Exit 41 page 5

Exit 41 page 5 by ric gustafson.


" I wonder how long we'll have to stay here" Abednego said as he stared out the large glass window.
" I don't know" Shadrach replied as he sipped from a diet coke. " Hopefully not long".
They watched Meshach come back with the tow truck driver.
" He does have a replacement belt".
The old man stared at his watch. " The bad news is I can't put it on right now".
" Why not!" Abednego exclaimed loudly as he jumped off of his chair.
" This afternoon, Mayor Lulah is going to reveal a gold statue of himself".
" A gold statue".
" Everyone in town is required to attend so why don't you boys come along?". He walked over and put a blue coat on. " When it is over, I will replace your belt and you boys can continue on your way".
Shadrach stared at his friend. " Meshach, we really don't have much of a choice".
" Ok".



Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric.

Exit 41 page 4

Exit 41 page 4 by ric gustafson


Abednego waved his arms as the blue and white tow truck approached. It stopped next to their car and an old man got out. " You boys having trouble".
" Yes" Shadrach said as he opened the hood. " The car just stopped".
The old man peeked underneath. His head came up with a long face. " It's what I figured it was".
" What is that?" Meshach asked as he got out of the car.
" It's one of the belts".
" Now what do we do?" Abednego asked with a scared look on his face.
" You boys can come with me to the station" the old man said as he closed the hood. " Hopefully we have the belt in stuck".
" Meshach, we don't have much of a choice".
" Ok".
Abednego nodded his head in approval and then followed his two friends into the large tow truck.



Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric

Exit 41 page 3

Exit 41 page 3 by ric gustafson


Meshach yawned as he tried to watch where he was driving. Shadrach opened his eyes and looked out the passenger window. Cactus and open desert passed by him. " Where are we?".
Meshach yawned again and waited for the next sign to come up. Shortly it did. " A town called Lulah exit 41 five miles".
Four miles later.
" Meshach, I hear a strange noise " Abednego said with a concerned voice. " I think it's coming from the engine".
" We should probably check it out before it breaks down in the desert" Shadrach said with a long sigh.
" Ok, I'll stop at the next exit which is 41" Meshach said as he checked the time on the car's clock. " The nearest town is Lulah".



Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric.

Exit 41 page 2

Exit 41 page 2 by ric gustafson


Shadrach watched as the seconds ticked down on the TV. He bit into a frito scoop as he watched the winning team start to celebrate on the field. " My Super Bowl team lost again".
" My team won" Meshach replied with a smile as he sipped from a bottle of Sunkist orange. " Abednego, what are you doing?".
" Somebody texted us" the young man said as he stared at his cellphone. He smiled as he read the text. " Do you remember our friend Mesa?".
" Sure, he lives in California" Shadrach replied as he stood up and started to clean up the snack table.
" He's getting married and is inviting us to the wedding".
" California would be fun" Meshach said as he finished his orange pop.
" We could see the Grand Canyon and then drive through the desert".
" Ok" Obednego said as began to reply to the text.
" I'll text him and tell him that we will be coming".



Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric

the eye is the lamp page 2

the eye is the lamp page 2 by ric gustafson.


Pastor Parker was looking at downtown buildings when he noticed a white lunch truck handing out sandwiches to men and women in the city park. He thought he recognized someone so he drove into the park and got out.
" Here you are Marion" Pastor Peters said as he handed the sandwich to the smiling older woman.
" Bless you Pastor" she replied with a toothless grin. " Bless you".
Pastor Peters saw the man coming up to the window. " Pastor Parker, a pleasant surprise to see you".
" Pastor Peters" he replied as men and women kept coming up to the window. " I'm surprised a pastor with your potential would be handing out free sandwiches to the homeless in a small Montana town city park".
" I'm happy here in my hometown, helping people who need me". He passed out his last sandwich and then closed the truck's serving window. He noticed Pastor Parker's Lexus and walked over. " Are you happy Pastor Parker, I mean really happy?".
" Of course" was his reply as he grinned and pointed at his new car. " My church is going to open a third site and our combined attendance is 20,000 members a week". He showed Pastor Peters his new Rolex watch. " Life is good".
" Good" Pastor Peters said as he began to walk toward the white lunch truck. " Then we are both happy where we are". " God bless you Pastor Parker" he said as he opened the truck's driver door and then got in. " Go in peace". He started the truck and then left the park.
Pastor Parker stood for a moment, pondering that thought. Then he got into his Lexus and left the park.


The End- dedicated to Tom E.



Everybody take care. Love Ric
"

the eye is the lamp page 1

the eye is the lamp page 1 by ric gustafson.


Pastor Albert Peters handed out his last ham sandwich to Henry, who always hung around the city park. Pastor Peters ran the free lunch truck that Rejoice Lutheran Church was sponsoring for eight years now. After graduating near the top of his seminary class, Pastor Peters could have gotten a call anywhere he wanted to go. He decided to stay in his hometown and accept a call from Rejoice Lutheran. When the Pastor started his duties, he quickly found out that there was a large homeless problem. He decided to start a free lunch program for the homeless, rented a truck and headed for the city's main park.
Pastor Frank Parker got out of his grey Lexus and looked at his Rolex to see what time it was. His time was limited and he needed to hurry and scout locations for a third site for his church. His church, Fellowship Ministries was based in Fort Lauderdale and had now grown to 10,000 members. In the time of his being the senior pastor, the church had grown so fast they opened a second church in Franklin Tennessee and now he was scouting for a third.



Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric

Thanksgiving dinner with the Sower's page 1

Thanksgiving dinner with the Sower's page 1 by ric gustafson.



Jesus sat down and could hear the water lapping against the boat. He smiled at the large crowd. " Behold, the sower went out to sow".
" As he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road and birds came and ate them".
" Other seeds fell on rocky places where there was not much soil and sprouted, but they had no roots and withered away".
" Other seeds fell among the thorns and the thorns came up and choked them".
" Other seeds fell on good soil and yieled a crop, some one hundred some sixty and some thirty".
" He who has ears, let him hear".
One of the disciples looked at Jesus. " Why do you speak to them in parables?".
" To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted".




research help: The Ryrie Study Bible



Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric