Author Description

I was born in a pastor's home, and the first twenty years of my life was lived without a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, this did not hinder God from dealing with my soul, my heart, my mind, and my childhood life. A deep God was continually calling to the deep of my soul through natural and spiritual matters. Too many people do not believe God impresses and influences children. Yes, He does. A child does not have to wait until he or she is an adult before God deals with them. Being the dispositional child that I was, God did indeed deal with me. God-consciousness may be realized not only through the revealed Word of God, but God leads through natural circumstances as dominated by the good providence of God, too. I have presented about 160 incidents, some humorous, some sacred, in the first twenty years of my life in this unpretentious testimony Deep Calleth Unto Deep, and I have been constrained to share it with a hopeful audience because of the days in which we live. I have never intended an autobiography, but, as an elder, I extend this limited effort, only presented because of being driven to make some contribution to a much needed subject. Some of the vignettes of these years could be called "The Special English Walnut," "The Iron Frog," "Two Dimes in a Crayon Box," "The Pearl-Handled Cigarette," "Grandmother's Quarter," "The CCC Boys at Felix Farm," "Contemplation Time," "Spit on the Hinshaw Door," "Why Build the Buildings?," "The Scallywag Pin," "Blueberries for Birthday," "A Broken Axle Evangelizes," "Shotgun at the Altar," "A Clean Apron for Breakfast," "The Five-Dollar Wagon," "Rocks in the River Near the Five-Cent Bridge," "The Clanging, Crashing Cymbal Clong," "Mrs. Slocum's Bicycle," "Miss Sherman's Trombone," "The Michaud Experience," "No Soggy Hot Dogs, Please," "Senator Bob Taft's Newspaper Boy," "Reverence in the Theatre," and "Why Did God Make Us of Dirt?". Every parent, teacher, preacher, relative, and every other kind of honorable leader, in these days, must come to grips with the need of children, and do all that is humanly possible to encourage their consciousness of God in early life. The environment of violence, drugs, and inconsistent Christian homes have made many children insensitive if not totally ignorant of God-consciousness for a child. The home must repair this damage and restore this loss. - Back cover.