November ushers in the holiday season with both Thanksgiving and Christmas reminding us of the many things for which we should be grateful. Because God has so abundantly given to us, our gratitude should overflow into every aspect of life.

Traditionally, people greet one another by asking, “How are you?”, or perhaps “How’re ya doin”? Although they probably don’t really want to know about everything that’s bothering you, those questions seem mostly aimed at our health or welfare.

Instead of reciting a list of my current aches and pains or complaining about the bills that keep arriving in our mailbox, I’ve made it a practice to respond to those polite but generic greetings by saying, “Oh, I’m grateful”. …which I always am. Some folks act surprised by my off-beat answer to their friendly question, but few ever ask WHY I’m grateful.

So let me explain…. The reason is that regardless of my superficial circumstances at any particular moment, I’m always thankful for God’s grace and blessings in my life. Therefore when I say, “I’m grateful”…it’s the most honest and heartfelt answer I can muster up !
If someone DOES choose to explore the matter further—–which I highly doubt—-I’ll tell them that my gratitude results from God’s gift of eternal life in Christ. a wonderful wife and family and the joy of living at Messiah Village where our future is secure and enjoyable every day.

Now—–next time we meet, don’t be surprised if I tell you that “I’m grateful” when you ask, “How are you?”  (And I hope that you are grateful too.)

THE NEWLY PUBLISHED BIOGRAPHY OF DR. CLYDE M. NARRAMORE’S LIFE AND MINISTRY ENTITLED: “EVERY PERSON IS WORTH UNDERSTANDING”, ARRIVED FROM THE PUBLISHER IN MY MAIL ON FRIDAY MORNING.

AFTER SERVING WITH HIM FOR OVER 37 YEARS, I WASN’T SURE IF I WOULD LEARN ANYTHING I DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW OR HAD PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED DURING OUR LIFETIME OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICE TOGETHER AROUND THE WORLD.

TO MY SURPRISE AND GENUINE PLEASURE, I ENJOYED THE BOOK MORE THAN ANYTHING I’VE READ FOR QUITE SOME TIME!

THIS HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY RECOUNTS THE PIONEERING WORK OF AMERICA’S LEADING CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGIST WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, INCLUDING AN EXCELLENT, CONCISE GUIDE FOR HELPING OTHERS RESOLVE PERSONAL PROBLEMS.

DR. NARRAMORE’S  DELIGHTFULLY  HUMOROUS ACCOUNTS OF PEOPLE HE WORKED WITH AND PLACES WHERE HE SPOKE IS SKILLFULLY WOVEN THROUGHOUT THE PAGES AND COUPLED WITH A SERIOUS, EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND CHALLENGE TO RECEIVE CHRIST AS PERSONAL SAVIOR…INCLUDING SCORES OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES THAT NICELY TIE TOGETHER THE ENTIRE MESSAGE OF THE BOOK.

I’VE DONATED A COPY TO EACH OF THE TWO LIBRARIES ON THE CAMPUS AT MESSIAH VILLAGE AND I HOPE EVERYONE WHO READS THIS REVIEW WILL TREAT YOURSELF TO A MOST ENJOYABLE ‘READ’.  KEN MARKLEY

In the wonderful award-winning musical ‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’, Tevye the Milkman explains to his wife and five daughters that certain things must be done because they are “TRADITION” !!

Topol as Tevye by United Artists

His emphasis on traditions is important because they’re based on habitual ways of living our lives in an orderly way. Habits help us through life with a minimum of effort, forethought or planning. They save time and reduce repeated agonizing over “what to do next?”
Day by day we give little thought to dressing, meals,bathing, driving to work, where to go on vacation, what to read, which TV programs to watch etc.
On the other hand habits can make life boring—-never changing daily routines can result in sleep-walking through life. Habits often block new experiences that could add spice and fresh air to our activities.
The other day, we were getting ready to go out to dinner with several friends. Before we left their home, I asked if they might like to try a new ethnic restaurant that recently opened nearby.

Adventuresome Food

One of the couples immediately said, “We wouldn’t like that kind of food”. I asked, “Have you ever tasted any of their entrees?”  He responded, “No, but I’m sure we wouldn’t like anything they offer on the menu”.

How sad—-for someone to deny himself what might be a delightful new experience! On the other hand, with that attitude, I’d guess that they probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the meals at that restaurant or for that matter  anything other than the narrowly restricted range of food and recipes they eat every day.

Bread & Water

On the other hand to be realistic, most of us aren’t very different than my “picky eater” friends when it comes to living our own  lives—where we vacation each year, the brand of cars we drive, how we vote, the clothing styles we select, the books we read….and in fact almost every aspect of our daily routines are governed by long-standing habits.  In many ways that’s a good and safe way to live.
However, I’d like to suggest that each of us try a few new experiences to add some zest and spice to our habitual routines. Take your vacation in a new location, go to a restaurant that you’ve been avoiding (without very good reason to do so), read a book on a totally different subject than usual, take a Pathways Institute course  that might sound uninteresting to you, volunteer some time to work in one of the service areas at Messiah Village

GO AHEAD, sample a variety of new experiences—they’re all over the place—-and can bring fun and psychological “fresh air” into life’s daily routines.

Last Winter we longed for the arrival of warmer weather when we could take long walks through the lovely campus here at Messiah Village, sit on our porches and enjoy the flowers and produce from our gardens. We wanted to be done with the ice and snow and raw, chilly days that kept us inside our cottages much of the time.

However, we’ve already endured three heat waves that turned the grass brown and frequently kept us confined  in the air-conditioned comfort of our homes, as well as an earthquake followed by a powerful East Coast hurricane.
What a season Summer 2011 has been!!

After all these trials we’re eagerly anticipating the cooler breezes of Autumn with a chance to bundle up for a leisurely stroll around the campus. I suppose that if they had their choice, most folks would prefer a sunny, year-round temperature of about 80 degrees with just enough rain (during the night) to keep the lawns green and the garden producing fruit and vegetables.

Many years ago, there was such a place . It was called Eden. But , we can’t move there any longer.  The GOOD NEWS is however, that for those who love the Lord there is the assurance that He has prepared an even better place than Eden in which we will have a  mansion  and release from everything that bothers or annoys us in this life. The Bible doesn’t say anything about Heavenly weather conditions but I’m sure it will be absolutely delightful !

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the cooler weather here in Pennsylvania so we can sit on our porch and visit with friends and neighbors more often.

One of the advantages of living at Messiah Village is its convenient location and proximity to many of the most interesting events and attractions imaginable. Just a short drive South on Route 15 to Gettysburg provides an unforgettable look back into our nation’s history.

Apple Harvest Festival

In the Fall, the  Apple Harvest Festival at the South Mountain Fairgrounds in Adams County is a real treat and a ride on the PRIDE OF THE SUSQUEHANNA river boat paddle wheeler offers an interesting narrated introduction to the river-related history of the Harrisburg region.

Pride of the Susquehanna

Also,  there’s the famous ALLENBERRY RESORT just minutes from Messiah Village with their sumptuous buffet dinners and Summer theater playhouse entertainment.

Allenberry Resort & Playhouse

But I wonder how many local residents including those at Messiah Village are aware of the fact that less than 10 minutes from our campus is the largest collection of African mammals in Pennsylvania? There are 200 in all including an elephant, a hippopotamus, a zebra and a giraffe. Also, there are 100 specimens of North American mammals including a Kodiak Island bear, a great elk, an American bison, a musk ox,  mountain sheep and goats and a mountain lion.
As if that isn’t enough to really WOW visitors…they have a collection of 200 different bird’s nests and 17,000 bird’s eggs- the largest collection in Pennsylvania…plus 250 mounted birds !!!

Oakes Museum

All these attractions can be seen at the Oakes Museum in the Jordan Science Center on the campus of Messiah College. They provide interesting narrated tours by trained volunteers.

When Susan and I lived in Manhattan (NY City), we were surprised by how many long-time New Yorkers had never visited the Statue of Liberty or the observation deck in the Empire State Building. Many had lived there all their lives in New York but never took  the Circle Line boat tour around Manhattan Island. And its probably also true that the majority of residents in Central Pennsylvania including those here on campus at Messiah Village have never visited the Oakes Museum at Messiah College. Don’t miss this amazing and very interesting experience! Be sure to call ahead to determine when they are open for visitors.  The number is Area Code 717 796-1800 Ext. 2431. Admission is just $3.50 for Sr. Citizens and $6.00 for younger adults. You’ll never forget your visit to this amazing museum of Natural History.

With the arrival of June comes an inevitable yearning for a visit to the ocean that has played such a pleasant role in the Markley’s lives for more than fifty years.
There’s something mystical about the seashore that has attracted our family every summer. Ever since our children were born, Susan and I have made an annual trek to the New Jersey beaches beginning with Ocean City where we rented an apartment and then to Harvey Cedars Bible Conference on Long Beach Island.  As a member of the board at Harvey Cedars and also serving as a speaker during their annual Family Life Conference, I was able to include our family for a wonderful week on their beautiful conference grounds six miles at sea.

Harvey Cedars Bible Conference

One year while we were there, our children were baptised in the Great Barnegat Bay by a long-time friend, Rev. John Hibbard, pastor of the First Baptist church in nearby Manahawkin, New Jersey.  We announced to the conference guests that there would be a baptismal service on Sunday afternoon in the bay conducted by none other than “John the Baptist” (our friend Rev. John Hibbard).  There was a huge turn-out to see such a famous baptist in person that day !!
Following our years at Harvey Cedars, we were blessed by Christian friends who allowed us to use their lovely vacation home in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. The three bedroom cottage was large enough for us to include both of our children plus their friends and even our dog Teddy for many Summers in that delightful town on the Jersey Shore.

Sea Isle City

After the children were grown, married and “out of the nest”, Susan and I continued to indulge our love of the seashore by migrating to the Southernmost point in the state- Cape May. That uniquely Victorian town which has been officially declared a Federal Historic Landmark is without doubt the most attractive seashore resort in New Jersey.

The Lobster House

After that and for many years, except for the year 2009 when we were preparing to sell our Camp Hill house and move to Messiah Village, we haven’t missed a Summer—strolling the boardwalk, lounging on the beach, enjoying the freshly caught seafood at The Lobster House and listening to the band concert in the Cape May park.

Cape May Roatary Bandstand

Now that we live in such a lovely retirement community here at Messiah Village, the end of our annual seashore vacation and return to Pennsylvania is buffered by the anticipation of the beauty of the grounds, flowers, lake and trees awaiting us upon our return to the campus. God has surely blessed us with ”the home of a lifetime”  here at Messiah Village. It’s like being on vacation all year round !!!

On May 21st, the William Penn High School (Hbg.), Class of 1951 will celebrate its 60th reunion at a nearby Conference Center. All of our classmates lived in uptown Harrisburg during the days when everyone shopped “downtown”, went to the movies “downtown”, ate dinner out “downtown”, did our banking “downtown” and paid all our utility bills by walking to  their offices in “downtown” Harrisburg.
The reason for so much focus on ”downtown” Harrisburg was that no suburban shopping centers existed in those days and very few restaurants,  movie theaters or department stores were located anywhere else.

William Penn High © Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives, Office of the Chief Clerk

Its kind of weird to have dinner in a large banquet room full of people most of whom are the same age……in our case 78. And preparing for a reunion get-together of all those older folks poses special problems and roadblocks. About one-third of our classmates have passed away and we were rarely informed by their families. Others moved from the area and didn’t bother to update our classes address records. Still others divorced and re-married or lost their spouses and found another partner all of whose names were not updated in the reunion committee files. It’s a monumental task just sending out the reunion notification and registration forms to the remaining classmates correct addresses.

Although many of our classmates went on to college and/or graduate school from which they graduated and became part of other reunion lists, there’s a special bond between high school classmates, partly because we were neighbors- growing up  in the same community, got our driver’s license about the same time, fell madly in love for the first time and wore a cap and gown at our first graduation ceremony.
I don’t know what prompted me to agree to serve on my high school reunion committee about ten years ago. If I had known how many committee meetings it takes just to settle on a hotel for the banquet, to choose a menu that everyone likes (and for the best price), to send out printed registration forms and collect the incoming checks and coordinate with the hotel banquet manager and on and on and on it goes…..I might have decided to decline the invitation to serve on the committee.

photo by: JOHN C. WHITEHEAD, The Patriot-News

I must admit that the job is getting easier as the years go by….with fewer letters to mail out and smaller banquet accommodations to arrange. However, we’re also learning that the older our classmates get, the  fussier they become about choices of entrees, the price for the event and whether to hold the gathering as a luncheon or an evening banquet.
All things considered, I suppose its really worth the hassles when we get to greet our classmates and play the game of asking ourselves, “Who could that old guy be over there at the next table?” Also it’s unusually gratifying to note that WE haven’t changed as much as most of the others. Many of them look like they must have had a REALLY hard life !!!
All this talk about reunions reminds me of the best reunion of all that awaits those of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the verse about our Heavenly reunion  says in that wonderful old gospel song: “FRIENDS WILL BE THERE WE HAVE LOVED LONG AGO”…and what a day of rejoicing that will be! And best of all, we don’t have to have any committee meetings to set it up !!!

The other day I saw an article in the newspaper about an older lady who was killed in an accident as she was driving to a nearby shopping center. The incident involved a large truck operated by a person who was later charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. A legal settlement following the accident resulted in the lady’s estate receiving an amount of more than $600,000.

As I read that article, I wondered to myself if she had ever taken the time to have a will drawn up? She may have been like so many others who because they have only a small amount of savings assume that a will isn’t necessary and that their children and grandchildren will amicably decide how to divide up whatever they leave behind.

Now however, following her death, that lady is worth over a half million dollars…and if she didn’t have a will…..all of it will be distributed by a court-appointed judge who has no idea about how much or to whom she would have preferred the funds to be allocated. Also, in spite of the fact that she may have been very much involved with her church and/or other Christian ministries,  no court or judge will ever designate  a gift from her estate to a religious organization unless there is a will designating the amount and naming the ministry that she wants to receive it.

I don’t know how all it worked out, but I surely hope that the lady had the wisdom and forethought to have a will drawn up before she left for the shopping center that day. As a psychologist, I know that  real  peace of mind  comes from being able to determine what will become of everything one leaves behind after his or her death. And that can only be made certain by having a properly drawn will.

I’m glad to know that the Messiah Village Gift Development Office provides free literature about wills, and that a qualified private attorney (not employed by the village), has an office on campus for whatever legal consultation our residents require—including the drafting of a will. The modest fee involved is one of the best investments a thoughtful person can make.  It can prevent all sorts of problems and difficulties that might otherwise occur if one dies “intestate” (without having a will). The old saying is surely true: IF YOU DON’T LEAVE A WILL YOU LEAVE TROUBLE.

On the 2nd Sunday in March we all changed our clocks by advancing the time one hour.  Then on the first Sunday in November, we’ll reverse that  by turning the clocks back an hour.  This practice was actually first suggested by none other than Benjamin Franklin back in 1784, to provide longer working days for the largely agricultural society. The practice was first formally proposed in 1895 here in America. But it was only a “suggestion” at that time, and many communities and states didn’t  agree to follow the proposal.

However, 1n 1916 during World War I, the concept of ’saving the daylight hours’ was first adopted in Europe and the United States followed shortly thereafter. Following the war our country went back to the old “standard time.”
Later, from 1942 to 1945 President Roosevelt called for a FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND daylight saving standard that was called EASTERN WAR TIME, CENTRAL WAR TIME AND PACIFIC WAR TIME.

After the Japanese surrender American time zones were once again re-named “PEACE TIME”. Following WWII so much confusion followed….during the years 1945 to 1966 that the United States Congress adopted what was called the UNIFORM TIME ACT which directed that all states and municipalities adopt the same standards for their timekeeping. But, the act was not mandatory and some states and communities within states didn’t go along with the suggestion and Arizona and Hawaii are still hold-outs.

In 2007 the second Sunday in March and the First Sunday in November were selected for the changeover from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time and back again. Since then, most states and communities have followed that practice . However, it was determined that any community could adopt a local ordinance to ignore the twice-yearly time changes.

Here at OLD TIMERS ANTIQUE CLOCKS on the Messiah Village campus,  its quite a task  making  these semi-annual changes. With about 50+ clocks to adjust, Susan and I spend an hour or so getting them all into “synch” when we make that changeover.  In the Spring, it’s easier because we just turn the minute hand around to the next hour. In the Fall however, we stop each clock and let it sit for sixty minutes before re-starting it again. We avoid turning the minute hand backward—which is usually not an approved practice. Nevertheless and regardless of the season the old saying still holds true—-”TIME MARCHES ON” !!!

As we were preparing to move from our home in Camp Hill, my wife and I began to dispose of any unnecessary items that we had accumulated during our 50+ years there.  I took a tour from attic to basement of our spacious old house—to measure how much we would need to transfer to the new cottage at Messiah Village. Later that day, I informed my wife; “we simply cannot move from here—there’s just too much stuff to pack up and take with us.”

At first, almost everything that we considered getting rid of seemed important enough to keep. We began to rationalize all sorts of good reasons for why we had saved and stored each of the things in all those boxes and closets.
Upon opening a dusty container in the attic, I discovered my old Army officer’s hat with its shiny brass eagle. I tried it on and realized that it was the only part of my uniform from the 50’s that would still fit !!  So, it seemed “right” to keep it even though I couldn’t answer my wife when she asked when I might ever wear it again.

Then there were all those tools in the basement that might be useful for repairing something in our cottage at Messiah Village. My practical wife reminded me however that there was a competent staff of skilled technicians and repairmen at the Village who would fix anything that broke or malfunctioned simply by calling the maintenance department.   So I boxed up several cartons of tools and gave them to our next door neighbor which probably resulted in his having more than HE needed in HIS basement.

Boxes full of old books that hadn’t been read for decades held too many “treasures” to just put out on trash day so we donated them to the Fall Festival  book tent at the Village.  Also, what must have been TONS of “perfectly” useful things went to the Salvation Army store on the Trindle Road and a treadmill in excellent condition (mainly because it hadn’t been  used very much) was gratefully picked up by the Bethesda Mission for their men’s fitness room. Mountains of things that we didn’t part with easily, waited for the trash truck at the front curb where every day an army of little boys on their way home from school combed through the pile of goodies saying “cool” and “check this out”….which tore at my heart because  they were convincing me that we shouldn’t have discarded any of it !!

Well, at last we were ready—our downsizing complete—and in a remarkably fast-moving  day, the old house in Camp Hill was vacated and our new cottage at Messiah Village was furnished.
Since that major transition, we’ve discovered that there are all sorts of things we now wish we had brought with us. And I’m embarassed to admit that we’ve once again begun to accumulate various “”necessities” which one just can’t live without !

Although the scriptures tell us that, “if we have food and clothing we should be content”…..I wonder why we nevertheless seem to need several television sets and the pile of photograph albums and a cabinet full of CD’s and all those Christmas decorations up in the attic and—and—and—

I suppose we should take a lesson from the person who—when asked how much  the richest man in the world-Andrew Carnegie left when he died—replied, ‘EVERYTHING’ !!!
Perhaps it’s time once again to start downsizing all sorts of things.

But—hey, we just might need some of those things!