of the day I look forward to. She is my bride, my friend, and lifelong companion. We will grow old together, and as the years rapidly disappear, we will lean on each other for strength in the hard times, and deeper in love in the light of many a beautiful sunset.
I dearly love my wife, and son, but I will say that I haven’t always made the right decisions regarding their spiritual welfare. I have made some poor decisions that could have destroyed all we had together, but for the grace of God.
As I have drawn closer to God in the years, I have discovered a deeper desire to serve God in such a way that blesses my family. Could it be true to say that my relationship with God is directly related to the spiritual inheritance of my family, especially my son Elijah.
My son Elijah is watching me all the time. He sees all I do, and hears all I say. I want for my son to hear me pray, and see God answer. I want for my son to see me work hard to provide for my family, and see me honor God with what He gives me to support my family. I want for my son to see adversity come, and see, and hear me respond appropriately. I want for my son to see me love my wife in a Godly way, and love his wife the same. See me love my neighbor and love his as well. I want for my son to become a man of God, much more than I have ever been.
My wife must be proud of me, and pleased with my love for her. I must earn her respect, and trust in me if I expect her to submit to me as the spiritual leader of our home. I must remember she is a woman, and can feel, and sense when things are wrong as much as she can feel, and sense when things are right in our lives. She must know she is the most beautiful woman in the world, and always my bride.
Am I good at all this? No, but I strive for that goal, to keep the faith and finish the race as the Apostle Paul would say. I strive to become more and more of a Godly blessing to my family, ever aware of the fact, that if even a Twinkie can grow stale, so might I. I have an obligation to God and my family to not let my relationship with God become crispy and harden around even the edges of life. I must remain solid in my Savior Jesus Christ, close to Him in every step of life. I must remain soft and pliable clay for the Master, that He might find me a good and faithful servant. Then perhaps one day, hand in hand my wife, son, and I might ascend the holy hill of the Lord together, with clean hands and pure hearts.
May Our Lord Jesus bless you my friend and keep you close throughout your days.
Oh Yes! The Twinkie……Well, I ate it of course.
Jeremy
