Our 60th Anniversary, What a Day!

Just sittin’ here thinkin’ about…
our 60th anniversary. What a Day!

Last week I asked a fellow worker at the station if he would trade/work my Wednesday for his Thursday. I didn’t hear from him until Monday evening when he said okay. But by this time I had changed my mind and he had made other arrangements for himself. So I felt obligated to do the switch.

Now I hadn’t planned anything to do for Wednesday—our actual anniversary day. I also did not remember Joy setting a time to go out with them for dinner—Thursday night. So things got messed up real good.

Bottom line—we drove to Columbus to see Lisa who was visiting Katie and David. Scott was there and they took us out to dinner at the House of Japan, a culinary delight. The chef is cooking your food while you are watching. His antics are enough that you forget about eating and suddenly he puts more food on your plate! Wow! I had enough for my lunch for Thursday night.

We were also honored by our friends, Dr. David and Kristen Conrad. They paid for a day on WEEC to announce our anniversary. Dr. Dave was my dentist while living in Plain City. I should say he did such a good job that I’ve never been to another! Thanks Dave and Kristy!

Then another co-worker at WEEC—Ruth Book—did an on-air interview with me that aired this past Wednesday afternoon. I have an mp3 of it but don’t know how to include it on this post. Mom mentioned it on the Grapevine, so I know some of you heard it. Ruth wanted to play our favorite song to close the interview, so Mom suggested “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.” I’ll bring the unedited version with me on Saturday in case someone would like to hear it. It's short, about 7 minutes.

Following that, I received an e-mail from Carol. I quote: “When I was a child and my dad was attending Tennessee Temple, Dr. [Charles] Weigle sang that song in the service. I think it was the first time he sang it publicly at Highland Park Baptist Church. It made such an impression that I have never forgotten him singing it. I don't know if it was because he was so old at the time, or because of the song, but it has since become one of my all time favorites. The words are amazing and the story behind the song is even more inspiring”.

So now I was interested in the story behind the song and this is what I found. It’s not all that long, but I’ll let you check it out at this link.

http://www.tanbible.com/tol_sng/nooneevercaredformelikejesus.htm

(1) I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus.
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how he changed my life completely,
He did something that no other friend could do.
CHORUS:
No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There’s no other friend so kind as he;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O’, how much He cared for me.

Lori, and some who were co-conspiritors, sent out requests to all of our friends asking that cards be sent to us for our anniversary. That was so nice. So far we have received over 70 cards. It is exciting to hear from all of them. Some were from friends we've not seen for a looong time.

So today, Friday, I think we’ll celebrate at Taco Bell. We’re looking forward to seeing some of you at Greg and Lori’s tomorrow.

Love you all,

Gpa G for both of us.

Glade Mennonite 100th Anniversary

Just sittin’ here thinkin’ about ...

the Glade Mennonite Church, near Bittinger, MD. They will celebrate their 100th anniversary this Sunday, August 24, 2008. Mom and I would love to be there. I sent them the following e-mail and followed up with a copy by snail mail. I may share more about this on a later blog.


Glade Mennonite Church
5011 Accident-Bittinger Road
Accident, Maryland 21520
301-245-4285
Admin Asst. Barb Opel
gladechurch@iceweb.net


August 22, 2008

Dear Barb and Friends at Glade,

How pleased we were to receive an invitation to your 100th anniversary celebration. It’s hard to believe it’s been over 50 years since our time together. We cherish the memories. Brother Isaac Metzler had recently retired and I became the part time pastor. How green I was! Still very young and not as serious as I should have been.

Brother and Sister Metzler were precious to us and we appreciated their help and direction for a young aspiring pastor and family.

We first learned of the Glade Mennonite Church while attending the Pinto church near where we were living. When our efforts to get a Grace Brethren church started in Cumberland came to naught, the Pinto Mennonite invited us to their church. Arlene had had a number of their children in her Good News Club. Brother Myron Livengood recommended us to fill the need at the Glade Church. Being Grace Brethren, I sat for a ministerial examination at the Grantsville Church. I don’t remember the names of the men involved.

So we came up the mountain to Glade every Sunday morning. We had four children at the time and usually stayed for dinner with one of the families—usually with the Opels or Brennemans. Often we had venison, but not always. At Opels, we had to eat in shifts—not every one could get to the table at one time.

For a brief time while working at WKYR radio station in Keyser, I was in charge of a satellite station in Oakland. I played music for an hour or two and had to sell spots to local merchants to pay for my keep. It was during this time that I stayed in Oakland with Jim and [? Opel] ____. I forget their last name. [Note: Jim and Erma (Opel) Stephens].

I have posted some old pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/royglasspc/GladeMennonite1955
I hope you can help or correct me with some of the names.

Anyway, as I recall, we had the nicest brick outhouse for miles around. It even had lights. There was a ‘pot-bellied’ stove to heat the church. And some of the guys did strip mining and furnished the coal. That included some of the Brennemans and Herman Opel too. They had to squirm into that tiny space to dig out the coal. What a miserable job! I think Park had a turkey farm.

When we first started coming to Glade, I didn’t realize that an offering was received only once a month and that it was usually given to Brother Metzler. So in my ignorance I passed the offering plates every Sunday. After a while Miriam Brenneman, who was the treasurer at the time, came and asked me what to do with all the money she had. I said she should do with it as she usually did. I was given a monthly offering. My memory may not be correct, but I think this resulted in the installation of a real furnace. Much nicer than the old stove.

We had wonderful times with you there at the Glade church that will never be forgotten. Of course we were much younger at the time and the years have gone by quickly. Many of the older ones are now with the Lord and the little ones are in their 50s and 60s. Arlene and I will celebrate our 60th anniversary on August 27. The Lord blessed us with 7 children, 23 grandchildren, and 27 great grandchildren and another on the way.

I wish we could be with you for this special time. We could get some of these names and faces back together. The stories you could tell would be exciting to hear.

On a serious note, we must remember that the Christian fellowship we enjoy here cannot be compared with that which is to come. The sound of the trumpet [I Thess. 4:13-18] cannot be far away, when we will be caught up to be with the Lord in the place [Jn.14:1-6] He has gone to prepare for those of us who have accepted Him as Savior. When that happens, we can spend the first thousand years praising God. After that we may have time to spend with the wonderful people who made our sojourn here a pleasant experience.

With Christian Love to All,


Roy and Arlene Glass

Have a Pepsi

Just sittin’ here at the computer and thinkin'....

It’s 9:30 and I’m waiting for Alonzo [Adair]. He called earlier and said he was bringing us another load of top soil for our back yard grove & flower bed. When they built these houses they stripped the topsoil and replaced it with sod. So we’re trying to get some good soil back where we need it most. He brought a load the other day and even spread it for us. This time we will have to do it ourselves. So while I was waiting for him I decided to check Drudge for the news.



It’s very disheartening to see how our country is going. Now Coca Cola is going to put the moon and star symbol on their pop cans for Ramadan. Just a few weeks ago Tyson replaced the Labor Day holiday with Ramadan. We were at Sam’s and decided not to get a bag of chicken since the only brand was Tyson. Just a few days later Tyson changed their stand and put Labor Day back in their list of holidays. We are simply being overwhelmed with Islam. We keep buying oil from them and giving them more and more money. Then they use our gasoline money to buy up property in U.S. and we become subservient to them. Wow! It’s a vicious cycle and we are the losers.

I am quite convinced that we are very, very close to the sound of the trumpet and the coming of the Lord. I am a literalist regarding Biblical interpretation. The sound of the trumpet will be the call for all Christians, both dead and alive, to be snatched up with the Lord and join Him in Heaven [I Thes 4:13-18]. Those who remain will suffer the events as described in Revelation 6 through 18.

I could get carried away here. Ezekiel 38 fits in here and it’s interesting to note that all of the countries mentioned here are surrounding Israel today. This could be a battle that would usher in the antichrist and the beginning of the seven years of tribulation. Iran’s threats should be taken seriously, especially with the encouragement they are getting from Russia. How we need to be sure our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren learn these Biblical truths. Deut. 6:4-9. May they all come to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior at an early age.

Jan Markel wrote this morning regarding the Deception of the church, calling it the Devil’s Delight. She referred to Oprah Winfrey and her “me-centered gospel” and how it has changed our culture.

She continued to say: “Biblical truth will continue to be scorned by those who consider themselves to be intellectual (I Cor. 1:20), and it will likely be rejected by those who seek the praise of man over the praise of God (John 12:42,43). But the Spirit of God is always at work in the hearts of men, giving life to human spirits by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:19).

It’s amazing what a couple cans of pop can do to your thinking! And I never got around to telling you about the interview I had with my boss the other night. He told me how great a job I was doing and praised my work so that I was even embarrassed. So I should have asked for a raise!

Well, we’re still waiting for Alonzo and the load of dirt. I mean top soil. So if you’re not too busy, stop by and you can help spread it around.

Oh, yes! I forgot to mention McDonald’s. We’ve stopped going there and we really miss their apple pies and ice cream.

Love you all,

Gpa G

My "Do List" is getting shorter

This may come as a shock, but I was

Just sittin’ here thinkin’ about…

I guess the older you get the more prone you are to think about the past and other things that you can't do anything about. The reason for that may be that you are no longer able to convert your thoughts to action.

Like I used to have a legal pad and I’d make a list of things I needed to do for the day. Of course it often spilled over into the next day and I’d try to prioritize the stuff. Try to do the undesirable stuff first. Get that off your mind and the rest of the day was easy. The computer made keeping your “Do it now” list easier to update.

I don’t keep lists like that anymore. As a matter of fact, if I can accomplish one biggie a day I feel good! Often I will mentally decide to do this or that tomorrow, but manana never seems to come.

In spite of all that there are many thing I would still like to accomplish. I don’t understand anyone to claims to be bored with life. There is sooo much to do.

So here goes a few things that come to mind just sittin’ here thinking about it.

I’d like to make an oak breakfast table just like the one we gave Ardith a few years ago. We now have it here in our kitchen. I guess we were ‘Indian givers’ since we asked her to let us use it for a while until I could make a duplicate of it. I even have all the metal brackets to make the seats fit up under the table. The table was special to me because it was the table we had while we were growing up and still living in Juniata. Dick and I would sit there every morning with our feet propped on the board underneath that supports the sides. The table has been painted numerous times. When you get it down to the wood, it is just poplar with no pretty grain. I just might get that done—sometime.

I also promised Jessica that I’d make her a crib like I made for some of the rest of you. I’ve been putting that off too. Just fearful that some day we’ll get a call that it needs to be done in the next 8 or 9 months. Then I’ll really have to get movin’.

I did make a number of picture frames for G grampa’s horse picture. I’m not sure, but I think I have finished all of those promises. If not, I’m sure I’ll hear about it.

I’d like to spend more time on our genealogy stuff. When I took a course at Dayton Univ. last year, the instructor told us the first thing we needed to do, was learn how to spell it! Obviously it is frequently misspelled. I’m afraid that you will not be able to connect all of the dots after I’m gone. I received an e-mail yesterday from a lady who was searching the Hoover family. She wanted any info that I might have. As a matter of fact, the one she is searching for is John Adam Hoover, my GGGgrandfather on the Brumbaugh side. The Hoover name has also been spelled in a variety of ways from which comes the name for the local community of Huber [Hoover] Heights. Interesting, huh?
Well, I need to take some time to explain all of that to her.

And since I’m just sittin here thinking, I like e-mail except you never know where these people live. They could be across the street or the other side of the country. I did have a lady in Washington state send we a picture of a Glass relative from the early 1900s. We subscribe to the Blair County Genealogy Society newsletter and get occasional queries through it.

Well it looks like I have more things on this list than I can handle, so I’ll go back to the recliner and see what comes to mind.

Love Gpa G

Wounded for Me

Thanks, Lisa, for the post on the Grapevine, but you did stump me.

What is the name of this? "He was wounded for my transgressions...O the mighty cross and the blood that was shed." I think I should know it , but can't quite get it.

Here is another old, old favorite
Listen to the music here: http://www.hymnsite.com/midifiles/umh28601.mid

Now sing along...

O Scare Head Now Wounded

1. O sacred Head now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,

Now scornfully surrounded With throns, Thine only crown;

O sacred Head, what glory, What bliss till now was Thine!

Yet, thought despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.

2. O noblest Brow and dearest, In other days the world

All feared when Thou appearedst; What shame on Thee is hurled!

How art Thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn;

How does that visage languish Which once was bright as morn!

3. What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered Was all for sinners' gain

Mine, mine was the transgression, But Thine the deadly pain.

Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 'Tis I deserve Thy place;

Look on me with Thy favor, Vouch-safe to me Thy grace.

4. What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, dearest Friend,

For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?

O make me Thine forever; And should I fainting be,

Lord, let me never, never Outlive my love to Thee.

The poem is often attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), but it first appears in the 14th century.

In 1830 a new translation of the hymn was made by an American Presbyterian minister, James Waddel Alexander (1804-1859). Alexander's translation, beginning "O sacred head, now wounded," became one of the most widely used in 19th and 20th century hymnals.

Text: Attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, 1153;

trans. by Paul Gerhardt and James W. Alexander

Music: Hans L. Hassler, 1564-1612; harm. by J.S. Bach, 1685-1750

Tune: PASSION CHORALE, Meter: 76.76 D

May this Easter be a blessed time in your relation to the Lord!

Love to all,

Gpa G

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

Some tears ago, H. L. Wilmington put together a book entitled, “ Book of Bible Lists.” It is an amazing little book with some 6,000 fascinating entries.

One of those entries is a list of 17 appearances of Christ after His resurrection. It is great reading. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene as she remained at the tomb (John 20:11-17). Then He appeared to the women returning to the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10). Peter was next and then the disciples as they walked along the road to Emmaus. The list continues to His 17th appearance to the apostle John in Revelation 1:12-20.

But the passage that captures my attention is found in I Corinthians 15. At this Easter time I would encourage you to spend a little time thinking and thanking God for His wonderful expression of love in your behalf.



1 Cor. 15:1-22
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2. by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5. and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

12. Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. 16. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

20. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

1 Cor. 15:50-58

50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

55. "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"

56. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

May you experience a time of personal renewal with the Risen Christ at this Easter Season!

Love Gpa G

Gpa's Awana Grand Prix Cars

The Awana races were held last Saturday and as usual Jon, Annette, Audrey and Madison were the winners for speed. I don't know their positions and I don't have any of their pictures.

Mom and I also won some awards. Mom's 1934 Ford Street Car was awarded first for race car design. I didn't consider it a race car, but happily accepted the award. As I said previously the car was designed over a plastic model that I bought. I then stripped some of the parts to enhance my Awana car. Notice the plastic radiator, seat and steering wheel.

My cars were first and second in design. The dump truck was my version of my grandfather's cast iron truck that is in the foreground. The dump bed was movable, as a matter of fact in one of the races it came off the truck and the bed had to be re glued. It ran again 2 races later.

The airplane was the result of insomnia. Just couldn't go to sleep and was wondering what other kind of car I could make that would shoot out flaming flash paper.



After using a mouse trap in last year's car I wanted something different. Jon and I both decided on flash paper being shot out when the cars crossed the finish line. There is a micro switch on the bottom of the cars and a AAA battery to turn on a glow plug. The glow plug ignited the flash paper that blew out the stack on the truck. The flash came out the back of the airplane. The button on the front of the plane was a mini light. The kids loved it.

These are pictures of all the cars that were entered.

The kid's cars are pictured on the left. The adult cars are on the right.

Just so you know, we did follow the Awana rules. Our cars were 5 ounces--usually right on the nose. The length was 7 inches. They were less than 2 3/4 inches wide and 3 inches high. Yes, we did use only Awana wheels. Audrey's car was an army tank with a cannon on top that shot the flash paper. It had 8 wheels, four on each side, but only 3 wheels touched the track. We usually keep the right front wheel a little higher and compensate with weight placement in the back.

So if you have Awana Grand Prix races at your church be sure and have an adult division. You'll be surprised how many adults like to play with little cars. It's just as much fun as when I was 6 years old.

Thanks for reading,

Love you all

Gpa G

Man of Sorrows

Easter seems so far removed this year. It may be the recent heavy snow, or the very early date, or moving our clocks ahead or who knows what. Maybe the Easter season just caught us off guard. Anyway, it is the time set aside for the remembrance of our Savior's death and resurrection. May this prophecy of Isaiah and this hymn written by Philip Bliss call to our attention the importance and magnitude of the occasion. We call it Good Friday for if Christ had not been crucified there would be no resurrection, and, as Paul said, we would be of all men, most miserable.

Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Hallelujah, What a Savior!

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/mid/w/a/wasavior.mid

Man of Sorrows! what a name For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we; Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King, All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing: Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Philip Paul Bliss

1838 - 1876

The words and music of this hymn were written by Philip Paul Bliss, born Ju­ly 9, 1838, in Clear­field Coun­ty, Penn­syl­van­ia. He and his wife died in a tra­gic train wreck, December 29, 1876, caused by the collapse of a bridge in Ashtabula, Ohio. He sur­vived the in­i­tial im­pact, but went back in­to the flames in an un­suc­ces­sful at­tempt to res­cue his wife. The re­mains re­trieved from the Ash­ta­bu­la dis­as­ter were placed in a com­mon grave marked by a monument in the Ash­ta­bu­la Cem­e­te­ry. A monument in mem­o­ry of the Bliss­es was al­so erect­ed in the cem­e­tery at Rome, Penn­syl­vania, Ju­ly 17, 1877.

This is the Bliss home in Rome, Penn­syl­vania; now the P.P. Bliss Gos­pel Song­writ­ers’ Mu­se­um. Rome is located about 30 miles North and a little West of Carol's home at Harvey's Lake, PA. Maybe Carol will correct me if I'm wrong. Carol, have you ever been there? It's also great deer hunting territory. Ask her to tell you some of the great stories about the wild life near her home.

On this Good Friday may our thoughts center around the price Jesus paid to free us from the penalty of sin. And may we express our joy for His Resurrection. He is Risen, He is Alive!

Love you all

Gpa G

Palm Sunday

The Triumphal Entry
“We Shall Overcome”

1. The KING is coming

Zech. 9:9
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

2. The KING did come

Luke 19:28-38
When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29. And it came to pass, when He came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30. saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31. And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.' " 32. So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?" 34. And they said, "The Lord has need of him." 35. Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 37. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38. saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

Luke 23:3-4
Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." 4. So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."

3. The KING is coming again

Acts 1:10-11
And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11. who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

1 Thes. 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Jesus Shall Reign

Music by John Hatton to tune of Duke_Street. To sing along, click here: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/mid/d/u/k/duke_street.mid

Words by Isaac Watts, (1674-1748) "Jesus Shall Reign" a hymn based on Psalm 72 was written in his book, "The Psalms of Da­vid Imitated" in 1719. The idea being to make David's Psalms more 'singable.' This link will give you his picture and bio as well as all the verses to the Hymn.

1. Jesus shall reign where’er the sun, Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2. From north to south the princes meet, To pay their homage at His feet;
*While western empires own their land, And savage tribes attend His word.

3. To Him shall endless prayer be made, And praises throng to crown His head; His Name like sweet perfume shall rise, With every morning sacrifice.

4. People and realms of every tongue, Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim Their early blessings on His Name.

*Phrase added at a later date.

It's a time to thank the Lord for the debt He paid at Calvary. Some day every knee shall bow and call Him Lord! I trust He is already King of your life.

Love, Gpa G

Practical Christianity

Some things worth thinking about from Gpa G.

My Relation to God

Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

2. My Relation to Me

Romans 12:3-8
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

3. My Relation to Others

Romans 12:9-21
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

O to Be Like Thee

Thomas O. Chisholm (1866-1960)
Words to "O to Be Like Thee" were first in the Young Pe­o­ple’s Hymn­al, 1897.

Music written by Will­iam J. Kirk­pat­rick, (1838-1921)

1. O to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Refrain:
O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

2. O to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

3. O to be like Thee! Lord, I am coming

Now to receive anointing divine;

All that I am and have I am bringing,

Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.

4. O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

I haven't figured out how to link this to the music. Sorry about that.

Have a good week!

Love,

Gpa G

March 4, a Big Day!

Greetings to the Glass Family!

March 4—a big day for us. First it’s election day. I hope you get out and vote. I hope to do that in just a little while. It is also the BIG 20 for Amy. Happy Birthday Amy! Now you can vote too!

For me, it is a very special day. My Dad, the original Roy Edgar Glass, was born on this date, 1900. Yes, that’s 108 years ago. To me, it wasn’t that long ago. I could always remember his age by the year—like, he was 28 years old when I was born—1928. This picture was for his pass to the Naval Torpedo Plant.

Mom, Grandma Susie, was 8 years his senior, born December 3, 1893. They were married November 27, 1919. Dad was in the Army Air Force and was discharged about this time. He spent the most of his time in San Diego. At one time we had a large picture of his outfit. It was about 8 to 10 inches high and about 24 to 30 inches long. I don’t know how they did it. Maybe they had a wide angle lense back then. It’s been gone for a long time. Maybe some of you older ones remember it or know what happened to it.

At the time they were dating, mom lived at their/her home, 701 Second Street in Juniata. Dad lived with his parents at 12th Avenue and Second Street—only 5 blocks away. Grandpa and Grandma later moved several blocks over to 1107 Park Boulevard, just a stone’s throw from the Memorial Park and swimming pool.

At some point Dad began working for Uncle John, my mother’s older brother. You see, Grandpa Brumbaugh died in 1916. He was pastor at the Bellwood Church of the Brethren and supported himself and family by running a grocery/general store. His first store was in Bellwood and later in Juniata. So Dad and Mom married 3 years after Grandpa Brumbaugh’s death. Mom’s older sister, Elma, was married to George Rogers who was also a minister. It was Uncle George who performed their wedding.

Both Dad and Mom often told the story how Dad took Mom down the basement of the store where many of the bulk items were stored. He sat her on a large 100 pound bag of sugar and there proposed. She said ‘yes.’



In those early days, Dad was an apprentice for the Pennsylvania Railroad and became a machinist by trade. At some later time they decided to get in the grocery business. Their first store was at 15th Ave and Broadway in Juniata—just across the street and down from the present Grace Brethren Church. A large “Silk Mill” was located across the street, so they had a lunch counter in the store. It was a favorite spot for the silk mill workers. I vaguely remember those days. I do remember one night that Dad and a friend, Lou Grubb, later the director of the [Brethren] Home Mission Council, went to the store and spent the night shooting rats. They were probably there for only a short time, but to me it was all night.





They later opened a store at 6th Ave, between 4th and 5th Street in Juniata. This store was only a few blocks from Uncle John’s store, but I never heard of any animosity because of it. As a matter of fact, we still bought things from him. Our store was more groceries. Uncle John’s was more of a general store where you could buy almost anything. That’s where we bought our shoes. This is Uncle John Brumbaugh standing on the corner of 7th Ave and 2nd Street in front of the store.

My memories of the 6th avenue store are more vivid. Dick, my brother, and I would stock the shelves with groceries. We liked to do the toilet paper, which was kept of the top shelves. Dick would throw them to me as I stood on top of the counter and stacked them on the shelf. Mom would take orders on the phone and Dick and I would put the orders together in boxes. Dad and I delivered them in a 1937 Ford 4 door sedan. Maybe I should do that car for the Awana Grand Prix.


Other memories included the burial vaults that were stored behind the store. The man who lived next door accidently shot himself while hunting. It left his face badly disfigured. Someone tried to break in the back door one night, cut himself pretty badly and left blood every where. We usually had breakfast at the store before going to school. It was usually oatmeal, but corn flakes were around back then. The deliveryman who brought the big stalks of bananas to us found a tarantula spider in them. It was as big as a silver dollar.

There was a walk-in cooler for refrigerating the meat products. They would buy a side of beef or maybe a whole one, and then cut it however the customer wanted. Mom and Dad were both excellent butchers. As a matter of fact, so was Grandpa [Martin K] Glass.


These were difficult days. The [railroad] shops did not have a lot of work and many folks couldn’t pay their grocery bill at the end of the month. We often ate meals at the store. Our table was the meat-cutting block. Oatmeal was a stable.

So with these tough times, Dad decided that he should take advantage of his machinist trade. He applied to the Baldwin Locomotive Company in Philadelphia and also the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. We ended up in Alexandria VA in 1939-40 where Dad went to work at the Naval Torpedo Station. The timing was significant. It was only a short time before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

When Dad died in 1955, he was the top civilian working at the plant. He was a smart man but never did graduate from high school. So far as I know, that is when he joined the Army Air Force.

So remember that Election day does not always come on this day, but March the 4th is special because it is Amy’s birthday along with her great grandfather, Roy E. Glass—the first one, who later added Sr to his name to avoid any confusion with his son, Junior Glass. Later we added number 3, and #3 added #4. Number 4 decided enough is enough and he added Ashton!
March 4—a big day for us.

Have a good day,

Gpa G

Cars, Cars, and More Cars!

Greeting All!

The Big Awana Grand Prix is not until March, but Jon and I are trying to get a head start. My first project is a dump truck. Here is a picture of the unfinished version. I still have a lot to do on it. My sample car is a cast iron truck that used to be my Grandpa's. It's pretty beat up. It's never been taken care of, so it doesn't look too good.

In my last post I showed you a picture of my car that flew apart when it crossed the finish line. This year my truck will shoot a blast of fire out the exhust pipe which you can see behind the cab. One of my next steps is to paint it and then put a switch on the bottom to turn on the glow plug and ignite the flash paper. I don't want to wire it up before I get it painted. I'll send another picture when I finish it.

Jon is working on several cars, one for Audrey and one for Madison. They will both shoot flash paper as well. Audrey's will be an army tank with a cannon in the front. It will be activated the same as mine. Jon took the micro switches from some old printers. They are ideal for what we want. Audrey's tank will be covered with camoflaged shrink wrap and will have eight wheels--four to a side. Since speed is a major concern, it will only have three wheels that touch--less friction you know. I'm not sure what Madison's car will be. He'll also make cars for himself and Annette.

Here is a picture of the car I plan to make for Gma's entry. I bought this model. I won't put it together, but I did scan a side and a top view which I'll use for tracing the car on the wood block.

I'll use some of the parts on the wooden model--the radiator you can see on the front, the head and tail lights and wind shield and anything else that I can scavage. As you can see on the box, it is a 32 Ford Street Rod. When we have curved fenders and other parts we usually use the light weight patching plaster you can get at Lowe's. When you get it painted with a gloss coat on top, you can't tell where the wood and plaster come together.

We don't usually use the solid wood block since the cars would go over the 5 ounce limit. We used to drill holes in them to get rid of the extra weight. Now we just glue parts together and have a hollow car. You can always add weights. My truck is up to 4 ounces without the paint, so I might have to add a little bit. They go faster if you can keep the weight as close as possible to the max.

You ought to have your church start an adult division of the Awana Grand Prix just for the grown up boys in your church. We have a lot of fun with it.

Love Gpa G.

Grampa's Update

Just a note to let you know I'm still out here!!

Lots of stuff going on here. I had a PSA test this week, but haven't received the report yet. The Dr said it should drop from my previous 15 down to about 8. After a year it should be 4 and then another year should be down to 1 or 2. I asked him if that was a guarantee. He said he wasn't sure he'd be around that long. I should have said more but I didn't.

I sent a letter to our district ministers a week or so ago explaining my concerns regarding the direction of our Fellowship--our tendencies away from our traditional Grace Brethren Statement of Faith. Many of our National Boards now include men other than Brethren with the reservation that the Brethren would always be a majority. Our district ministerial meetings now include many persons that have not been licensed or ordained. I have a problem with that.

And we recently accepted a new church plant with another pending that could create some interesting situations. Maybe they'll just ask me to go home and retire.

And Mom just recieved a note from Kathy D regarding their son-in-law, Joel, [married Kristen]who may have lymphoma. Please pray for them.

The Awana Grand Prix will be held in March at our church. We always have an adult division that Jon and I have always been involved in--and with very good success. Last year I made a generic sedan that blew apart when it crossed the finish line. The action was all the result of a mouse trap inside the car. It worked real well. I made a red coupe for mom to race. We each have a car to race. I'll see if I can find some pictures.

Jon has always, or often puts lights in or around his cars. He makes a car for each of the girls and Annette and always -almost always-wins the speed division.

This year we will both have cars that shoot flash paper out the exhaust pipe when crossing the finish line. We've already started working on them. I will have a dump truck with an exhaust pipe behind the cab. A micro switch on the bottom of the cars is activated at the finish line. And all of this has to be 5 ounces or less. My truck is already getting close to the maximum. A coat of paint could put it over the top. Then I do have problems.

Well, I have to stop all this blogging and go get busy on my car.

Love to all,

Gpa G

The Early Days—1966 to 1985

The Early Days—1966 to 1985
20080107

Here is a continuation of the letter written by my cousin, Lucinda Rogers Meyers. Keep in mind that she has written in the first person representing Arlene and occasionally lapses into the third person.

Roy accepted the challenge of an infant congregation in Minerva, Ohio. Having added two more girls to the family [Lori in 1959 and Lisa in 1962], the family of eight moved westward, not by covered wagon, but in Arlene’s brother-in-law’s [Jerry Stevens] flatbed trailer! We found a home near St. Paris, Ohio. It was a struggle since we had no salary as such. Fifty of our friends had agreed to send us $1.00 a month for a year—which partially helped to support us. The church and District Missions also helped some. In November of 1966, Jonathan Merril joined the family. Rick graduated from high school in June of 1967 and was ready for college. Although Arlene had preparation for teaching along with her degree in Bible, she had been too busy raising a family to pursue a teaching career. She had worked at a radio station in Altoona [WFBG] for a period of 5 years—with time off for babies! So she decided to see if teaching was still possible for her. To her amazement, she was offered something for which she felt totally inadequate, but with the Lord’s help, she began to teach Educable Mentally Retarded children and has continued to do so until the present time. Rick was able to begin his first year at Grace College.

Roy had been working at a Christian radio station [WTOF] in Canton, Ohio, to help support the family. The Minerva church wanted to go under Home Missions, and found out that Roy’s job in radio did not meet with their qualifications for Home Mission pastors! Most Home Mission pastors in those days had to have additional jobs to supplement their income. So Roy resigned.

A split had occurred in the Juniata church and at the urging of some of the people back “home,’ Roy went back and endeavored to pull together his scattered former congregation. A Bible class was formed and later the Community Bible Church was organized. This too was a heartache because most of our kinfolks were still in the church. But compassion prevailed and Roy did what he felt he had to do. He went back to Juniata each week end until they were organized enough to call a pastor. Needless to say, our family life suffered during that period. The rest of the family were attending the Middlebranch GBC—22 miles from their home in St. Paris. Ardith was singing with a group of teenagers called, “Teens for Christ.” Helping to haul their equipment and listening to their beautiful music brought a lot of enjoyment to the family. [The family picture in the front of the Juniata church in 1962. Notice Jon is not yet in the picture].

Grandma Susie was living alone in Juniata [Dick had died in 1960] and our concern for her led to her selling her home and joining the family in Ohio. Arlene changed schools and we bought our first home on Mt. Pleasant Road in North Canton. Roy had secured employment at a television station—Channel 17—and later began a training program to become General Manager [2]. Ardith graduated from high school and went off to Grace College.

Then in October of 1969 came a call for Roy to candidate at a church in Radford, VA. We had never given up hope that someday the Lord would have a place for us to serve Him. Would this be it? The whole family went and after Roy preached, we retired to the basement while they voted on us. We wondered later what we would have done if they’d said “no.” Roy accepted the call and left for Radford in January. Arlene and Susie and the children stayed in Ohio to finish out the school year. It was hard selling the house and getting rid of more ‘things.’ The parsonage in Radford was small. [Our family taken in front of the small parsonage in Fairlawn, Radford, VA. As you can see, Jon has been around for awhile].

It would take a book to tell you about our life in Radford. The Lord blessed the work and it grew. Many came to know the Lord and land was purchased to build a new church. Arlene went back to college in earnest and received her Master’s degree in 1973. Roy III graduated from H.S. and went to Liberty Baptist College. Joy had spent one year at Grace and then married Lee. Ardie and Bruce were also married. Rick and Deb were married in 1974.

We were again able to purchase a home and how we loved it. So many, many good times were ours at 8 Lee Ave. But in 1979, the phone began to ring and calls were coming to us from Troy, Ohio. Roy had no intention of leaving Radford, but went up to see what the situation was. Since Ardith lived in the Dayton area, we had a place to stay.

Roy resigned in Radford and we came to Troy in August in 1979. The house we had purchased was not available until the last of September so we lived in a travel trailer behind the church. Grandma stayed with Ardi. Lisa and Jon enrolled in Dayton Christian Schools, Jon as a 7th grader and Lisa as a senior. [We left 8 Lee Ave in Fairlawn, Radford, VA and headed for our new church home in Troy, OH].

Our new home was in Tipp City. The church was in Troy. The children were going to school 19 miles south in Dayton, and Arlene was teaching at Miami East Junior High School 19 miles to the North.

Lori and Lisa have both married and have little ones and Jonathan will graduate from high school this year. We now have 16 grandchildren. Our church family is growing and the Lord has provided us with a new building. There is still so much to do.

What a wonderful work it has been with our blessed Savior.

Gpa G
---------------------------
1. Mom and Dick bought a house at 715 Second St in Juniata. She was not living with us at this time.

2. Not so! I was hired on as a stage hand and eventually became production manager and then Program Director. The GM was a very unhappy man when I told him I would be pastoring a church in VA for much less money.

The Early Days--1949 to 1966

The Early Days—1949 to 1966
20080106

Looking through a box of papers today I found this letter by my cousin, Lucinda [Rogers] Myers, handwritten in 1985. She writes as though it was written by Arlene, but occasionally forgets and uses the third person. I have purposely copied it as she wrote it so there are many events that have not been included. I tried to note recognizable errors. The date is established by Jon’s graduation from high school.
[The picture shows Lucinda and Victor Myers and Vic’s children from his first marriage. His first wife died]

“After graduation from B.J.U. in Greenville, S.C. in June 1949, we went home to Alexandria for the summer. Arlene was pregnant with their first baby. In September we moved to Winona Lake where Roy enrolled in Grace Seminary. Rick was born in December of 1949. Roy worked at Arnolt Corp. most of his Seminary years. It took him four years to get through and two little girls were added to the family, Ardith Diane in[1951] and Joy Elaine [in 1953] who arrived during exam week in Roy’s final year. The dreams Roy and Arlene had of going to Brazil as missionaries ended that August at Conference when they found out the Foreign Mission Board would not permit them to go. They even were told later that because Arlene had had difficulty with the birth of the two girls, the Board didn’t feel they should go to the wilds of Brazil.

[This picture was taken just before graduation from Grace. We recieved a hood when we graduated. The picture was taken at the side of our house on Roosevelt Ave in Warsaw--just one block behind Walgreens and toward town one block.]

So, later that Fall they left Winona for Cumberland, MD. to start a Brethren Church. The East District said they would help. The nucleus of people reported to be interested turned out to be one couple with a teenage daughter. Arlene began a Child Evangelism class in their kitchen [had about 25 kids, mostly Mennonites] and Roy tried to sell Fuller Brushes and go door to door inviting people to our “church” which met in a Knights of Columbus Hall. We struggled from October until May, and when little Rick [5] said “Aren’t we ever going to Sunday school anymore?” Roy informed the District that our relationship was at an end. Their “help” consisted of a one-time Sunday afternoon rally in October and an offering of $90.00. Roy began to work at Radio Station WDYK in Cumberland. We began to attend the nearest church which was Mennonite—and what a warm welcome we received! Arlene had taught most of their children in C.E. classes. The church later asked Roy to pastor a small work at Glade, about 40 miles up the mountain near Frostburg. We took off our wedding rings, which hurt a little, but having an opportunity to serve the Lord meant so much more. The church gave us an offering once a month so Roy worked at WKYR in Keyser W. Va.
[The picture shows our home in Pinto, MD, while living in the Cumberland area. Pinto was half way between Cumberland and Keyser WV].

We still wanted to serve the Lord in a Brethren Church, so when Arlene’s grandmother died in the winter of 1956-57, we made contacts in Altoona. Roy began a job at WVAM, and the family moved in with Arlene’s mother. Susie and Dick had come to live with them [1] after Roy, Sr.’s death in June 1955. In May 1955, Roy Edgar Glass III was born. We became active in the Juniata GBC, and when Tressler resigned in 1959, Roy was called to be pastor. He preached his heart out that first year, using Romans 12:1-2, as a basis for motivating people to get their lives straightened out and really get active for the Lord. Thirty of the church leaders left! So Roy resigned! But he later reconsidered at the urging of a few, and remained at Juniata seeing real church growth until 1966. Satan again became active and Roy felt the church could handle the situation better if he were not a part of it. [Our hearts ached for many years over the trials and tribulations the Juniata church had to endure in the ensuing years.

In an effort to keep my blog a reasonable length, I’ll continue her letter tomorrow.

Thanks for reading our history. This would be good to file with our Christmas letters for an on going chronicle of the Glass family.

Gpa G

[1]. Mom and Dick bought a house at 715 Second St in Juniata. She was not living with us at this time.

Merry Christmas-Happy New Year

Merry Christmas - Happy New Year
20080104

Things were very busy for us over the Holy Days. Sorry we didn’t post anything, but now it’s time to catch up.

We went to Brad and Amanda’s for an early Christmas celebration. We had a GREAT time! All the Bonham clan was present. Brad and Amanda went out of their way to make us comfortable and uncomfortably full with excellent food. Mom and I had BrayLee’s room and were very comfortable. I’m not sure where every one slept, but I think it was wall to wall on the floor.

Arlene and I were the first to arrive. Everyone else, Bruce and Ardith along with Mrs. Bonham, April and Shannon with Benjamin, Jenna, and Emily, and Jessica and Tom all arrived as expected. The problem was no one had heard from Josh and Michelle. Numerous calls to their cell phone went unanswered. There was much ado assuming they were not coming. The concern only increased as the calls went unanswered. Suddenly they appeared at the door and the cloud lifted! Our celebration was on Sunday morning. I read the Christmas story from Luke. Mom read the Amish version of “The Night Before Christmas.”

We arrived home on Monday, Christmas Eve day. I did not have to work Monday or Tuesday—the computer was playing Christmas music 24 hours a day, Sunday through Christmas Day. On Christmas day we received a call from Audrey and Madison that we had to get to their place asap so they could open their gifts. It was another full day. Jon and Annette were host and hostess extraordinaire. Carol, Adam and Amy arrived first, Roy III arrived in time for the BIG meal. He had to work and went in early. All the Zastrows were present—Greg, Lori, Philip, Jason and Sarah. Joy and Lee were at Jeremy and Tracy’s for the morning, but all the Cornelius and Geaslen families arrived later in the afternoon. We had another wonderful celebration!

The third celebration took place at John and Heather’s on Saturday, December 30. It was an open invitation for the family to celebrate the Christmas/New Year holiday in Winona Lake. We spent Friday through Sunday with Rick and Deb. Jon and Annette and girls, Lee and Joy, Jeremy, Tracy and family, Roy, Carol and Amy all made it for the day. Holly, Kaia, Easton and Karolina as well as Ken and Heidi, Lexi and Kyle represented the Warsaw branches. Ryan was working. Once again, we missed Mike and Tim and their families. No! The swimming pool was not open. Thanks to John and Heather for hosting such a crowd. More delicious food than we could eat.

So Grandma and I had one of our best and certainly the longest Christmas celebration ever. We received gifts galore. I’m hesitant to name them since there were so many. Gadgets, games, books, clothes, sox and I don’t remember what else and of course my GoBible mp3 player.

Thank you everyone for all your love and thoughtfulness!

Gpa G

P.S. We celebrated Christmas at our place with the Brady's and all the Dayton family at Thanksgiving. Lisa out did herself with all the cooking and preparation. I'm sure she went home to get rested up. Mom discovered she couldn't handle entertaining that way any more. Sorry, Lisa, I forgot to mention it.