Remember Eternity

By J. E. Starks-Brown

Remember Eternity is a fictional account of an extended family living in the city of Des Moines, Iowa, in present-day setting. It is a story of sensitive relationships formed through hardship and trials ultimately resolved through spiritual principles and ideals. It is intended to uplift and inspire the reader to acknowledge God in all situations, great and small.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524660321

J. E. Starks-Brown

Judith Brown is a retired mother of five daughters and grandmother of five. I was born and raised in the bible belt city of Indianapolis, Indiana and hope to reach others through my work inspired by my real life experiences. Remember Eternity is my first publication and I realized my passion for the written word at age 14 and hope to be an inspiration to many.

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© 2017 J.E. Starks-Brown. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/18/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6033-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6032-1 (e)

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.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 February 8, Sunday

Chapter 2 Tuesday, February 10

Chapter 3 February 13, Friday

Chapter 4 March 11, Wednesday

Chapter 5 March 16, Monday

Chapter 6 March 23, Monday

Chapter 7 March 26, Thursday

Chapter 8 April 1, Wednesday

Chapter 9 April 5, Sunday

Chapter 10 April 10, Friday

Chapter 11 Monday, April 13

Chapter 12 April 16, Thursday

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To my brother Norman who faithfully took the time to read and encouraged me to continue in that which was given to me by the Author and Finisher of our faith. For this, I simply say Thank-you.

INTRODUCTION

Remember Eternity, as its title suggests, is a reminder to us all that there is a life beyond this present one in which we now live. It is a fictional look into the lives of a group of not so ordinary Spirit filled people in the process of making preparations for eternity. Set in the city of Des Moines, Iowa in present day, the intention of "Remember Eternity is to cause the reader to get beyond what we see with our natural or carnal minds and to become focused on the spiritual and on that which is eternal.

The story line revolves around the day to day challenges in the family of Frances Michaels, her son Paul and three daughters, Irene, Christine, and Donna; their spouses Jane, Douglas James and Randy, respectively. As the mother of four and grandmother of forty-one, Frances is looked upon as a matriarchal symbol of God given wisdom coupled with rich experiences. She is ever nurturing, advising and whether solicited or no, her words are lovingly and at times reluctantly accepted.

Paul, the stern and serious high school principal, Douglas the prosperous insurance executive and minister, James the successful architect and Randy the transit coach operator, all come together to create a scenario of events and situations. As Paul, Christine and their spouses face the challenges of their interracial marriages they ultimately become stronger in their faith in God. He becomes their battle axe and strength in adversity when other extended family members come into play. Sensitive issues arise but are successfully overcome on a spiritual level, which is the basic foundation and theme of Remember Eternity. It is intended to utilize and introduce a spiritual perspective in an increasingly Anti-Christ society and although unpopular and often tedious, doing it God’s way insures victory.

Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38 KJV).

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4,v 16, 17 (KJV)…

FOREWORD

In these perilous and uncertain times, there remains one undeniable fact that we all must face and that is Eternity. As we live our everyday lives, year in and year out, we are ever moving closer to the era where time will be an extinct entity. In our human natures, we tend to view Eternity as a fact that is eons away or something to be dealt with after we tend to our own temporal agendas.

The Word of God leaves no doubt about the two eternal destinations that we have the options to choose from. Eternal reward in Heaven or eternal damnation in Hell leaves no choice to the reasonable mind and this being said, it only makes sense to Remember Eternity.

In this society, we are bombarded with countless winds of doctrine that have forms of godliness while denying the power thereof which is a danger to the eternal soul. Ephesians 4:5 (KJV) plainly states that there is One Lord, one faith, one baptism. This one Lord, Jesus Christ, commanded us in St. Matthew 28:19 to be baptized in the name of the Father (Jesus), the name of the Son (Jesus) and the name of the Holy Ghost (Jesus), not His titles. This was confirmed through the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38), when three thousand souls were added on the Birth Day of the Church. The ingredients of genuine godly sorrow or repentance from sin, water baptism in the name of Jesus for the remission or removal of sin, coupled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The undeniable evidence of this second birth experience is the speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance. There is no substitute for this awesome encounter with God that empowers the born again believer to overcome the sinful Adamic nature that we are all enter into this world with. It is not to be scoffed at or minimized by those who would downplay its significance or importance.

Remember Eternity opens with eighteen year old Janice Scott who impulsively leaves her home in Washington D.C. to join her cousins in Des Moines Iowa. While harboring a secret, she develops new relationships and begins to encounter situations that ultimately transform her from an angry and cynical teen-ager into a new creature in God. As one life touches another, circumstances evolve into a myriad of events that in time give God the glory for His wonderful works to the children of men.

Janice discovers the power of Agape’ love through those that are Spirit filled while enduring several life changing hardships that forever change her perspective on life. Through these adversities, she begins to experience a father-daughter relationship that she was deprived of during her unstable childhood and this in turn enriches her spirit in a way that had been before unimaginable. Because of the God given wisdom and compassion of her surrogate father Douglas, she learns how to depend on the God of her salvation as she simultaneously begins to give of herself to others.

Remember Eternity is an intimate look into a family’s struggles, victories, trials and tribulations of the righteous which are all a part of the sanctified set apart life that God is calling for in these troubling and stressful times.

CHAPTER 1

FEBRUARY 8, SUNDAY

Is this James?

You got it, who is this?

This is Janice Scott, another cousin from D.C. and I need for you to come pick me up at the airport.

Janice Scott?

"Yeah, didn’t ’Nita tell you that I was comin’?

I don’t know anything about this.

She must not have believed me when I told her that I was runnin’ away from home. She dared me to do this but she should know better by now.

C’mon James, we have to go and get her! ’Nita yelled down the steps after overhearing the conversation.

Hold up ’Nita, I can’t do anything ’til I run this by Chris first.

Run what by me, what’s goin’ on? Chris asked from the kitchen.

Janice just got here from Washington and she’s at the airport. ’Nita began. I dared her to do it but she’s here and she needs for us to come and get her. She explained, trying to keep a straight face.

How long is she plannin’ to stay?

Until she leaves. You don’t understand, this is not a visit, this is a move. ’Nita told him. And you can’t let me stay in that big bedroom by myself so you might as well give in and let it happen.

I’m leavin’ this up to you honey, it doesn’t really matter to me. James told her after a moment.

Just go and get her and we’ll talk about it when you get back. Chris reluctantly conceded. But she needs to know that she might be doin’ some babysittin’ around here ’til she finds a job.

I knew you’d see it my way and don’t be such a worrywart, this’ll be a good thing. ’Nita said as she got her coat from the front closet. This house is big enough for one more so we’ll just be one big happy family.

’Nita how do you do this kind of stuff, this takes a lot of guts. James remarked half an hour later as they walked from the parking lot to the terminal.

Don’t you know by now that if your name is Scott, things like this come naturally? If you need to get somethin’ done, you just do it without thinkin’ about it too much because if you do, you’ll lose your nerve. Right? Right.

What’s your uncle gonna say?

He can’t say too much, she’s old enough to do what she wants. She came back. Her eighteenth birthday was last week so she’s just exercisin’ her rights.

So her and Sheila are a year apart.

Exactly and I talked to her last Sunday and she said she was grown now and she wanted to prove it. So I dared her to run away from home and fly here without tellin’ anybody what she was doin’ but I didn’t think she would really do it. She added, starting to laugh. I love it.

What took you so long, I was about to call again to find out what happened. Janice said five minutes later as she approached them. Hey you really are a white boy ain’t you? She asked James.

He used to be.

How come Chris didn’t come, was she mad?

She wasn’t mad but she said she would have more help around the house.

How many kids do you have and how old are they? Janice asked cautiously. The last I heard Chris had a set of twins but that was four or five years ago.

That was three babies ago, it’s a total of seven of ’em but they know how to behave so don’t have a stroke. ’Nita said. They’re in Sunday school every week so don’t start trippin.’

Yeah that’s another thing, I heard that everybody here goes to church eight days a week. What’s up with that?

Who told you that? James asked her.

I just heard some stuff through the grapevine so I’m not givin’ away my sources but let me make this one thing clear. She said pausing. I’ll babysit your kids but ain’t nobody gonna get me in church like that. She added defensively.

Chill out Janice, it’s not that deep. ’Nita told her as they approached the van. But if you have a problem with stuff like that you need to stay away from Douglas cause he’ll tell you like it is and keep on truckin.

Wait a minute, who is Douglas? Janice asked with disgust.

Irene’s husband so you have to run into him eventually.

So what makes him think that he can be preachin’ to folks that he doesn’t even know? She asked, raising her voice. I know already that I can’t deal with him, we gonna have some problems. She added. And when I do see him, I’ll just tell him from the start to stay out of my kool-aid.

He won’t bring it up unless you do. James told her as he put her luggage in the back.

What-ever. She said. Anyway am I gonna be sleepin’ in the same room with a bunch of babies? Tell me now so I’ll know what to expect. She said, purposely changing the subject.

Nope this is the house that James and his sisters grew up in so it was built a thousand years ago when the bedrooms were the size of the Grand Canyon. ’Nita told her.

What happened, did you inherit it or somethin’?

My mother put it up for sale when my father died and I bought it.

Just had to keep it in the family huh?

Somethin’ like that.

So what kind of job can I find around here really quick?

You probably need to talk to Ruth or Sheila, both of them have good jobs and they can probably hook you up really quick. ’Nita answered her.

I’ll do anything except flip burgers, I’m better than that. And I need to talk to ’em tonight, asap.

They live with Aunt Frances and they’re probably at church. I’ll text Ruth and let them know that you’re here.

Don’t you think they’re wonderin’ where you are Janice? Chris asked her an hour later at the kitchen table.

I’m about to take care of that Chris, don’t hyperventilate. She answered irritably. She said, getting her phone from her purse. And maybe I should let ’em sweat for a minute. She added, laughing a little.

Don’t you think they’re worried about you honey? They’re gonna start to think somethin’ happened to you and that’s not a good feelin’.

Somethin’ did happen to me; I turned eighteen and it shouldn’t matter to them what I do or don’t do anymore. But since you’re lettin’ me stay on such short notice, I’ll call ’em so you won’t be trippin.’ Where’s your phone, mine just died."

There’s one upstairs if you want some privacy. James said, trying not to laugh.

I hope they’re not there so I can just leave ’em a voicemail. I’m makin’ it, don’t worry about me, end of story.

CHAPTER 2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10

You know that I’m gonna have to dip into your business don’t you? Janice asked Tuesday night at the dinner table with Douglas and Irene.

Why is that?

I just need to know how you can have a place like this with a stay at home wife and six kids. People just don’t do that anymore so you must be doin’ somethin’ illegal.

If you have your priorities in the right place then the rest of it takes care of itself.

It has to be more than that; what do you do, insurance? Janice persisted.

Somebody’s been talkin’ to you, I can tell.

And you know it because if I’m gonna be livin’ here for awhile I need to know who I’m dealin’ with. She answered. And so far, I think I know enough about Chris and James to get by so now it’s your turn.

She told me how you left home without tellin’ anybody that you were leavin. Irene remarked.

It’s called doin’ what you have to do and they know where I am now so that’s all I’m sayin’ about that. She said after a moment. "But I do need you to hook me up with a job and