Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006 Page: 6 of 26
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Page 6 • Cedar Hill Today • Thursday, October 19, 2006
RELIGION
God loves you, so you better get used to it
Ym
RON
CARLSON
Shortcuts
A few
months
short of
birthday
No. 3, my
folks con-
fiscated my
bottle. I
remember
Dad say-
ing, “If he
can open
the fridge
and fill it
himself, he’s too old.”
1 whined. I cried. I had a
“Terrible Twos” temper
tantrum. All to no avail.
“Get used to it,” they told
me in tandem. “You’re a big
boy now.”
On the second day of the
first grade (the kindergarten
concept had not yet migrated
to Northern Idaho), I did not
want to get up, get dressed and
get to school.
“I want to stay home and
play in the creek,” I explained
to my toe-tapping parents. “I
don’t think I like school that
much.”
“The bus will be at the end
of the driveway in 15 minutes
and you’ll be on it,” Dad coun-
tered.
I started to protest, but
Mom interrupted.
, “For the next 16 years, you
will get up every morning on
time and have your little fanny
in the chair behind your desk
before the first bell. Get used
to it!”
My formative years mostly
consisted of “getting used to
it.”
“But coach, 1 don’t like to
practice.”
“You want to play, you
practice Get used to it!”
It got worse as a teenager
when adulthood loomed on the
horizon.
“I don’t want to get a job. I
don’t want to work on
Saturdays. I want to play. I
want you to buy me a car and
pay the insurance.”
“You want a car? You want
gas money? You want to blow
dough?
“Then get a job. It’s pay as
you go. Get used to it.”
A few weeks before college
graduation, my well-meaning
and soft-spoken guidance
counselor called me into his
office.
“How’s the career search
going?” he inquired.
“Actually, not very well,” I
told him candidly. “I can’t
seem to get a second inter-
view.”
“Have you considered a
shave, a haircut and a new
suit?”
“No, sir, not really.”
“1 think it might be a viable
option,” he advised me.
“Honestly, I’d rather smoke
pot, pursue the hippie lifestyle,
and hang around grad school
for a decade or so, or at least
until I get my stuff together.”
“Doesn’t work that way,
son,” he explained. “If you
want to have a full and happy
life, you have to conform.”
“No way!” I protested.
“Yes way!” he responded
convincingly.
“But .. .bu t.. but .. .but ...”
“You sound like Yeabut the
Rabbit,” he smiled. “The soon-
er you get used to it, the easier
it will be.”
So I got a real job.
“Nobody works Friday
afternoons,” I told my new
boss. “Friday afternoon is tran-
sition time; I have to get ready
for the weekend ”
“If you want to make a liv-
ing in this business,” he lec-
tured me, “you’ll work Friday
afternoons.”
By now I knew the routine.
“I’d better get used to it,
right?”
He smiled sarcastically:
“You^ot it!”
No I didn’t. I just faked it,
at work and home.
Some people plan their chil-
dren. Instead, we had ours.
“Listen up,” Sandra told
me, “you’re a father now - act
responsibly.”
“What a concept!” I thought
to myself.
“I didn’t realize the little
beasts required so much atten-
tion,” 1 told my responsible
wife. “We’ll never have anoth-
er moment to ourselves.”
“Get used to it, Dad!”
A few years later, my life
spinning wildly out of control,
God sent a preacher to my
doorstep with a message from
Command Central.
“God loves you!” the
preacher said.
“No, He doesn’t!” 1 retorted
angrily.
“Yes, He does!”
“Does not!”
“Does, too!”
“Does not!”
“Well; whether you like it
or not, He does, and you’d do
well to get used to it!”
“Who is this Jesus? What
kind of God would claim a
dirty rotten scoundrel like
me?”
“He is the Son of The One
God Almighty; creator of
heaven and earth. He is the
Way, the Truth and the Life.
He is the Alpha and the
Omega, eternal, all-knowing,
all-powerful Creative Genius
of the Universe. He is the Lord
and Master of All, the King of
Kings!”
“Oh, that God,” I said, duly
impressed. “What’s the catch?”
“He demands faith, obedi-
ence, confession, repentance,
commitment and death to self.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Love. Joy. Peace. Hope.
Eternal life.”
“I could get used to that.”
“Plus,” said the preacher,
“He will never leave or forsake
you. He is faithful and true.”
“Anything else?” I asked.
“His promises are sure. He
will love you forever!”
“Forever?”
“Yes! Can you get used to
it?
Well, it’s 25 years later, and
I’m getting used to it.
Until I linked up with Jesus,
I thought life was nothing
more than a futile series of
getting used to stuff that I
wanted to avoid.
Jesus changes everything.
I wish everyone got it.
It saddens me that billions
of folks can’t or won’t get used
to Jesus being Creator,
Sustainer, Redeemer and King
of the Universe.
I noted the other day that a
country club in Stockholm
awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics to a pair of American
space scientists who proved the
Big Bang Theory to be the
final word regarding the origin
of all things.
By capturing a thermal
abnormality from 13.7 billion
years ago, they claim to have
proven what many already
knew to be true: the universe
magically appeared from noth-
ing and over a few billion
years Nordic scholars evolved
from fairy dust, against all
odds.
There you go!
And they expect us to get
used to such fantasy.
Something about humbling
ourselves before The King of
Kings violates our egos. We
often refuse to get used to the
fact that we creatures answer
to a Creator. We’d rather be our
own god.
One day soon, “Every knee
will bow and every tongue will
confess that Jesus is Lord to
the glory of God the Father.”
We’d be wise to get used to it
now.
Ron Carlson preaches at Duncanville
Church of Christ His e-mail
is rcarlson@duncanvillechurch org.
Cedar Heights
sets fall festival
A family fall fun festival for
children through the sixth grade
will be held at Cedar Heights
Baptist Church at 201 E. Belt
Line Road in Cedar Hill on Oct.
31 from 6-8 p.m.
There will be a bounce
house, hayride, games, candy
and other types of food.
The public is invited to this
free event. “Noah’s Ark” will be
the theme, and we encourage
children to dress as their
favorite animals. No scary cos-
tumes, please.
For more information, call
972-291-4600.
Destiny hosts
conference
Destiny Church of Cedar
Hill is hosting a series of four
day meetings with Evangelist
Andre Van Zyl of South Africa.
This is the second year for
CAT
Holy Spirit Catholic Church
1111 W. Danieldale Rd.
Duncanville, TX 75137
972-298-4971
Father Don Zeiler
We celebrate Eucharist:
We celebrate Reconciliation:
Mon-Fri 8:30am
Sat 4:15am - 5pm
Sat 5:30pm
Sun 8:00am 9:30am
or by appointment
11am & 6pm
Hillcrest
BAPTIST CHURCH
ftoclaiming Christ as Savior Punning Him M lord':
FAITH
A D j JLbible church JL
Sunday Morning Worship • 9:00 & 10:30 a.m.
Bible Study for the whole family • 9:00 & 10:30 a.m.
1437 West Pleasant Run
972-223-0000 - www.faithblble.com
the conference, titled, “Dis-
cover Your Destiny,” and the
second year for the speaker.
Services will begin Nov. 12
at 10:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and
continue nightly Nov. 13-15 at
7 p.m.
Destiny Church is located at
1375 New Clark Road in Cedar
Hill.
For more information, call
972-291-6058 or visit destiny
church.us.
Destiny sets
Church News
fall festival
A community-wide experi-
ence for the whole family will
be at Destiny Church in Cedar
Hill on Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.
The night will include an
array of rides, attractions,
games, candy and prizes.
The event is free of charge to
Jhe community except for a
small charge for specialty food
items.
There will also be a chili -
cook-off, pie-baking contest,
First Christian Church
(THscw(es of- Christ)
of Duncanville
Worship Services 8:15 & 10:45 a.m.
Nursery & Child Care both Services
Church School (all ages) 9:30 a.m.
Youth Groups (grades 3 and up)
fccduncanville #sbc global. net
Minister: Dr. Michael Oden
2 03 s. ‘Main 972-298-2166
Duncanviffe Fa. 972-298-3216
People are the Purpose
■Bj
1231 E. Pleasant Run Pd. C
972.291.2501 www.trinitychurch.org
Where do kids find more love?
First United Methodist Church, Cedar Hill
"a place where you can belong"
128 N. Roberts Rcl at Belt Line
(972) 291-1711 - www.cedarh illumc.org
Wednesday night events for all age children
and youth. Family meal 5:00 - 6:30
Sunday traditional worship service 8:30 AM
Childrens and Adult Sunday School 9:45 AM
Sunday blended worship service 11:00 AM
Madden Video game competi-
tion, hay ndes, bounce houses
and live music.
For more information call
972-291-6058 or visit the web-
site at www.destiny church.us.
Trinity brings
in speaker
Pat Schatzline will speak at
Trinity Church on Sunday, Oct.
22, at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m.
Schatzline’s destiny was
altered the day his parents, drug
dealereonthd streets of Detroit,
turned to the Lord and later
went into full-time ministry.
Evangelists Pat and Karen
travel the U.S., Canada and the
nations speaking and seeing
powerful results.
The vision of Mercy Seat
Ministries, Inc., established in
1997, was formed to rescue,
restore and revive a generation
for Jesus Christ.
They believe in “Pursuing
His Presence and the Fellow-
ship of the Unashamed.”
In 2001, Mercy Seat
Ministries established The
Forerunner School of Ministry,
a training ground designed to
raise up youth to preach the
gospel.
Trinity Church is located at
1231 E. Pleasant Run Road in
Cedar Hill.
Services are free and open to
the public. Children and nurs-
ery programs are available.
Community Church
We/’rv- Esuited/A bout Your future^
For more information, call
972-291-2501 or visit trinity
church.org.
Trunk or Treat
at FUMC fest
The First United Methodist
Church of Cedar Hill and the
First Baptist Church of Cedar
Hill are teaming up to host a
fun and safe event for children
of all ages on Oct. 31.
There will be car-to-car
“trunk or treating” (in a closed
off parking lot), bounce house,
cupcake walk, costume contest,
games and treats.
The Trunk or Treat will be
held at the First Baptist Church
of Cedar Hill located at 602 W.
Belt Line Road from 6-8 p.m.
Call 972-291-7195 for more
information.
Church offers
temper tips
Duncanville Church of
Christ, 402 W. Danieldale
Road, is hosting an anger man-
agement seminar Sunday
evenings in October.
These sessions are free to
the public and held in the
church’s fellowship center from
6-7 p.m.
The facilitator is Mark
Gomez, certified counselor
with Rapha Counseling Minis-
tries.
Topics include: “Construct-
ive Anger,” “Worry, Anxiety
and Frustration,” “Combating
Depression” and “Learning to
Forgive.” Each session will
have a question and answer
period.
For more information or
directions, call the church
office at 972-298-4656 or send
an e-mail to jeffconrad^dun
canvillechurch.org.
Cedar heights 'baptist Church
201 E. Belt Line Rd Cedar Hill
972-291-4600
Sunday School 9:15 a.m.
Morning Worship 10:30 a.m.
Evening Worship 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday
A wanes 6:30 pm Adult Bible Study 7:00 pm
Royce Dodd, Pastor
www.lifewayllnk.com/9722914600
Fulfillment Hour for the whole family # 9:30 am
Sunday Morning Worship Experience • 10:45 am
Patrick leBlanc. Pastor
Currently Worshipping at Waterford Oaks Elementary School
401 N. Waterford Oaks Drive • Cedar Hill, TX 75104
972-283-1449 - WWW.BETHESPA2003.0R6
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Gooch, Robin. Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006, newspaper, October 19, 2006; Duncanville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth623946/m1/6/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Zula B. Wylie Memorial Library.