Grandma Curry

Grandma Curry I have driven by the cemetery near my house several times each week for more than two years. Recently I happened to look over and I recognized in my distant memory the small platform just past the entrance. I had been there before. 20 years ago I visited this memorial garden to see the place where my Grandma Curry was buried in 1985, just after my family moved away from Idaho. Her grave was there next to her husband who had died the year I was born. I had recently been thinking about my Grandma Curry. Out of the blue I realize that my neighborhood is just a few blocks from her grave, I knew God was prompting me to look deeper. This is the thought God brought to me. When I was a kid my family "adopted" Grandma Curry (she was a widow at our church). In grade school I used to visit her and spend Sunday afternoons with her. We would watch Lawrence Welk and Hee Haw on TV together. Every time we watched Hee Haw she warned me about those halter top wearing girls. "I wish they wouldn't put those girls up there," she would say. As a pre-teenager I would nod to agree, but couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Our society lies about the value of youth and your declining worth as you age. The truth is that your real value in this world is determined by how you are able to submit your life to God's guidance, to listen and obey the Spirit's prompting. TV producers and the music industry would have you believe that once you are past 28, life is all down-hill. Reality is, their opportunity to exploit your youth has expired. I passed 40 last year, and working with college students, I see the ones who, influenced so much by TV and media, have bought into this lie. I also see many, however, who are able to bypass the confusion and do not buy in. Grandma Curry was right... they shouldn't have put those halter top wearing girls up there. TV's exploitation of beauty wreaks havoc on our minds. Since the days Hee Haw was popular, exploitation of youth and beauty on TV, in movies, online, in music... anywhere there's a dollar to be made... has exploded. It is harder than ever to avoid getting sucked in to unhealthy thoughts and desires. In fact, I think "normal" has been reset for our culture at an extreme. Don't fall for it! Guard your heart! I encourage you to intentionally place value on the relationships you have with those who have more life experience than you. Seek out wisdom. Guard your heart. I miss Grandma Curry and can't wait to see her again. Until then I will steer clear of those halter-top wearing girls on Hee Haw (and all who have come after them). -Monty Moreland Proverbs 4:23 + Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust. Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom; listen very closely to the way I see it. Then you'll acquire a taste for good sense; what I tell you will keep you out of trouble. The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet, her soft words are oh so smooth. But it won't be long before she's gravel in your mouth, a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart. She's dancing down the primrose path to Death; she's headed straight for Hell and taking you with her. She hasn't a clue about Real Life, about who she is or where she's going. So, my friend, listen closely; don't treat my words casually. Keep your distance from such a woman; absolutely stay out of her neighborhood. You don't want to squander your wonderful life, to waste your precious life among the hardhearted. Why should you allow strangers to take advantage of you? Why be exploited by those who care nothing for you? You don't want to end your life full of regrets, nothing but sin and bones, Saying, "Oh, why didn't I do what they told me? Why did I reject a disciplined life? Why didn't I listen to my mentors, or take my teachers seriously? My life is ruined! Free Lunch Today 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Bring friends! Menu: Homemade soup, Homemade breadsticks, salad, brownies and ice cream. Thanks to Mari Beth Moreland and Kelly Hannula for preparing and Frank and LaDene York for donating. We are still in need of volunteers and donations for lunches this semester. Please reply if you are able to help. The following dates are available. 4/22, 4/29, 5/6