The Brown Mugs

The Greener Grass Conspiracy

2011-04-18T22:44:00.000-04:00

"Greener Grass Conspiracy" Trailer - Stephen Altrogge from Crossway on Vimeo.

Testimony – Grace imparted through friendship

2011-03-16T07:49:00.072-04:00

Note: As a part of a regular testimony program at our church (Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, PA) I was asked to share my testimony during the service March 27, 2010. The "my testimony" part of that seems to me to be an overstatement of my involvement. Why you ask? Because its really a story of how God went about saving me - a person who wasn't interested in looking for him or even gave thought to look for him. Though my story is mediocre compared to others, it is "great" to me! As you read this I trust that you will see the work of the providential loving God. By His Grace alone, for reasons He only knows, He sought me out through of all things a friendship. For which I cannot convey how grateful I am and how undeserving I feel.

Josh's Bachelor Party

I am 53 years old. Way back in 1980 while finishing up my college years here at IUP I went to this church. Two different jobs and eight years after that Sue and I returned to Indiana and have since raised our four children while attending here.

This past summer I had my first taste of beer in 33 years at my oldest son’s (Josh) bachelor party. That’s right the last beer I had was when I was twenty. I was surprised by two things; the taste of beer hadn’t changed much. And…. this was my first legal beer - ever. I mention this because it makes me smile. Though I have never done drugs or some of the other serious vices, in my heart I wasn’t any different than anyone else.

The Brown Family

I was blessed to be raised in a stable family with loving parents. I played little league, pee wee football and other sports. We did things together as a family. We had fun. My brother Bob and I physically fought daily to my mother’s anguish. My father faithfully disciplined us. We regularly went to a Methodist Church as I was growing up. We weren’t Christians but we were consistent in our attendance. We would go to church and then get donuts. We didn’t differentiate one from the other.

I am hiding at the far left second row.

I suppose I was like a lot of people prior to being saved. I had some poorly conceived philosophy about life. It was probably something like a self-centered version of the golden rule. I thought I should be good to others, but at the same time I wasn’t going to make a decision that didn’t benefit me.

When I look back now the gospel was all around me. There was that young married couple that ran our church youth group. My best friend’s parents along with his older brother and sister. My Aunt Margaret and those seemingly insignificant brief encounters that are obvious to me now but weren't then. How could I miss a pink elephant in the room like that? Yet I didn’t see it, give thought to it, or recognize that there was even a difference between knowing God and not knowing God. Given my relatively good life I wasn’t really happy. In high school I would often write in my notebooks the word “help.” I scribbled it everywhere. Sometimes underlining it or repeatedly writing over it. My notebooks were covered with it. It might seem odd now, but though I would constantly write the word help, it didn’t occur to me to ask “Hey why are you always writing that?”

At times as a teenager I would walk out to our back yard at night where it was completely quiet and looked up at the sky. I would stare at it for a little while noticing how vast and many stars there were. Contemplating what this rock I was standing on might look like to someone on one of those stars. It sounds silly now but I can recall yelling out “What is this place? – Am I real? Am I just a dream? I even recall wondering if the Twilight Zone TV show made any more sense than my life? Do I even really exist I thought?” Whoever wrote the movie the Matrix must have had an experience like this. I wasn’t really talking to anyone in particular. I was just wandering in aimless thought. In a way I suppose crying “help”.

Prior to picking up our dates. 1975 Bethel Park Senior High Prom

In third grade I met a friend named Rob Irwin. We lived fairly close to each other. Rob would become my best man when Sue and I married. Rob had been raised in a Christian family. Rob’s family made me feel welcome in their home and treated me in a way that made it easy to be around them. I can recall many fun times at his house.

Though Rob’s parents were Christian Rob was not. This is an important distinction. God used Rob and his family in my early life even though Rob would tell you himself that he was not a Christian while we were growing up. Over time God used a series of little events involving Rob’s family that God would use years later. I recall one time while in elementary school I took the Lords name in vain and Rob said to me (remember we’re talking about two ten year olds), He said to me “Hey you don’t want to do that! You’re talking about God! How would you like everyone going around saying Doug this and Doug that every time they stubbed there toe?” I had one of those movie moments where something significant occurs and one character freezes as action continues around him. Even at ten years of age it made me stop and contemplate.

While playing Rock’m Sock’m Robots as kids Rob mentioned in passing how his Dad emotionally told him how fortunate he was to have a mother like his mother. That movie moment occurred to me again. I never heard anyone speak so highly of another like that before. Once as a teenager I was telling Rob what a great time I had the previous weekend with a group of friends getting drunk with one of their Dad’s. Rob’s reaction to my excitement made me realize how sad an event this actually was for a grown adult to participate with underage kids in such a thing.

That's Rob in the background

These events obviously had an effect on my life. Yet as a 20 year old IUP college student living at Rooney Hall I was still apathetic about God. I was completely unaware of any connection between life and God. Following my first year at IUP in 1978, I went home for the summer and got together with Rob as was our norm. As I implied earlier, Rob was always different from my other friends, but that summer he was even more different. He started talking to me about Jesus and the bible. I had never heard some of things he was saying. I asked what happen to him. Did he get into some cult at college? He continued to tell me about how he came to know Christ at college through of all things a death of college friend. I asked him all kinds of questions. Questions like “you mean to tell me that a good person who honestly believes in God his whole life but doesn’t believe in Jesus will go to hell?” Though Rob tried he couldn’t answer a single question to my satisfaction. His concern for me however was evident in the kind passion in which he spoke to me. But his answers to my questions made me think he was nuts.

For some reason I was moved by his genuine concern for me. I wish I could communicate the impact that his simple effort had on me. The words didn’t seem to matter but I caught his desire! That night while I laid in bed I began looking up at the stars again so-to-speak and asked this time quietly “God if you are real please let me know. I don’t want to live my life not knowing you.” I asked the same thing the next night and probably several nights thereafter.

Several months later after I returned to IUP Rooney Hall room 204. (What a special room that is to me now!) I now had this desire to be a Christian but didn’t know what to do. Rob sent me a bible to read and encouraged me to start with the book of Mark. I read and read and read. The bible became sweet to me. I was amazed that I could read about God and that I could find out “what this place is” and “what life is all about”. I began to become more aware of Jesus sacrifice. But I still didn’t know what to do. Eventually I came to realize that when I asked God to let me know Him in my bedroom months before. That that’s when I actually was saved.

How do I explain - that after that simple prayer in my bedroom and without any real knowledge of the bible, I started to see things differently, hear things differently, think about things differently, react differently, and I quickly became aware that I was missing something very good and that it was God. Where just a few days before that I never gave it a thought. I gained a real sense of contentment in my life that I know now was forgiveness. Think about that! I didn’t do anything but make a simple request after hearing the gospel from someone I respected but didn’t believe and within days my life dramatically changed. It still amazes me.

Robert and Pam Irwin with their daughter who is now in college. By the way Rob is also in the football photo above same row as me second from the right.

The family that God worked through Rob to save.

One Last family photo before Josh and Sara moved to New Hampshire.

2011-01-02T22:47:00.001-05:00

Brown Family Reunion

2010-12-16T23:07:00.000-05:00

Matt had a good summer of baseball

2010-11-16T19:04:00.001-05:00

My summer vacation, our house, and Josh's Wedding

2010-08-20T22:34:00.019-04:00

After Scraping July 15, 2010

In preparation for Josh and Sara's wedding, which was held in our front yard, I embarked on a mission to paint our house. As you can tell from the photo (above) it needed it - even more than I knew. In the finished photo (below) it’s obvious that we have shutters. While standing on the ladder removing the shutters I sidestepped and ducked… twice. Somewhat unsafe but doable for a fifty plus year old man. Why did I do this? Experience! I knew from previous episodes that Bats would flee. Knowing it though still didn’t stop me from being surprised. The brown spot on the back of your pants kind of surprise. Their bat poo poo left an interesting stain on the house too. Great, I thought a stain on my house and my pants. Thank goodness for high pressure water sprayers. But that scare was nothing like my next one.

During their wedding I was sitting in the front row taking in the wonderful moment and incredible view of my son marrying the love of his life. And the house I raised in him in as the backdrop to the whole event. I briefly reminisced about things that happen in this yard with Josh. Things like catching a baseball with him, playing hide and seek, funny things Josh did and some I did to him. One time I gave him old cough syrup that had exceeded its expiration date. To make matters worse Sue had already, unknowingly to me, given him the correct medicine. Later that night after we were all asleep, Sue woke me up to tell me that she believed that someone was running around our house and was disturbed about it. You guessed it, I was shocked to look out our back door window to see Josh panting and sweating. He could not even explain how he got outside let alone why he was running around our house at 3am. But I kind of knew.

Two seconds later my thoughts turned to the dumbest thing I’ve done. And it occurred just weeks before. The roof that you can see in the photo doesn’t look that steep. I thought so too. If you enlarge the top photo and look at the top right of the roof our chimney top sits about 40 feet off the ground. It had never been painted and showed a hundred years of coal and dirt. Since this would have been somewhat noticeable during the wedding ceremony I decided to paint the backside of chimney. I placed our tallest ladder against our roof just to the right of the front porch. Josh joined me to help, just in case something bad might happen. I’m not completely dumb.

I crawled off the ladder onto the roof with a paint brush and caulking gun in one hand and my paint sprayer gun connected to a fifty foot hose filled with paint in the other. After painfully crawling half way up the roof I started to slide backwards. Josh’s concern was evident in his voice as he called to me come back. Well I was kind of falling back anyway and in one sense his request appealed to me but my other senses were screaming no. I can’t explain but to go backwards was to go blind. Due to the position of my body and slant of the roof I could not turn to see where I was going. I let my full body hug the roof and tried to shimmy up. It seemed that for every inch I was able to move up I slid back the same. I almost panicked. But, believe it or not, I remembered the counsel of my ninth grade health teacher telling us to never panic and keep your senses about you. I didn’t let myself panic but I felt a full fledged conundrum, a catch 22 situation. I couldn't go up and I can’t go back. I know I know you must be thinking that by now I must have discarded my three tools. Nope!

Ignoring Josh’s plea’s I used every bit of my strength and tugged, crept, and scratched inch by inch, with my tools and made it to the top. I painted the chimney. Physically shaking, exhausted, bearing burns and scrapes on my arms and legs from the shingles, but I did it. Dumb but alive and sitting watching my son… my son marry his love…my new daughter. In some respects my trip up the roof was kind of like my years of parenting. We do it without a net. God is indeed good.

Brian Regan is the best!

2010-07-31T23:17:00.001-04:00

2010-06-20T09:09:00.001-04:00

Matt's 2010 Indiana High School Graduation

My view of the President's Health Care Take Over

2010-03-23T18:41:00.001-04:00

Because I see this blog, in part, as a historic record for the Brown family, I thought it would be good to go on the record with my views on today’s incredible health care law.

What our President and this Congress has done concerning health care is revolutionary. It’s neither evolutionary nor just a simple adjustment. In fact it is not even a major adjustment; it is an about-face. No it’s not even that, it’s a change to the very foundation of our two hundred year old health care free market system. Our government has just taken control of over a fifth of our economy, made Insurance companies like utilities, and has forced individuals to buy a service at risk of inflated costs or severe penalties, including use of the IRS. It includes a unique use of terms to allow our government to do this. For example, though the IRS is involved the act does not "tax" us but instead "fines" us. Either way a penalty or cost is forced on working Americans. The only way to avoid a "cost" or "penalty" is to not work! That! Thanks to the new health care system is the only inexpensive way to get health care.

Hopefully those that have forced this incredible "Act" of law upon us are well intentioned, since it has some worthy goals. None less worthy than health care for all. However, whether well intentioned or not (does it really matter) I have no doubt that it is naive at its core and will likely hurt our nation. Since this is a fundamental change to our system, if it fails it will affect our very foundation.

Some might say, what’s the big deal? Let’s give it a try at least for a while. If it doesn't work then we repeal it. With all do respect this is a naive position. In the history of our nation we have never once repealed an entitlement. Not once! Ronald Reagan once said that the closes thing to eternal life in this world is a government program.

Medicare and Social Security are in dire need of a foundational change, not health care. Any young adult knows that Social Security won't be there for them without change; Warnings have been given to the "next generation" for years. Why is that? It's because these two entitlements can not survive on its own structure. It needs to change and now. It is irresponsible to ignore it and with each passing year the solution will become more painful to employ. That is obvious to me. It seems our politicians are either not interested in change (Republicans) or they want only to change the here and now without regard to future ramifications (Democrats). My guess is that congress will continue to "adjust" Medicare and Social Security until it falls under its own weight. And it will fall. When it falls it will have a devastating impact on our nation, just like a dam that unexpectedly caves under its own weight. My guess is that congress will continue to "adjust" Medicare and Social Security rather than address its core issues. I really think they got it backwards. We should "adjust" health care and revolutionarily change Social Security and Medicare.

I can't help but ask myself why congress would ignore these two entitlements but want very much to add Health Care as an entitlement. Perhaps it's control. As the saying goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Or, perhaps they really think it will make a difference. I sure don't. I have multiple reasons for this. Anyone would be sufficient in itself to justify this statement. But I will just use one.

Our nation has essentially been following the same free market health care system since its inception. Over the last half century or so we have added Insurance. This has made some adjustments to our health care process. But it did not change the fundamental principle of medical care. And, that is that everyone one is responsible for his own health care. Of course employers provided health care for their employees, but I believe that this evolved because of capitalism not the goodness of their hearts. That is employers had to provide it for competitive reasons. In other words it was free market driven.

The free market system creates a self leveling system. It's as much a law of the universe as the law of gravity. Nothing equalizes the economy as well. We have over two hundred years of history to prove this. We have the unparalleled success of America in the world to prove this. We have the failure or poor performance of every other economics system in the world in comparison to the free market to prove this. What drives the health care issue is that some people don't trust the employers or insurance companies as much as they do government. I don't understand why people would trust government more than any business, our forefathers certainly didn't, but I digress.

The fact is that we have the greatest health care that any man has ever had. Think about that for a minute. In all of history no one has had the kind of care that we experience today. The poorest people in our nation have far better health care than our grandparents had or even our parents. And, America is one of the primary reasons the world has benefited from health care advances. This does not sound like a system that needs a revolutionary change. Adjustments are welcome. And, I know that if we can let the free market work everyone will benefit.

It seems so clear to me, but what do I know I'm just a common every day Dad.

Message about this blog

2010-03-21T22:43:00.002-04:00

Within the next month I intend to write to this blog much more frequently. I will be including stories of relatives, funny and explanative stories about my family, and interesting pictures new, old, and very old. I have much to share about our interesting ancestry and historical events related to our family. When I pick a subject to blog about I will try to use it to bring different events both pass and present into the same story. I will also be including some personal thoughts on such things as politics, faith, sports, and made up stories for illustrative purposes. These would reflect the humble opinion of a common Dad, but I believe it is important if for that reason only. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Don't mess with my daughters

2010-02-27T00:18:00.001-05:00

Josh and Sara Engaged!

2010-01-04T22:11:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, January 2, 2010 our son, Josh, proposed to Sara Dixon. Josh had arranged for the event to occur at an old school building in Squirrel Hill of Pittsburgh turned into a swing dance joint. It was there that Josh began to talk with Sara. He set up a table with dinner in the middle of the dance floor and as they walked in, pretending they were exploring the building, he swept her away with her favorite songs playing as they walked in. How romantic!! His mom taught him well! We wish them all of God's greatest blessings. We are so proud of Josh.
He is in his first year of law school and his fiance is a nursing student. There are no definite wedding plans as of yet. Congratulations Josh and Sara! We love you guys.

2009 Urbanski Family Christmas Party

2009-12-23T21:07:00.039-05:00

Once again this year we celebrated Christmas with Sue's side of the family. Actually we have been celebrating together almost thirty years. Most every year until the last two we have consistently met each Christmas Eve. This year we met at Len and Marcie's (Urbanski) on the Saturday before Christmas (12/19/2009). That's my nephew Ryan with his girl friend Emily in the photo above. The handsome guys behind them are of course me and (Uncle) Ron Bouch. I could actually see Ron through Ryan's ear. Don't let Ron scare you he always looks like that.
Since Sue and I married in 1981 we have been gathering with the Urbanski side of the family each Christmas. When we started there of course were no kids. Well that's not true, Jeremy Scott was born in 1980 so he would have been there from the beginning. Back then we started each Christmas Eve celebration with a football game. We must have done this for about five years. For some reason, probably survival we ceased to play. But we have continued sharing a hot meal, fun, and presents. Some time in the early 1980's we began to play our unique version of gift giving. Well at least back then it was unique. Since then I am aware that others frequently play the gift game. You see we don't just give gifts we decided it was better to "take" gifts. What started out as about 12 relatives playing this game has evolved to almost thirty. Twenty-eight participated this year and David Scott, Jeremy and his lovely new wife Amy, and Jenifer Mason where not able to come. We missed them.
Well anyway back to the game. I'll spare you the specific rules for now, but in general each relative brings a wrapped gift. Each gift is placed in the center of the room. Sequential numbers are randomly assigned. The game is played in ascending order. That is the relative that has number 1 goes first and picks a gift from the pile. Each succeeding person can either "take" a preceding players gift or take one from the pile. This is performed over and over until all numbers are played and all gifts from the pile are selected. We encourage the "taking" of gifts from each other. Yes we like being mean in a nice way. After all these years we all understand that no one should become too comfortable with their selected gift. Unless its a dud. Then they must find a way to market their selected gift. Below is a photo from a Christmas party about five years ago showing one of the more calmer moments. This years attendance included; Len, Marcie, Ryan (& Emily), and Richie Urbanski. Marcie once again graciously hosted the party at their River Forest house. David and Cindy (Urbanski) Scott. Dave had to leave early. Ron and Karen (Urbanski) Bouch with Nicholos, Patrick, and RJ. Tommy and Marsha Mason. Their son Scott and his girlfriend (& children). Jeff and Chris (Applegarth)Ekas with Jeff's daughter (Shannon). Myself, Sue (Urbanski) Brown with Josh and his girlfriend (Sara), Amanda and her boyfriend (Brandon), Matt and Kara.
As usual we had an excellent time. Each year is special yet different. We just seem to enjoy each other more and more each year. Two events stood out this year. The first was Ron's gift. Surprise! A deer call and deer urine. Yes that's what I said - urine. Thankfully Ron selected his own gift and loved it. His picture at the top of this post says it all. Possibly one other stand out was that Sue and I gave framed enlarged photos of Len, Cindy, Karen, and Sue's Dad. Leonard "Popeye" Urbanski Navy photo's. Actually it was a postcard of his Ship, "The USS Brownson" and his handwritten postcard note together with a picture of him standing by a column of the Pantheon. I guess it turned out fairly nice. Merry Christmas Urbanski clan!

Brown kids

2009-10-19T21:29:00.002-04:00

Picture taken in the living room of our Indiana, PA South Sixth Street House in 1995. Matthew is on the left, Josh is holding Kara, and Amanda on the right.

Everyone does what is right in his own eyes

2009-09-09T20:37:00.007-04:00

I love this brief clip of Milton Friedman on the Phil Donahue Show back in 1979. It reminds me of Deuteronomy 12:8 and so many other verses concerning how we are motivated by our self interest.

To me all of the non-capitalistic systems used in the world don't understand the human heart and try to create heaven on earth so-to-speak. Truly only Jesus changing a man's heart can do that. For utopia on earth to exist every man, woman, and child would need to have a changed heart. Even scripture reveals that not everyone will choose Jesus. Scripture and my experience reveal that only Jesus can change one's heart. Capitalism works because it recognizes our human condition and that is that in order for an individual to get what he wants he must provide to others what they want.

Adam Smith said in his book the "Wealth of Nations" that it is not for your benevolence that the butcher, the baker, the brewer prepares your meal, but from regard to their own interest."

Matt Midfielder Indiana Soccer Team

2009-09-04T21:55:00.043-04:00

This is the first in a series of articles, stories, and accounts that I am writing about events in each of our children’s lives. This first story focuses on Matthew Robert Brown and how he became a starter on the Varsity Soccer team. He is age 17 at this writing and is entering his final year of high school at Indiana Senior Area High School. The picture at left was taken of Matt at the start of his junior year.

Matt has been an Indiana High School soccer player since his freshman year. This year his team is ranked by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette eight in their conference. Last year (his junior year) he added varsity baseball to his resume (More on that in a later post). Before that he played Peewee Football during his 5th and 6th grade school years followed by Junior High football (7th and 8th grades). Matt began his athletic career when he played on a traveling Soccer team in his 2nd through 4th grade years.

Soccer and Peewee football overlapped each other. I really didn’t want Matt or for that matter Josh when he was in grade school to play football during their grade school years. Though Matt really wanted to play football and with the persuasion of others (Peewee Football coaches) I relented. Hence he switched in 5th grade to football. Both Sue and I felt that it was too much for Matt to do both sports at the same time. Therefore he dropped Soccer. He was already involved in other sports during their respective seasons (i.e. basketball and baseball). Sue was concerned that we were letting Matt’s sports life rule our family. In retrospect its obvious she was right, but somehow it worked out OK. And we have wonderful memories of watching a pint sized kid work hard and have fun.

Matt loved playing football and did well enough to start all four years that he played. In his first year of Peewee he was the starting QB (he had the strongest arm on the team) and played just about every place on defense because he could and made an impact. Matt was a bit small compared to most of the other kids his age. He dominated anyway. He was among the fastest, he was aggressive, advanced in athleticism for the age of 11, and was able to comprehend the complexities of what needed to be done. In sixth grade, Matt became a full time running back and corner back on defense that played more like a line backer. He had an excellent coach who taught him the mechanics of footwork for a running back. Again he excelled. A number of his teammates started to physically grow at this point and the athleticism gap with Matt began to close. Matt, it appears by God’s design was small like his father at that age and slow to grow.

Entering his Seventh Grade year, it seemed that every one grew again and Matt didn’t. He again played a lot of running back and was effective but no longer started on offense. He was a starting corner back on defense though and the coaches said they loved his aggressiveness and ability. But Matt started to face some rather large receivers and big running backs compared to him. To his credit he never backed down and more than held his own. The Seventh grade team went undefeated. In Eighth grade, once again Matt’s friends and teammates grew while he himself grew very little. The Eighth grade team again had a great year. Matt became the starting safety and returned some punts. He was also one of the backup wide receivers because he had such great hands. I could through Matt a football as fast as I could and Matt would catch it even at less than 10 yards. One of his eighth grade coaches told another football player and classmate of Matt's recently, that if Matt had grown he may have been one of the best receivers that Indiana had seen in a while. The eighth grade football season was physically hard on Matt. Especially given that Matt refused to change his playing style. And that trying to be just as physical with larger kids as they were with him. He didn't miss any games, but Matt showed some wisdom at an early age. After the season he politely told me that if he didn't grow by Ninth grade he wasn't going to continue with football. I was a little sad because Matt had a lot of talent in that little body, but I respected his opinion and supported him.

Going into Matt's ninth grade year he again grew little, especially compared to his classmates. I knew he wasn't going to play football, but I was surprised when Matt decided to try out for the Soccer team. I guess I was surprised because we never talked about soccer, he hadn't played since fourth grade, and it was the day before camp began. I was a little concerned because I didn't want Matt to be disappointed if he didn't make the team. He was going up against a group of players that had been playing the whole time Matt was doing football. Though Matt was athletic he virtually had no soccer skills. The coach was known to cut players because he only kept enough for varsity and Jr. varsity. I know that when I was that age, I let my pride stop me from trying out for teams simply because I didn't want to be cut. I was impressed that Matt was prepared to try out and risk failure. Once again I was proud of Matt. Not because he might make the soccer team, but rather because he was willing to risk failure. He was prepared to be humbled where I would have never done that at his age. From my perspective Matt was not motivated to elevate himself but just wanted to play and have some fun. Well we know that God gives grace to the humble and in this case Matt made the junior varsity team. Initially he did not start JV as a freshmen but started to get more and more time as the season progressed.

By the time of his Junior year he finally started to grow. He began to press the seniors who were a head of him for varsity time. Though he didn't start he often played forty minutes or more a game. The 2008 team went undefeated against teams in their conference and beat some notable teams outside of their conference. In over a 20 game season his team only gave up nine goals the entire year. Indiana made the playoffs and Matt was one of only three players who didn't start but played and played a significant number of minutes at that. Matt of course "lettered" for the year.

Well Matt is entering his final year of soccer. He is the starting Mid-fielder on the right wing. Though the team does not count on Matt to score he is one of their better play makers. He has an excellent read of the field and excels at passing. I have no doubt that he will be one of Indiana's assist leaders by years end. Matt remains a respectful young man to his coaches and fellow teammates. We are proud that Matt does not have a big head. He plays hard, has confidence in the abilities that God has given him, and doesn't think more (or less) of himself than he should. Go Indians and go Matt!

Summer Fun, Outer Banks, NC

2009-08-22T20:10:00.005-04:00

IUP Pre-Law History Grad Mr. Josh Brown with Sara

2009-07-14T21:59:00.004-04:00

Joshua graduated with honors from IUP this past May. I hope to include some excerpts from a letter that one of Josh's Professors sent to him following graduation that is not available now. Josh finished school with a major in History/Pre-law and a minor in Spanish. He worked at the John Murtha Homeland Security Institute in his last year. His duties were to publish a Homeland Security related newsletter. I hope to add a sample of this shortly as well. His boss at the Institute gave him a nice IUP frame to display his diploma which has since fallen to the floor and cracked the glass. This August 18, 2009 Josh will attend orientation at the Franklin Pierce Law School in New Hampshire and immediate thereafter start classes in the field of International Law.

"Dad I'm Nineteen"

2009-06-01T19:55:00.006-04:00

Actually, Amanda will be surprised to know that I know as of her birthday last month she is now "twenty"! She has always done a good job of reminding me of how old she is. She is full of life. She loves friends and "hanging out". She most certainly has the gift of hospitality. She has contributed to some of our most fun times in our family. When she was younger she asked while we were at a ball game "Dad can I have some money for the confession stand?" Another time she said to me while scratching her feet "I think I have catholic feet!" Her laugh is infectious and her smile is as beautiful as a sunset. I cannot imagine life without her. We love you Panda. May the Lord bless you overflowing with his Grace and Mercy all of your days.

Matt with his Prom Date Irene Berman/Vaporis

2009-05-11T23:08:00.002-04:00

State Champion Cody Partyka

2009-04-14T20:51:00.009-04:00

Cody and Zack are my sister Sharon's two boys. Cody in his Junior year at Peters Township High school was one of the leaders on the Soccer Team to beat everyone on their way to the AAA Pennsylvania Soccer Finals. Peter Township became the 2007 Pennsylvania State Champs. Cody not satisfied lead his team as a senior back to the State Finals in 2008. This time his freshman brother Zach joined him. See Zach's photo below. Cody has been given a scholarship to Marshall University to play on there soccer team. He starts this August. One more thing, I forgot to include that Cody was named to the Post Gazette All-Star team for WPIAL AAA and the Post Gazette All Boys Team. Finally, the Post Gazette bids adieu to the prolific Peters Township Varsity Soccer Seniors.

Matthæus is ... wait for it ... "seventeen"

2009-04-14T20:33:00.004-04:00

According to wikipedia Matthew is ultimately derived from the Hebrew name מתתיהו (Matatyahu, Mattathias) or מתיתיהו (Matityahu, Mattithiah), Matthew means "gift of Yahweh". The Hebrew name is also spelled מתניהו (Matanyahu, Mattaniah). Whatever his name is or however it is spelt or said Sue and I could not be more proud of him. Each year we continue to see more and more evidence of the Grace of God in Matthews life. He truly is a gift of God to us.

Zack Partyka

2009-04-13T20:55:00.001-04:00

Sue Brown and the ?0 Birthday

2008-11-15T10:30:00.004-05:00

Sue has now reached one of the decades of life. And I know what every one is thinking... That she can't be thirty yet! To me she is forever thirty whatever actual age she is. Mother of four, two in college, all but one drive, and the youngest is all of fourteen. She not only teaches a group of first through third graders all with special needs and each a class to themselves, she volunteers to help others regularly. This following weekend she is caring for one of a single mother's children who attend the East Pike elementary school so the mother can take her other daughter to Pittsburgh to have a tumor removed from her leg. In our bedroom sits a most loving piece of hand made furniture that was made specifically for Sue by the husband of one of Sue's close friends for simply supporting her friend with faithful encouragement and prayer while the friend struggled to overcome a dangerous bout with cancer. She teaches Sunday School, she maintains our house, she..., I could go on, but lets suffice it to say that she may be the hardest worker I know. No botox, little time to execise, and no time to rest, she looks like she's never going to pass thirty.

Twenty-Three and Counting

2008-10-26T20:56:00.003-04:00

Once Josh turned 23 yesterday a funny thing happened, he started to look an awful lot like Bill Cowher. Perhaps he was just having fun but today he almost knocked me over with his chin. Like this picture Josh is one fun guy to be around. It doesn't seem to matter who he is with or whatever he is doing he just enjoys life. Well that is for the most part. Don't all guys get an exemption from department store shopping?

Seriously though, Sue and I are so proud of Josh. He is one special young man. He is considerate, takes a real interest in others, is creative, thought provoking, kind, has sound opinions, a leader, ... I could go on, but I want to keep this short. Of all the attributes of Josh's that I most admire however is that He loves God and has an authentic God given faith. He is a very mature young man. Recently, I noticed when Josh was preparing to apply to several law schools a few letters of recommendation that his professors at IUP had to say about him. It was not only flattering it was one more thing that confirmed to Sue and I that Josh is a special person. I have the distinct pleasure of being Josh's Dad, but if that were not the case I would equally be proud to be his friend. God bless you Josh and Happy Birthday!

Kara Turns Fourteen

2008-10-18T20:23:00.004-04:00

This past week our youngest child Kara turned fourteen. Sue and I are so proud of her. It is simultaneously sad and exciting to see her grow. Sad is a strong word and really doesn't describe the complicated feelings of a father toward his growing little girl. Being our last child there is certainly a part of me that misses our bedtime chats, book readings, and quiet moments together. Thank goodness for memories. Yet, even more so I am excited to see her begin the change into womanhood. She is a contented person, able to find joy and good in so many things. She is as content on a Friday evening with her friends at a high school football game as she is reading a book by herself in her room. She exhibits signs of wisdom at such a youthful age. She studies hard for school, makes sure that she gets an appropriate amount of sleep, is patient with her parents when they often run late picking her up from such activities as dance. She even pays attention looking directly at me with obvious intentful hearing when I talk to her about God and our great need for a Savior. These are all evidences of God's Grace in her life. Yes, I am indeed excited. Happy Birthday little lady winkers.

Cullen Brown is one tough little guy

2008-09-24T20:13:00.010-04:00

Cullen is my brother Eric's son. Just a day ago this little guy was one brave little man. Cullen had been ill for a number of days with walking pneumonia . It became obvious to Eric and Marilyn that Cullen's illness had taken a twist when he awoke in the morning. He was in great pain and was unable to walk. They rushed him in an ambulance to John Hopkins and spent the entire day there. By days end and many tests later the doctors concluded he had Transient Synovitis. As any parent knows it is a very hard thing to desire with all your heart and strength to help your innocent child but have no means to attain it. Thanks be to doctors, medicine, hospitals, and desperate but effective prayers. God is indeed good. Cullen is on the road to recovery.

When Toilet Paper Humbles

2008-09-14T17:11:00.019-04:00

Years ago when Josh was about fourteen, he and the rest of our kids, Amanda, Matt, and Kara where misbehaving one evening. Nothing bad, just kids being kids; picking on one another and being silly in a somewhat uncontrolled manner. At least one who I won't reveal except to say he's our second son and his name is Matt had a little too much sugar. Amanda was being giddy as if that night was any different. Does the word "girl" derive from "giddy" somehow? Well after what seemed to me like hours, but in reality was only 25 minutes. I decided that I had been patient enough (Proverbs 16:32) and fully justified to invoke my God ordained father power. How nice of me. I bellowed "Everyone to bed! Noooo Mooorre TALKING!" After shoeing them up to bed with all the kindness of a scrooge I expected silence. Have you ever did something inappropriate like being, ahem - impatient, but didn't let your self think about it. Once I caught Sue's look out of the corner of my eye I knew that I had been exposed. I didn't let that get in the way though. I was bent on making my point and ensuring that the kids behaved. This night I was king and I was in the right.

After about four minutes of quiet Josh broke my peace with the call - Dad! Daaaad! Daaaaaaaad! Trying to ignore him I sat silent but he was persistent. A definite quality they get from Sue. Daaaaaaaaaaaad! I jumped from my chair , neck mussels tight, and yelled in the repressed sound of a french horn "I said be QUIET!" Silence immediate befell on the entire house. That is until Matt quietly called down "Dad Josh needs toilet paper." Pride goes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18)

The Man

2008-09-07T00:01:00.001-04:00

Same old Same Old - Not!

2008-08-09T11:25:00.020-04:00

Barack Obama and John McCain appeared at a unique forum entitled the Saddleback Civic Forum where questions were asked that were surprising and refreshing. For example, "Does evil exist?", "What does 'rich' mean?", "Which Supreme Court members would you NOT have voted for?", and "When do human rights for babies begin?". My point is that questions of candidates have become standard fair or of the "gotcha" type. These standard fair Q's don't tell us much about the candidates, well except for their political savvy.

When the media does deviate it seems that they only ask "pop" or politically correct questions such as "boxers or briefs" or "I can't get a job - what are you going to do about it?" Yet, this Saddleback Forum reveals that there are better questions that allow us to see into how a candidate might think or react. These new type of questions go beyond the status quo and allow us to see through political answers. Motivated to through my hat into the ring I submit - Why not ask Presidential Candidates questions about our history? Where current topics are still fluid, history can not be as easily manipulated. Where history becomes a topic where the concrete has set so-to-speak. Here are just a few possible history related Q's.

Why do we have certain laws (e.g. Taft Hartley Act, Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, Fugitive Slave Act, Civil Rights Act of 1866, Sherman Antitrust Act, McKinley Tariff, Gold Standard Act, Revenue Act of 1913, Espionage Act of 1917, Glass-Steagall Act, National Firearms Act of 1934, Social Security Act, Civil Rights Act of 1957 etc...)? Wouldn't it be helpful to know that our leaders understand historic legislation that still impacts us today? How about the reason it was adopted and whether it worked or not?
What are their views of the constitution? Is it a foundational document that should not be easily reinterpreted from our historical view or should we re-interpret according to each generation's mores?
What are their opinions of what has worked and failed in history (e.g. Economic theories such as Capitalism and Communism) and the reason for it?

Questions such as the above are not standard presidential questions, but should be. Isn't it true that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

Update: September 15, 2008 - I stumbled upon an article about ... "Don't know much about History". Just another point of view about the need for us to understand what happened before we walked the earth.

Josh and Law School

2008-08-03T15:54:00.002-04:00

A few months ago Josh took his LSAT examine with hopes to gain admittance to a Law School. He was hoping to obtain a least a 150 score and just missed with a 149. He is planning on taking the exam again this October. Meantime he has researched which schools he could attend and has settled on pursuing a few; Duquesne, a school near Harrisburg, and Franklin Pierce Law School in Concord, New Hampshire. At the moment he is leaning toward Franklin Pierce. Thursday, August 7, Josh, Sue, and Kara are driving to the Law School so that Josh can attend orientation on Friday and check the school out. So far the school meets his criteria including a concentration in "International Criminal Law and Justice" and he is excited about it.

Dignity and Grace

2008-07-24T05:45:00.009-04:00

My mother's sister is called by her nephews and nieces Aunt Dee. Her given name was Dorothy Virginia Hoffman, then as a young lady Mrs. Dorothy Brewer, and for about the last forty years Mrs. Dorothy Wagner. Yet to me her name is Dignity and Grace. If our family had a Queen no doubt she would be our royalty.

When Uncle Jim her first husband died of leukemia shortly after they had adopted my cousins Chris and Scott, she became a widow in her thirties. Two weeks later grandma, Aunt Dee and my mother's mother, died suddenly and unexpectedly. I was only seven years old but I remember how sad it was. I have a clear memory of retreating to my "special place" to cry and at some point I can recall Dad lovingly trying to console Mom, who was obviously experiencing deep double grief; both for loss of her mother and for her Sister's fate.

Most of us in such a situation would stoop to complaining, grumbling, perhaps despair and worry. Whether Aunt Dee succumbed to any of these I could not know. But I do know that we never witnessed anything remotely related to these emotions and such emotions, when rooted, can not help but be seen over time. All we have ever seen in our Aunt Dee is a dignified attitude and a quiet graceful persistence.

Recently, at our much loved Uncle Ed Wagner's funeral service I sat behind Aunt Dee slightly to her side. While observing her next to my cousin Chris with her typical elegance, I realized that she was a Lady in every sense of the word. Though obviously sad there was equality evident a gentile strength. I had always thought that Chris was perhaps the emotional leader, but I understood now that if true it was so because of Aunt Dee.

It is odd how in such a brief moment our minds can deduce a life time of experiences and thoughts. Though only a nephew and knowing what could only be glimpses of Aunt Dee's life, I instantly recalled while sitting there a collection of events that confirmed her dignity to me. For example, Aunt Dee would not let Uncle Ed stay at her house together with Chris, Scott, and herself prior to being married because it was improper. Similarly, Aunt Dee having been married once before insisted that she would not wear white when marrying Uncle Ed because it was again - improper.

After Uncle Ed died and prior to the service she asked to meet separately with me about reading a statement concerning Uncle Ed and how she wished to honor him. She had also asked my brother Eric to share about Uncle Ed's brave military record. She obviously labored over the statement because it contained a well organized life time of key events and memories. She took great care to not only explain what she had written but to ensure that I understood how important it was to properly present it. She gracefully communicated the weight of her desire. And her countenance was dignified throughout. You see that this really was not surprising, for her as it always has been, it was the proper thing to do.

Biography of Robert William Brown, Sr - Chapter Three

2008-07-23T21:21:00.023-04:00

In 1950 Bill Brown (Dad) was in the Army during the time the Korean War was getting started. At first he was regular army as time went by that would change. Through the years Dad has mentioned some of his experiences:

Once when Dad and Mom and all of us (Doug, Bob, Eric, and Sharon) were eating a fine meal on a trip, Dad mentioned the first time he ordered a steak at a restaurant was while in the Service . He recalled that when the steak arrived he thought it was for everyone at the table. Obviously, growing up his family shared a single serving amongst everyone. Just one more indicator how life was a bit different and how much more prosperous Dad has made life for us.
With other Service Men Dad was able to go swimming in the Gulf off the Florida coast during leave time. Several of them swam and floated far out into the clear blue salt water when they noticed a row boat approaching them from the shore. In the boat a Life Guard from the beach stopped rowing, looked down at the phased soldiers and informed them that this was shark infested waters and then he proceeded to row back to the shore. I guess they experienced a 1950's version of immediate "shock and awe." Back to the Beach they swam.
Dad's son Bob once recounted that Dad had mentioned to him in passing while they were in a hospital waiting room that a police officer had approached Dad and a group of soldiers. He curiously asked them if they had been luring sharks with meat hooks. When the officer realized that the soldiers were puzzled. He explained, someone had been taking baited meat hooks far out into the Gulf with a rope attached and then tying the other end to a truck bumper. Once they hooked a shark, the boat would signal to the truck driver who proceeded to drag the shark from the water, across the beach and through the town until they reached a grocery store parking lot. What a site that must have been for local customers.
The Army was having the soldiers run races. The winner from each group was permitted to sit on a little hill and watch the other soldiers race. Dad being fast was one of the soldiers who got to relax and enjoy the privilege each winner was afforded. That is until they were told that they were going to be trained to carry explosives to bunkers. Such soldiers had a life expectancy of 1 minute.

One evening when Dad and his fellow soldiers spent an evening partaking of adult beverages perhaps more and longer than they should have, especially given that they had to be up a 5 am for their morning run. One fellow soldier became inebriated. Dad said that going through boot camp, extensive training, the discipline, and the hard earned accomplishments tended to bond each man together. That being the case the group of soldiers took turns running their friend, through puke and unconsciousness, until he became sober enough to be able to wake up a few hours later, ready to run another five miles and an hour of PT (Physical Training) all of course before breakfast. Now that's what I call a night on the town.
Dad's two oldest son's when they were younger asked him about the military footlocker he kept in the basement. The two boys were able to open it earlier in the day and found it full of military items including his Helmet and Insert helmet. They did not know that a military helmet contained two parts. When Dad returned home from work they were each wearing a part of the helmet and asked all about the military stuff in his footlocker. Curiously they asked if everyone was able to take home their footlockers. Dad explained that he was able to keep the items because he knew the Supply Sargent. The children said that he must of known him pretty well. Dad smiled and said that in fact that he did. They said who was it? He said, "Well thats because I was the Sargent."

After surviving Boot Camp Dad once said he took advantage of the various classes that the military offered. To him it was too good a deal to pass up. Get educated, learn something new, no charge, no brainer. Well he must not have learned too much for he decided to become a paratrooper. Not an easy task. [Have Eric add training drills here] Most soldiers who tried out didn't make it. He made it though. He was a proud member of the 82nd Airborne. The following are some of the stories he told us about being a paratrooper.

We asked him if he was scared the first time he jumped. His answer, "Nope, but the second time you knew what was coming."
Many of the jumps involved hundreds of troopers from multiple aircrafts all at the same time . The sky would be full of chutes with dangling soldiers. On one such occasion Dad's parachute floated over top of another troopers so much that Dad's feet were walking on the trooper's chute below him. He had to immediately run off the side before he would collapse both chutes. His from no air and the other from his weight.
Dad flew 27 flights while in the paratroopers. It wasn't until his 28 flight when he was a civilian in the 1960's that Dad actually landed in an airplane.

Biography of Robert William Brown - Chapter Two

2008-07-19T23:19:00.008-04:00

Ma lived well into her nineties and survived several marriages. It seems she had a knack for outlasting her husbands. She was from the Delou side of the family but when we knew her her last name was Snapp. Of course that makes her original name Blanch Delou.

We don't know much about her earlier marriages. But her last marriage was to a kind man named Jesse Snapp. He told us a story sometime while we were children so it had to be around the late 1960's. He told us of how his family traveled in covered wagons across the west. He was an infant at the time. This likely occurred sometime around the 1880's. After setting camp for the evening a group of strangers approached them and asked if they could have some coffee. Jesse's family invited them in and I believe served them some "fix en's" as well. While eating, the strangers were curious why they were so kind and what would they do if some outlaws like say Jesse James had stumbled into their camp. Jesse's father said "Well I guess we'd do the same and offer them to join us." At that point our step-great grandfather exclaimed that the strangers were the James Gang themselves. We have always thought it strange that Ma's husband and Jesse James shared the same first name.

Jesse moved into Ma's house after they were married in the early 1960's, but Ma lived in the house since YYYY. Ma's house was in Brookline at ### Street midway up a steep hill. It was a large house for its day with brown shingle siding shaped like bricks. Her house was filled with oak wainscoting in nearly every room. All were stained a rich dark Oak color. Her second floor was actually an apartment with a kitchen, living room and several bedrooms. Ma lived on the first floor. The stairway with thick oak rails was the only thing that separated the second floor apartment from the first floor. That is both places shared the same entrance to the building and there was no door separating the floors. As kids, we would love to play in the apartment area and sneak up into the attic. We would of course play hide and seek, but it always seemed fascinating to us at the empty space that had once obviously been lived in. Remnants from previous tenants and family laid about. As with any attic, this one held old family keepsakes and items from Dad's youth. We can remember once seeing one of Dad's school papers. Bob and I searched in vain to see if Dad's grades were any better than ours. To our chagrin Dad's school work looked just fine.

She converted her living room into a bedroom. This was easy since there were large hidden oak retractable doors that could be pulled out from each side of the frame to close. There were two such door ways one to the parlor and the other to the dining room which served as her living room. Directly off the substitute living room she had a kitchen pantry with stove and sink. A large kitchen dining area sat at the back of the house off the pantry. At the front entrance she had a parlor area to close out the first floor. There was no bathroom on this floor. She, being up in years, could not climb the steps very well to the second floor bathroom so she had to use a chair with a pot placed under it. She had a small porch in a little back yard which was surrounded by other houses at both sides and directly behind. All the houses were so close to each other that there really wasn't a side yard at all. And each back yard cascaded down the hill one after the other. In her garage, she had an old car that must have been an antique even back then.

Speaking of antiques, her house was full of them. From her attic to the large basement. When Ma died in 1980, Aunt Betty, Ma's other daughter and Dad's Mother's sister, let family members search the house to buy anything before she sold it to an Antique collector. We passed up several very nice buffets, tables, and beds. Dad's first son Doug was engaged to Susan Urbanski at the time and they were able to buy several antique dining room chairs, that may have been made in the late 1800's. Two have survived to this day but are in need of repair.

The Delou family tree stretches all the way back before the Revolutionary War. In fact ______ Delou, who was a Pastor was a member of the Colonial Army. We have obtained a separate history of the Delou family that was prepared by a distant relative. The Delou's were French Huguenots. Dad said that Ma had mentioned that _____ Delou was about fifteen years old when he fought for the North during the Civil War. He was shot four times, but some how survived.

William Cornealous Brown's Mother and Father came over from Ireland during the year _____. One was Catholic and the other Protestant. The Catholics and Protestants were at war so to speak and marriage between them would have been impossible while in Ireland. Whether or not their families knew their plans the two independently came to America. More specifically Western Pennsylvania. One came through Canada and the other through New York. Perhaps this was a love story but many Irish and Europeans were immigrating to America in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Need information here to describe Dad's father and mother youth and how they met.

Biography of Robert William Brown - Chapter One

2008-07-16T23:01:00.004-04:00

World War II was two years away from ending. This was the year that D-Day occurred. Its late in the evening sometime during the year 1944. A 15 year old young man helped his father by carrying him up the stairs. William C. Brown was a little older than 40 years old, but wasn't strong enough to climb the stairs in his own house. He was dying of emphysema.

As offspring of the fifteen year old our only exposure to this debilitating illness was witnessing our Uncle Sam die of it when we were in our teens. He was once a strong man who could do one handed pull-ups. Several years later he was reduced to a scrawny and pitiful sight. He could only breath by carting around an oxygen tank, which he wasn't even strong enough to carry himself. I recall him often experiencing cough spasms. Deep, scratchy, and loud. They weren't pretty to watch. Various shades of brown phlegm and liquidy foam would protrude from his lips as he could barely stop the spasms. Hacking and grasping for air with each cough. Though he was our uncle. certainly part of our family, and kind to us - he wasn't close to us like the heartfelt relationship between a father and a child. We can't even begin to imagine, what pain, sadness, and fright both William Brown and his young son Bill must have gone through.

About six years earlier when Bill was nine. He and his younger brother (Our now deceased Uncle Ed Brown) were likely waiting in another room of their house while their Mother, Alice Brown was in labor with their sister. Expectation, wonder, and probably a bit of joy instantly vanished. We would never know our Grandmother or our aunt. God meant otherwise. And our Dad and his brother's world changed in a way that thankfully none of Bill's children has had to experience. Dad has told us that his mother was a Godly woman whom he had often seen bowed in prayer.

In the midst of all this he still had childhood moments. Filled with fun and accidents. Dad fell out of his grandmothers attic window. Thankfully his arm and the concrete patio broke his fall. He walked away with a broken arm. He says the patio was OK too. He, Uncle Ed and the kids in the neighborhood would take advantage of the steep Brookline streets and snowy days. The steep cobblestone streets became impossible for most divers, but not for the neighborhood sled team. Judging by the smile on Dad's face as he recounted the story they must have had a good time. No doubt it had something to do with traversing parked cars, curbs, and sudden ends to the road way. We recall Dad laughing as he explained that it was better to fake being well when you were sick than to take every illnesses remedy - Caster Oil.

Before Dad, known to others as Robert William Brown and to friends and family as simply "Bill" was sixteen, he had lost those most dear to him. His Dad was able to re-marry. But our Dad's stepmother became bitter at the loss of her husband. She felt abandoned and stuck with two children and no provider. Dad started working while our Grandfather was ill. While rarely missing a day of school he worked at a Drug store and later after his father's death at a gas station. His paychecks went to providing for his stepmother and himself. Times were tough. Uncle Ed had to live with "Ma", our great grandmother. Ma was Alice Brown's mother. His stepmother grew bitter at her circumstances and they were at best struggling to make ends meet. Dad was sick to find out one day when returning home from school that she had sold his two dogs. The last of Dad's friends were gone.

In all this sorrow God did shine a little light through the clouds in the form of his mother's brother; Uncle John Gray. Uncle John would be a source of encouragement to Dad until his sudden death in the late nineteen sixties. Perhaps such care was an answer to his mother's prayers. Dad also found some comfort in visiting Ma's house and lived with Ma after graduating high school for just a short time until he voluntarily enlisted in the service during the Korean War.

When in the Hands of Providence

2008-07-16T21:34:00.001-04:00

I've been pondering how both a Provident God and Suffering work together for our good. Even this statement seems odd, since how can it be that God who is in His very nature good and suffering in its very nature appears bad could be thought of "working together". Certainly at first glance they are not compatible in the least. And yet, scripture is replete with statements and stories clearly stating otherwise. One such scripture is Romans 5:3-4. In this Paul rejoices in suffering - Why? Why - because suffering according to Paul produces endurance (perseverance) which produces character and character hope. And hope does not disappoint! This is a profound thought and begs a much deeper look which I long to do. But let me start with just this - Look at a man who has hope in God after years of serving and you will see Character. From this you will instantly know, without doubt that he has endured through suffering. And how can this not be good.

This passage provides some help about how suffering and a Provident God work together and most certainly would provide encouragement to others who observe such a man. But would the man that is suffering be encouraged from his circumstances? Does this alone explain the incompatibility of a good Provident God and suffering?

In our next post I will explore this in greater detail....