Dan's blog

Are you tired of it yet? There has got to be a better way than the way we do it now. Sometimes I think Detroit street gangs in the ‘60s had the right idea. They settled leadership issues with a fight. No weapons, no help; as many who wanted to compete could. When it was settled, the winner was locked in for two years (more or less) before he could be challenged again. Now seriously, wouldn’t it be a guilty pleasure to see the leading party candidates in a wrestling steel cage match battling it out for the Presidency?

Before I begin at my beginning I need to lay one more piece of pipe to my story...Douglas McArthur Parsons - my so called ‘retarded’ brother.
I have learned in life that “Perception is Reality”. What you believe is your ‘truth’.
My Mom and Dad never could perceive Dougy as anything but ‘retarded’. So that is how they treated him. Sadly, since that was the way he was treated - that’s how he acted. Truth is he wasn’t/isn’t/or-ever-will-be ‘retarded’. You see I have a different perception of him. (Confused yet?)

It is about time for a disclaimer. Most of my family’s story is oral history. I have tried to get at least two accounts of incidents. Things I could not confirm by a second witness I regard as lore and have not included it. Besides, could you make some of this stuff up?

My Grandfather, Hiram, is the only Grandparent I met. I saw him twice. The first time he didn’t acknowledge me; the second time he looked at me and said, “Who the h*ll are you?” Daddy proudly claimed me as his son. To which Hiram said, “Just so long as he isn’t mine.” Hiram died in 1965.

My mom and dad married each other on the rebound.

My mom (Nyla Myrtle Mathews) was unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé when he found out her mother (my Grandmother) was bi-racial. My Grandmother’s father was a freed slave and her mother was Cherokee. When that came up in conversation, my momma’s fiancé walked out on her.

My dad (Press Parsons) had been dating my mom’s younger sister for a couple of month’s when he met this sweet little girl for whom he fell head over heels. They planned to marry but her father put a stop to it. He said that daddy was nothing more than poor white trash and forbade her to marry him.

These two events occurred on the same day.

"I walked not in the way of righteousness. … But the Almighty God, who sits in the court of heaven, granted what I did not deserve." - Constantine (280-337)

Just day’s after becoming a Christian, we sang Amazing Grace at the Bethel Church of Christ, Bethel, Ohio (elevation 892 feet) and I understood for the first time, what it meant. I finally understood what it all meant. I saw grace not just as a word used in church but as a gift from The God who cared about this homicidal 15 year old. I felt grace in the freedom that my soul had...I was still struggling with the sin in my life but I felt freedom from the bonds that had held me. I was no longer controlled by it, just tortured by it (there is a difference!)

I didn’t understand, but for some reason...I was worth something to somebody. That Somebody was the Creator of the universe...That is some heavy stuff - that is...

Well, well, well!!! I have been "gone" quite a long time from this space. First of all, I am sorry I haven't checked in with all of you "OD"-aholics.
God has been very gracious to me over the past 7 months or so. On two seperate occassions the MDs said I was going to die. Obviously the Father proved them wrong. As quickly as I had gotten sick, I was healed. Actually faster than getting sick.

I seemed to me to be a failure as a Pastor and Professional Councilor. After all, I was secure in my salvation in Jesus, been sealed by His Holy Spirit into the family of God, and ordained into the ministry by a righteous group of Elders. Why was depression a problem for me? What did I have to be depressed about? I had a great wife, a good job, good support in friends and family. Life should have been good, but I didn't see it that way and I didn't understand why!

One of the hardest things that I have had to do, spiritually, has been to orchestrate the closing of a church. Central Chritian Church here in beautiful and historic Roswell, NM. When I came here in 2002, it was with high hopes from the church leadership and myself that we could put attendance and outreach back on its feet and become a viable "church entity" again. Well it didn't happen. So our first, best choice was to close it down and that was hard. It was obvious to all of us that closing was God's will, there were personal failure issues we, the leadership, had to deal with.

Thank God for the church ladies who type them. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

Hillbillys are not just famous for their striking ruggedness and a habit of misunderstanding the English language. We are also known for making due with what we have...since we don't always have alot. For example...

Did You Know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-- without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional "pain relievers."

Did you know that Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns.

My preacher friend, John, passed this on to me. It has a great lesson for all of us.

"One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its Brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." He said, "In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said.

* What do we do when we are out on that limb (our own "dark and stormy night”) and we pray and only get the sound of static?
* What do we do when we lose a child to violence and all we hear when we pray is the echoed sounds of our sobs?
* What do we do when we lose a parent suddenly and our cry for answers are only answered in silence?
* What do we do when we are backed into a corner financially or legally through no mistake of our own and the only response from God- is no response at all?
* Why, at times, is God so silent when we hurt or are so badly in need of Him?

I believe, sometimes, in the midst of all of our grief and confusion we cannot hear God because we are not focusing on His voice. We are so numb because of our current situation we can not see or hear Him.

I love Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy. They have the kind of relationship that most people have with each other. One person in the relationship is love and care and protection for the other, and that person is mostly about themself, without knowing it It may sound harsh to put it that way but it is true.

Snoopy's occassional writing block is something to which I can also relate. There are times that I can sit down and pour out the words and there are times "you can hear the crickets" (let the reader understand).

This begs me to ask the question, Where are the Crickets and what did they do after Buddy Holly died? No - wait wrong question...Why do we write and from where does it come?