Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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During a misunderstanding with a fellow worker, I spoke in haste, my voice rising. Immediately my conscience convicted me and I felt remorse as I walked away. In shame and embarrassment, I hurried back to her. “Please forgive me,” I pleaded through my tears. “I forgive you.” Thankful for her forgiveness, I retreated to my office, but I couldn’t shake what I had done. How could I have done that? I asked myself. What kind of person am I? Dear Lord, I am so sorry I talked to her like that. I punished myself the rest of the we...
“Breezy, our new horse, checked out the boundaries in his pasture. He wanted to know the limits of his new home and I like to think he also wanted to know that he was safely enclosed in his “space” and that he was secure in Emmitt’s love and care. I need boundaries too. God’s rules for happy living are not for my restriction. On the contrary, God’s way gives freedom, protection and a sense of well being. If I step beyond God’s boundaries in life I step out from his safety and I suffer the consequences. I am not my own. My ow... Full story
Remember that first love, that excitement, that tingling, that burst of fireworks that made every day July 4th? Just being in your sweetheart’s presence made your heart go “pity-pat.” When apart, remember the anticipation of being together again? I married my first love and I still see skyrockets. He is a valentine to me every day. I have learned some things about love in life’s journey. Through the years I discovered that love is seeing and hearing with your heart. It is accepting the responsibility and the willingness to go... Full story
Every generation has heard about the “good old days,” but I remember a time when our lives were governed by The Ten Commandments, good judgment and common sense. We were taught the difference between right and wrong and to take responsibilities for our actions. Until we come to grips with the reality of our situation, freedom as we know it will slip away. In a world of bio-chemical and nuclear threats, there is no security apart from God. Without God’s Word, people are tossed to and fro in confusion, not knowing what to do or...
Time is too precious to waste. Children grow up and leave the nest. Our grandparents and parents grow older and are gone. Did we make the moments count? Time spent worrying about tomorrow or regretting yesterday drains our life of the “now.” The gift of life is squandered and wasted by dwelling on the past and worrying about the future. Life is now. Right now … this breathing, heart beating, priceless moment. If you had only a few weeks or months to live, what changes would you make? Would each day of life become more preci... Full story
Each day is a gift made just for you. It is from the heart of God. If I empty my burdens and give them to God in my nightly prayers I awaken with a brand new day filled with wonders. “This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today!” (Proverbs 118:24 NCV) If I am not happy today because I’m weighted down with problems, how could I be happy tomorrow? I heard of a woman who decided to allow a “worry time” in her daily schedule. She allotted 20 minutes a day for worrying, not a minute more and not a minu...
Do you dread a trip? Do you imagine the worst, creating a scenario of all kinds of mishaps? When the phone rings in the middle of the night, do you think the worst before you even pick up the receiver? How about this one … envisioning all sorts of physical maladies while waiting for the doctor’s test results? If the answer to any of these is “Yes,” then you are rehearsing calamity, essentially robbing yourself of peace! God, in his wisdom, gives us one day at a time. Instead of rejoicing in that day and being glad in it we r...
I resolve to celebrate God’s many blessings in the New Year. It is easy to rationalize the blessings or to let them go by as mere “coincidences.” I believe both great and small miracles happen every day and we let them go unnoticed, never expressing our gratitude. With this in mind I want to share some principles that will help me in celebrating: 1. I need to recognize the touch of my Master’s hand. I learned this lesson from our boys’ pet cat. During the course of Tom’s fifteen years, he had to be taken to the vet several... Full story
“Let’s count to three and open our presents.” I had counted one more time to be sure each child had a gift. Each girl brought a gift for a girl and the boys a gift for a boy. “ONE, TWO, THREE!” The oohs and ahhs heard from children opening gifts plus the exuberance and excitement warmed my heart. “Look what I got!” “Wow, this is cool.” “Look teacher, this is fun.” I became a child again as I walked around my classroom joining in the enthusiasm so contagious in children. I waited until everyone had seen all the presents, giv...
Just imagine for a moment, if you can, that Jesus had never been born, or that King Herod had succeeded. The thought makes me shudder! If Jesus had never been born the blessed hope is gone. No absolutes, no restraints and no hope bring desolation. With no standards to live by, mankind eventually annihilates itself and the human race could be gone forever in this day of nuclear disaster. Without Jesus, there is no respect for life nor is there regard of man’s welfare. But, praise God, he reached down to man. He sent his o...
A special memory of my first Christmas as a newly wed still warms my heart today. We lived in Eastern University’s “Vetville.” Vetville (rows of army barracks converted to apartments) housed married veterans for $25.00 a month. Everyone seemed to be in the same boat … going to school on the G.I. Bill. I remember the huge wood burning stove that had been converted to gas. It seemed it took hours to heat one cup of water for coffee. We didn’t know how little we had materially. We had each other and being so much in love made... Full story
One of the many blessings in my life comes from former students. Teaching for 31 years left me with happy memories. A special bond between teacher and student lasts forever. Such was the case the other day when a Lt. Colonel walked up to me in a restaurant. “Aren’t you Mrs. Clayton?” My eyes searched his as I wondered just how many students I had been privileged to teach in my career. “I had you in second grade,” this handsome young man continued. “Let me look at you,” I said with enthusiasm. Many of my ex-students k... Full story
I am convinced that each person on earth has at least one special gift. Thirty-one years of teaching taught me that. Each child I taught had a unique gift and it became my job to discover his or her special talent and build on those strengths. You may not know you are gifted in some area. The key is to enjoy what you do and do it as well as you can. I call it “giving yourself away.” It is a biblical principle that “to find yourself, you lose yourself,” and you lose yourself by “putting others’ interest above your own.” Phili...
I love to see pumpkins in the fields this time of year. Their beauty, especially with a slight frost, decorates God’s exquisite landscape. The golden fields of waving grain brings the chorus of “America, the Beautiful” to my mind and I want to sing it. The crisp fall air with the flavor of autumn is here. I pray farmers will have good weather to harvest a bountiful crop. Farmers are our food supply and I say a big “Thank you!” Last year, when Christmas rolled around I couldn’t throw my big pumpkin away. I put it at the back...
I would like to say thank you to our military veterans. In a time of national crisis you have always given your all. Your lives have been interrupted. You have been separated from your loved ones. Who among us can know your pain, your loneliness and your willingness to fight for freedom? You have your life before you, yet you aren’t thinking of that. You think of protecting those you love, the country you love and the freedom you love. I’m proud of my husband when he stops to thank you. When he sees you in a uniform he mak... Full story
“Honey, someone can have everything in the world, but without God, they are miserable. Take me; the Lord has blessed me so much. I have a wonderful place to stay, good food to eat and people to take care of me. Yes, Jesus is in my heart. That’s why I’m so happy.” At 93, this beautiful rest home resident made my heart sing. She is everyone’s favorite. Her cheerful demeanor and positive outlook encourages those around her. My friend’s attitude reminds me of the apostle Paul’s statement in Philippians 4:11: “…Not that I speak in...
Do you ever get discouraged? It’s hard not to be in today’s world of conflict and bad news. Discouragement is a chief weapon of the enemy — leading to apathy, insensitivity, bitterness and resentment. An unknown author has said, “When you are in a hole, stop digging.” To me, that means I must be in the “secret place” so I can “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91). Another anonymous author has stated, “Faith is an abiding rest in God that nothing, not even the soul’s shortcomings, can disturb.” I like to r...
Home Tours bring memories of our house tour when the boys were small. Emmitt had just built our first house and we had three little boys, Mark 6, Lance 4 and Lane 3 months. We all felt honored when asked to have our home included on the tour. The next few weeks brought a lot of excitement. Lance, who was 4 at the time, invited his Sunday school teacher to come. In his enthusiasm he explained, “My mom is a nice lady. She doesn’t smoke or chew!” Emmitt had taken off the vents of our swamp cooler to spray them. He thought it wou...
October is Clergy Appreciation Month and I join with many others in honoring our spiritual leaders. First, let me say there aren’t enough words to express my gratitude for the many, many selfless acts you do for others. You are vital to my spiritual being. I realize you are on call around the clock. Bible studies, preparation of sermons, funerals, and hospital visits take priority. That leaves very little time for your own activities because you sacrifice your own time in order to minister to others. I want you to know y... Full story
Do you ever feel defeated, depressed or just plain hopeless? I think we all do at times. That’s when to rise up on the offensive. If I had my life to live over again, one thing I surely would do.. find the good in every circumstance. Believe it or not, there are good things in every situation. Focusing on the good chases those blue days away. Children have a wonderful way of finding the good and being joyful in daily living. In my first year of teaching I noticed that when one student went to sharpen his pencil, I smelled a...
“Okay girls, now listen up. In the morning us guys are getting up early. We’re going to the ranch and cook the best cowboy campfire breakfast you ever ate.” “Yeah, right,” we all answered in unison. The men of my household had jumped out of bed at dawn waking all of us with plans for the day. The weekend family gatherings always bless our growing family. Ages range from 13 for the youngest granddaughter, 26 for the oldest granddaughter, and 25 for the oldest married grandson and his wife. “You girls come on about 9:30 and we...
Grandparents are special blessings. Some of my most treasured memories are those of “Granny and Granddaddy.” Their influence upon my life remains today. Granny’s singing filled every facet of her life. She sang while cooking, gardening, churning butter, quilting, rocking her grandchildren and much more. She sang praises to her God every day. I loved to hear her sing. Sometimes she cried while singing, but that didn’t stop her. She loved her Savior. Summer revivals were held under a big tent. Granny took pallets for my brot...
Last week I saw my beautiful friend walk across the stage to receive her educational degree. She is on her way to a successful career, discovering one of the many blessings in her life. This friend has shown me a wonderful trait that enables one to be blessed. She makes everyday count by giving herself away. She doesn’t wait until “this or that happens,” but finds happiness in the “now” of life, depending on God’s guidance day by day. I believe small blessings lead to even greater ones when we live one day at a time trusti...
Life is a journey and I wonder sometimes if we live this precious gift without purpose. The psalmist has said, “We spend our years as a tale that is told,” (Psalm 90:9). Those around us read the story of our lives. Each day we write the pages by example and influence. In writing those pages we feel a myriad of emotions. Pain and sorrow are hard to bear. I have heard it said, “If you never want to be hurt, move to a desert island and be a hermit the rest of your life.” You may not get hurt by another human being there,...
I see old barns and tumble down houses as we travel along the way and I wonder what stories they could tell of days gone by. How did they live their lives? Did they leave their home with regrets or did they just walk off and leave it? Did they make every day count? Were words left unsaid? Were opportunities missed? I wonder how they were remembered. Each day we leave memories to be remembered by someone. I remember my grandfather with such admiration. His kindness to everyone he met left a life-long impression upon me. I neve...
