DO YOU BELIEVE ENOUGH?

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence." - Abigail Adams

My over 70 years old friend - Mma Etuk; that's what her children called her - said to me sometime, "Son, the only prayer I pray now is, 'Lord, teach me how to follow you foolishly'". I was awed by that statement for many reasons. One of which was the fact that she was old, and the other was because she'd been a diligent follower of Jesus from an early age. She could die for the gospel's sake. I was amazed.

Thomas Hawkes was born in Essex, England. He later entered into the service of the Lord of Oxford. After the death of Edward VI, instead of changing his religious beliefs to that of Queen Mary's, Hawkes left his service and returned home. After returning home Hawkes' wife gave birth to a son. Hawkes refused to have the boy baptized according to Catholic tradition and was reported to the Earl of Oxford. He was sent by the earl to Bishop Bonner of London where he answered to the charge of contempt of the sacraments. On February 9, 1555 he was condemned as a heretic. Days before Hawkes was to be burned at the stake he agreed with his friends that he would lift his hands over his head if the pain was tolerable and his mind was at peace. When he was engulfed in flames and most people thought him to be dead, Hawkes suddenly raised his burning hands above his head and clapped three times. Those who understood this gesture broke into shouts of praise and applause as Thomas Hawkes sank into the fire and died.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (2); HOME INFLUENCE I

“People who have good relationships at home are more effective in the marketplace” - Zig Ziglar

Show me the home of a boy, and I will prophesy concerning his future without a tremor of uncertainty. Show me a man's home, and I can account for his peculiarities, his cheerfulness, or his despair. A quiet home, on whose altar the flame of love and confidence never goes out, is as close to heaven as mortals can get on this side of the grave. A home which lacks love and confidence breeds germs of misery, which multiply until ruin has done its awful work.

One of the greatest writers and social reformers of medieval England was Charles Dickens. With his exposure novels, such as Oliver Twist, Dickens attacked the working of the poor law of his Victorian Age. Bleak House is another novel of social realism, replete with social analysis and protest. And, with the use of pathos and melodrama Dickens, nevertheless, manages to weave an assessment of the corruption at the heart of Victorian society. Dickens also introduced to many readers the historical novel as well as the detective novel and the thriller, genres that maintain their popularity and widespread appeal to this day.

One historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities was written by Dickens after having read Thomas Carlysle's The French Revolution: A History. Carlysle's study of the oppression of the poor greatly influenced the themes of A Tale of Two Cities in which Dickens draws parallels between France at the time of the Revolution and England. Dickens, of course, was concerned that something like the revolution could occur in his own country. Dickens was enormously successful. He was a real rock star in his day. In addition to everything he accomplished in his life, I think one of his greatest accomplishments is that he was able to write books that still touch us today, and still make us stop and think about the issues he raised.

Charles Dickens once addressed a letter to his son Henry while he was at college, advising him to keep out of debt and confide all his perplexities to his father. The letter concluded as follows: "I most strongly and affectionately impress upon you the priceless value of the New Testament, and the study of that book as the one unfailing guide in life. Deeply respecting it, and bowing down before the character of our Savior, you cannot go very wrong, and will always preserve at heart a true spirit of veneration and humility.

Similarly, I impress upon you the habit of saying a Christian prayer every night and morning. These things have stood by me all through my life, and remember that I tried to render the New Testament intelligible to you and lovable by you when a mere baby. And so God bless you!"

The influence of family in charting the course of destiny can never be overemphasized, little wonder; it was Michael J Fox that said “Family is not an important thing. It's everything”