Long, long ago in a far away place (Texas) and long before Captain Jack Sparrow, or Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, there was a Little Pirate who found the greatest of treasures! It was on a crisp fall night October 31, 1980, the moon was high in the night sky. (partly cloudy slight chance of rain, low in the mid forties) It would be this night that changed his life forever! A halloween night, A party, visions of candy, cupcakes, bobbing for apples, and all the fun a Little Pirate could dream up! The Little Pirate was anxious with anticipation and dressed in his finest piratey outfit... Black pants, black boots, a white shirt, a black vest, a pirates sword, a good pirate hat, and an eye patch fit for either eye! The party was comprised of many characters, green goblins, cowboys, princesses, ghosts, and at least one Little Pirate! The party was everything the Little Pirate hoped it would be and more! Then something unexpected happened, something one might not anticipate at a party on a night such as this! All characters were called to order as a fair maiden (played by Trish Clark) stood before an eager crowd. The fair maiden began to recount a story of old, one the Little Pirate had heard before and loved! It was none other than the incredible story of David the Shepherd Boy and the Battle with the Great Giant Goliath!

The Story unfolded just as the Little Pirate had remembered, except that the fair maiden entwined another story within the tale of David and Goliath. A story that peaked the Little Pirate's interest and began to pull at his heart! The fair maiden told of David's love for God, and that likewise God loved David! But then she said "God loves each one of you and has created a place called Heaven He would love to share with you!" She described a beautiful place with no sickness, no death, and to top it of the very streets were paved with GOLD! The Little Pirate was mesmerized, this sounded like a place he'd love to go! Then the fair maiden told them all that there was a problem called sin that keeps us from heaven. She talked about the Bible and how it says that All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. She said that this sin separates us from the love of God and that we are all born with this sin nature, and it DARKENS our heart like poor old Goliath who wanted to fight against God's people! She said sin is anything we do that displease God, like lying, disobeying our parents, fighting, and at this point the Little Pirate began to get a little uncomfortable! These things sounded way too familiar! And what about heaven? How could the Little Pirate possibly go there now? Then the fair maiden told them about John 3:16 and how God loved them all so much that He gave His only Son for them! And then she told them the story of Jesus and how he was born! The Little Pirate remembered that form last Christmas and he smiled on the inside as he thought about baby Jesus. But the fair maiden also said that Jesus didn't stay a baby but grew up and did great and wonderful things, and when it was God's time Jesus did something amazing! The Little Pirate was excited now! What did he do? She said it slowly and clearly that Jesus had laid down His life and died on a cross. She told them that there on that cross Jesus took everybody's sin shed His blood and paid the price for that sin by dying on the cross. "Jesus paid your price," she said "Because He loved you sooo much!" Then she told then the most amazing part is that He didn't stay dead! He was buried in a tomb ( like a cave) and three days later He arose from the dead!  And the best part of all He wants to live in your heart and wash you clean of all your sin so that you can go to heaven! The Little Pirate was amazed, he'd heard this story before! He remembered that at Easter his Mom and Dad had told him this same story! But how did it get in the story of David and Goliath? The fair maiden  then said that if you have never given your life to Jesus and asked Him to cleanse you and forgive you of your sins, then you can do that tonight. The Little Pirate felt a tug at his heart and realized that he was indeed a sinner and needed Jesus to save him from his sins! Then the fair maiden prayed and after she prayed she said "If anybody wants to know how to ask Jesus in your heart, please come and see me when we are done! The Little Pirate wasted no time and ran up to the fair maiden to find out how he could know Jesus! And there at that party amid all those characters of goblins, cowboys, princesses and ghosts the Little Pirate prayed and asked Jesus to be his Savior, his best treasure ever! And that is when the Little Pirate's adventures really began, but that's another story!...

 I remember...

Twenty years ago I was a teenage boy just begining a journey toward manhood and honestly it is a journey still in progress, but I remember! I remember parents who prepared their children, as best they knew how and with hours of prayer, for a life aimed toward seeking God's desire for their lives. I remember being able to see the christian walk lived out within the walls of my home, in a mother then and still today who dillingently bathes our lives with prayer interceding on our behalf before her Lord and Saviour, and in a father who was the same man I saw sitting in a pew Sunday mornings as the one who sat at the dinner table, on the couch watching TV and getting ready for work every other day of the week. I remember parents who showed me God through their lives lived loving us. They set us all afloat in the sea of life prepared to go wherever the Lord may lead and trusting for His faithfulness to see us through! I remember this poem written from a father to a child to help him understand a father's love and a parents wish... and now I "own a little boat"...

"The Little Boat"

by my dad

I used to own a little boat, that turned into a ship

While in the harbor, safe it was, but it was built to leave the slip

 

My boat was cute, yet stately and it maneuvered well.

That it knew navigation, of this everyone could tell!

 

I taught it how to do things, it knew it had to learn.

For life's waves are often very rough and the currents it must discern.

 

When time came for my boat to leave the harbor light,

It made me real proud to know, it was not relying solely on it's might.

 

It knew what I had taught it. It did what it had learned.

It also knew the Saviour, that for His instruction it must yearn!

 

The time has come to let it go, to cut the moors away.

It's hard to do, It is part of me, I love it, what more can I say?

 

Go on, my precious little boat, go seek what you may find!

Remember tho,when winds get strong, I'll always be ready to hand you a line

 

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