{"id":3740,"date":"2019-09-14T00:01:01","date_gmt":"2019-09-14T07:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/?p=3740"},"modified":"2019-06-10T13:19:23","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T20:19:23","slug":"be-it-ever-so-humble-there-is-no-place-like-hearth-and-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/be-it-ever-so-humble-there-is-no-place-like-hearth-and-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Be It Ever So Humble,&#8230;There Is No Place Like Hearth And Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/There-Is-No-Place-Like-Home.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-474\" src=\"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio-300x86.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"86\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio-300x86.jpg 300w, https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>I am writing this blog on January 23, 2019, in the early morning hours, 5:42 A.M. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is quiet and very peaceful in my office which is located in my home.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>There are 5 inches of fresh new snow lying on the ground with more big flakes silently falling.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Everything it is completely silent all around the space I am presently occupying.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Not a creature is stirring\u2026We believers in the Lord Jesus Christ call this special time of day\u2014<b>quiet time.<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is a time of personal reflection, prayer, and serious thinking.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is an especially designated time to express our thanks, and display our reverence and gratitude for all that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has provided to us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>Quiet time is indeed a most special and valuable time invested in preparation for the new day that is just beginning.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">None of us have all the answers to all of the questions and circumstances that arise as this new day unfolds and runs its course.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But,\u2026<b>we do have the \u201cpower\u201d to persevere and overcome any and all obstacles that may arise during the ensuing 24 hours. Perseverance\u2026.It connotes strength, and courage, and power to last.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Endurance is one of its greatest off-shoots.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>It has been said that \u201cIf you don\u2019t know where you are going in life, then you will not like where it is that you wind up!\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That is what \u201cquiet time\u201d is all about.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is a preparatory time to get things lined out in your life as you begin a new day so as to make it highly productive and beneficial to and for you and your loved ones.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I learned so much from my family and friends as I grew up in the sagebrush deserts and mountain country of Southern Idaho in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The powerful life lessons seemed to be taught through and by word and deed from family, friends, relatives, and even complete strangers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In those days most homes had front porches on which hung a fairly large swing set,\u2026at least big enough for two people.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>After meals in the warmer months of the year, the family would retire to the front porch and talk, discuss, teach, and share valuable information about what was going on in the world, in our community, in our neighborhood, and in our family.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We all got to really know one another.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We communed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We learned from one another.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We listened to each other.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We really cared for one another.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was truly a \u201cbinding time\u201d and we all came out the better for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I have recently discovered a wonderful little book written in 1997 by Pastor Philip Gulley.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is small in size and content, but it is powerful in word and instruction.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I had misplaced this book sometime ago during one of my three moves over the past three years, but \u201cas if by magic\u201d it popped up again and re-blessed my life.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Please permit me to share some of its content with you in hopes that it too will bless you.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The book is entitled, \u201cFront Porch Tales.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">\u201cHome,\u201d \u201cRoots,\u201d \u201cFoundation,\u201d \u201cAnchor Points,\u201d all are terms that connote a person having a solid strong foundational base for the building and maturing of a human life.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I certainly hope that is the way that you were raised.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I sure was.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Parents who are wise enough to know and understand how important it is to give a child a solid foundation on which to build their own lives are light-years ahead of the rest of the masses, and for sure ahead of their peers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I am sharing this new found treasure trove of information and guidance through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.davesevern.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.davesevern.com<\/a> hoping that some of you folks will catch the message and nurture it, and spread it through to your own family and friends in an effort to help make our world today a little bit better than it is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">We were all created by a loving, generous, and totally reliable and trustable Creator God.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He loves us all no matter how much sin and\/or transgressions we have or have attempted to create.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I exhort you to learn from these articles of discussion so as to prepare you for doing your fair share to make our world better for those now living and those coming behind us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">An now back to \u201cHearth and Home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I have a friend who is just like I used to be many years ago.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In my youthful and energetic capacity I was a dynamo of work and accomplishment.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>No price was too high,\u2026no effort too demanding.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>All it took for me to do what ever it took to achieve my planned accomplishment was for other people to stay out of my way and not argue with me.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I was indeed young and oh so foolish.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Time cannot be saved, invested, or re-used.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>At the end of each day, everyone<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>has to start over,\u2026begin anew,\u2026 because you have used up all the time you have been given for any particular day that has ended.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>The sooner in life that a person learns this valuable lesson, the happier he or she will be and the more productive he or she will become.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Well now, back to my acquaintance\u2026\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I have a friend who is always gone, always traveling, away from his family for both work and play.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He is just gone,\u2026away from his family.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Permit me to add a point of importance\u2026.this type situation is more common than not for the person who relies on self rather than on His Creator God to meet and fill his or her needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">My friend is in Canada one month, Florida the next and back to Southern California the next.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He is always talking about where he has been and where he is heading next week or the week after.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>His shoes are not worn out but his suitcases usually are.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He is indeed a fine man, though he makes me wonder why staying home has such low appeal for him personally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I am unusual.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I admit it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But I am not a homebody,\u2026or at least I am not one of these type people who always wants to stay home,\u2026.at least since I lost my precious bride, Jany in September 2011.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Prior to my bride\u2019s passing, I enjoyed both travel and staying home.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I was what I would term ambitiously lazy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I would rather work a little harder now so that I could take more time off later to spend with my loved ones.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Whenever I did travel so frequently I would call home at least once a day, usually twice a day, so as to stay abreast of things and events or activities of my busy family.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Now I must admit to you that Florida as a geographic area is fine, for sure.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But home and hearth is always much better.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Home is where my wife, my family and my children are.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is where I planted the ivy that is next to the lilac bush that is next to our porch swing\u2026..Which is where we all sit in the evening when the shadows are long.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Home is where my wife was.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>She would always get up a half hour before I did to make me and the kids a fresh cooked breakfast.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>She did this not because she was my wife and had to or was fully expected to, but because she was a loving, caring, and giving person and she truly wanted to serve her family.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Home is where I watched my daughter and two sons every afternoon whenever my wife had some errands to run, appointments to attend, or extended shopping trips to make.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Home was where I put my children down for an afternoon nap, played with them on the floor, and read \u201cbear\u201d stories to them just before putting them into their beds.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was where all three children could and would build huge Lego figures and projects and gather pine cones or acorns for the science class projects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Home, that oasis of quietude, is where I\u2019ve learned patience, what little I have.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And love.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And just about everything else that is really worth knowing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I have included a few stories about my church and church family too.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In my nondenominational Christian Church not too far from my hearth, I have a whole other support system to commune with and grow from as we all move and grow to a higher level of faith and living.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">When you think about it\u2026.I am indeed a very blessed man.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And, because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I know without any question or doubt that no matter what happens or fails to happen to and for me and my family, everything will always work together for my own good,\u2026.because I know Jesus and love Him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And I know I have been called to action by and for Him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I sincerely hope that you do too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">All things are possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Peace and Love to all of You\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.Poppa Bear<\/b> <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am writing this blog on January 23, 2019, in the early morning hours, 5:42 A.M. \u00a0 It is quiet and very peaceful in my office which is located in my home.\u00a0 There are 5 inches of fresh new snow &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/be-it-ever-so-humble-there-is-no-place-like-hearth-and-home\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3740"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3742,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740\/revisions\/3742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}