1 Old Man, 70 Years, and ONLY 3 PREACHERS!!!

My Daddy, my Old Man died on Friday, May 3, 2002. 5 days earlier on Sunday, April 28, 2002, we celebrated Homer Bruce Dupree's 70th birthday. On Saturday, May 4, 2002 the qoute of the day in the Opelika-Auburn News was, "When an old man dies a library burns down."

And boy did a library burn...... stories, generations, links to my family heritage all burned down. Except for a few stories I still remember... much like early Spanish explorers destroying ancient Mayan and Aztec records and ruins and nothing but a few stories left.... dog gone shame.

If my Daddy told you something you could take it to the bank. If he told me someone was a good man..... he was a good man. If Homer told me a fella was bad....he was a bad fella....No if's and's nor but's about it.

In my Daddy's(1 old man's life) 70 years of life, he only cared or liked 3 preachers. Daddy was never a church going man. Bad experiences with preachers left a bad scar on him.... except for 3 preachers.

Many a Sunday come and gone with Mama and me begging Daddy to go to church.... many a Sunday asking in vain... with no success at all.... except for 3 servants of the Lord would he want to listen too.

Preacher Number 1) Billy Graham. Daddy would sit many times listening to Rev. Graham's Crusades night after night. "Billy Graham is the only good, honest preacher there is.", he would say.

Preacher Number 2) Rudet Adkinson. Bro. Rudet and Homer Dupree somehow connected. I believe it was by Bro. Rudet's farming/poor stories... simplistic sermons that my Daddy could always relate too and understand. Daddy would always say, "Now I like Bro. Rudet, even though he is a preacher."

Preacer Number 3) Scott Smith. Scott was a good man who left a good job making plenty of money for the ministry and I'm thankful he did. Other than my parents, Scott had a profound positive influence/impact upon my life....even to this day. Daddy told me, "I like Scott.... he is a good man and has been good to you." Because Scott was good to Daddy's son, Daddy liked Pastor Scott Smith.

Preachers are to be trusted only when they earned their trust as anyone else, not because they have a title of a "preacher/pastor"... thats the way Daddy saw it and thats the way I see it too......

What America Means To Me

July 4th 1776, is the birthday of the United States of America. It is the birthday of liberty, freedom, and democracy as you and I know it. The Declaration of Independence was signed by men who placed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor upon the alter of sacrifice, rather than to submit to tyranny.

Fortunately, for us and the world, the war for America's independence was bestowed a victory by a merciful Creator. Think about it.... our founding fathers, mothers, and their children thumbed their noses to the mightiest military and navy the world had ever known.... with determination, an iron will, and God's blessing did the birth of a new nation, concieved in liberty was born.

What does America mean to me?.... It means that I have the ability to chose our leaders and voice my opinions without fear of being jailed. It means that my family and I can enjoy a Sunday afternoon ice cream without fear of road side bombs. It means I can own a firearm. It means I can choose where I work, who I will marry. It means I can be a Christian, a Buddist, a Protestant, or a Catholic, or an athiest without fear of being imprisoned by a Gestapo type police force.

It means I can vote, I can petition my govt., I have freedom of and from a particular religion, I can read a privately-owned newspaper, I can assemble with others to protest my govt. without a fear of a Tiananmen Square type govt. crack down. It means that I have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In the words of the Declaration of Indepence,---"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness," .... it also means that I have the right as an American to resist domestic tyranny when the Constitution is being perverted and spat upon.

Happy Birthday, America!!!!

Just Be Yourself... It's OK

Rhiannon read me a story about a married couple who have been married for 35 years. The wife just found out her husband has been gay the whole length of their marriage. Horrible... horrible the fact that her husband lied to himself, his wife, and his family. Now everyone is devastated.

I remember my Daddy used to always say that you never can tell about people. They will do one thing in public and another behind closed doors. Over the years I have witnessed first hand what my old man was talking about. I used to be surprised and shocked about "Honorable" and "Saintly" people's shortcoming, but now I just shake my head and keep moving.

Of course people love to point fingers at Catholic priests for thier sins. But us Protestants have a few bad examples to: Jimmy Swaggart, Ray Boltz, Ted Haggard, Marvin Gorman, Jim Bakker. When Jimmy Swaggart got caught not once, but TWICE.... my Daddy did not go to church for years. We hold politicians and preachers up on a pedestal, forgetting that they are human as well and seem to be surprised when they are caught at the local motel. We hold them to a higher standard because they hold themselves to a higher standard. WHEN THESE PEOPLE ARE EXPOSED THEY HURT ALOT OF PEOPLE!!!


I am not perfect and I will never claim to be. But what you see on Saturday is what you see on Sunday. If I want a beer, I'll go to the local store to get one and not to the nearest county so no one will see me. If Rhi and I are out at a reastaurant for dinner (which is rare) and we want an adult beverage we will get one. If the local pastor walks by I will make no attempt to hide the drink. To do so would be dishonest to myself and hypocritical.

My wish is for everyone to be truthful for who they are, what they are. If people are dishonest to themselves they will not only hurt themselves, but others around them.

Be honest to yourself, your family, your friends and to God. If you do not want to be held to a higher standard, don't climb upon a pedestal. Just be yourself.... it's OK.

andthatsthewayiseeit!

Life and Things Just Happen...Nobody's Fault

In the recent days of the tornado destruction in Alabama and elsewhere, many have asked "why.?" No one knows why bad things happen to good people and why good things happen to bad people.

I am reminded to the day my Mama died of cancer. I was a very committed Christian. Taught Sunday school, went on mission trips, led lost hearts to Christ and so forth. Everytime the church door opened, there I stood. When Mama died it hit me hard. Here was a strong woman, who knew and could do most anything...wasted away to a mere 80 or so pounds before she died. I stopped praying for Mama's healing and began praying for her death. Her suffering was to hard to watch. Mama did everything and suddenly she was not able to do anything.

The day she died was the day I needed my Mama the most. I was still recovering from my illness, which I nearly died, my Daddy was legally blind and close to having a leg amputated.... it was a rough time. Over time I learned how to cook, wash clothes, iron, make up beds, give my Daddy insulin shots. One day I went to church and a woman gave a "praise report." She awoke that morning with a bad headache and was heartbroken she would not be able to go to church. She said that God healed her headache so she could go to church. Well, needless to say that did not sit well with me. Her headache was trivial to me.... my Mom's life was more important than her trip to church I thought. That was the last time I saw the inside of a church for maybe ten years.

Over time I realized my Mom's death was not God's fault. It was not even the devil's fault..... it was rather just life. Everyone one of us will one day die. Good things will happen to us, bad things will happen to us. Some are things that happen are random and some things are self-inflicted wounds (bad decsions).

Bad weather happens because bad weather has always happened. Death happens because everyone will one day die. Things happen because life happens. Life is unfair and will always be unfair. Life is not what happens to us, but how we react to it.

On this Mother's Day I will will miss my Mama... but I am happy God placed me in her life. I am thankful for all the good and bad things that have happened in my life. Those things have made me who I am today and I am very happy with my life and my family. God has blessed my life.

MANY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO ALL OF US. DO NOT BLAME GOD NOR ANYONE ELSE, BUT INSTEAD HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD. CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN AND LEAVE THE REST UP TO GOD AND THE WIND.

.......andthatsthewayiseeit......

What Makes a Christian Be A "Real" Christian?

The only thing neccesary for a human to call themselves a Christian is for them accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. OK, well that's easy...so why is it so hard for a "Christian" to be Christ-like. If I knew the answer to that question, I would be living near the beach right now.

I usually refer to my Dad alot as each day goes by. Why, because if I could be more like anyone I have ever known it would be him. My Daddy was not a church going man nor religious man. He was the same at home, work, church or anywhere else. He loved, accepted, and believed that Jesus was Lord and Savior. My Dad's heart was good and his soul was good. My Dad lived a Christian life as straight as any man could ever, have, or will ever live.

One thing that seperated him from any other person that I have ever known was his heart was as pure and as good as any ..... was My Daddy never wore any "Christian Stripes" upon his sleeves. He lived an honest life, he was a good Dad, he was a good husband, he respected others, never criticized, others, he worked hard, he is the kind of man I wish I could become.

My Daddy did not have to profess to be a Christian. He did not have to wear "WWJD" symbols on his arm or clothes. He did not have to carry a Bible 24/7. He did not have to go to church everytime the door was open....... because if you watched my Dad, listened to my Dad, and saw how he treated others.... well Homer Dupree did not need to "profess" to be a Christian.... he lived like one should live. He did not need to procliam it, he lived it. He wasn't perfect, but close to perfect as I will ever live to see...........andthatsthewayiseeit!

Women Are God's People Too.....

The two most important people in my life are women. My wife and my little daughter. I have always supported the equal treatment for women, but it really it home when I first saw my little Boo on the ultrasound screen. Since then, my feelings on the equal treatment of women in every aspect of life on this Earth has become more profound.

I am deeply disturbed how men have used/still using religions around the world to subject women and girls to third class status. In the United States, women did not have the right to vote until a mere ninety years ago. In some Christian areas around the nation to this day, women can't do this, can't do that, but a man who is an elder hardly has any restrictions. America has been blessed. Our society has come to it's senses to include equal rights for women.

The plight of women in predominately Islamic nations is extremely disheartening. Women and little girls in the name of Islam and Allah are treated like garbage. They are denied an education, repeatedly subjected to beatings and rapes all in the name of religion.

Let me end with this. ANY MAN WHO USES ANY RELIGION TO PLACE WOMEN AND GIRLS IN AN INFERIOR, LOWER CLASS STATUS IS AN EVIL, SICK, AND TWISTED LOSER. His deserving punishment, I will not place into words.

.....and thats the way I see it!

When An Old Man Dies......

"When an old man dies, a library burns down. " That was the qoute of the day in the Opelika-Auburn News the day after my Daddy went to Heaven. And boy, did his library of stories, sayings, and years of wisdom burn down..... except those few I remembered through hours and hours of listening.

It would take a novel and numerous days for me to recount all the stories and sayings..... all from a man who grew up on a farm and who barely had a 8th grade education. What my old man lacked in book learning, he more than made up for it, in the way he lived his life and treated others.

Daddy was not one who believed in blaming others for your troubles and circumstances. One of his sayings was, "You can sit a gallon of whiskey on the table. It won't bother you if you don't bother it." In other words, don't blame Jim Beam, blame yourself.

Another of his sayings, which probably influenced me the most was, "God helps those, who helps themselves." It tooks me years to understand the true meaning of those six words. Not until several months after I went through a divorce. To simply put it, I was in terrible rut that I just could not get out of. I remember thinking that if I could make it through this, I could make it through ANYTHING!

I prayed one minute and would cuss the next. Then one morning, I believe God placed a dream in my sleep. I dreamed that my Dad, who was in Heaven, grabbed me by my shirt collar and started shaking me, saying loudly, "GET UP, I SAID GET UP! YOU HAVE GOT TO GET UP OR YOU WILL DIE!" Immediately, I sat up in bed, sweating looking for Daddy. It was the most real life dream I ever experienced.

That dream was, I think... God's and my Dad's way to inspire me to move on. I think the power of family and friend's prayers for God to help me was working. Only one thing more was necessary for God to truely help..... and that was for me to help myself. God got my attention, now it was MY turn to do only what I AND I ALONE could only do and that was to help myself.

......And help myself I did. Got a great job, started attending church where.... where I met my best friend Rhiannon and the rest is history. God helps those, who helps themselves. God will help you learn to ride a bicycle, if first you climb on one and try. God will help you become a great leader, if only you first learn to follow simple rules. God will help you pay your bills, but you must first put in an honest days work.

God will give you a family, but you must first learn to love. God will place you into positions of authority, but first you must learn to obey authority. God will help you become successful, but you must first make the necessary sacrifices to become successful.

God helps those, who helps themselves..... and thats the way I see it and the way my old man saw it.

Those Mean Ol' Rich Folks.....

Those mean ol' rich folks..... they are greedy, they are powerful, they are spoiled, they are mean, they are evil, THEY are the one's who create most of the jobs.

For the last few years, when I read the newspaper or .com news rich people are considered to be more evil then Lucifer himself. I will admit when I hear a RICH MAN say, "I must get away from it all," and go on a vacation two months after his last vacation.... It does make me sick. Afterall, me and my wife are lucky if we can afford spend a night alone in a hotel in Opelika...lol! Now we are going on a cruise next month. It is being paid for by a rich family because I paid for the trip with my sweat during the past year.

These words were inspired by my Dad when I was a teenager. I was fussing and complaining about rich people and how spoiled they were. My Daddy quickly gave me a lesson in economics. He used a local asphalt paving owner as an example. To paraphrase him...."Mr. Smith is a rich man. Rich folks are the one's who create jobs. How many poor people do you know who has provided and created a man a job? Mr. Smith is rich and has a nice home, but he also has created about 50-75 jobs for poeple who would not otherwise have a job. Everytime his employees buys a home, buys a car, goes out to eat, buys clothes.... they are creating jobs as well with the money Mr. Smith gives them for their work. So, don't complain about rich people."

Which brings me to me and my family. I work for a rich man and his family. Because of the rich family I work for, I have a job as well as about 1,900 other people. This one rich family employs about 1,900 people who like me buys vehicles, occasionally eat out at a local restaurant, buys gasoline a local gas stations, and basically spends the money we earn from our jobs at local businesses.... which in turn helps fuel the local economy through spending and taxation.

But those mean ol' rich folks we must tax them more, we must punish them, we must regulate them, we be fair to all. So the rich family I work for are taxed more and regulated more, driving their expenses up..... so they start cutting and trimming..... My job is cut. My job is cut, because the rich folks I work for is punished for being successful. THE RESULT: I will lose my home, I can not afford to buy clothes, I stop eating at local restaurants and shopping altogether. That results in loss revenue for local establishments and local governments.

But no worry for me..... for now my family will be taken of by the federal govt.... now instead of contributing, me and my family will be taken of by good ol'Uncle Sam.

So let's go ahead and punish those mean ol' rich folks, quit work and let Uncle Sam take care of us from now on.

And that's the way I see it......

Do You Know A Jake Spoon?

One of my favorite movies of all time is Lonesome Dove. My favorite character is Capt. Augustus "Gus" McCrae. I love Gus's sense of humor, his love of life, and his principle's. I also love Gus's qoutes...some I can't repeat.....

Gus is very fond of women, workless days, and "the pulling of the cork." Throughout the whole movie though, Gus has a standard of respect for others, the ladies, and the law.

One of the most interesting characters is Jake Spoon. Jake Spoon is also very lazy and loves women, gambling, and whiskey as does Gus. The difference between the two is Jake cares only for himself.... unlike Gus. Jake always takes the "easy way out".... which is most always the easy way out the door.

In a saloon playing cards with a bunch of outlaws, Jake follows the crowd or takes the easy out by riding along with the group. The gang of outlaws come across some farmers. They kill the "sodbusters", rob them, then hangs them, and then burns their hanging bodies. Jake, now Jake does not harm anyone, but he does nothing to stop the atrocities and continues riding with the outlaws in return for safe passage through the territory.

Gus and his business partner, Capt. Woodrow Call eventually catches up with the gang, along with Jake Spoon.... their friend and former fellow lawman. Gus and Woodrow hangs the murdering gang along with their friend Jake Spoon. Now Jake did not kill anyone, Jake did not rob anyone... Jake was no criminal.

Jake was guilty of one thing.... he was a follower and not a leader. Jake went along with the crowd. He offered no backbone, no objection to the killings, and no help for the victims. He simply turned his head and allowed for the evil to take place in exchange for his own selfish goals. Jake was hanged not because he committed the crimes, but because he refused to do the right thing and stop the crimes. His refusal to help the weak for fear of getting killed, still led to his death, and to the death of his own self-respect.

How many Jake Spoons do you know? Are you a Jake Spoon? Take time to think.... who is more to blame for the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler or those that turned their heads in exchange for temporary security and comfort?....in the ends they all suffered the same fate.

And that's the way I see it.......

Praying For Wisdom and Humility?.... Be Ready For a Journey!!!

As a young man growing up in church I was very judgemental. Everything was black and white, good and bad, sinners and saints... no grey area. Every night as I said my prayers, I always asked God for two things. Two things which would affect my life and thinking for years to come.... two things that God gave me just as I asked for........

1) Wisdom   2) Humility.... When I prayed those prayers I didn't really understand what I was asking for and what those two words REALLY meant. When you are 18 years of age, you know everything or at least I did. I was going to change the world whether the world wanted change or not. I had a plan. By 21 years of age those plans were in millions of tiny pieces....

All of a sudden my Dad went blind, Mama was dying of cancer, and in Nov. of 1995, I was knocking on Heaven's Door.... almost dead with a blood pressure of 60/0!!!! One gland in my body stopped producing a necessary ingrediate of life. God saved my life, but my Mama...well He took hers. With no money, medical bills to pay, and a Dad to help see after, college was a distant memory. I made many bad decisions in years to come, but I made them and I learned from them. They made me into who I am and they prepared the way for me to meet my future wife, Rhiannon, and the creation of pretty little Boo.

Humility.... well, I was beginning to understand the meaning. Over the years I have grasped the meaning of humility and wisdom. They are both great and necessary assets a person can have to become not only successful in life, but a good person in general.

As a young man, I looked down on a person with a can of beer, cigarette in their mouth, or a person ravaged by addictions.....  or anything I deemed as "sinful." Over time, God showed me humility and wisdom.... the true meanings of those two words. The world is NOT solely black and white. There is alot of grey areas.

Atticus Finch, a fictional Southern lawyer in "To Kill A Mockingbird," talked about judging a man before walking in his shoes. Now, when I see an alcoholic, or a man that can not pay his bills, or man locked up in jail.... I am much more careful to paint the scarlet word, "SINNER" upon his shirt. Because, I do not know him, I do not know his story, and I have not walked in his shoes. I do think it is in our nature for all of us to judge, as I have been guilty of, but we must all do our best to restrain our thoughts and words, and read the entire book before just looking at the cover.

I have a story, you have a story, the whino in the alley has a story, the man sitting in prison has a story, the homeless man has a story. Just because someone is not living in a two-story brick home, with a three car garage does not mean God does not love you over them. Jesus died for their lives as well as the rest of us. May God have mercy upon all of us who finds a person guilty before learning all the facts. Money, wealth, material items can disappear in the fraction of a second. Being PROSPEROUS does not mean you are a SAINT and being POOR does not mean you are a SINNER.

I encourage everyone to pray for wisdom and humility in 2011. Praying for those two will greatly improve your life and your character, but also be ready for the Potter to drastically reshape and redesign your image, your life, and your future.

And that's the way I see it.....