Andy Collins

He was PASSIONATE... about art, and literature and music...and especially about those he loved. He loved watching...and sharing films...... Matewan, Mass Appeal, Equus, Harold And Maude, Birdy, The Great Santini, The Mission, Brother Sun/Sister Moon, The Name Of The Rose, Dances With Wolves, Amadeus, Breaking Away... and plays...Sweeney Todd, Sunday In The Park With George. Didja like it?, often followed by, Wanna watch it again? (And even sometimes, again.) He couldn’t get enough of Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s debut album That’s The Way It Is when it first came out. He loved listening to Paul Winter’s Canyon...I remember sitting on his porch on a beautiful day with the windows open and that music pouring out of the house. I remember he liked Iona. And Bruce Cockburn. We once went into a record store together and while we were there we decided to purchase an album for each other. His choice for me?...Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors. Even though the perception was that his musical tastes were eclectic and perhaps out-of-reach to most music lovers, he recognized and appreciated the talent and artistry of many popular performers. He insisted that I learn to love Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen. How many copies of anything by C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy did he buy with the sole intent of giving them away? He taught me that I could definitely fall in love with things like the smell of wood smoke and the warmth generated by a wood stove and most anything that someone crafted by hand... and tabbouleh and absolutely patchouli. Oh, and of course his Mom’s hot milk cake still warm from the oven. A ride in the country with him always included a stop at Duke’s Grocery Store in Bellsburg for an IBC Root Beer or Cream Soda...but it had to be in a bottle! I was comforted to learn that church is not always found between four walls but he taught me that community is a very important part of being a follower of Jesus. Neither of us found a church home during his time in Nashville but I went with him several times to a church down the highway from his house, Mt. Liberty Cumberland Presbyterian, because we grew to admire the young pastor who liked to challenge his aging congregation. Reverend Neil Spence and his family were good folks. Connie and I had a private Rich memorial for a few friends at the old church, built in 1842, that was so emotionally tied to his home, now hers, which was built as the house’s parsonage in 1903. We asked Neil to speak at our intimate gathering and he graciously obliged. It was through Rich’s eyes that I discovered firsthand the beauty of the tall trees at Johnson’s Creek...and in the bluffs on the banks of the Cumberland...and in the pictures in the sky. I learned that something spiritual can be found in watching Sunday in the Park With George or in spending Saturday on the porch with Curry, his big yellow dog. There was contagious joy in watching him laugh hysterically at someone’s bad move when playing his favorite card game, Up & Down The River...unless, of course, the bad move was mine. I learned the pleasures of sleeping on a futon and waking up in the morning from the streams of light shining into his sun porch. When he introduced me to one of his heroes, I discovered that the attributes of St. Francis were certainly worthy of my admiration. He reminded me that sometimes more IS merrier but that powerful things can really happen one-on-one. He challenged this over-thinker to realize sometimes not having a plan is the best-laid plan of all. And he knew that sometimes the truth is that the journey is often far better than the destination. He believed that a winter walk is a good thing and so is one at midnight. And he knew that most ANY walk with a friend was a good one...and an opportunity to really learn something about one another...even if no words are spoken. His example taught me that minimizing your earthly possessions can sometimes lead to maximizing your spiritual potential. I have to confess that I never really liked Kansas after he moved there. Dropping him off on the side of I-40 on the west side of Nashville so that he could hitchhike back to Wichita after a visit here was not an easy goodbye. But having an Indiana farm boy show you the lonely, beautiful solitude of the Great Plains and take you on a walk through a wheat field has a tendency to change one’s mind. He loved connecting friends with common interests and he was very, very good at it. Much of my most intimate circle of friends are people that he brought into my life, or perhaps more accurately, whose lives he brought me into. In so many ways that has been his greatest legacy. It is a ragamuffin quality, I’m beginning to think, because I have discovered that gift in so many of those who knew and loved him.

The song Mary, Did You Know? traces the character of Christ from the messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Bible (save our sons and daughters from Isaiah 43:6), to Jesus’ earthly ministry (healing the blind, walking on water, etc.), and finally Christ’s cosmic reign (as heaven’s perfect Lamb, rule the nations, the Great I Am, etc.). Far from diminishing Mary, it invites to look to her as we attempt to understand the mystery of the Incarnation. In all, it’s a fitting summation of the role of Christ.

The fundamental problem with everyone having their own truth is what happens when ‘your truth’ & my truth’ & ‘their truth contradict? This is where arguments,... confrontations and conflict begin. That’s why THE TRUTH is so important. The Truth is not subjective. It’s objective. It doesn’t submit to your feelings and perspective. Rather, submitting to the truth will always bring unity, equality and freedom. - Danny Gokey

Pray. Then vote. Then pray. #vote2020 #prayfirst #praymore

The best way to approach election week

Well said! https://albertmohler.com//christians-conscience-and-the-lo

10 days until Christmas 2020!

Ps @jeremyfoster’s message this morning was ! There’s hope to be found in the hard place when we open our hearts to Jesus! There is still time to catch the who...le service 12:30p (South & online only) & 7p (Online only) CST! Facebook | YouTube | jamesriver.tv #jrclife #sundayfunday

Join us tomorrow for CHURCH! It’s going to be a GREAT Sunday - special guest Ps @jeremyfoster will be with us in person and online! Text, call, or message a ...friend to invite them! @jeremyfoster really is a part of the church family and we know you won’t want to miss his hilarious and powerful style of preaching God’s word. See you tomorrow! #sundayfunday #christmasatjamesriver #churchfamily