| Dear Readers:
Our daughter Liberty, her husband
Johnny, and their sons Tucker (2) and Bedford (3 weeks) came to
spend the holidays. Under the calmest of circumstances, Tucker is a
character, but he never lets circumstances remain normal for
long.
Now for some kids, going to church
constitutes an agony of restriction. When I was a little older than
Tucker, I knew that every Sunday that dawned, I would be taken to
church where my daddy would instruct me to sit still. I knew also
that every Sunday that dawned, I would fail to sit still, and at
length be taken out into the foyer for my regular Sunday
whipping.
Tucker, on the other hand, loves
worship service. He longs to make up part of the procession; he
longs to preach. In fact, if the preacher grows quiet even a
nanosecond, Tucker will stand up and boldly pick up the preaching
ball. Since he doesn’t yet speak complete English, the product is
loud if not intelligible – not unlike many sermons I’ve heard from
grown men.
Tucker wants to participate in the
procession so badly that his mamma and daddy have to restrain him.
One Sunday as the procession was leaving it drew near him, he
slipped away, and next thing anybody knew was leading it out of the
church, strutting all the way.
He also loves to light and snuff
candles. He will turn any handy instrument into a candlesnuffer, and
wear you out making you light candles so he can snuff
them.
But Tucker doesn’t leave his zeal at
church. He has created a shortage of prayer books and Bibles at our
house. The minute you lay one down, Tucker spies it, opens it, and
begins marching around the house. He even found a box under the
Christmas tree that he appropriated as a Tucker-size prie
dieu (kneeler). Whether kneeling or processing, he fixes his
countenance in a look of utter seriousness and loudly proclaims,
"GodGodGod GOD GodGod GODGODGOD!" This continues for hours on end.
He never tires of it.
I think that’s what Paul meant when he
wrote about "praying without ceasing."
SHOWDOWN IN CINCINNATI
Sunday afternoon, January
9th, my phone rang. It was a friend of mine from Memphis.
"Do you know what today is!" she cried breathlessly.
I thought for a minute. "No, I
don’t."
"Ten years ago today they arrested you
and Susan!"
I suppose my ability to overlook such
a momentous anniversary testifies to the grace and healing mercy of
God. Our enemies gathered together slavering and ravening, intent on
destroying us, but God delivered us all. (You can read the whole
story about our federal trial in an article on my website, "The Most
Dangerous Man in the Mid-South" at http://208.55.3.192/cgi-local/shoptmc.pl/SID=022422/page=http://www.the-moneychanger.com/dangerous.html,
or send an SASE.)
My friend’s call also reminded me that
I still have an appeal from my state case pending in the US Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. This case, like the federal
case, grew out of my starting a gold and silver bank. The IRS sent a
man to work for the Tennessee Revenue Department with the specific
assignment to get something on me. He came up with a violation of a
law that had been on the books 19 years without anyone every having
been charged, "delaying & depriving the state of revenue." Of
course no one had ever been charged. It was a criminal prosecution
for debt, but in my case they made an exception.
After fighting it in court for six
years and appealing up to the Tennessee Supreme Court, I went to
jail twice in 1996. While in jail my attorneys filed a federal
habeas corpus but the federal judge just sat on it. Then
after two years the Sixth Circuit agreed to hear the
case.
So this past year we filed briefs, but
now we have no idea when the court will hear the appeal, or if they
will allow oral argument to my attorney, Dr. Edwin Vieira. Edwin
thinks it will happen in the first half of the year. If the court
allows oral argument, I’ll probably drive up to Cincinnati to hear
it. In the meantime, I would appreciate your prayers that after all
these years (since 1985), God would grant us victory and
vindication.
JACHIN & BOAZ
Justin’s going rural on me. Now he has
bought a pair of huge black Percheron draft horses. We named them
Jachin & Boaz after the two pillars in front of the first temple
– "He will establish" on the right, and "Strength" on
the left. Actually, as it turned out, Boaz is the slightly smaller
and therefore the off or right horse. Jachin is the taller
and lead (left) horse. They are only about a year and a half old,
but already huge. I can still peer over their backs, and I’m nearly
6’3". These are the gentlest, friendliest horses I’ve ever seen,
like big puppies.
If they ever learn how big they are,
we’re all in trouble. They’ll take over the farm.
PIG HERDING COWS
The first time Justin and I witnessed
it, I thought it was an accident. The pigs escaped their sty and ran
down the pasture where our Highland Cattle were grazing. The whole
herd turned and, for all I could tell, began herding the pigs
back towards us. Okay, I thought, it was a fluke.
Then a couple of weeks ago we were
feeding the pigs and Houdini got out. The cows were way over by the
barn, 250 yards away. Bonnie came running up to investigate. While
she was standing there I hollered, "Bonnie, herd that pig!"
Bonnie stared at the pig in disgust,
then began lowing and lowing. Once she had alerted the rest of the
herd, she began circling that pig. I’m telling you, these cows
herd pigs.
Maybe I ought to take them on the
road?
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