Posts by Justo Dorantes (Page 7)

The history of the beginning of the celebration of Labor Day is not widely known. In the late nineteenth century, working conditions were far different from what we have today. In the industrial world, men were working six days each week, and the workday was usually ten hours. At first, there was opposition for the idea of giving workers an extra paid day each year where they were honored for the work they were doing. There were actually riots with…

Teri Horton stopped in Dot’s Thrift Shop to browse around. During her junket, she stumbled across a bright abstract painting and decided that it might make a good gag gift for a disheartened friend. Teri shelled out $5.00 for the 66-inch by 48-inch canvas and then lugged it home. Teri’s friend, Theresa, got a big laugh out of the hideous present, but turned it down because it barely fit through her front door. Teri took it home again, but after…

A NECESSARY STEP It is always sad when one has to say goodbye to family member. Last week many parents in the United States had to say goodbye to their children as they headed to college. That little child that now has grown up, is now ready to start a new stage in his or her life. For the parents it is a sad moment, but it is certainly a necessary stage in the life of the son or daughter.…

There was a single survivor of a shipwreck who was thrown upon an uninhabited island. After a while he managed to build a crude hut in which he placed the things he had salvaged from the sinking ship. He prayed to God for deliverance and anxiously scanned the horizon each day to hail any ship that might chance to pass by. One day, upon returning from a hunt for food, he was horrified to find his hut in flames. All…

There was an old preacher who loved his children dearly and longed for them to live right. As they grew older, he did not want to browbeat them or make them think he was always “preaching at them,” so he looked for a way to lovingly and gently encourage them. He came up with his own heartfelt catchphrase, “Whatever you do, don’t miss heaven!” As each child graduated and moved out of the house, he heartily urged, “Whatever you do,…

After the battles to conquer the promised land had been fought and won, Joshua gathered the people of Israel together at Shechem and addressed them (Josh. 24:1-2). During his discourse to them he admonished, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you…

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 week. That’s a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice says do not have children…

How many times have you heard the statement, “Freedom isn’t free!”? It’s a statement meant to impress upon us the fact that the freedoms associated with living in this country, freedoms we hold so dear, did not come cheap. Those freedoms cost the dedication, commitment and a great many lives of people who went before us to secure and insure them, not only for themselves but also for all of us who have come along later. The freedoms we enjoy…

A man was cleaning out his desk and found a shoe repair ticket that was ten years old. He figured he had nothing to lose to try to collect his shoes. He presented it to the repairman, who was gone for several minutes. He returned and gave the ticket back to the man, who asked, “Couldn’t you find my shoes?” The repair man replied, “Oh, I found them; they’ll be ready next Friday.” Procrastination is not the result of lack…

Back on the farm, I remember that when something broke down, my father would get out his toolbox and make the repairs. As a child, I was always fascinated by his toolbox and its contents. It seemed my father could fix almost anything with the tools inside. From the beginning, God has designated husbands/fathers as the leaders of the home. Fathers have a great responsibility in making sure the whole family goes the right direction in the name of the…

It is very important that we think about what we sing in our worship to God if we want to be pleasing to Him. God commanded singing as worship, and not entertainment. Paul taught, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). Since the songs we sing should teach and admonish, we risk…

We were casually on our way to the meeting house one Sunday morning. As far as I could see, we were the only vehicle on the road, at least for a few turns. Suddenly a squirrel came running out from the left side right toward us (which is not unusual), and … well he didn’t make it. Not this time. I thought, what in the world is wrong with these things? I am the only car on this stretch, and…