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“In the beginning, God created everything good!  Evil is nothing more than the perversion of good for its own selfish purpose.  It is inferior to good and never its equal!  It is not the opposite of good but, instead, a parasite!  Evil cannot exist without good, but good can exist without evil.  Evil is a deception of the truth!  Therefore, beware with whom you talk or walk.  But even though you may fall, God will raise you up again, and when you sit in darkness, He will be your light.”

The Jesus Tree Ornaments: A Father’s Word, Chapter 9,  page 128

In our kitchen I decided to make some fresh coffee for my wife, son, and I.  My coffee maker is a Cuisinart model that has a built in coffee grinder at the top, however the grinder was broken so I had to grind the coffee beans in a separate small grinder.

I removed the clear plastic lid and poured the coffee beans from the Starbuck’s bag into the small grinder and put the lid back on.   Then with the palm of my hand I lifted up the grinder and applied pressure on the lid to turn on the grinder.  It’s little blade swirled around in the beans grinding them into ground coffee.  There was no unusual noise or sign of any obstruction in the blades as they swirled around and cut easily into the beans.  Next I took the clear lid off again and emptied the ground coffee beans into the coffee basket for brewing, closed the basket back into the coffee maker, pushed the brewing button, and walked away.

Later, after we had enjoyed our coffee I went back into the kitchen to empty the coffee grinds from the coffee maker.  When I pushed the button on the side of the coffee maker to release the basket with the wet grinds for disposal, I was surprised at what I saw lying on top of them…a shiny wet penny.  How could this have happened?  There was no penny in the coffee maker when I turned it on nor did I notice any penny in the grinder.  If the penny had been in the grinder I would have heard it and it would have cuts marks on it.  The penny looked new.  Surely, someone was playing a joke on me.  I went to everyone in the house, and asked which one of them had put the penny on top of the grounds.  They all were adamant that they hadn’t done it.  We shortly left the house and went to my great niece’s birthday party.

The party was being held at a local business and while waiting to for the cake to be cut I discussed what had happened at the house with my older brother, Lloyd.  He asked me what I thought it meant and I told him while I didn’t know at the time, I was sure that it’s meaning would reveal itself to me in the near future.  I didn’t have long to wait.

At work my immediate supervisor, Donna, had been out for several weeks due to the death of her boyfriend.  He had died one morning in his truck in the  driveway of their home.  She discovered him and I can’t image the how terrifying and horrific this must have been for her.

I have personally known Donna for many years from work and at church.  I considered her a good friend even though most of our contact was only at work.  While we had been peers before at work she was now my Appeals Supervisor at the Internal Revenue Service, and one of the best.  I was a Campus Appeals Officer and handled cases that had petitioned the US Tax Court.  Our job was to try and settle any cases by written correspondence, phone, fax, prior to the court date or at the courthouse itself if necessary.  Our contacts would be with the taxpayers, their accountants, or attorneys.  The job could be a pressure cooker and have some very tense moments.  Nevertheless Donna was always supportive, very kind and an enjoyable person whom I liked to have long conversations with.  I could talk with her about work, our lives, family, and religion and did, however, I had never discussed with her any of my supernatural or paranormal experiences nor had I ever met her boyfriend.

A couple of days after Donna returned to work I went into her office to convey my condolences.  After extending my sympathies she explained to me the events of that dreadful morning.  She then took a breath and with a look of concern said to me, “You know Garry, I think he is trying to get into contact with me.  Everywhere I look I find pennies.”

“Oh my God,” I replied, thinking back to the incident with my penny.  “You’re got to be kidding?”

“No seriously Garry, I pick things up and there are pennies there,” she assured me, “I keep finding them everywhere.”  She went on to explain to me how this had been going on for some time and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

I told her it wasn’t that I didn’t believe her but that I had something to tell her about a penny that I had found in my coffee maker.  What she told me next, really stopped me in my tracks.  She informed me that her boyfriend made coffee for them every morning.

Was it her boyfriend that had put the penny in my coffee maker or was it someone else that I had known who had also passed away.  As stated before I had never met him so if it was him, why me?  If it was him, was it possible he choose me because I was now open to the supernatural, and somehow he knew that Donna would share with me, so I could confirm to her that she was correct.  He was only trying to make contact with her to let her know that he was okay.

Before I retired I found several more pennies at work.  Being one of the first to arrive at work in the morning I found a penny right in the middle of the hallway on the way to my desk.  One couldn’t miss it.  Now the place is vacuumed everyday in the later part of the day so you wouldn’t suspect that it would be there.  Also, walking around the building on a couple of different days I found pennies on the ground.  Normally I wouldn’t think much about finding them but when I mentioned them to Donna it was always on a date that had something to do with her boyfriend or both of them.  This had led me to believe that it really is Donna’s boyfriend and not someone else, trying to contact her.

This was one of the first of many baffling events involving pennies that would soon begin to unfold in my life, and the others definitely appeared to be from other deceased persons too.

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“Faith does not come from miracles; miracles come from faith.  Do you have the required faith for a miracle?  Or do you believe that you will receive faith just from observing a miracle?” asked Micah.

“The birth of the Father’s son was a miracle, and the world rejects Him.  Are you willing to believe in the miracle of His birth, because no more miracles will be performed for an unbelieving world?  Are you ready to listen to the truth about the miracle?  It is through the birth of His son that the Father’s character is revealed to the world.  He is the god of amen, our lawgiver, judge, and king,” Said Isaiah.

The Jesus Tree Ornaments, A Father’s Word, chapter 9, page 129.

Living out God’s Will through Actionable Faith-Garry R. Kennedy-4/28/10 from PC Men on Vimeo.

Latest update…let the games begin!

The next day in the newspaper the Fresno Bee, the story was on the first page.  It read in large letters: ACLU: Fresno professor anti-gay, City College students also say health science class is religion-based.  The professor’s name was Doctor Brad Lopez.  This could not the Brad Lopez that I know and love.  Please allow me to share with you my story about Brad Lopez and then you can make up your own mind without a rush to judgment.

When I first published my first book “Why we celebrate Christmas” with the Jesus Tree Decorations, Brad was there encouraging me and offering suggestions.  I remember when I first put the Jesus Tree Decorations on my Christmas tree, turning my Christmas tree into a witness for Jesus, how I couldn’t wait to show them to someone so I called Brad and he came right over to my house, and shared in my joy.  I now offer the decorations to anyone for free to print out at http://www.jesustreedecorations.com .

A few years later when I was working on the first chapters of my novel “The Jesus Tree Ornaments” my wife and I were spending a weekend with Brad and his wife Jan up in the Sierra Mountains of California, at Hume Lake.  I was working on the chapter where my main character, Thomas, was about to meet David, the shepherd boy, and the future King of Israel from the Old Testament of the Bible.  I was having a hard time trying to find the right word that would best describe David’s interaction and involvement with God so I asked Brad what he thought it should be.  He said the word should be “relationship”.  I knew at once he was right and it fit perfectly with what I wanted to express in my book about how we can all have a personal relationship with God.

When I think of my relationship with my friend Brad, I remember him all the way back to Clovis High School during the year of 1965.  He played on the basketball team and appeared to me to be a very outgoing and happy young man.  I didn’t personally know Brad then or his wife Jan, who graduated with me in 1967, however I had a very favorable first impression of him.  Brad graduated in 1965 as salutatorian in his class.  His grandparents came from Mexico and he had a humble upbringing.  He told me his father wouldn’t allow them to speak Spanish at home because he wanted his children to prosper in America.  His father died when Brad was only twelve.  From then on Brad had to be the man of the house and help his mother raise his two younger brothers.

I didn’t see Brad again after high school until several decades later.  One day he and Jan walked into my Sunday school class at Peoples Church in Fresno, California.  I didn’t know it but they had been members of Peoples Church longer than my wife and I.  It is a big church with several thousand members so it is not unusual to meet at the same place every weekend and not connect with everyone.  It was in this class that I finally got to know my future best friend and mentor Dr. Brad Lopez.

I was, and am still astounded by his many accomplishments since high school.  It would take too long to list them all here so I will just highlight a few: 1971 Bachelor of Arts, Deans list, Major Zoology, California State University, Fresno.  1972 Associate of Science in Respiratory Care, Loma Linda University, 1973-75 Master of Public Health Program, 1977 Master of Science, Major Health Science, California State University, Fresno, 1977 Community College Instructor Credential, 1979 Community College Supervisor Credential, Doctor of Education, Specialty Educational Leadership, Joint Doctoral Program, University California, Davis, California State University, Fresno. He has taught traditional classes, distance education in live, interactive two-way video conferencing and media streaming online classes over the Internet. Students can actually view online Doctor Lopez’s classes online and make their own determination about his supposed anti-gay teachings.  Like any father all of this would have made Brad’s dad extremely proud of him.

Brad and I connected on many different levels and soon started doing things together.  I remember early in our friendship we took ours sons to the movies with us.  His son Justin and my son Josh.  Later Justin told Brad that out of all of his friends he liked me the best and thought he should hang out with me.  I was greatly touched by his comment.

Our Sunday school class went camping together one weekend and while it was nice the facilities at the campsite were substandard.  I remember mentioning to Brad that we could do better and he informed me about another campground only a few miles away called “Camp Edison” at Shaver Lake.  Together we got everyone to agree that the men would do all the cooking during the weekend and have been doing it now for over ten years.  It is a great family weekend spent with other Christian friends in worshipping our God in His great outdoors creation.  We have had around one hundred people attending on some of the dates and we are still participating in this event.

I have also worked with Brad and our wives plus others from our church in putting together several couple retreats on the west coast.  We have had groups of one hundred couples join with us for weekends of teaching, relaxation, and worship.  Brad and Jan have also opened up their cabin in the mountains for men and women from our church to stay at for free while we attend the church’s yearly men’s and women’s retreats.  Brad has helped put together a helps team in our Sunday school class that has helped people repair their homes, move, or anything else that we may be able to assist them in.  Brad and Jan have been involved in a Tuesday night Bible study for years.

My wife for years has been involved in a women’s prison ministry called Kairos.  She has been a been a team leader since the start of the ministry at the Chowchilla Prison and has not only served on the Kairos board but has also been a team leader going into the prison for four days at a time.  While in the prison talks are given to the inmates about God and how Jesus loves them.  We are instructed to listen, listen, love, love.  In 2004 her board sent Pamela to Erie Pennsylvania for an International meeting of Kairos ministry.  Brad, Jan and I went with Pamela and spent several days at the conference attending training sessions and listening to guest speakers.    Brad and I at that time were also part of a men’s Kairos team in Fresno, lead by an retired Sheriff and man of God named Odell McCoy.  Brad and I went with the team a couple of times on Saturdays to minister to the prisoners at the Atwater Maximum Security Federal Prison in Atwater, California.  One time Brad was the guest speaker to the prisoners.

To me, probably the two most important mission projects Brad and I have started together and worked on is our yearly Mexico mission trip to Ensenada and Christ’s Warriors.

Brad by front door with hat on. New home we built for free for needy Mexican family. Completed in four day...Praise God!

Over ten years ago Brad and I went to visit our missionary friends in Ensenada Mexico, Tim and Kathy Johnston.  They had been in our Sunday school class when they had taken a short-term mission trip to Mexico and fell in love with the people.  Tim and Kathy sold most of their possessions and moved to Mexico to share Jesus.  They became associated with a group called “Youth Unlimited Gospel Outreach” (YUGO).  While there I discussed with Kathy how our Sunday school class might be able to come back and help them minister to the local Indians.  Once back at the church I asked Brad what he felt the Lord would have us do and he said he would decide by the giving of the class.  We were doing a study at that time called “Experiencing God” and I asked the class if they would like to take on a God sized project in Mexico.  They agreed, and donated $1,800 that day to get us started.  Brad was convinced God was in this large undertaking and has been both a leader in our yearly trips to Mexico and a great mentor to me.   We have built several houses for families at no cost to them, and had both women and men ministries.  Brad has been our lead in the men’s ministry.  At our first gathering with the men at the local church Brad shared how he had lost two sons in their youth.  His first son Brad Jr. at the age of thirteen, and his youngest son Justin at age nineteen.  Then the pastor of the church stood up and shared how he had lost a young daughter just that past year.  It was an awesome moment to see these two men instantly bond together and I will never forget the anointing of the Holy Spirit as he fell upon all the men that night.  You can visit the website for YUGO at http://www.eocyugo.org/.   Over a thousand homes have now been built in the surrounding area of Ensenada by the ministry started by Tim and Kathy Johnston.

As mentioned before I knew Brad’s son Justin, but I never met his first son Brad Junior.  I can’t image the pain that Brad, Jan and their one remaining son Ted, have suffered by the loss of their sons and Ted’s brothers.  I remember going to the funeral of Justin and when I embraced Brad he said to me,  “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”  To my knowledge Brad has no enemies but I knew what he meant.  He shared with me sometime later that when he was at the bottom of the pit of despair, he cried out to God for an answer.   He immediately sensed the presence of God’s Holy Spirit descend upon him and felt the presence of his son speaking to him and stating,  “Dad I’m okay.”  From that moment on Brad has continued on with his recovery and in the sharing of faith.  He has told me that it is a day-by-day process that you never fully recover from.  Nevertheless he and Jan have turned it into a powerful witness to minister to others with.

Christ's Warriors Co-Founder Professor Brad Lopez

Some years ago I started going to our church’s Wednesday night men’s Bible study.  Jeremy Brown and Craig Eischen facilitated the study.  The guys did a great job but attendance at the study was always very low at around four to fifteen men.  You just never knew how many guys would show up.  Nevertheless Jeremy predicted, but he didn’t know when or how, that something big was going to happened to our men’s group.  I remember asking him what he thought that might be but he couldn’t give me an answer.  He didn’t know, he just felt God was going to move big in our group.  This really started to bother me.  It was like God had planted a seed in me to seek out what Jeremy was talking about.  I questioned God that didn’t I already have enough to do?  Like that did a lot of good.  I remember going to a Bible store one day and while waiting for my wife, two books caught my attention.  One book entitled “Total Truth” by Nancy  Pearcey looked interesting but the cover didn’t do anything for me.  Inside it looked like a textbook.  However, I felt led by God to purchase it and was I happy that I did.  The book covers a lot of the America church and it’s history.  I gave the book to Brad for him to read and he loved it too.  Ms. Nancy Pearcey had put into print what I have always felt and wanted to express but didn’t know how.  Check out the book at http://www.crossway.org/sites/total.truth/ .  Sometime also during this period Brad and I were spending a weekend at the men’s retreat at Hume Lake.  We were taking our usual walk around the lake and I was sharing with him this strong urging by the Lord on how to reach the men by teaching them the fundamentals of Christianity, however I was having a hard time putting into words what I wanted to do in practice.  Brad said, “Oh, you’re talking about a curriculum.”  I thought, I am?  Shortly after that I was introduced to a DVD series “The Truth Project” by Family Focus, and Brad and I both attended the viewings at our church.  Brad and I then presented the Truth Project and Christian apologics to our men’s group.  You can check out the Truth Project trailer at http://www.thetruthproject.org/ .  Then in January of 2009, along with Pastor Pete Gavrilis of the men’s group we started a new group called “Christ’s Warriors.”  Christ’s Warriors is a men’s discipleship group that is meant to help men put on the Full Armor of God.  Ephesians 6: 11-18.   It is of the men, by the men, and for the men of Peoples Church.  We video record all the messages put on by the men of Peoples Church and then upload them with lessons plans onto the internet for anyone to learn from and enjoy.  You can view them all at http://pcmen.org/?cat=3 .  There are great lessons on the Trinity, Water Baptism, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Spiritual Gifts, Forgiveness, Prayer, Grace, Church and Community, plus many others.  Brad’s and my hope is to someday share this discipleship training with men all over the world.  Another resource that we have used at our meetings are the DVDs from author Lee Strobel based on his books “The Case for Faith, The Case for Christ, and The Case for a Creator”.  Lee Stroble was an atheist until he wife became a Christian and he started to investigate the claims of Christianity.  You can visit his website at http://www.leestrobel.com/indexMain.php for more information.

I’ve recently been made aware that Focus on the Family has produced another DVD series for teens and college students.  If you have a child going off to college soon or one already there you should check out TrueU at http://www.mytruthproject.org/truthproject/trueu/home.html .  I haven’t reviewed the series yet but the trailers look first class and the information life saving.

Fellow Christians, in closing I would like to ask you to hold up our Christian brother Brad Lopez in prayer.  Living here in the center of California I know that the Hollywood elite and the San Francisco liberals do not hold valley people in high regard.  Most of them think we are just stupid Bible thumpers and country bumpkins in dire need of their immoral thinking and lifestyles.  No thanks.

Professor Brad Lopez is just trying to teach his students to do some critical thinking.  My wife took his class and informed me that he does not teach from the Bible or assign any homework from the Bible to the students.  Anyway, these students are supposed to be adults not children.  If they don’t like the teacher take another class.  If your feelings are hurt get over it.  There is supposed to be a thing called academic freedom at the college level.

From watching the local news it appears only one girl in the class was offended and she was offended for her homosexual friends.  I surmise she is straight.  I heard she got an A in the class.  Good reason to be upset.  I am suspicious of the gentlemen in the same newscast with her.  I have not heard any evidence that he was even a student in Professor Lopez’s class.  Is it possible that he isn’t even at student at Fresno City College?  If not, what agenda is he pushing and whom does he represent?  Don’t expect the news to rush on this one.  They are about selling papers and being political correct.  What does it matter if a Christian is scarified in the process.

I suspect Professor Brad Lopez will stand tall and not walk away small in this ridiculous situation they have put him in.  After all, it really isn’t Professor Brad Lopez they are after.  Jesus said “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” John 15:18. They want God out completely out of all the schools, even at the college level.  Why?  Because they don’t want a relationship with Him or his followers.  They want to be in control.  They don’t want the Truth to be known because Jesus is the Truth, and the Truth is always extreme to those who don’t believe in Him.  The battle is the Lord’s!

If you would like to express your support for Professor Lopez and academic freedom please write to: Chris Villa, Dean of Students, Fresno City College, 1101 E. University Ave, Fresno, Ca. 93741.

Loreen was going to someday marry a young man we all met in high school.  His name was Rod and he was a year older than us.  Rod became friends also with my twin brother Larry, and several of our other friends including Loreen’s brother.  Rod was also good looking, a real charmer and liked by just about everyone.  However, he had a bit of a wild side to him.  After he graduated from high school he and over a dozen other guys got into stealing cars, driving them out into the country, stripping them of their parts for resale, and then burning the vehicle.  The money was little and I think it was mostly spent on beer.  After stealing a large number of cars they knew that the police suspected them and an arrest would be imminent.  After all, just about everyone their age in town knew who was doing it and were talking about it.  Once Rod asked me if I wanted to go with them and act as a lookout.  I was still in high school, but thank God I was smart enough to decline his invitation.  They were all soon arrested and sent to prison or allowed to enlist into the U.S. Army.  This was during the mid-sixties when the Viet Nam war was heating up.  Rod was sent to prison I believe for a total of eighteen months.

After Rod got out of prison and I had graduated from Clovis high school, several of us were out one day cruising in two cars when another car with five guys and a girl got into a verbal shouting match with us.  Someone threw out a challenge so we pulled into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant while the other car only pulled in only a short distance from the street.  I remember I didn’t want to do this but felt I had no other option left.  Rod quickly exited our car and starting walking towards the other car.  Then a tall young man stepped outside of the driver’s side of the other car with a long twelve gage shot gun and pulled back the handle to enter a shell into the chamber.  It sounded hollow to me like there was no shell in it, nevertheless one couldn’t be sure.  Rod never missed a step while yelling at the fool, “Mother f-er if you’re going to use that you better use it now or I’m going to stick it up your ass.”   The guy’s face went completely white with fear as he froze by his car door.  Knowing Rod was on parole and many people were watching all of this in broad daylight, I quickly got between him and the scared stiff idiot.  The guy was probably only trying to impress the young girl sitting in the middle of the front seat.  His buddies never made any attempt to even get out of their car.  Rod let the guy sink back into his car to escape while his stupid girlfriend attempted to flip us off with her middle finger in defiance.  The driver immediately slapped down the foolish girl’s hand as he quickly sped them away.

A short time after Rod was released from prison he started dating Loreen.  Within in a year or so they got married.  They quickly purchased a house and I remember going to a party there once where the alcohol was plentiful.  As I think back now this may have been the time when I first started to associate Loreen with drinking. When we were growing up I didn’t know it but both of her parents were heavy drinkers.  Rod and Loreen’s marriage didn’t last long and they soon got divorced.  I didn’t see much of Loreen for a number of years.  I had heard that she had gotten remarried and lived in the mountains at Mariposa.  She had some children and worked in a bar serving drinks.  After a couple of decades had passed I heard from others that she had gotten divorced again.

As we have gotten older my high school classmates of 67’ have started to have a class reunion every five years, and our old high school has an “all class” reunion every ten years.  At one of our “all class” Clovis reunions I remember seeing Loreen again, and to be honest I thought she might have aids.  She was so small and skinny, nothing like the young beautiful girl I had known.  I remember after sharing pleasantries with her that I spoke to her about my past drinking problems and I expressed my concern about her also having a heavy drinking problem.  Unfortunately at that time, she like others around us was already in a party mode and had been drinking therefore I got the impression that my words wouldn’t be taken seriously.  Nevertheless, because of our past friendship and my new walk with the Lord I really did want to help her, if possible.  However, I later heard that she continued to drink even more heavily than before.

It was at another class reunion that I next saw Loreen.  It was obvious to me that her lifestyle hadn’t changed and I heard she was now homeless too.  The night of the reunion she drank and partied the night away.  She was having a good time.  Early the next morning I received a phone call from her that her brother Lloyd’s car had been left downtown and she wanted to know if I could pick her up to go get it.  I’m not positive, but I think Lloyd had been arrested for driving under the influence the night before.  Because it was so early I didn’t want to do it at the time and also because Loreen sounded like she was still under the influence of alcohol.  I was to find out that she was under the influence all right, but it wasn’t just with alcohol.  I remember her getting angry with me as I tried to reason with her.  Then I asked her if I could pray for her.  I think she said yes so I started to pray, but immediately I became concerned by what I heard coming from the other end of the phone line.  Loreen was making loud noises like she was trying to cough something up but it was also choking her.  Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, but I quickly recognized that another entity was involved.  I believe that as I was praying for Loreen a demon was making it presence known as it was being cast out of her.  I didn’t know how to handle the situation so I just started praying in the spirit.  It sounded like Loreen dropped the phone and was moving around a room trying to clear her throat while gasping for air.  I suspected she was calling me from a motel room but I had no way of knowing.  After a minute or two it sounded like she was lying down near the phone and was moaning but no longer chocking.  I called out her name several times but she never picked up the phone to answer me.  I continued to pray for her for a short time and not knowing what else to do for her I disconnected the call.  I hoped that she would get some sleep and call me back as I didn’t know how to contact her, but she never did.

The next time I remember seeing Loreen again was at another ‘all class’ Clovis high school reunion’ five years later.  At the Friday night kickoff to the weekend event the various classes were seating in the bleachers at the football stadium located at the new Clovis high school.  After some events finished on the football field she came up to talk to me and a friend.  After saying “hi” I stepped up one row above them while they continued to talk privately.  I wasn’t sure where Loreen was now in her spiritual walk so I started to pray quietly in the spirit for her.  I’m sure no one could hear me as I was praying in a whisper with my eyes wide open while trying to look normal as possible.  In addition, many other people were also involved in loud conversations surrounding us.  I was looking down towards Loreen when without lifting or moving her head and in the middle of her conversation with my friend, her eyes looked straight up to mine and she said, “Garry, leave me alone!”  Then just as quickly her eyes returned contact to my friend’s eyes until she finished her conversation with him and she left.  I was shaken by this unnoticed happening that my friend hadn’t even picked up on.  I wasn’t sure how to process it.  Was she still under the influence of some unknown entity or was my imagination working overtime?  Whatever was going on, it spooked me!

The next day after a reunion parade through downtown Clovis our reunion committee had set up some tables at the old high school for people to pick up tickets to that night’s events or to just visit.  Loreen and her sister Phyllis came by to see me.  In private Loreen informed me that she didn’t have any money but she would still like to come to the events.  I told her that would be no problem and the class would be glad to pay her way.  However, I told her that I didn’t want her coming to the get-together and getting drunk.  She said she wouldn’t and I asked her if she would like me to pray for her.  She sternly informed me that no, she didn’t want me to pray for her.  This concerned me, but I didn’t push the issue nor did I ask her what had happened to her the last time we talked on the phone.  I suspected this was why she didn’t want any more prayer from me.

I got a chance to talk to her sister Phyllis later that day and I asked her about Loreen’s condition and if she was seeking any help.  She said Loreen was now living with her.  This was good news, but I expressed my concern with her about Loreen’s spiritual condition, yet I didn’t bring up my experience with Loreen and the telephone prayer.  What was I supposed to say?  Hey, I think you sister may be possessed or at the least under some kind of demonic oppression.  She informed me that Loreen had been going to some church group meetings with a lady from the church.  I found this to be good news and didn’t pursue any more information from her.  Loreen came to our reunion that night and didn’t get drunk nor behave in manner that was offensive.  It was a pleasure to have her there and to see her enjoying herself with some old school mates.

A couple of years later Lloyd, Loreen’s twin brother and my friend passed away.  Lloyd, like most of us from the old neighborhood, drank way too much alcohol and smoked too many cigarettes over the years.  I heard he was on an oxygen tank because he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs without it.  I called him and told him I would be praying for him.  He said thanks and that he could use all the prayers he could get.  One unfortunate day his son found him dead at home.  It was very tragic to see him die this way.  I saw Loreen at the funeral but didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her.

Prior to our latest class of 67’ reunion Loreen was invited to ride with us in the Clovis Rodeo parade to publicize the upcoming reunion.  She showed up early in the morning with a large soda cup, which I later discovered was beer and not any type of soda at all.  Nevertheless, she was full of fun that morning when leading her other classmates in shouting to the several thousand people lining the parade route. We were proud graduates of Clovis High.  We all went to lunch afterwards and had a good time.  Loreen later came to the reunion gathering for the class of 67’, controlled her drinking and was a pleasure to be around that night.

I didn’t see Loreen after the reunion and a couple of years quickly passed.  She was always there in the back of my mind and I felt that I should call her to see how she was doing.  I knew that she was still living with her sister and working part time.  I prayed that things were now going better in her life.  Then one day in August of 2009 her sister called me to inform me that Loreen had passed away unexpectedly.  She had gone in to have her teeth pulled for dentures.  Her teeth were in a bad state and I was informed she wanted to have a nice smile for her grandchildren.  Unfortunately, an infection set in and she was hospitalized when further complications arose.  Shortly thereafter she passed away.  I felt guilty for not staying in touch with her and it is something that I will always regret.  I don’t know if I could have made any difference in her decisions to drink or her lifestyle but I do know the Lord could have.  Had I missed an opportunity to help her.  God forgive me if I had.

My own struggle with alcoholism helped me to relate to Loreen, her twin brother Lloyd, my twin brother Larry, plus other friends from high school who also drank and/or used too many drugs.  A lot of these people have passed away in the last couple of years, way before their time.  They were all good people who made bad decisions.  The main character, Thomas, in my novel the “The Jesus Tree Ornaments” also has a very serious drinking problem.  His drinking is especially damaging to his relationships with his mother, wife, and son.  He has to decide if he wants to be a blessing to his family or a curse.  What kind of legacy will he leave them?  The story reveals how the Lord is the only way for people like him, and me, to conquer demonic traps set by the devil.  Beware my friend that you don’t fall into the devil’s trap of alcoholism or substance abuse.  Sin always starts out as fun but ends up in personal tragedy, not only for you, but also for everyone who loves you.  If you have already fallen deep into the sin of alcoholism it is not too late to change.  Call upon Jesus, repent, and He will reveal to you the path out to eternal salvation.

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“Relationships cause pain,” commented Thomas, “even if they are free.”

“Yes,” answered the king while catching his breath. “Anytime you open yourself up to another person, it can result in pain.  But, there is faith to be gained in overcoming the pain, if you believe in the relationship. You have a family, and you are the shepherd of your family.  Are the relationships with your family worth getting through the pain?  Tell me, are you being a good shepherd to your family?  Do you give them comfort and joy?  Are you there for them?  Can you get past your pain for them, even if you can’t do it for yourself?”

Thomas remained silent.  He knew the answers to the questions.  However, he didn’t want to acknowledge the committment and pain that relationships require to the king, or to himself.

“You know a lie will destroy a relationship.  Relationships cannot exist in a lie, because a lie distorts the truth of who you are.  If a person does not really know who you are, then they are dealing with an untruth, not you.  A relationship can only survive if it is based upon the truth. The sheperd is the truth.  Do you share this truth with your family?  Do they really know who you are, or are you lying to them about you, too?” asked the king.

The Jesus Tree Ornaments, A Father’s Relationship, Chapter 7, page 106.

Camp Edison is only about an hour drive from our cities of Fresno and Clovis, which are located in the San Joaquin Valley of California.  We take mobile homes, tent trailers, and regular tents to sleep in.  We arrive on a Friday night and leave on Sunday afternoon.  We have had up to a hundred people join us on these trips, but there are also hundreds of other campers surrounding us.  This particular year I think we only had around 40 people in our group.  The men join together to cook breakfast and dinner, plus wash all the dishes.  Naturally the women love this idea.  The trips are a nice get away from the city for some good fellowship, worship, and to be close to God’s creation.  In addition, I took along some notes and other material to work on my first novel “The Jesus Tree Ornaments” which I was in the process of writing at that time.  However, something happened one night to two of us, which brought us close to some kind of creature or entity we couldn’t explain away, even to this day.

My wife and I were sharing our campsite with two single women, Kelley and Mary.  Kelley works for the local community college and Mary is a school teacher.  The campsite was large and it was easy to pitch two tents on it.  We had a large single room tent and the women had a smaller tent.  A picnic table and the campfire separated our tent from theirs with a distance of about 40 feet.  Our campsite was down a slope with other campsites slightly above us about 100 feet away and none further down the slope.  If you have ever stayed in the mountains at night you know how dark and quiet it can get.  Noises carry very long distances and in the dark you can’t be certain where they are coming from.

Nothing was out of the ordinary when we went to bed that night.  Inside our tent my wife and I slept in our own sleeping bags.  I was above the ground on a cot and my wife was sleeping on a mattress.  We both went to sleep and I remember waking up in the middle of the night.  I think it was somewhere around 3 am.  It was cold, very still, and quiet.  Then in the distance I heard what sounded like wolves or coyotes barking.  It made me think that perhaps they were chasing something.  It didn’t really bother me as I have heard them before in the mountains.  What happened next however did bother me, a lot!

The loudest blood-curdling scream that I have ever heard shattered the still night air.  It was very high-pitched and only changed its tone one time.  I think it lasted at least 30 seconds and sounded like it was just outside of our tent.  In shock, I just laid still hoping that whatever it was wasn’t going to attack us.  I was determined not to move but at the same time I couldn’t believe that my wife had not been woken up by the noise.  She was breathing normally and was obviously not affected by the noise.  Then it happened again, a scream just as loud and long as the first one, and still my wife kept sleeping.  I thought about waking her up but was afraid that she might be afraid and make noise attracting whatever was outside our tent to our presence.  But, what was it?  It didn’t sound human at all nor did it sound like a bear, mountain loin or any animal that I have heard before.  And what about the other campers in the area, surely everyone else had to have heard it, yet I heard no people outside our tent talking.  Then it screamed again just as loud, long, and terrifying as the other two times, and still my wife slept soundly.  These weren’t just average screams, they were all extremely loud, frightening, and sounded like they were meant to create panic to anyone near.  They were like nothing I have ever heard before or since.  I couldn’t understand how anyone within a mile could not hear them.  I spent the rest of the night praying and trying to remain still and quiet in our tent.  I only came out cautiously when daylight first started to brighten up the campsite area.

When I came out of the tent I noticed a friend of ours was already up at his campsite.  I walked up and asked him if he had heard the screaming last night and he said no.  I then proceeded over to the main campsite to start the morning coffee for breakfast and to ask some of our people if they had heard the screams last night.  No one had heard anything.  I went back to the tent and my wife was now awake so I asked her if she had heard anything at all last night.  She also had heard nothing. I was dumbfounded…how could this be?

I went back up to the main campsite to help with breakfast and to ask if any new arrivals for breakfast had heard anything last night.  None of them had heard anything either.  It was shortly after I had questioned just about everyone when Mary came walking up to us.

“Did anyone hear the screaming sound last night?” she asked.  My ears perked up and my heart quickened when I heard her question.  I quickly asked her exactly what she had heard.  The following words are from Mary to me based upon the event, which happened to us several years ago.

“I was sleeping when all of a sudden in the middle of the night this terrifying loud screaming noise woke me up.  Whatever it was it sounded very near to our tents.  It was a long high-pitched scream like nothing I have ever heard before.  It didn’t sound human nor like a wild animal.  My tent-mate Kelley seemed to be sleeping normally and it was weird to me that the screaming did not instantly wake her up.  Then it happened again two more times which really freaked me out.  Kelley was still sleeping soundly through it all.  I was now totally awake when I heard whatever it was taking quick intake of breaths as it started clawing and scratching on the bottom outside of our tent.  From the sounds it made from around the tent it sounded like a two-legged entity and not a four-legged animal.  Then it stopped, and next I heard what sounded like a person walking around the tent three times.  I assumed it was Garry and was very glad that he was out there in the dark checking on whatever it was, however I said nothing to him.  I was most concerned about a family just up to the hill from us where a lot of children were sleeping outside.  Soon no more sounds were coming from outside our tent and I remained awake in the tent until daylight.  I was too excited and shook up to go back to sleep.  When I did get up Kelley and I checked around the tent for foot or animal prints and found nothing.  I asked Garry if he had come to our tent in the night and he informed me that he hadn’t.  He was the only other person who heard the same screams that I heard.  To this day I have no explanation as to why the others did not hear what we heard. ”   Mary Whent

My wife and I have returned several more times to Camp Edison and spent the night there at other campsites and nothing out of the ordinary has happened to us.  I still ask myself what did happen that night and what was it?  It could have been an animal that I am unfamiliar with, but why did no one else but Mary and I hear it?  I cannot tell you how loud it was, but pretend you’re sound asleep in your bedroom at night and someone was to walk in and scream at the top of their lungs.  It was that loud.  Don’t you think that would wake you up?   I will never be certain in this life as to what it was, but personally I believe it was an entity from Hell sent to scare me.  It did, but it did not stop me from writing my book “The Jesus Tree Ornaments”.

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“Yes, Thomas.  You see, God has always had a purpose.  He sent His only son to earth to redeem mankind.”

“Then Christmas truly is about peace on earth and goodwill toward all men,” answered Thomas.

“No, Thomas…Jesus is about peace on earth and goodwill toward all men.  Christmas, if you choose to celebrate it, should be about Jesus, God’s gift to all of mankind.”

“If I choose to celebrate it?  Isn’t there a command or something requiring a celebration?” asked Thomas.

“No, it is a choice.  You have free will to do as you choose.  Complete freedom.”

The Jesus Tree Ornaments, A Father’s Offering, Chapter 12, page 197.