Christians in Action

By Dorothy Vogel

Christians in Action shows what it was like growing up in a Christian home. How it prepares you to have knowledge of Christ as your Rock, your Sword, and your Shield. It shows how living in the end times, we need to get back to Jesus Christ as a nation now more than ever. It expounds on the fact that truth comes from the Word of God. Also on how we need to tell others more about Jesus Christ. Each one of us can be a soldier of the cross.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098037642

Book preview

Chapter 1

Immersed in Time

Shadows were being casted on the wall as the late evening sun was rapidly descending. What a warm familiar feeling. Only this was a day when everything this child ever knew was being torn apart.

The room was the same old room, not fancy at all, but the best place in the world to be. The chairs were all in their usual places. The windows looked the same. But absolute terror struck my heart. A little person, so small, yet no one could possibly know the fear that I felt inside. I knew that my world had just been destroyed. What I didn’t know was that I was being thrusted into the worst existence possible.

I could see another soldier breaking through the front door. I had heard gunfire all around the house. I knew they were all dead. My fear was overwhelming.

My home had been destroyed, my family, the ones I loved and depended on. But I couldn’t fully comprehend the situation or do anything about it. I was at the mercy of a strange and brutal people.

I stayed curled up, as if I were frozen, behind the overstuffed chair for a very long time. I knew they were all dead and I couldn’t bear to look. The soldiers returned to the house later in the evening and carried me to a huge building where people were being herded into groups. Surely, this could not take place in our country…

This is the earliest recollection that I have of my childhood. I could only have been three or four years old. I was frightened by this dream, and I have remembered it vividly over the years.

I know that we heard reports of the war on the radio, so that is probably the reason I had this dream. But it did seem very real, and I can still remember the feeling of panic I had when I woke up.

This was in the 1940s. It took place in our house on Tucker Street.

Chapter 2

Bygone Days

Tucker Street was an adventure in itself. With two sisters and a brother, life was full. The summer days seemed to last forever. The crickets chirping and all the sounds of summer carried us along as if there would be no end to the happiness. The rains came and the sound of it lingered for hours. The clean smell of the air, refreshing and lifting spirits like a new lease on life.

Through our eyes, Riverside in New Bern was a whole world in itself. A small world which carried the day-to-day experiences of ordinary life. The summers were slow hot days of which were flowers, bare feet, popsicles, getting wet with the garden hose, and finding shady spots to cool off. Walking down our street, which led to the railroad tracks, was a true feeling of home. Beautiful hardwood trees lined the streets. The homes were freshly painted, showing that they were cared for. The neighbors all knew each other and shared time with you when they could. This was our ordinary and simple beginnings, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

My early years of existence on this earth are still vivid in my mind and close to my heart. All the events that took place are important to me. They helped to build my world in this Southern land of the good ole US of A.

Chapter 3

Where the Twain Meet

New Bern is located at the mouth of the Trent River where it empties into the Neuse. The Neuse River is a mile wide with Bridgeton located across the river toward the east. There is a park right on the point of land where the two rivers join. It is very peaceful walking along the waterfront. It continues on down East Front Street where there are attractive historic homes.

The town has many old buildings that are used for various shops, anything, from clothing to drug stores. Many of the stores have changed since I was young, but the flavor of the Old South is still embedded in the buildings. They give one a feeling of being welcomed as an individual, to trade with each merchant. Not the feeling of automation which comes with the malls. It is more a feeling of a down-home, close-knit community atmosphere, where people still care about each other.

The main street that runs through the town to the west side is Neuse Boulevard. It used to be a two-lane street lined with elegant oak trees. They were cut down for progress at a time when the need for a four-lane street was the priority. It made me feel as if a part of my heart had been ripped away.

As one heads north in the town, there is the section of Riverside where I grew up. The main street in this section still has a