Mr. Somebody

By Dr. John Nordman

I believe that I have a lot to provide to the minds and hearts of my readers. I believe in this book I have put my heart, my tears, and my hope for those who need help. So many want to know how to love again, forgive completely, and understand their place in life. That is what I have tried to do in poetry. I have tried show that we have a God that is always there and he has given us a life worth living and a future that we can count on. Here you will find Jesus Christ and his reaching out to us all. Here is my life on paper as a gift, hoping that it will find a place in the hearts of all who will open the pages and find rest herein.

"I love John Nordman and I love poetry. The two together are the reasons that I enjoy this book. The pages enclosed will challenge thought, inspire loyalty, and bring multiple smiles." - Dr. J. Wilkerson, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Hammond.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jun 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543400922

Dr. John Nordman

Dr. Nordman and his dear wife of fifty years have enjoyed a life time of contentment and friendship. As a Baptist Pastor his weekly dealing with marriages and teenagers has given him a keen insight into what is needed to be a family of joy and peace.

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Copyright © 2017 by Dr. John Nordman.

ISBN:                Softcover                     978-1-5434-0093-9

                          eBook                      978-1-5434-0092-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scriptures are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2017. www.kingjamesbibleonline.org.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/15/2017

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

762294

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Preface

1.   I Am Somebody

2.   She Came From Down Under

3.   I Do Not Understand

4.   My Preacher

5.   The Prodigal Son Will Come Home

6.   My Smile

7.   The Revelation

8.   The Purple Lighthouse On The Hill

9.   Days Of Old – For Me Too?

10.   Retreat Is Not An Option

11.   Will You Remember Me

12.   I Want His Peace

13.   Get Out Of My Way

14.   Just One Request

15.   Giving

16.   When They Have Gone

17.   You Cannot Get Away From Mothers Prayers

18.   My Surrender

19.   Hell

20.   Getting Up

21.   Me Coffee

22.   It Was Time

23.   I Watched

24.   Tithe

25.   Ringers Coming Home

26.   Augh, To Close The Page On Another Day

27.   Mummy

28.   Gum Is Dangerous

29.   Heaven

30.   When It’s Time

31.   Is All Well?

32.   Is There A God?

33.   Like I Should

34.   Depression Is Real

35.   I’m Ready

36.   Marriage

37.   Pressing On

38.   Learn To Lean

39.   Moses

40.   Giants Walk Among Us

41.   Just Decide

42.   What About

43.   Sold Out

44.   Mum

45.   Dear Lord It’s Me

46.   Do You Know Me?

47.   The Unknown

48.   The Night Was Black

49.   I Have Somewhat Against You

50.   When Nothing Seems To Help

51.   I Want

52.   They Stood

53.   I Am Not Much But I Try Real Hard

54.   Bad Day

55.   You Can’t Fool Nature

56.   You Can’t Fool God

57.   I’m Glad I Am Me

58.   Lucifer

59.   The Potter And The Clay

60.   I Wish He Was Here

61.   Worry

62.   When The Storms Come

63.   All Hands On Board

64.   Following Instructions

65.   I Corrected My Child Today

66.   Marriage

67.   I Love My Children

68.   Rules Rules Rules

69.   Getting Married

70.   They Are Different

71.   I Thought About Dying Today

72.   Devotions

73.   Grace

74.   I’m Lost

75.   When We Pray

76.   The Modern Day Circuit Rider

77.   Oh-Ist Me

78.   Oops

79.   Teachers Prayer

80.   Standing Alone Is Okay

81.   Make A Choice

82.   Selfishness

83.   Darrell Moore

84.   Once You Know

85.   There Is No Doubt

86.   Coastline Baptist Church

87.   Devil, You Have A Battle On Your Hands

88.   Ole’ Retro

89.   Here I Am

90.   I Went To The Doctor Today

91.   Does It Really Matter?

92.   What Would You Do With Fear?

93.   Why Can’t We See Beyond Our Presence?

94.   I Expect

95.   Do You Get Tired?

96.   This Is Strange

97.   There Is No Excuse To Retreat

98.   To Refuse A Command Is Treason

99.   Time Is Very Deceptive

100.   God And I

101.   Lest We Forget

102.   Mummy Why?

103.   There Must Be Something Else

104.   I Decided

105.   Satan’s Preachers

106.   Finally

107.   Coming Through

108.   It Does Happen

109.   Wisdom Is Real

110.   Real Wishing Well

111.   I Ask

112.   My Poor Brother

113.   The Ground Is Level

114.   Now I Love Too Dream

115.   I Sat Outside

116.   Do You Understand

117.   Tempted

118.   He’s Inside

119.   Who Has Seen The Wind?

120.   I Cannot

121.   I Like To Go To Church

122.   The Exception To The Rule

123.   Yea Lord

124.   We

125.   Tongue

126.   Why?

127.   Our Great Enemy

128.   The Old Devil

129.   Galatians

130.   Dry My Tears

131.   Lord I Need You

132.   Love Decides

133.   The Wind

134.   Have We Forgotten

135.   Words That We Abuse

136.   Do You Ever

137.   Face To Face With Self

138.   Satan

139.   Deception

140.   Make Me As One Of Them

141.   It Is Time

142.   I Was Saved To Fight

143.   Do It My Way

144.   Philemon

145.   Life’s Invitation

146.   Are You Going Some Where?

147.   She Left Big Shoes To Fill

148.   Prepared For Battle

149.   I Love My Child

150.   Soldier Came Home

151.   My Castle

152.   Sam Was A Rough Old Boy

153.   Please Be Careful

154.   When Do You Give Up?

155.   I Watched You – Thank You

156.   He Changed Australia

157.   Hebrews

158.   Friends

159.   (For If A Man Know Not How To Rule His Own House, How Shall He Take Care Of The Church Of God?) I Timothy 3:5

160.   The Cottage Prayer Meeting

161.   Jude

162.   Punching Holes In The Dark

163.   Maddie

164.   Education

165.   So Many Just Walk Away

166.   My God Did All Of This

167.   I Broke Inside Today

168.   Building My Mansion

169.   Father’s Day

170.   Mother’s Day

171.   Faithfulness In The Little Things

172.   The World Is Creeping In.

173.   How Far Do You Stand From Jesus?

174.   No One Knows Who Won

175.   Your Life

176.   Jeannie

177.   Please Take Care Of Her

178.   I Surrender

179.   The Exodus

180.   At The End Of The Rainbow

181.   The Acts

182.   Proverbs

183.   When The Devil Comes

184.   He’s On His Way

185.   A Promise

186.   You Never Know

187.   What A Chid Lives With

188.   Will Our Children Stay?

189.   I Want To Make Them Proud

190.   We Taught Her To Walk And Then… .

191.   The Rain And The Cloud

192.   Daddy’s Shoes

193.   What Beauty

194.   Cottonwood Snow

195.   Mr Time

196.   My Life Should Be His

197.   He Walked On

198.   What Is Happening Today God Knows About

199.   Andy

200.   He Gets Up

201.   He’s A Missionary

202.   God’s Heroes Are Unknown Down Here

203.   I Remember

204.   Throwaway

205.   Why?

206.   I Didn’t Know Him

207.   The Right

208.   Her Hands

209.   He Is My Friend

210.   Judgment Is Here!

To My daughters

Tracey and Leah

My inspirations in life

FOREWORD

It has been my privilege to know Dr. Nordman for over twenty years. As our friendship has grown I have come to realize the uniqueness of this man. John has been molded by God for a unique work. His training in the military and his keen intellect have prepared him to lead men. His Bible college years prepared him to serve men as a pastor and train them for the work of the ministry. His struggle with years of declining health have prepared his heart making him more sensitive and compassionate. These various facets of John Nordmans life can be seen through his writings compiled in Mr. Somebody. In this writing John speaks through his heart as a man burdened for his world with so precious little time left to discharge his great responsibility. The Prodigal Son Will Come Home bears a message of hope for those who are broken and defeated. Retreat Is Not an Option will challenge you when you feel like quitting and encourage you when you don’t know where to turn."

If you listen carefully as you read Mr. Somebody you will hear the heartbeat of a man greatly burdened for his generation. You will sense his great love and compassion for a lost world and you may even notice a strange moving in your heart compelling you to allow God’ love to flow through you to a hurting needy world.

Dr. Mike Cox

INTRODUCTION

Why should I read a book entitled ‘Mr. Somebody’? you might ask. My answer would be simple: Because the author is ‘Somebody’! He is somebody who has lived on this earth for a significant period of time. During that time, he has served his country, served his generation, served his God, and not himself. Therefore, the author is not as selfish as a cursory view of the title may suggest. He is to the contrary an unselfish, giving person who wishes to give to others some of what he has learned in his life of service to mankind.

This book will help to influence your perspective of life. It is filled with philosophy, truth, and values that will help anyone who reads it honestly to grow. How should you read this book? Read it in daily segments, or all at once. If you choose the latter method, I can almost guaranty you that you will then want to follow the former method in order to benefit many times from what you will find in its pages.

What you will find is truth! The truth will be wrapped in simplicity – the simplicity of one who has learned to glean lessons from his life experiences and pass them on to others. You will also find sincerity – sincerity from a man who simply wants to help the current and following generations gain the most out of life and eternity. You will also find integrity – a refreshing honesty coming from a man who rings true- he simply is who and what he appears to be!

I hope that you will not only read the book, but will share it with others. My copy will be found with turned down corners of pages, smudges on pages, under linings, and markings. I will use it as one of several textbooks for living in this increasingly difficult world. I may not part with my copy, but I will help those I care about obtain their own copy and encourage them to do with their copy what I have done with mine.

HAPPY READING!

Dr. Darrell Moore

PREFACE

Memories of a life time

In writing this second book of poetry I find my mind traveling around the world in the life that I have led. As a young boy living in the deserts of New Mexico I learned about nature; I learned respect for the animals that we lived alongside of. Each day the friendship was renewed with the rattlesnakes and prairie dogs. The drama of twisters and sand storms. It was a life few get to enjoy. From this wonderland that God made to the land of California. What a time to live there. We lived just outside of Palm Springs in a small forgotten place called Banning and Beaumont. It was there that I learnt how to get along with people and the awfulness of race wars and drugs. It was also the time to learn understanding of the world around us; it’s beauty, it’s hard time and its good times. It was here in California that I joined the United States Navy. One of the best days of my life. I loved being in the Navy. I met great men and had great adventure. In my twenty-two years I knew the joys of peace and the terrors of war. I got a close up of understanding death, pain, confusion, regret and thankfulness. I became familiar with the stink of dead bodies, and deranged necessity of war and the loss of friends in the jungles of Viet Nam. It was during these years I met Jesus Christ and accepted Him as my Saviour. And my life took a different direction. My eyes saw things differently and my hearing heard what was not being said. God called me into His service and off to Australia to start a church. My life when I look back has been good and bad; wonderful and terrible, but most of all here now that I am coming to the end, it is peaceful.

This book, Mr. Somebody and my previous book on poetry, Mr. Nobody have taken all that I have remembered; all I have dreamed; and all I have prayed for and put it in writing. Forgive me for the bad time and thank you for letting me share the good times.

John

I Am Somebody

I am somebody because, I have decided to be

A person that counts for something, that’s me

I am not going to live a life, with purpose not there

I want to be someone, that lives to love and care

So many lives aimless, sad, and just happen to be

Want to live a life that counts, something that’s me

I want to be happy, and a wife that will always be there

I want children to love, watch over, to feed, and to care

I want to be somebody who somebody who wants to be

To be a man with a woman that stands straight, that’s me

I want to be strong and when help is needed to be there

A person of strength, understanding that truly does care

Yes, that is what we all need to work and strive to be

I want to end my life satisfied, and very proud of me

My friend and family to know, I would