Honoring Easter Sunday
\nBy Cecil Chandler
\nE-mail | Biography<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Good morning, everybody, and welcome back to another Cecil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World in Print.
\nThis Sunday is Easter. It will be a time for dressing up the kids in their new clothes for church.
\nWhen I was a young boy, my grandmother would always buy me a new outfit for church.
\nGrowing up in the \u00e2\u20ac\u212250s, we did not have a lot of money, so when I got a new outfit, I really wanted to show it off
\nBeing a Baptist, I grew up sitting in the back of the church, but on Easter Sunday, I would always move up to the middle of the church so everyone could see my new outfit.
\nThat afternoon, we would have a big Easter egg hunt at my aunt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house.
\nThe adults would hide 50 to 60 boiled eggs with several prize eggs.
\nSome of the prizes had candy in them and one would have at least $2 in it.
\nThat was a lot of money back then, and that was the egg we all wanted to find.
\nWhen my son Jeff was growing up, we also had Easter egg hunts and bought him new clothes for church, but this time it was me and the other adults hiding the eggs.
\nThings have changed plenty during the past 40 years. Of course, they still have Easter egg hunts, and I am sure many parents buy their kids new clothes for church, but the real meaning of Easter has been put on the back burner for some families.
\nIf you have forgotten the real meaning of Easter, make sure you go to church this Sunday so you can refresh your memory.
\nYou know what it is all about, but sometimes you need a refresher course. We all know and accept that things do change over time.
\nHere is a poem, called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Old Paths,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a friend of mine sent me that I wanted to share with you.
\nThe author supposedly is a retired minister who lives in Tennessee:<\/p>\n
I liked the old paths when moms were at home, dads were at work,
\nbrothers joined the Army, and sisters got married \u00e2\u20ac\u201d before having children!
\nCrime did not pay, hard work did \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and folks knew the difference.
\nMoms cooked, dads worked, and children behaved.
\nHusbands were loving, wives were supportive, and children were polite.
\nWomen wore the jewelry and men wore \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the pants.
\nWomen looked like ladies, men looked like gentlemen, and children looked \u00e2\u20ac\u201d presentable.
\nPeople loved the truth, hated a lie and went to church to get in \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not out!
\nHymns were Godly, sermons helpful, rejoicing normal and crying sincere.
\nCursing was wicked, drinking evil and divorce unthinkable.
\nOur flag was honored, America was beautiful and God was welcome!
\nWe read the Bible in public, prayed in school and preached from house to house.
\nTo be an American was worth dying for, to be a Christian worth living for and refusing to do or be either \u00e2\u20ac\u201d shameful!
\nSex was personal, homosexuality unheard of, and abortion illegal.
\nPreachers preached because they had a message and Christians rejoiced because they had victory!
\nPreachers preached from the Bible, singers sang from the heart, and sinners turned to the Lord!
\nNew birth meant a new life, salvation meant a changed life and following Christ meant eternal life.
\nBeing a preacher meant you proclaimed God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Word and being a deacon meant you served the Lord.
\nBeing a Christian meant you lived for Jesus and being a sinner meant \u00e2\u20ac\u201d someone was praying for you!
\nLaws were based on the Bible, homes read the Bible and churches taught the Bible.
\nPreachers were more interested in new converts \u00e2\u20ac\u201d than new Corvettes.
\nGod was worshiped, Christ was exalted and the Holy Spirit respected.
\nChurch was where you found Christians on the Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day \u00e2\u20ac\u201d rather than the golf course.<\/p>\n
I think that says it all and I think I still like the old paths the best. See you next week, right here in the Morning News and on the tube.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u201d Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Honoring Easter Sunday By Cecil Chandler E-mail | Biography Good morning, everybody, and welcome back to another Cecil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World in Print. This Sunday is Easter. It will be a time for dressing up the kids in their new clothes for church. When I was a young boy, my grandmother would always buy me a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[411],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n