BSPM 2021 Fall Holy Day Newsletter

BSPOP/BSPM FALL HOLY DAYS 2021 ENEWSLETTER---INTRODUCTION

Howdy and shalom alechem from the flatlands as the upcoming Fall Festivals come our way again (even in the aftermath of COVID last year)! I once again owe everyone MAJOR apologies for not writing sooner and for what has been a complete suspension of publication efforts of these newsletters over the past couple or more years or so as we once did in the past. But personal issues and situations have once again continued to prevent me in recent times from communicating to all of you in a relatively timely fashion outside of Facebook posts. But we’re once again back regardless of said setbacks...and this edition’s world-famous MAIN STUDY we once again will offer you some of what we now like to call “PROFILES IN RESTRAINED COURAGE” that we feel will inspire you to continue to reach for those things found solely in Him. We’ll talk more about these profiles after we catch you up first on a few necessary BUSINESS AND MINISTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS that have been going on in the world of BSPOP and BSPM since we wrote you last--

(1.) BSPOP/BSPM BUSINESS AND MINISTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS--

(A.) After even more major personal and financial setbacks including eviction from yet another another apartment for a year, marginal homelessness, being forced to move and adjust to living with family once again after a number of years, and having to deal with continuing financial challenges, we at BSPOP/BSPM can at least still say that our God has still found ways out of no ways to help us endure these setbacks and start the journey once again of rebuilding and working towards getting back on a bit more firmer personal terra firma.

That has even included all of our business and ministry enterprizes. 2021 saw a slow start with our enterprises, but then some significant increase in the notary public side of our business with a few additional paying clients as well as increased interest from others. Also, in spite of our recent continued increased personal challenges, good results as far as vendor booths were concerned continued from last year’s efforts. We were able to make a repeat appearance after COVID once again in Hale Center for the 4th of July Celebration there alongside our friends with New Covenant Church/Dare To Believe Ministries who conducted a prayer and giveaway outreach to bless our friends and neighbors in the Hale Center/Cotton Center area. We appreciate Mayor W.H. Johnson and the folks at the Hale Center Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture for once again making this opportunity to once again serve the people of Hale Center in this manner.

We were also privileged to participate alongside the Plainview Chamber of Commerce with a Job Fair at the Plainview Country Club where we were able to debut a brand-new clerical services package especially designed for Plainview area jobseekers. After what at times has been a sales drought for recent Plainview 2nd Saturday efforts, our August 2021 edition that included the Downtown Association’s Wine Walk with extended afternoon hours as well as our very first “Back Alley” sale for the first time yielded some much better results despite current Streetscape construction in downtown Plainview. Special shoutouts go to Carey and L.T. Cooper as well as CIndy Hoolihan and the folks at CC’s Junques and Antiques for once again stepping up to the plate and making our August Downtown Plainview effort a rousing success.

We then continued our journey down the 2021 “booth trail road” with a repeat performance with Lockney’s Old Fashioned Saturday Night after last year’s COVID shutdowns forced the cancellation of most 2020 planned public activities throughout the area. Even though sales totals in Lockney unfortunately able to match previous efforts there, we were still nevertheless privileged to once again let folks in our old hometown of our raising that we were still here to serve their needs year-round in the area of notary public and clerical services and to provide them with books that could better ground and establish them in the Word of God. Special thanks very much once again go to Priscilla Verela; Aaron and Karen Wilson; Robert, Renee, and Josh Armstrong; and others at the Lockney Chamber of Commerce for their most gracious hospitality and assistance in making this year’s Old Fashioned Saturday booth appearance possible.

At the time of this writing, we continue our journey through the heart of the rest of our current “booth trail season” with plans to take part in the Jimmy Dean Music Festival at the Llano Estacado Museum at Wayland Baptist University as well as trying again (so it seems) to do something for Punkin Days in Floydada in October. We even have decided to add something new to our booth calendar this year via a Feast of Tabernacles Messianic week-long conference in the Spearman area of the Texas Panhandle in the later part of September. Stay tuned to both of our Facebook forums for details as they become available and also when and where we will be coming to an event near YOU! The booth trail road continues indeed for us with BSPOP and CoyRH/SEATC Clerical.

We’re also currently in the rough draft stages of our next book and music project focusing on the subject of Biblical reconciliation and restoration and working on getting appropriate feedback and input in preparing that particular project for final revisions and eventual publication. Plans are also on the drawing board for a possible SIXTH project with an emphasis on the subject of “cults”/”sects’/”derivative movements” as a result of my own personal experiences in the pre-split WCG and how others in evangelical Christianity should best deal with them in the troubled times we live in. Continued prayers of intercession for wisdom and discernment as well as open doors for unique effectual opportunities for these efforts as we pursue both of these projects would obviously be very much appreciated as well as appropriate financial support by those led to do so (both through book sales and special orders and other business as well as other means).

We also have been able through increased income (despite our currently troublesome situation) to continue even more increased investments in our business enterprises through upgrades in technology (including the purchase of BOTH a brand-new tablet, Chromebook laptop, and portable printer that we’re still working on implementing into our business and ministry efforts) and more much-needed booth equipment. We were also able to this year especially accomplish ADVANCE payment of most of our booth fees save for a couple of places to further assist us in our promotional planning to get the word out not only about the services available with BSPOP and CoyRH-SEATC Clerical, but also about various ministries in the area as well. We were also able to once again purchase and continue FULL yearly memberships with BOTH the Plainview Downtown Association and the Plainview Chamber of Commerce as well as with the American Association of Notaries to not only enhance the legitimacy of our business endeavors, but also process greater opportunities for increased advertising. We look forward next year as our need to renew our notary commission comes up to especially on the notary public end to examining and possibly implementing more additional ways to serve our customers better here in the Plainview area (especially our more rural and homebound customers that might find it otherwise difficult to come in person). Stay tuned to our FB page for further developments as they arise...

The continual fundraiser on behalf of both the Jubilee Prison Ministry and also Bridges To Life (even as TDCJ on all of our book sales also remains in effect as we still await the time that both BTL and Jubilee once again resumes ministry to TDCJ units) to continuing pursuing our part during the current situation to stay active in some form ministrywise to help keep both Jubilee and Bridges To Life financially strong and in the black in the interim.

Even if we STILL haven’t necessarily been able to communicate with all of you in as timely a fashion as we have in the past, IT DOES NOT necessarily mean that we were completely off the radar entirely! NO, SIR--NO, MA’AM!! Even as the continued hardships of last year still attempt to overtake us, our God has still allowed us to have yet again more of our busiest and most productive days post-pandemic. And we are confident through His power and strength that some better times and opportunities still await us ahead as we continue to trust Him for his wisdom, discernment, and provision to continue to do so.

Current plans and efforts are centered around the following:

(a.) We STILL have not stopped our efforts to FINALLY get in on Punkin Days on Oct. 9th in Floydada even after all this time...and in fact at the time of this newsletter’s publication, feel that this year it will finally be within reasonable reach and grasp for us. Stay tuned to updates on both of our Facebook pages for new developments on this as they may arise…

(b.) Especially in light of what happened back in the spring with the economic shutdown and the focus of most business in our nation and world on online and virtual operations of businesses, we are now especially working hard to find a way to FINALLY allow YOU to be able to purchase all of our current BSPOP releases directly off our website. We are currently exploring options from various vendors to hopefully get an online store off the ground. Please keep an eye on our Facebook pages for current updates on that as well…

(c.) SPEAKING OF OUR CURRENT ROUTES of online access, you can still access our website at http://coyrhseatcbspm.wixsite.com/walking for detailed info on all of the services we currently offer at BSPOP and CoyRH/SEATC Clerical. Remember that current contact info is also available through that website as well as access to past e-newsletters, detailed info on all of our current BSPOP releases, free downloadable sample chapters of each of our books, and more. You can also reach us directly on Facebook through either my personal page @CoyHolley or @Broken and Shattered Promises Ministries and even IM us there. You can also email us at bspopwalking@gmail.com and/or text or call us at either (806) 994-6263 or if necessary our backup number at (806) 494-2483 for any questions, etc. you might have about all services at CoyRH/SEATC Clerical and BSPOP. And of course, all of our current BSPOP book releases can also be purchased directly on Amazon with all releases still available in paperback format and everything except “Sowing In Tears” still available also in e-book format as well (although ineligible for any direct specials we can better offer you directly at BSPOP)!

(D.) We are hoping to FINALLY very soon get the ball rolling on another long-standing goal--formal incorporation and starting of operations of Broken and Shattered Promises Ministries as a SEPARATE non-profit 501(c) ministry organization focusing on the needs of those directly impacted by our criminal justice system--that is, offenders, ex-offenders, victims of violent crime (especially those affected by domestic violence and/or sexual assault), correctional officers, and law enforcement officials). Now more than ever in these troubled times, it is becoming critical that His Church step up to the forefront on these issues. We hope to finally soon be one of those groups rising up to help fill up the current void in the system and do His Kingdom business in the process. We hope that our God will lead you to join us as part of this unique endeavor. If He does, we’d appreciate hearing from you at the first available opportunity available to you. Please also stay in touch with our Facebook pages for updates as they may arise.

AND THAT’S ALL FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR RIGHT NOW--NOW ON TO OUR SPECIAL TWO--PART MAIN STUDY….(on separate web page...)

MAIN STUDY: PROFILES IN RESTRAINED COURAGE

In recent months, as I was contemplating what my personal part in a particular aspect of a recent women’s Walk To Emmaus should be, I had naturally asked the leader of that particular Walk what their theme Scripture, etc. might be. From this came what would be an interesting prophetic word that I think during this present Fall Holy Day season we might do well to emulate to the best of our ability. Let’s start with what might be to most a familiar Biblical story and see where He may wish to teach us from it:

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’” 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

As I reflected recently on this particular Scriptural passage, the exhortations from the LORD/Ha’Shem from verses 6 & 7 to Joshua himself really started me thinking along the lines of what President John F. Kennedy wrote many years ago called “Profiles In Courage” (in which a particular award of the same name eventually developed from the Kennedy family as well). For those like me who didn’t have the privilege of being born before 1965 and have no idea of JFK wrote, here’s a brief rundown of what you probably missed (but might be able to still check out at your local library):

Profiles in Courage is a 1956 volume of short biographies describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators. Then-Senator John F. Kennedy won the Pulitzer Prize for the work. The book profiles senators who defied the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was right and suffered severe criticism and losses in popularity because of their actions. It begins with a quote from Edmund Burke on the courage of the English statesman Charles James Fox, in his 1783 attack upon the tyranny of the East India Company in the House of Commons.[2]

The book focuses on mid-19th-century antebellum America and the efforts of senators to delay the American Civil War. Profiles was widely celebrated and became a bestseller. It includes a foreword by Allan Nevins.

In 1990, Kennedy's family created the Profile in Courage Award to honor individuals who have acted with courage in the same vein as those profiled in the book.

In his 2008 autobiography, Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen, who was presumed as early as 1957 to be the book's ghostwriter,[3] acknowledged that he actually wrote most of the book.[4][5]

Background and history[edit]

Kennedy was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946, 1948, and 1950 from the state of Massachusetts. In 1952 and 1958, he was elected a senator from Massachusetts, and served in the Senate until resigning after he was elected president in 1960. It was a passage from Herbert Agar's book The Price of Union about an act of courage by an earlier senator from Massachusetts, John Quincy Adams, that gave Kennedy the idea of writing about senatorial courage. He showed the passage to Ted Sorensen and asked him to see if he could find some more examples. This Sorensen did, and eventually they had enough not just for an article, as Kennedy had originally envisaged, but a book.[6] With help from research assistants and the Library of Congress, Kennedy wrote the book while bedridden during 1954 and 1955, recovering from back surgery.

Summary of senators profiled[edit]

John Quincy Adams, from Massachusetts, for breaking away from the Federalist Party.
Daniel Webster, also from Massachusetts, for speaking in favor of the Compromise of 1850.
Thomas Hart Benton, from Missouri, for staying in the Democratic Party despite his opposition to the extension of slavery in the territories.
Sam Houston, from Texas, for speaking against the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854, which would have allowed those two states to decide on the slavery question. Houston wanted to uphold the Missouri Compromise. His and Benton's votes against Kansas–Nebraska did just that. This was his most unpopular vote, and he was defeated when running for re-election. Two years later he'd regained enough popularity to be elected Governor of Texas. However, when the state convened in special session and joined the Confederacy, Sam Houston refused to be inaugurated as governor, holding true to his ideal of preserving the Union.
(Personal Note: About TX Republic President/US Senator/TX Governor Houston--Do you ALSO remember that he was ALSO the very same general who (AFTER he was criticized by tons of Texians at the time for retreating after the ALAMO and being a coward by seeming to run FROM Santa Anna--while actually strategizing what would become his and Texas’s eventual victory and independence from General Santa Anna and Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto? As I like to say, if there weren’t an Alamo and a “Runaway Scrape”, there would have never have been a San Jacinto. And he learned all this from someone he served under himself for years--Andrew Jackson! Now THAT’S also a profile in “restrained courage” if I ever saw one…)
Edmund G. Ross, from Kansas, for voting for acquittal in the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial. As a result of Ross's vote, along with those of six other Republicans, Democrat Johnson's presidency was saved, and the stature of the office was preserved.
Lucius Lamar, from Mississippi, for eulogizing Charles Sumner on the Senate floor and other efforts to mend ties between the North and South during Reconstruction, and for his principled opposition to the Bland–Allison Act to permit free coinage of silver. Lamar returned to Mississippi and gave rousing speeches that eventually led to public approval of his decisions and cemented a legacy of courageousness.
George Norris, from Nebraska, for opposing Joseph Gurney Cannon's autocratic power as Speaker of the House, for speaking out against arming U.S. merchant ships during the United States' neutral period in World War I, and for supporting the presidential campaign of Democrat Al Smith, the first Catholic to be a major party nominee.
Robert A. Taft, from Ohio, for criticizing the Nuremberg Trials for trying Nazi war criminals under ex post facto laws. Counter-criticism against Taft's statements was vital to his failure to secure the Republican nomination for president in 1948.

Recept

After its release on January 1, 1956, Profiles in Courage became a bestseller. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957, even though it was not one of the finalists forwarded to the prize board from the selection committee. Kennedy's father Joseph asked columnist Arthur Krock, his political adviser and a longtime member of the prize board, to persuade others to vote for it.[7][8]

The book returned to the bestseller lists in 1961 after Kennedy became president and again in 1963 after he was assassinated.[9]

Profiles in Courage was the basis of a television series of the same name that aired on the NBC network during the 1964–1965 television season.

In 1956, Kennedy gave a copy of the book to Richard Nixon, who responded that he was looking forward to reading it. After being defeated by Kennedy in the 1960 United States presidential election, Nixon was advised by Mamie Eisenhower to write a book himself. Nixon visited the White House in April 1961 and got the same advice from Kennedy: writing a book would raise the public image of any public man. Nixon wrote his book Six Crises (1962) in response to Profiles in Courage.[10][11][12]

Authorship[edit]

On December 7, 1957,[13] journalist Drew Pearson appeared as a guest on The Mike Wallace Interview and made the claim that "John F. Kennedy is the only man in history that I know who won a Pulitzer Prize for a book that was ghostwritten for him." Wallace replied: "You know for a fact, Drew, that the book Profiles in Courage was written for Senator Kennedy ... by someone else?" Pearson responded that he did and that Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen wrote the book. Wallace responded: "And Kennedy accepted a Pulitzer Prize for it? And he never acknowledged the fact?" Pearson replied: "No, he has not. You know, there's a little wisecrack around the Senate about Jack ... some of his colleagues say, 'Jack, I wish you had a little less profile and more courage.'"[3][8]

Joseph P. Kennedy saw the broadcast, then called his lawyer, Clark Clifford, yelling: "Sue the bastards for fifty million dollars!" Soon Clifford and Robert F. Kennedy showed up at ABC and told executives that the Kennedys would sue unless the network issued a full retraction and apology. Wallace and Pearson insisted that the story was true and refused to back off. Nevertheless, ABC made the retraction and apology, which made Wallace furious.[3][8]

According to The Straight Dope, Herbert Parmet later analyzed the text of Profiles in Courage and wrote in his book Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy (1980) that although Kennedy did oversee the production and provided for the direction and message of the book, it was Sorensen who provided most of the work that went into the end product.[14] The thematic essays that comprise the first and last chapters "may be viewed largely as [Kennedy's] own work", however.[7]:401

In addition to Kennedy's speechwriter Sorensen, Jacqueline Kennedy recruited her history instructor from Georgetown University, Jules Davids, to work on the project. Davids told a Kennedy biographer that he and Sorensen had researched and written drafts of most of the book. Kennedy's handwritten notes, which Senator Kennedy showed to reporters to prove his authorship, are now in the Kennedy Library, but are mostly preliminary notes about John Quincy Adams, a particular interest of Kennedy's, and are not a readable draft of the chapter on Adams. During the six-month period when the book was being written, Sorensen worked full-time on the project, sometimes twelve-hour days; Kennedy spent most of the same period travelling, campaigning, or hospitalized. Kennedy's preserved notes show that he kept up with the book's progress, but historian Garry Wills remarked that Kennedy's notes contain no draft of any stage of the manuscript, or of any substantial part of it.[15]

In Sorensen's 2008 autobiography, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History, he said he wrote "a first draft of most of the chapters" of Profiles in Courage and "helped choose the words of many of its sentences".[4][5] Sorensen also wrote: "While in Washington, I received from Florida almost daily instructions and requests by letter and telephone – books to send, memoranda to draft, sources to check, materials to assemble, and Dictaphone drafts or revisions of early chapters" (Sorensen, p. 146). Sorensen wrote that Kennedy "worked particularly hard and long on the first and last chapters, setting the tone and philosophy of the book". Kennedy "publicly acknowledged in his introduction to the book my extensive role in its composition" (p. 147). Sorensen claimed that in May 1957, Kennedy "unexpectedly and generously offered, and I happily accepted, a sum to be spread over several years, that I regarded as more than fair" for his work on the book. Indeed, this supported a long-standing recognition of the collaborative effort that Kennedy and Sorensen had developed since 1953.

Craig Fehrman, author of Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote, wrote in 2020 that "The book's structure, research, first draft and most of its second came from [Sorensen]". According to Fehrman, "Even the book's idea came from him (Sorenson)"; after Kennedy suggested that Sorensen write a magazine article on Adams's courage as senator for publication with Kennedy's name, Sorensen suggested to Kennedy in a letter accompanying the draft article that he ask Harper & Brothers—where Michael Temple Canfield, Jacqueline Kennedy's brother-in-law, worked—if the publisher were interested in a book on the topic. They shared in profits from all work Sorensen ghostwrote for Kennedy, as agreed when the former joined the latter's staff. Kennedy wrote the preface but did not mention Sorensen. After Sorensen returned an edited draft of the preface with a request for a mention, Kennedy added a line thanking him "for his invaluable assistance". Sorensen received a $6,000 bonus, about one third of his annual salary.[8]

After the Wallace–Pearson television appearance, Kennedy and Sorensen agreed that the rumor could ruin Kennedy's presidential plans. Sorensen swore an affidavit stating that his only role was "to assist [Kennedy] in the assembly and preparation of research and other materials upon which much of the book is based". The document said that Sorensen's work was "very generously acknowledged by the Senator in the preface", despite the credit only appearing after Sorensen asked Kennedy for it. Kennedy claimed that he had kept all of the earnings from Profiles despite the two payments to Sorensen, and that the Pulitzer was proof of his authorship. "The lies became cover for the lies", Fehrman concluded.[8]

Fehrman further claimed the senator worked harder on promoting Profiles, signing autographs and making many public appearances for the book, then he did writing it. Kennedy tried to have it published before the end of 1955 to qualify for the Pulitzer Prizes in 1956; Profiles appeared on its original date of January 2, 1956, eligible for the 1957 prizes. Although friends and family said that the Pulitzer made Kennedy happier than his World War II Purple Heart or any other award, and Kennedy told Margaret Coit in 1953 "I would rather win a Pulitzer Prize than be president", the award caused the press to investigate Profiles's authorship. In May 1957, two weeks after the award, Gilbert Seldes discussed the rumor that Kennedy had not written the book in The Village Voice. That month the Kennedys agreed to pay Sorensen more than $100,000, an amount Fehrman said was "frankly astonishing".[8]

Though Kennedy's legacy continues to take criticism for relying on Sorenson for improving Kennedy's grammar and style, and for creating the final prose of much of the volume, contemporary Kennedy scholar and foreign policy expert Professor Fredrick Logevall wrote that in several ways Kennedy may have played the more essential role in the book, noting importantly that "Kennedy made the final choices about which figures to feature in the book. And although Sorenson took the lead role in drafting the bulk of the chapters, with significant input on some of them from Professor Jules Davids and Jim Landis, the senator (Kennedy) was responsible for the book's architecture, themes, and arguments." As noted earlier, Kennedy was especially critical to the first and the last chapters, as well as a large portion of Chapter 2 on John Quincy Adams. Logevall went on to add that Sorenson, though a highly capable writer, as a political novice didn't have Kennedy's ability to reflect on the importance and place of compromise in political life, nor was he as knowledgeable about American history as Kennedy. According to Logevall, and attested to by both Jackie Kennedy, and many friends, Kennedy worked for many weeks on the book during his long and painful recovery from back surgery, noting, "often he worked while prone in bed, on heavy white paper in his loose, widely spaced hand; on better days he was propped up on the patio or the porch." Further, Kennedy played a highly active role in locating research sources, for "on an almost daily basis, Sorenson recalled, Kennedy sent him instructions about 'books to ship down, memoranda to prepare, sources to check, materials to assemble.'" Kennedy instructed Sorenson to scan more than two hundred books, journals, magazines, (and) Congressional records. Sorenson later noted, "the way Jack worked was to take all the material, mine and his, pencil it, dictate the fresh copy in his own words, pencil it again, he never used a typewriter".[16]

In response to claims by other authors such as Fehrman and Seldes that Kennedy was deceptive in claiming the book's authorship, Logevall noted "Kennedy had a bigger role in the writing, and certainly in the conception and framing of the book than many of these analysts suggested; the book's broad themes and overarching structure were his." Logevall also added that it was standard for American politicians in the mid-twentieth century, as well as later, to get significant assistance on books that appeared under their name alone. Had Kennedy denied authorship or not accepted the Pulitzer, it may have been damaging to his political career, and though much of the work of the book was indeed Sorenson's, by legal arrangement accepted by Sorenson, the authorship was indeed Kennedy's.[17][8]

According to Logevall, the book's most significant contribution was not as an in-depth history, nor was it exceptional in its literary style, of which Sorenson was likely the greatest contributor. Rather, he argues the book's value lied in its "broad interpretive claims", best told in the two chapters in which Kennedy's contribution was greatest, the first and the last. Logevall wrote that for Kennedy, the book's central theme, which he and not Sorenson selected, may have been "We can compromise our political positions, but not ourselves". Kennedy further wrote, "We can resolve the clash of interests without conceding our ideals." Logevall observed the ability to compromise while staying faithful to ideals was central to Kennedy's political aspirations.[16]No matter what you might say about how this particular book originally came about and/or who, where, etc. it came
from, I’m beginning to think that President Kennedy might have had an idea or two that was clearly ahead of his time in history that still speaks from his grave today. More on that in a minute…

First, let’s deal with Joshua and what the LORD might have been saying to him by again going back to the first chapter of the Biblical book that bears his name and see what particular nuggets we can mine there...

(Joshua Chapter 1: ; NIV) 1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’” 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

Check out what the Message Translation says about this same chapter here:

1 1-9 After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ assistant:

“Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I’m giving to the People of Israel. I’m giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It’s all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

The Taking of the Land

10-11 Then Joshua gave orders to the people’s leaders: “Go through the camp and give this order to the people: ‘Pack your bags. In three days you will cross this Jordan River to enter and take the land God, your God, is giving you to possess.’”

12-15 Then Joshua addressed the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He said, “Remember what Moses the servant of God commanded you: God, your God, gives you rest and he gives you this land. Your wives, your children, and your livestock can stay here east of the Jordan, the country Moses gave you; but you, tough soldiers all, must cross the River in battle formation, leading your brothers, helping them until God, your God, gives your brothers a place of rest just as he has done for you. They also will take possession of the land that God, your God, is giving them. Then you will be free to return to your possession, given to you by Moses the servant of God, across the Jordan to the east.”

16-18 They answered Joshua: “Everything you commanded us, we’ll do. Wherever you send us, we’ll go. We obeyed Moses to the letter; we’ll also obey you—we just pray that God, your God, will be with you as he was with Moses. Anyone who questions what you say and refuses to obey whatever you command him will be put to death. Strength! Courage!”

The Artscroll commentary on the books of Joshua and Judges in particular have these observations from the Jewish sages in regards to verses 1 and 6:

(1.) (Verse 1:) “...Servant of Ha’Shem/Moses’ attendant--The greatness of these two leaders is expressed in the titles given them in this verse. Moses was the servant--literally the slave of God. A slave is a person with no possessions, no will, no legal status, no authority of his own. He is totally subservient to his master. To an ordinary human being, “slave” is the most degraded title imaginable; to a servant of God, it is the loftiest. After Moses’ death, Scripture testifies that he had lived for only one reason: to serve God with no thought of himself. No greater complement can be given to any man.

Joshua was Moses’ attendant. He stayed at Moses’ side, as his student, disciple, and servant. He absorbed Moses’ teaching by example, as well as through discourse. His contemporaries likened Moses to the sun and Joshua to the moon...and indeed Joshua was a “reflection” of Moses’ brilliance: this was His greatness and this was why God chose him to succeed Moses. It is a tribute to Joshua’s fulfillment of his mission that at the end of his life God gave him Moses’ title...servant of HASHEM…

Malbim notes that his death is mentioned before he is given the title servant of HaShem. This is meant to imply that he continued to serve God even after his death, because he strove not merely for self-improvement, but for the perfection of his generation. The work of such a tzaddik (Eng.--”righteous one”) does not end with his death, because his accomplishments live on in his survivors and their offspring, for as long as his teachings bear fruit…”

(2.) (Verse 6--) “...Be strong and courageous….This expression appears three times (verses 6, 7, and 9) in this exhortation. God urges Joshua to be zealous in three major areas of his responsibilities: division of the Land among the tribes [because there is always contention when land is being divided (Abaranel)], uncompromising observance of the commandments and Torah study, and the conquest of the Land (Rashi).

“...The verse implies that the distribution of land is especially important because it is in fulfillment of God’s oath to the Patriarchs. According to Malbim, the exhortation to be strong flows from verse 5: Joshua is told that no one would challenge his authority--provided he exercises his leadership with strength and firmness. Weak leaders invite opposition.”

In some situations that literally at the time of this e-newsletter’s writing I’m STILL dealing with as I type this, the Lord spoke this to me after I had laid down to sleep for the night in the midst of personal attitudes that haven’t been quite pleasing about certain people and challenges I’m dealing with now. This has led me to give you an interesting diagram backed up with the two Scriptural witnesses of Numbers 30:2 and 1st Corinthians 13:5--

FEAR------------>(leads to)-------------->DESPERATION------------->

(which leads to)------------------->MANIPULATION----------->

A LACK OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN HIM AND TO RESULT THAT OUR GOD WILL NOT AND CANNOT BLESS!

He then later had me to consider what the exact opposite side of that coin might be. Here’s what (literally hot off the presses) came out of that little session:

FAITH--------------->(leads to)----------------->PATIENCE--------------->

(which leads to)------------->A PROPER UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY, FREE WILL, AND KINGDOM-LEVEL LEGAL JURISDICTION------>>>>>>>>>>>>>(which leads to)------>>>>>A SURE CONFIDENCE AND TRUST THAT HE IS MORE THAN ABLE TO DO WHAT HE SAID WHAT HE SAID TO YOU HE WOULD DO IN PROVIDING HIMSELF BY HIS OWN HAND TRUE RESULTS OUR GOD WILL DEFINITELY WITHOUT RESERVATION HONOR AND BLESS!!

(FYI, campers--I’m STILL trying to preach THAT to myself right now and have a ton to learn about that myself...join the club…)

As I said earlier, I think President Kennedy might have had a point in his overall premise of this “Profiles In Courage” thing….BUT at the same time, I might wish to add a thing or two to the concept he first proposed. One, I would like to change the title slightly to make it “Profiles In RESTRAINED Courage”. Why so? Bear with me on this---I’ll show you more on that part as we continue along the trail on this one.

Before I do that, though, let me proceed with the second major thing I’d like to change to JFK’s original “Profiles In Change” concept--the addition of several OTHER more apropos names that I feel would be just as deserving of such a title. There’s at least four more examples I’m chomping at the bit to add to this list:

(1.) Quanah Parker--The man who was raised as the son of a white captive of a Comanche Indian band might have in the way he acted in his time as the most unlikeliest to the red man to eventually have served in the role that he would do in his later life. When most of the other Indian chiefs wanted to make peace treaties with the white man, Quanah in contrast would have been what we would now in political circles would possibly call a staunch ‘war-hawk”/’neo-conservative” to the right of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. While other chiefs were going to the reservations in Oklahoma, Quanah and his war parties were making their last stands across the Texas High Plains where I now live. In such skirmishes such as the Battle of Adobe Walls and his eventual surrender in Palo Duro Canyon, Quanah and his forces gave Gen. Ranald Mackenzie and the U.S. Army fits and quite a fight for a good while in trying to preserve what was to Quanah and his band the Comanche’s true way of life at the time.

AND YET---of all people after the white man decimated the buffalo herd on the Texas plains to near extinction who had to literally swallow his pride and finally convince the last of the remaining holdouts that if they DID NOT themselves go to the reservations in Indian Territory/Oklahoma, they did not stand a chance of survival otherwise because the buffalo was basically gone and a distant memory--GUESS WHO had to be the bearer of bad news to his own Comanche brethren? It was Quanah himself who urged his people to settle down to life on the reservation and the white man’s ways. Quanah, according to historical accounts, never officially received the official title of Chief from those in power in the Comanche tribe itself--but to the white man, he was eventually honored as the “last chief of the Comanche Indians” and not only developed good relationships with the prominent ranchers of his day such as Burk Burnett of the 6666’s Ranch, but was even privileged to have personally hosted a wolf hunt with President Theodore Roosevelt. Who would have thunk that an Indian who was the baby of a captured white girl and who was an arch-conservative in his views with his brethren would have to be the one to lead his people into a brave new world of survival with the white man? It came at a high price for him and his people. But where others might despise, I look at Quanah as a figure who was when the chips were down and the only choices were either basically to change or die, he made the quality decision to lead his brethren to make the changes necessary, but in ways done with as much of a preservation of their dignity as was possible and in a way that still honored the heritage of those who preceeded them.

(FYI--The next two on my own “Restrained Courage” list are definitely World War II figures especially worth noting…)

(2.) Winston Churchill--Talk about a guy who had his struggles not only when he was growing up, but ESPECIALLY while he was in his prime...While Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of his own Conservative/”Tory” Party was heading back home proclaiming “peace in our time” after signing an agreement with Hitler, Churchill stood pretty much alone for years in the backbenches of the British Parliament shouting as loud as he could about the true two-faced monster/German Chancellor Adolf Hitler really was to the point where no one else would hear him. After the Labor Party soundly defeated the Tories and sent Chamberlain packing from #10 Downing St. once Hitler reneged on his agreement with him, Britain would soon find the Great War coming ever closer and closer to the shores of Dover and their front doorsteps. When finally Churchill was asked to eventually assume the post of Prime Minister himself, it was to the point once the Germans started bombing London itself where it would have only been right for Churchill to have to tell the British people himself--”I told you so…”. Instead, he found the will and way to inspire the British people to rise up to the German threat (even if necessary alone against the rest of the world) and fight it with all their might and work to insure that “this would be Britain’s finest hour”. After the war, he would be forced to step down from the Prime Ministership after his party’s defeat--and later again reassume it with much more disastrous results for other situations that came his way later. But even now, Churchill is still best highly regarded for his personal conduct and courage in the midst of a United Kingdom on the brink of destruction and takeover by a maniacal world dictator.

(3.) Dietrich Bonhoffer--Speaking of World War II, Bonhoffer didn’t necessarily start off with lofty goals. One on the surface wouldn’t understand how this child of privilege would impact all of Christianity many years after his most horrible death. When his own Lutheran church was acting in that era the way churches here in the States have done in shutting down and/or acting differently during COVID in the past couple of years, Bonhoffer would eventually be known for resisting the tide of Hitler’s Nazi fascism that was sweeping his homeland in the years preceding WWII. When he tried to take refuge in the States for a while to continue his theological studies, he eventually found himself going back to his increasingly repressive homeland to remain faithful to the God and Christ he knew when others in the German church capitulated to the Nazis and their ways for the sake of “public safety and law and order”. As others celebrated the sending of Jews to the extermination camps, Bonhoffer and others dissented by secretly supporting his cause. And with hopes that he would soon be married to his fiance and be once again free from prison, he was nevertheless executed just a mere two weeks before the Allies would take the concentration camp he was hung at for his own role in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler himself. But even though Bonhoffer was martyred for his real faith, he left behind a book called “The Cost of Discipleship” that is now a classic work in Evangelical Christian circles. In the midst of massive changes around him, Bonhoffer attempted with all his might to truly contend for the TRUE faith once delivered to the saints and urge people to stand up and rise against those who would either compromise it and/or stand in the way of it.

(4.) MLK, Jr.--Dr. King really had a time in getting the civil rights movement going in the midst of racial segregation in the South. He faced many setbacks and even faced controversy from his own brethren who didn’t quite understand his methods of “nonviolent confrontation” that he learned from Gandhi. When local and state law enforcement officials, ordinary citizens, and even members of the Ku Klux Klan committed atrocious attacks from his followers, the temptation of those followers was great to retaliate with violence in term. But Dr. King refused to allow himself or those under him to exercise that option--and instead chose to rely on more God-honoring methods meant to rouse the true conscience of a nation about the injustices of his African-American brethren. After the sad incident on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, AL, a lot of ministers from the Northern states decided to come down South in an attempt to support the cause--but weren’t as prepared as King was for the perils and dangers awaiting them in resisting the status quo of the segregated South at the time. Most were only prepared to be there for one day--enough for what they thought might be a quick march that would be a cakewalk. But when things didn’t turn out in exactly the way they hoped, they were at a loss for understanding Dr. King’s methods. But Dr. King had to play a long game of chess towards the goals he was seeking and couldn’t exactly reveal all the cards he had in his hand at the time--or the reasons why he had to do the things he did. To those supporters--about the best he could do was to simply ask them--”Could you not stay for just one more day?” When you are up against a state governor literally opposing you and a federal government not seeming to care and also attempting to look out for the safety and wellbeing for those laying themselves down for your cause, it might be mighty hard to have to exercise true restraint to play a game of chess when others are only at best prepared to play a game of checkers indeed.

So why would I make these four my initial Hall of Fame class of “Profiles Of Restrained Courage”? Go back and read Joshua chapter 1 again for a minute. Then let’s attempt to define the term “restrained courage” for ourselves. First, when most people think of major figures they would consider “courageous”--they usually think of folks that attempt deeds of daring-do and who basically laugh in the face of danger. In other words, when most people are running from fires, some actually would prefer to run TO THEM! If you, though, really wanted to think about what courage might truly be, you might be partially be right--but at best, you’re nowhere near home just yet either.

As a result of more recent personal experiences, I have actually become convinced and led by Him to actually believe of what I think is a TRUE GENUINE definition of “restrained courage”--that it takes just as much “courage” to restrain yourself from doing things that might seem good...BUT are NOT His absolute best as it does to pull a victim out of a burning building or saving a damsel in distress from an evil villain. Just because an option seems like your last and best hope at the time for the situation doesn’t always mean you should go out and necessarily do it.

In my eyes now, it seems instead to both me and the Holy Spirit/Ruach Ha’Kodesh to call the coin toss this way. Again, if you notice our Lord’s admonishments to Joshua, you’ll find several things most prevalent here about this thing I prefer to term “restrained courage”:

(1.) You must FIRST attempt to LISTEN to His Voice and hear for yourself what He’s saying to you (not ONLY through His Word, but also through His Spirit, and/or other means He may decide to use to talk to you about some matter).

(2.) You also probably might need to do what my granddad would probably tell me to do--”Son, use your horsesense!” In otherwords, THINK AND PLAN BEFORE YOU ACT! Don’t be so hasty in doing things because of the seeming urgency of the situation! Take the time to seek HIS wisdom and to discern what HIS strategies might be on the matter at hand.

(3.) My granddad would also add to this--”Son, you need to act calm, cool, and businesslike..” Don’t go into things half-cocked and loaded with a bunch of fear and worry. Take the time to FIRST attempt to see the forest for the trees and get a better grasp of the overall situation. Trust me--contrary to what you otherwise might think, you DO NOT have full knowledge of the entire situation at hand. Stop first for a minute and try to see everything that’s going on a little clearer before you start aiming and shooting.

(4.) This is especially where I’m so glad that one of my personal hobbies is chess. A great advantage of playing this particular game is learning how to best analyze the overall situation, plan and consider all possible alternatives and options available, and to prepare appropriately otherwise should adjustments to your original strategies be necessary. Also learning to how to take advantage of possible opportunities and timing that might turn towards your favor as they occur is essential to be successful in playing the game as well.

(5.) THEN ONLY AFTER you’ve been able to get a reasonably clear head over the situation at hand and have been able to find a strategy from Him that could work--”restrained courage” THEN demands that you go out and do it with all the gusto you can muster and leave the final results to the very One who told you to go out and get ‘er done in the first place.

ALL OF THIS LEADS TO ONE FINAL ULTIMATE “PROFILE IN RESTRAINED COURAGE”---

(5.) OUR SAVIOR HIMSELF--If you look through the Gospel accounts, you’ll notice one interesting thing among many to note...that there were just as many times Jesus/Y’shua actually RESTRAINED Himself from doing something and/or kept His mouth shut for one reason or another. The very day He died, the very fact that he RESTRAINED Himself from calling all of the possible resources of heaven and earth itself from saving Him from a death on a cruel Roman cross and had the TRUE COURAGE to endure such a horrific fate SO THAT WE could be free from sin and the many other myraid of things that so easily entangle us--IF THAT AIN’T A TRUE PROFILE IN RESTRAINED COURAGE, I DON’T KNOW WHAT ONE IS!!

All of this leads to a few things we should (especially in the aftermath of COVID and other situations nationally, internationally, and also close to home) consider during this upcoming Fall Festival season.

(1.) It takes RESTRAINED COURAGE to turn from the things of this world and renounce the things that entangle us that we should instead put on the heads and back of the Yom Kippur scapegoats we need to push off the cliff to their death, leave them behind, and let the past be the past and be done with it.

(2.) It takes RESTRAINED COURAGE to step out and try new things that have either eluded us for so long and/or have been afraid to try in the first place. Part of this restrained courage involves the faith necessary to literally take Him at His word and trust that He will still have our backs when the chips are down for the rest of us.

(3.) It ALSO EQUALLY takes RESTRAINED COURAGE to know, as Keith Moore would say, the difference between faith and presumption--and to know when His anointing is truly involved in a particular situation and also just as much to discern when it’s not and when it’s only you with a bright idea that will quickly fall on your face and cause Ha’Satan to make sport of you at your expense.

(4.) It takes RESTRAINED COURAGE to not let external pressures or even time pressure keep you from properly analyzing a situation, choosing what battles should be fought and which ones should be avoided at all costs, and then seeking Him for a God-breathed and ordained Divine strategy that will insure His Divine favor and success over the situation at hand.

(5.) It takes RESTRAINED COURAGE to avoid getting desired results by inappropriate manipulation or other conduct not necessarily pleasing to Him and to instead respect and understand Kingdom-based authority, personal free will, and legal jurisdiction so that our God has all the room He needs to speak and advocate to others He may wish to come alongside you to help you with what He wants you to accomplish.

(6.) And finally, it takes RESTRAINED COURAGE to once you have that Divinely-ordained strategy that He has given to you to simply go out and implement it and not look back once you’ve done it.

There could be other folks I could add to this particular profiles list--but I think that’s enough to illustrate what I’m trying to say for now. As we closely consider the upcoming Fall Holy Days ahead, let’s turn this into a sort of three-step process that reflects the unique nature of each particular Holy Day:

(1.) Trumpets/Rosh Ha’Shanah--We first use RESTRAINED COURAGE to ask Him where we have gone wrong, consider our past ways, and seek Him for the appropriate strategies on how to exactly do that.

(2.) Atonement/Yom Kippur--We then use RESTRAINED COURAGE to turn such strategies and personal commitments into appropriate and suitable God-honoring actions that respect the dignity of others, but yet also preaches NOT JUST IN WORDS, BUT BY OUR LOUDLY SHOUTING ACTIONS the deep cleansing Gospel and Good News of His grace and mercy that truly (as Psalm 136 reveals) endures forever.

(3.) Sukkot/Tabernacles--We then finally use RESTRAINED COURAGE once we have undertaken the appropriate actions necessary to celebrate the hard work already done by us and by Him that is now in the rearview mirror and leave the final results to Him (which by faith we then believe that He will soon afterwards give us astounding miraculous results that will be beyond what we might ask, think, say, or do).

So, neighbor...my good friend, there---what’s it gonna be? Do you have the restrained courage necessary to get the job done? Are you willing to put that restrained courage to work in your life this upcoming Holy Day season? Our God said to Joshua, “COURAGE!! STRENGTH!!” The children of Israel responded to Joshua, “COURAGE!! STRENGTH!!” So are you a man or a mouse? A stout-hearted man or woman--or a scared coward? Will you DARE TO BELIEVE that He WILL do what He said He would do for you? Here’s what I’m believing for you as well as myself right now--”RESTRAINED COURAGE!! RESTRAINED STRENGTH!! AND DIVINELY-ORDAINED GOOD THINGS AS A RESULT!” May you see this more and more in your life as you continue to await His most glorious return…

Believing Him alongside with you for that RESTRAINED COURAGE AND STRENGTH that comes from the very Matchless Name who IS SALVATION HIMSELF--Jesus/Y’shua--

All the best during this upcoming Fall Holy Day season,

Coy Reece Holley

CoyRH/SEATC Clerical Services

Broken and Shattered Promises Ministries

Broken and Shattered Promises Online Publishing

http://coyrhseatcbspm.wixsite.com/walking