In God's House

In God's House:
Some go to church to take a walk,
Some go there to laugh and talk.
Some go there to meet their friends,
Some go there their time to spend.
Some through habit go there weekly,
Others go more often, seeking variety.
Some go there to hear the preaching,
Some go there to question the teaching.
Some go there to meet each other,
Some go there a fault to cover.
Some go to church to court a lover,
Others go to chide a brother.
Some go there to strike a bargain,
Some go there to seek for pardon.
Some go there to take their children,
Some go there to escape their children!
Some go there 'cause they feel proud,
Some go there to sing out loud.
Some go there to rest from labour,
Some go just to impress a neighbour.
Some go there to doze and nod,
The wise go there to worship God!

--In part by Spurgeon (expanded by Lionel Hartley 1998)

A juvenile's poem for Mothers Day

Deer mum,
M is for the million things you dun for me
U is for your understanding love
D is for the deeds for what you dayly praise me
D is for the dum things you forgive
E is for ever (thats how long i will love you(
R is for remembring mudders day which I dun two
Put them all to getha they spell MUDDER
(I think thats how its spelled(

Written by Lionel Hartley, aged 9
(Found on a card in his late father's diary of that year. Grammar and spelling as written!)

Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank, Part 6

Episode 6: Peter's Teeth Change
Peter (c20 years) had set up an hobby business, making 16mm. audition movies for budding actors, actresses and musicians. With cameras and tripods, and numerous items of lighting and sound equipment to be lugged around, he desired to build a custom-made trailer or caravan to make movie-making on location easier. He purchased an old Fordson truck and, with the help of an elder brother, proceeded to convert it into a caravan/workshop. The engine and gearbox were sold to a scrap-metal merchant, and an engineering friend designed an automatic steering mechanism using two motorcycle shock-absorbers to replace the steering wheel. A solid draw bar was fashioned from steel and, although rigid enough to steer the vehicle in motion, hinged up against front of the vehicle when it was not being towed. Unconcerned about the weight of their new creation (Peter had an old two-ton Humber Super-snipe Limousine to tow it) the two brothers set about welding steel panels where the radiator grill used to be, bolting new flooring where the truck driver once sat, and installing an assortment of shelving, cupboards, kitchen equipment and bedding in the body of the van. The creation was finished with several coats of paint before obtaining the mandatory road-worthy registration.
The vehicle proved itself to be practical and Peter reaped considerable benefit from it. However, one memorable Friday it bit back. Almost two ton of van and contents was often difficult to manoeuvre unless it was attached to a vehicle and on this occasion, as they were only a few metres apart, instead of backing the limo to the van, Peter decided to pull the van towards the limo. But the van was measure heavier than puny Peter anticipated. With the dramatic grunt of a circus strongman straining against a football team in a tug-of-war, Peter pulled on the draw-bar with all his (petty) might. The van remained stationary; Peter moved. His feet slid on the roadway and he disappeared under the van.
He would have continued completely out of sight if (fortunately?) the draw-bar hadn't stopped him suddenly! It met him in the teeth and in one stunning milli-second, the heavy steel fist impacted all his front teeth up into his face, pushing his cheeks and nose against his eyes. In piercing agony and blurry vision he cautiously but quickly drove to the local hospital. There he was given injections to dull the pain and halt the bleeding -- and escorted home to await surgery two days later "while the swelling subsides"!
Peter has little recall of those two days, save that they ended on Sunday afternoon in the surgery of his regular dentist. This skillful artisan, with his patient under a general anaesthetic, extracted what remained of Peter's upper teeth and reshaped his face. Using X-rays from a previous dental consultation, he fashioned an upper denture, cleverly reproducing even a chipped front tooth for realism. Peter left the surgery that day with the denture in situ, and his first look in a mirror welled up within him a gratitude to God, for the miraculous restoration. However, the lesson for Peter is not finished yet.
-- Lionel Hartley PhD, "Not Finished Yet"
Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank
"This serial saga, although novel, is not a novel. It is merely a series of true-life episodes highlighting the extraordinary working of an extraordinary God in a very ordinary life. Each episode contained a lesson for Peter Blank, a lesson we can all learn, from a lesson-book life that is not finished yet."


-- Lionel Hartley, Not Finished Yet -- Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank
"This serial saga, although novel, is not a novel. It is merely a series of true-life episodes highlighting the extraordinary working of an extraordinary God in a very ordinary life. Each episode contained a lesson for Peter Blank, a lesson we can all learn, from a lesson-book life that is not finished yet."
As first appeared in FreEzine Magazine July 2000 ff