Author: Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

A writer most of my life. A retired purchasing manager that has worked in sales, management, food service, pet supplies, manufacturing, and many other areas. A born-again believer in The Lord Jesus Christ who attempts to be more like Him every day. Fiction selections are bylined Chuck and non-fiction bears my given name of Charles. Enjoy what God allows me to create.

Giving thanks to Jesus

November 26, 2025

We are in what is often referred to as the Thanksgiving season. For others, it is black November or a prelude to the Christmas buying frenzy. It is fall and the leaves are leaving the trees in Missouri. In other parts of the country, they have had snow, or the beaches are full. Life goes on.

When I think of giving thanks, I first think of my parents. They gave me life, a home, an education, their love and support, and more than I can express in words. I thank my children for allowing their mother and I to teach them what we knew, not just in words. I believe they picked up the things that we did not say, but showed them.

Without our children, we would not have these twelve grandchildren that seem to occupy our thoughts and lives. When they are all here, they are a wonderful and noisy house full. I could enumerate all the blessings you have brought to us. I think I will save that for a book.

I need to express my appreciation to the churches, pastors, and leadership of all the congregations that I have worked with over the years. Many of these groups and individuals have appeared in other columns. I won’t take the space here to reiterate what has already been said.

The employers I have had also deserve a round of applause. I would not be who I am without you. Some of you just wanted my time and talents, and you received those. Others gave me more than money; you gave me experience, knowledge, and the discernment that I needed to make my way through this world.

Many coworkers and friends have come to me at these businesses. I am thankful for all of you and my other friends that I have picked up from churches and a multitude of other places and situations. You have befriended me, chastised me, and encouraged me, and I am forever grateful for your kindness and companionship.

Who am I leaving out? I’ll get to the most important in a minute. First, I need to thank my country. It is not a person. It is an idea or an ideal. It was established by people I never met and founded on principles I have learned to believe in. It is not perfect because it contains people. The freedom I enjoy here was purchased by the lives of thousands in many ways.

My wife deserves more thanks than I can possibly express. Her love, compassion, and friendship have kept me going and slapped me out of my complacency when I needed it. Without her, I would not have those twelve grandchildren that we love so much. The best way to say thank you to her is 1-4-3. She knows what that means.

Lastly, I must thank my Savior, Jesus, who is called the Christ or the Messiah. Without Him, I would have none of these other people in my life. What wisdom and knowledge I have ultimately must be attributed to Him. He has led me away from paths that were better for me not to go down. At least, when I listened.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

Men are dogs

November 24, 2025

Have you heard of the book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus?” In his book, John Gray uses this phrase to denote that males and females are from different cultures. Sometimes I think that we take the whole opposite sex theme a little too far. I believe this is what causes some to decide that they were born the wrong sex.

I’m not going to write the book “Men are dogs and women are cats,” but this column will be part of the chapter by that name in my book “Douloi Marriage.” What I mean by this is that they are very different, even though they can cohabit the same space.

Cindy and I have had cats and dogs in our house together over the years. We all know the phrase “fighting like cats and dogs.” There is also the weather report “raining cats and dogs.” Dogs and cats are two of the most popular domesticated pets.

Right now, Essa, the cat, is asleep on Cindy’s lap, and Biscuit, the dog, is relaxing next to them on the couch. I am on my laptop on the other end. One big happy family. Dog and cat, man and woman, are getting along quite well.

How are these four different? Dogs are often raised gently with humans and get used to being trained and loved. Cats can be as well. Our dog is like this. Our cat came from the Humane Society and was a rescue that did not like people or our dog.

Several months of living with us have changed this. This is where I want to compare her adjustment to what needs to be done in a marriage. We gave her the space and time that she needed. For a couple of months, she hid most of the day. She came out to eat and went to the box.

Let’s relate this to how communication in a marriage should work. When we first marry, we come from different cultures and environments. We each have fears and expectations. I was raised in a two-parent home. We had our share of problems, but we overcame them. Cindy was from a single-parent home.

She also had never met her father or had a father figure, other than her oldest brother, around the house. She had no idea how a wife should react to her husband. I knew to duck when the wife threw dishes. That was something my mom had done.

Cindy did not cook. I did. I also had been trained by my mom to do laundry, clean house, and many other womanly chores. Cindy learned all these things and how to mow and work on remodeling jobs. She paints with a roller better than I, and I get to cut in around the ceilings.

The point I am trying to make is that you find each other’s strengths. Do not even look at the weaknesses. Find ways to work together. Do what you are good at and teach them if they wish to learn. Husbands and wives do not expect the other one to do what they do not wish to do. Share those chores together.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

CHAPTER ELEVEN

November 23, 2025

PREPARING FOR SERVICE

1974 was a year of change in my life.  I was a sophomore at SMSU.  My application to Missouri University in Columbia was mailed in January.  In March I had the opportunity to serve as youth week pastor at my church, Immanuel Baptist.  I preached my first sermon with the help of Pastor Clyde Leonard.  Life was about to change.

I left the comfort of Dog ‘N Suds and began working at Denny’s.  They were open 24 hours a day.  My job was busboy and dishwasher.  I often worked on the graveyard shift on Saturday, showered at home and went to church.  I would catch a nap after lunch and return for the evening worship service.

That summer Mac Davis came to the Ozark Empire Fair.  I did not go to the show, but Vanessa had reserved seat tickets with some of her friends.  I worked the late shift that night.  Around 1:00 am Mac and his manager came in for breakfast after the show. 

The waitress who took his order was too nervous to ask for an autograph.  I took a bus tub out with a piece of paper for his signature.  After placing the tub on a nearby table I walked over and asked for the autograph.  I returned to the back after putting Mr. Davis’s eggs under the heat lamp for him and gave the paper to his waitress.

My sister was upset the next morning that I had not gotten her an autograph also.  She was mad when a few months later he released the song “Oh, Lord it’s hard to be humble. (When you’re perfect in every way.)”.  It wasn’t the song that made her mad.  It was the fact I told her it was written about me.  I still maintain that today.

By the time my acceptance letter to the journalism school at MU came, I no longer wanted to be a newspaperman or broadcaster.  I knew God wanted me to do something else.  Education in journalism was not a priority.  Studying the scriptures was most important.

Clyde was a graduate of SWBC and Mark, our youth minister was a student there.  When I told my Mother I wanted to check it out she was not surprised.  She wasn’t at church the day I made my commitment to full time ministry but one of her friends told her before I got the courage to.  That was hard to do.  To tell my parents I was wrong about where my life would lead was extremely difficult.

An appointment was made, and we went to the campus, spoke to the enrollment office, and were shown one of the dorms and the cafeteria and campus union.  It was not nearly as large as SMSU.  We discussed how we would afford the added expense.  We had been told about scholarships that I might be eligible for.

Clyde helped obtain church approval for a matching scholarship.  If I drove rather than staying in the dorm I would get a commuter scholarship.  There was also a ministerial scholarship that we used.  It ended, costing about the same as SMSU.

I had to take Biology, New Testament and Old Testament which were general education classes that freshmen normally took.  I wanted to continue foreign language, and they offered Biblical Greek.  I scheduled Greek and New Testament for the first semester.  Dr. Cowen taught both.  Over the next two years I had him at least once every semester.  Richard W. Nixon was in my New Testament Class.  He was a freshman.

I enrolled as a transfer student with over 60 hours.  My original degree plan was for an English major.  I was considering getting a teaching certificate to have something to fall back on, if preaching did not work out.  As I got into the first semester, I decided to put everything in God’s hands.  I changed my major to religion.  That made me a preacher boy.  I felt that God wanted me there to study the Bible.  That’s what I did for two years.

Early in the semester I saw a posting for summer missionaries.  You would spend 10 weeks working through the Home Mission Board.  They paid the expenses and a small amount for the summer.  I thought this was a better Idea than the summer I worked at Zenith Television in Springfield.  I made good money and spent time studying my German while working on a final line, but I wanted something more than money now.

The time I spent on the road driving the 30 miles to and from Bolivar gave me the opportunity to develop my praying skills.  I still find commuting time to work a perfect time to get my day started right.  I did not know the changes that would come before the summer.  I could not foresee another calling from God.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

$19.99

November 22, 2025

The U.S. Mint is no longer producing pennies. It has been discussed for years. It costs over three cents to make them. I hate to have to say this, but I agree with this decision. It has been a long time coming.

I also heard that nickels are more expensive than their value. That makes me wonder if the U.S. Mint should discontinue production of small coinage. When I was a kid, we had penny candy. We went to Andy’s market across Nichols Street from York School and might spend a nickel or a dime at a time. I picked a penny off the sidewalk one day and bought a tootsie roll. They tossed it in a sink of water as I went out the door.

Walmart and other businesses have already said that they will round a total to the nearest nickel when you are paying cash. They say it may save you a few cents or cost you a couple. They are the ones who are making that decision.

Why are prices not all set to the nearest dime anyway? Why is there even a price on anything that is ninety-nine cents anymore? When I studied marketing, we were told that many see the first numbers of the price. The title of this article registers to me as twenty dollars. Some see it as Nineteen.

I’ve been counting change for sixty-five years or more. I have a jar full of coins. Many of them are pennies. I will continue to save them from my pocket each night. I don’t use cash as much as I once did. When the coins in that jar are worth more than their face value, I will sell them to a coin collector.

I do not see this as being a huge problem. Most transactions are digital. I’ll just be sure that I keep a few coins in my pocket so that I can make exact change when making a cash purchase.

For years, some sellers who specialize in cash have included tax in their price. No coinage is needed when you do it this way. We seem to want to make our population less intelligent and pass on more jobs to artificial intelligence devices. Eliminating the need to count change will make it easier to program these machines. Both human and digital. There was a time when knowing how to count was considered a compliment to your parents and teachers. Should the inability to do so be considered their fault?

If Walmart wants to charge me an extra two cents for my purchase, then I will simply leave that sale on the counter. It will cost more than that to put it away. We don’t go to their stores very much. I have the right in America to patronize whoever I wish.

When I was young, my parents discussed that they did not make mills anymore. This was a coin that was used for taxes and was worth a tenth of a penny. I still have a two-dollar bill that is a silver certificate from Hawaii when my Dad was on a ship in the Pacific during World War II. I wonder if I could sell it and pay off all my debts.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

Cost of Living

November 20, 2025

Are you looking to relocate to a place where the cost of living is relatively low? Have I got a deal for you? Come home to Springfield, Missouri. Yes, I said, come home. I have lived here for most of my life. We moved to Joplin early in our marriage. We came home as soon as we could.

I think that 15.5% below the national average for cost of living would be good. You must understand that for most of us, we consider our wages low. Our average housing cost is 15.7% below the national average. I’m not bragging, I am stating facts from Google’s AI answer to my search. Look for yourself.

We are the third-largest city in Missouri and the largest Springfield among thirty-six in the country. Once again, if you don’t believe me, check the last census numbers. I looked it up myself because people who have never heard of us can’t believe it. Is it my fault you’ve been living under a rock your whole life?

Businessinsider.com put us thirty-two in their top 32 largest midwestern cities. We don’t have to be number one; we just try harder. Our public school system is the largest district in Missouri. We have five high schools, and if you don’t like public schools, we have almost every type of private school you might want.

Our technical college is one of the best, and they have several campuses in our outlying area. We have three major universities and numerous other types of higher private education facilities. Do you want to learn non-traditional skills? We do that as well.

Do you want rural or suburban living? We have a lot of that? Farmland is close, and you can even buy eggs and milk from the producers. There are almost as many small towns and villages close to Springfield as you will find in any city of our size. We have lots of bars and churches when you need to go to a place where everybody knows your name.

What about the opera, stage plays, symphony, and other cultural activities? We have you covered there as well. Our airport is not one of the major international hubs. We have connecting flights to most of the busiest, if you really like long lines.

We have two cab companies, and most of the internet services for moving people and goods. Oh, I forgot to mention shopping. If our mall isn’t large enough for you, there are half a dozen more within a fifty-minute drive of my house. I’ve driven longer than that in St. Louis or Kansas City to get to the good shopping once I got to those cities.

The construction industry seems to be having a heyday with homes and businesses, especially car washes and some of the most popular franchise fast food restaurants. Google your favorite and see if we have one or will next week.

We are the home of Bass Pro Shops, General Council of the Assemblies of God, Convoy of Hope, and Springfield-style Cashew Chicken. You don’t know about our own knock-off offering of a favorite oriental dish? You’ve had nothing like it.

I could go on for hours, but I’ll end with this. If you would like to go to Branson, MO, for the music shows or drive Historic Route 66 from Chicago to LA, we are on your way, and you can check us out the next time you pass through. You’ve probably been within fifty miles of us and never noticed the highway signs. The group Buffalo Springfield came through in the sixties and got their name from one of our signs. We hope to see you soon.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

Wisdom from an unexpected place

November 18, 2025

It is often referred to as the Boob Tube.  This is for a good reason.  Many have lost themselves in the surreal pastime of watching TV and have not allowed their minds to expand by experiencing the world around them.  The crazes of cell phones, Pokémon Go, and numerous selfie accidents demonstrate how easily video devices can turn normally intelligent beings into stumbling and falling imbeciles.

Have you had incidents where you gained wisdom from this most unexpected source? When you are my age, and every time you go into the hospital, they give you yellow socks, and you start to feel your age. The wisdom I have gained over these decades enables me to tell the doctors no when they ask if I’ve fallen in the last three months.

We learn from our mistakes is an old saying. I am not sure that the generations following me have learned from the errors committed by my age group. Just as many teenagers started smoking as did when I was there. I watched an older brother throw up the first time he took a drag. I said that it was not for me.

I had friends in high school who stayed out drinking because their parents did not pay attention to what they were doing. Mine did, and I knew not to try it. The punishment would fit the crime.

I drove fast, but because I wasn’t smoking or drinking, I was able to stay undistracted. I did date, and that made it hard to keep my mind on the road. But because the parents of the girls I dated told me to be careful, I was.

When I graduated from high school, I thought I was smart. Then I got married and we had children, and I realized I did not know anything. There is a quotation by Mark Twain that says the same thing. I never realized how smart Uncle Sam was.

Wisdom comes from the Lord according to the Bible. I believe he uses everyday situations to teach us, if we pay attention. Some of us are too poor to pay attention. Think about it. You will get the joke, eventually.

Messing things up is part of the human experience. Just be sure that when you do, you live through it. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve survived my own and others’ mistakes as well. Some were easy to identify as near misses, while most are things that I will never know about.

Listen to your elders and watch for signs. I mean street signs, road signs like speed limits, and avoid running red lights. Like driving drunk, these things will catch up with you, and others’ problems may catch you as well.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger