Childhood

Ringing Heaven’s Bell

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

Thank you for all the kind comments yesterday on my fire fly memories. That title and the story was still stirring my heart through the evening so I slept on it and started working on a bit of a verse this morning. I hope it may be a blessing to you both by a glimpse of childhood memories as well as a few aches and pains of aging. May you each have a blessed weekend and time of worship with brothers and sisters in your church.

And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. John 10:23
Catching fireflies in little jars was such fun
Summer evenings we played on in the night
And watched them in wonder as they flashed on and off
And Time froze as we laughed at their sight
Till out on the porch Granny rang the ship’s bell
Telling us it was time to come in
And we traipsed to the door and got ready for bed 
Still holding our jars in our hands

And I try to remember those long-ago days
And the joy of the flashing so bright
When the absence of friends who have long disappeared
Casts shadows creeping over that light

But off in the distance comes the sound of the bell
Of God’s promise of a river of life
And the leaves of the trees that grow there on its banks
Are for healing from sorrow and strife
And I see Jesus standing out on Heaven’s porch
His voice rings as He calls me to come
To leave to the past all those things that won’t last
And to joyfully start my way home!


Ringing Heaven's Bell by Peter Caligiuri 
copyright 2021 all rights reserved

Forgetting What Lies Behind

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13b-14 ESV

Yesterday we looked at remembering, but today’s verse talks about forgetting what lies behind and taking hold of what is ahead. When we were small children, life was simple. We didn’t decide where to live, what to eat or what to wear. But even those of us who had wonderful childhoods were not satisfied. We wanted to become teen-agers! For me, that meant giving away my baseball cards, Roy Rogers cap gun and army men. I wanted to be cool! Strangely enough, as a teen I discovered that I was not happy. My parents were still in charge and were concerned about boring things, like grades and keeping my room clean. I wanted to be treated like an adult! But after moving out on my own I found out that along with freedom came bills, college professors who demanded assignments on time and police officers who pulled me over for speeding. On top of the unexpected disappointments of young adulthood came a deep loneliness. I had forgotten my past completely, but in the wrong kind of way and found myself clinging onto the steering wheel of life with no idea of where I was going. And then Jesus came – though to be clear, Jesus had been there all along, I just didn’t know. Then I had a choice. I could keep holding on to my steering wheel, or I could let it go and take hold of Him. How glad I am that I let go and then He took hold of me. Is anything that you are clinging to that is keeping you from taking the hand of Jesus? Don’t be afraid. It will be so worth it all to forget and let go but only you can decide. What is your answer to Him?

Home Coming

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.                 Matthew 11:28 ESV

Fed up with the rules at home, I decided one day to go to live with my grandparents. “I want to live with Gammy and Cap-Cap!” I stated defiantly to Mom.

“Okay, I’ll help you pack.” she said. “How are you going to get there?”

“I’m going to walk up Route 6!” I said confidently. Technically this was possible but I did not know that 300 miles separated me from their home in Connecticut. Mom just smiled and helped me close my suitcase. After my stepdad got home from work they helped me put my things in the car and drove to the edge of town then pointed me in the right direction.

I bravely got out of the car and started walking away but each time a car sped by I flinched. “See you later!” Mom said waving as they turned and walked out of sight. But my world seemed suddenly so big and frightening that I started to cry. At that moment my parents magically appeared, scooped me up in their arms and took me home!

I bravely got out of the car and started walking away but each time a car sped by I flinched. “See you later!” Mom said waving as they turned and walked out of sight. But my world seemed suddenly so big and frightening that I started to cry. At that moment my parents magically appeared, scooped me up in their arms and took me home! Have you ever decided to run away from Jesus? You may think He didn’t notice when you started down the road; but He was watching and waiting for us to cry out. He is prepared for our home coming and has a place where we will always belong!

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This is the Lake Retreat cottage we were loaned named SImplicity. It has the benefit of no Wifi, TV or Cell service. What a wonderful place to call home for a few days!