Tag Jordan River

His Name was John

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
Insight from the Journey across the Sky

Plant your seed in the morning, and don’t let your hands rest until evening. You don’t know whether this field or that field will be profitable or whether both of them will {turn out} equally well. Eccl 11:6 (GW)


John came, and gave baptism in the waste land, preaching baptism as a sign of forgiveness of sin for those whose hearts were changed. Mark 1:4 (BBE)

And in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the waste land of Judaea, Saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin; for the kingdom of heaven is near. Matt 3:1-2 (BBE)


There was a mailman, John Hand, who rode his mail truck through Los Altos Hills of California on his 50 mile route each day. The route was plain, all brown and virtually no color. One day he began to throw wild flower seeds out of the window as he drove. Today, if you travel his route in the Los Altos Hills you’ll find beautiful patches of flowers throughout, blossoming in many colors.


Johnny Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1774. He grew up to be a successful man who owned many nurseries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, yet Johnny lived a simple life. Johnny was a skilled nurseryman who grew trees and supplied seeds to the pioneers in the mid-western USA. In addition he gave away and sold many trees. His real name was John Chapman, but people called him Johnny Appleseed because of his love for growing apple trees.

Johnny died at the age of 70; and is buried in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He had spent 50 years growing apple trees and traveling to spread his precious trees around his country. Legend has it that as he traveled around he wore his cooking pot on his head as a hat.

John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. John was dressed in clothes made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.Mark 1:4-6 (GW)

John Hand, Johnny Appleseed and John the Baptist all spread beauty wherever they went. You can trace John Hands movements by the beautiful flowers which grow along his mail route. The results of many years of traveling the same route daily and tossing out seeds of beauty on an otherwise plain and barren route. Those seeds now bring much beauty to others who follow John Hand’s route through the desert.

Johnny Chapman loved apple trees. He loved them so much that he felt every body should have at least one. His mission and passion was to spread the good news of apple trees to whomever he met. If someone could not afford to buy an apple tree Johnny would give them one. Today there are many apple trees throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana because of Johnny Chapman’s passion.

John the Baptist came to spread the gospel of repentance through Jesus Christ. He spread the seeds of revival that still spring forth today. Dressed in sackcloth and eating locust and wild honey John the Baptist, like Johnny Chapman, lived a simple life, yet his message had an impact that would spread through generations.

In our daily lives are we spreading the GOOD SEEDS of God’s kingdom everywhere we go? Do we see the barrenness of our surroundings and simply look the other way or are we attempting to make a difference one seed at a time? It does not take much. Just a handful of seeds spread along our normal daily routes can make a lasting difference in our surroundings.

We all travel different roads. God has given us wonderful opportunities to change and bring added beauty to our landscapes. In our families, at our jobs, in the world around us,  opportunities to color those landscapes! It’s far easier for us to complain and resign ourselves to settling for those landscapes, than it is to be the catalysts of change. From this point on, let’s resolve to stop complaining about the lifelessness around us and do something about it! God has given us the power and anointing to change those landscapes!

Spread some seeds today, that will produce lasting results tomorrow.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31Open Link in New Window (BBE)


Along for the journey

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Back to the Beginning

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
Insight from the Journey across the Sky

This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “I am sending my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way for you.” “A voice cries out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!’” John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. John was dressed in clothes made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. Mark 1:1-6Open Link in New Window (GW)

Let’s start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with
A-B-C
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi
Do-re-mi
Do-re-mi
The first three notes just happen to be
Do-re-mi
Do-re-mi
Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti

So goes the famous song from The Sound of Music.

Everything has a beginning, a starting place. As it is in education, so it is with life. When it comes to learning every child learns to read by learning their ABC’s and they learn math by counting 123. Easy lessons become harder as we build precept upon precept, line upon line until we come to an understanding of complex sentences and mathematical equations. Not too many children are able to handle trigonometry in kindergarten.

Being a student of music I too had to learn at the beginning. The Do Re Mi’s of musical theory and construction. Learning the basics made the complex easier to understand and tackle. Had I started out with an Etude by Chopin I may have given up before I even got started, although Chopin penned the first of these while still in his teens.

Knowing at what level a child is able to perform helps a teacher set forth a lesson plan suitable for each child. Some students can handle more complex principles earlier than others. But nonetheless each must learn to apply the basics if they wish to grow in their mastery of any instrument.

Music instruction includes elements of both reading and mathematics. Numbers and language are involved in a thorough knowledge of music and composition. So a student who does not read well or has trouble counting will probably struggle in music instruction.

A disregard for the basics makes progression in any subject difficult if not impossible. Failure to learn the most basic concepts makes complex formulas and equations almost impossible to comprehend.

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