What Day is it? – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

And then there was one

May 10, 2026

No, I did not misquote the name of a famous Agatha Christy novel and movie. She is the last of the Clemens clan, belonging to James and Gertrude from Webster County, Missouri. She is my aunt. She has twelve siblings who made it to adulthood. Currently, we call her Aunt Amanda. I will save her the embarrassment of telling you what her parents and siblings used to call her.

As the years progress and we lose first one and then another of the cousins and someday the last of the Clemens sisters, I want to take this Mother’s Day to honor my Mom, Mary. We are cheered by the memories and encouraged that even more are in store for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

I could tell you about my mother’s sisters and brothers, and I have in my book “Doulos.” You can read it as a paid subscriber to my premium materials. Whom I want to write about today is my mother.

Her name is Mary Francis Clemens Kensinger, which I know makes us sound like we are not true Americans. We are, and she began her life with the first three on this list. When she and Evan Kensinger were married, she, like 99% of her generation, took his last name. When you read that I have an Uncle Sam and say his pen name is Mark Twain, it is because she is a Clemens.

Our daughters and the other grandchildren called her Granny. When I was a kid, she talked about Irene Ryan, who played Daisy Moses on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and when our oldest was born, she said she would be Granny. I completely understood why.

Mom was one of the reasons I know how to be a good parent and spouse. I received my share of spankings and other discipline types over the years, but I noticed that my sister and I were not given corporal punishment as often as our older brothers. We tried to follow that example with our girls. We spanked from time to time when we thought it was required.

Mom and Dad demonstrated what it meant to love with the Agape’ love of Jehovah as Paul describes. They were patient, kind, and faithful to each other. Mom demonstrated that to me often, no more so than when she described a conversation with one of Dad’s doctors.

Dad was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was in high school, and Mom would take him to the hospital whenever his medication needed to be changed. This was a constant with that disease. Once she told me that she told the doctor that she was done. He asked her if she meant she wanted a divorce. Her response was, “Of course not.”

She said that what she meant was that she was done with dealing with the return of the symptoms and had delayed bringing him back as long as she felt was best. I never knew about this, and it was one of many things she confessed to me after he had passed away.

Thank you, Mom, for all you gave Cindy and I. Our marriage has been blessed by your example, and I work every day to love Cindy and our daughters the way you loved Dad and us kids. Thank you for the book title, also.

Route 66 memories

May 2, 2026

The U.S. Highway system is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary this year. I have only been traveling these roads for over half of that time, but I think some of you will appreciate where I have been and what I’ve seen.

I am most familiar with Route 66 from the late 1950s until Interstate 44 was completed from St. Louis, MO, to Oklahoma in or around 1966. Uncle Paul and Aunt Nina lived outside of Marshfield, and Uncle Dean and Aunt Ima June lived in Lebanon. Clyde and Julie and their son Don lived on Route 66 outside of Northview, MO. Good luck finding that one on a map on your phone.

Most Saturdays and Sundays were taken up with going to see these relatives or others that we took 66 to the county roads they lived on. If you live in the Springfield area and would like to experience some of what I am telling you about, I will share the types of rides we would take.

Often, we would drive up the highway through Strafford to Northview Hill. Don and his wife and kids lived in their home, and up the road were Julie and Clyde with their two younger boys. Shortly before the two-lane road was bypassed by the Interstate, they purchased the Hill Top Motel and lived in it until Julie’s death.

Junior and Gary had their model cars in one of the units, and we always wanted to play with them the way we did our own. As I watched the original movie, “Cars”, I started crying. The scene was where Mater takes Lightning McQueen up Old 66 past an old hotel and talks about parking on that ridge and watching the new highway being built.

My mind went on to a day in 1965 when my dad, Clyde, two cousins, my two brothers, and I stood across the street from their home and looked over the hill at the construction crew cutting the roadway through the mountain. By the time that movie came out, there were only three of us still alive.

Sixty-six also took us up to Marshfield to what was referred to later as the Spur. This intersection led to Kittrell’s farm, or a right would take us into Marshfield for the Fourth of July parade or other events. I think almost every Independence Day of my youth was spent at the oldest parade west of the Mississippi River. I must brag that even US presidents have gone for that celebration.

Further up the highway, you get to Lebanon, MO, and at one time, Uncle Dean owned a Service Station just outside of town. Their house was behind the garage, and I remember spending at least one weekend with them. We watched TV on Saturday night, and I remember watching “The Highway Patrol” with my cousins.

A lot of events continued along where the Mother Road ran after 1966. We usually traveled Interstate 44 to Marshfield and Lebanon after Route 66 was replaced and decommissioned. We still used the old highway to drive to Northview Hill while we had family there. Don had moved from his house there and passed away a few years ago.

The grave is empty

April 5, 2026

Mary and another woman went to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been placed on Friday afternoon. The stone that had protected the remains had been rolled away. It had been sealed by the Roman soldiers. We are not told that they are anywhere to be seen.

Something is wrong. They wondered how they would move that rock, and a man is sitting on it. They do not recognize him, and when they ask about their Lord, he says that He is not there. Something is right.

Mary runs to find the disciples but sees a man whom she thinks must be a gardener. She cries for him to tell her where they moved Jesus. When He smiles, she knows this is her friend and Lord. What will it take for others to believe that what He said was true?

Peter and John ran to see for themselves and still didn’t believe it when they saw the grave clothes were empty. They returned to the others and believed when they saw Him. They had to. Thomas still doubted even when the ten said that He had been there.

The two men on their way to Emmaus did not believe even when their teacher repeated the proof of who He was, because they questioned why He did not know what had happened in Jerusalem. They recognized Him when He broke the bread at dinner.

When they were fishing in Galilee and saw a man on the shore who told them to lower the nets again, and the boat was almost swamped, only John said, “It’s the Lord.” Peter then swam to shore and didn’t try to walk on the water. Peter knew who He was when He asked Peter three times if he loved Him.

The Jewish and Roman leaders must have thought about believing when the guards told their story of the stone being moved and not finding Jesus in the tomb. They would have other opportunities to accept the truth. Did they ever do that?

If you did not believe in the resurrection when you first heard about it, don’t beat yourself up. It took me at least a year. I remember being ten when I was drawn to accept Him and put it off for a year. He was gracious enough to give me that year. Imagine my surprise as a college student when it occurred to me that I could have died that year from a gunshot wound.

You have had numerous opportunities yourself. Today is the day you should say yes to the Savior. You don’t have to be in a church or have anyone around you. Just tell Him that you know you are a sinner and want Him to be your Lord. I hope you did that, and if you did, welcome to the family. Subscribe, and we will continue to discuss how to strengthen your meager faith.

Sunday is Coming

April 4, 2026

The men who had sworn that they would die for Jesus on Thursday evening are hiding. They are afraid that the Jewish leaders will find, arrest, and execute them as they did the followers of Bar-Abbas. To the Jewish leaders, Jesus was an insurrectionist. To Pontius Pilot He was someone that the Sanhedrin was jealous of.

To these men in hiding, He was their chance to be free of Roman rule. He was their friend and teacher. They were willing to die for Him when He could lead them to victory. Now Jesus is in a tomb, dead and buried. They and He are despised by the Jews.

That is exactly what the Messiah had told them would happen. Now all they have to do is believe what they were told and walk to Galilee to wait for the resurrection. It sounds so simple. But they are not yet believers. The hoped-for Savior was murdered. They may be next.

I would probably be in that room with them. We say that we would not, but we have evidence of the resurrection, the foundation of the Church, and all the teachings in the New Testament. All they had was their mustard seed of faith, which would soon grow into a tree.

Peter would preach at Pentecost, Matthew and John would write gospels; John Mark, who ran and left his clothes, would tell Peter’s story. That will be later. Today, they will not go to the Temple even if it is the Sabbath. They could be arrested there. They might be next.

They do not know what to do. You and I wonder why. They heard Him speak and knew Him better than anyone. Remember what Jesus told them in Nazareth about a prophet not being accepted in his hometown. Their friend was just a man like everyone else.

Or was He? He said He was the Son of Man, the Messiah. Peter called Him the Son of God. A centurion said, “This must be the Son of God.” And here they are hiding like we would. We are no better than them and they are no better than we are. They will get up tomorrow and meet the Lord when He is risen. Will you? This is all He asked of them, or me, or you. Believing what He said about Himself is as difficult for us to accept as it was for those who were alive at the time of His death.

It was not easy to believe that a man was crucified and rose from the grave at that time. Unless you were someone who knew Jesus before the crucifixion, watched His death and burial, and then saw, spoke, and ate with the risen Christ after Sunday. Talk to you again, then.

Good Friday?

April 3, 2026

The day that your friend and leader is executed for no reason does not sound like a good day. The apostles and other disciples of the hoped-for Messiah have gone into hiding. They have forgotten about His prediction that He would be tried, convicted, executed, and rise on the third day.

They have forgotten that they should be ready to meet Him after He comes back to life. They were instructed to go to Galilee, where the base of operations had been. They did not do this because they do not believe He will do what He said.

Today started out badly. They were in the garden after a night of feasting and fellowship. Jesus had said some hard things. Then they sang a song as they walked to the garden, and He went to pray. The next thing they knew was when they were rudely awakened by a mob that arrested the teacher and took Him away.

Peter and John were the only ones who followed them. Without their testimonies, we would know nothing of the illegal trial early on Friday or Peter’s denial. A lot happens on this day. Jesus appears before Pilate after being sentenced to death in a mock ceremony where He is abused and tormented.

The governor is looking for a way out and sends him to King Herod, who passes the accused back when he can’t get Him to play their political games. Pilate is instructed by his wife not to have anything to do with this innocent man, and he must wash his hands of the whole mess.

The crowd yells for Bar-Abbas to be released and the King of the Jews to be crucified. This was not what this Roman official wanted, and yet it was what the Sanhedrin had paid for. Unbeknownst to these observers, Judas had tried to buy Jesus’ release by returning the money and failed. He hangs himself in grief.

Jesus is beaten and abused, stripped and mocked, undressed and paraded through the town to the execution field outside, where He and the two followers of the convicted insurrectionist are to die. They are cruelly nailed to three wooden crosses and raised in the sky, and left to die a slow agonizing death.

Isn’t that the way your pastor preaches it every Easter Sunday? It isn’t? What does he leave out? The pain, the ridicule, the suffering of these three men? I always told my seventh and eighth-grade boys how bad it really was. Only a few of them over those eighteen years had to leave in the middle.

I don’t know how many nightmares they had about this story in their subsequent lives. My bad dreams were from thoughts of them not understanding what Christ endured for them. Yes, He is Yahweh, otherwise the execution for others’ sins would have kept Him off that cross.

After God cries out to Himself about forsaking Him to prove that his prophecy was accurate and declaring that His task is finished, the guards are surprised that He is dead so soon. The bodies must come down, and they are breaking the legs of the other two men to speed up their expiration. Again, the prophet must be followed, and Jesus’ side must be punctured rather than His legs being broken.

A hasty burial by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea into the tomb that had been prepared for Joseph and his progeny. They have followed this ministry quietly for three years and now have stepped out of the shadows to follow the instructions Jehovah gave them for this time. It had to be an empty tomb. In two more days, you will find out why.

Easter week

April 2, 2026

The disciples have been trying to keep their teacher safe since last Sunday. They’ve made it through until Thursday morning and are looking forward to Passover dinner tonight. Jesus sent two of them to find a place for their meal and to prepare.

The conversation continues to focus on the threats posed by the Pharisees and Sadducees against the Lord and His followers. Even Lazarus is being threatened with death because He has been raised to life by God. That is one piece of evidence for Messianic teaching that they cannot refute.

Jesus accepted Peter’s proclamation that He was the Son of God. Then, He told the disciples that He would have to die and rise from the dead on the third day. Peter said that it would not happen. Jesus looked at him and said, “Get behind me, Satan.

At least three times, they have been reminded that they came to Jerusalem for the Passover East so that there would be a death and a resurrection, and they are to go to Galilee to meet their Savior at that time. Later, we will discover that they did not listen and believe, which is all we are asked to do.

When they were together on Thursday night, and Jesus said that He would be betrayed by one of them, Peter asked if he was the one. They all wanted to be sure they would not turn traitors. Earlier, Judas Iscariot had made an agreement with the Chief Priest and his cronies to lead them to Jesus at a time when there would be no crowds.

Simon Peter declares that he will die for Jesus even if everyone else deserts. The declaration that this disciple would deny Him three times before the morning is declared by the rooster’s crow, which surprises and destroys him. He would never dream of not fighting and dying for this man he has followed for three years.

They move to the upper room where the feast has been set out for them. The prescribed menu of roasted lamb, matza, and herbs was on the table. Jesus takes a towel and a basin and goes around washing their feet. Peter objects and is instructed that if this is not allowed, he will have no part in the Kingdom. This servant ritual is performed, and the master takes His place at the head of the group.

Jesus breaks the bread and presents it to them. The comment about it being His body is apparently unnoticed currently, as is the presentation of the wine as being blood. They are to eat this meal and drink this wine in the future and remember these words. This makes no sense either.

As they are leaving after the meal, no one notices that Judas does not follow them. As soon as he is sure of where the group is going, he disappears. They walk to the garden that we all know about. Jesus leaves the first group, then the second bunch, and prays.

The prayer is long and in two parts. We know that the request is made to prevent a sacrifice that is intolerable for any human to make. And yet our Lord says that it is not His will that must be done, but the Father’s. Tomorrow is upon them.

The last fifty years

February 27, 2026

In 1968, when Richard Nixon was nominated by the Republicans for President, his running mate was Spiro Agnew. Shortly after the 1972 election, some charges of impropriety forced Agnew to resign. With the majority of his second term ahead, Gerald Ford was selected to become the V.P. He had been a congressman for twenty-five years.

Ford became the 38^th chief executive and had a difficult campaign against Jimmy Carter, the 1976 Democratic candidate. President Ford pardoned President Nixon before he could even be charged with any crimes from the Watergate Hotel break-in. This was considered by some as the biggest hit on his prospects.

Ford lost to Carter, and the party shift kicked in again. Carter served from 1977 to 1981. During his first term, the Shaw of Iran was overthrown, and a pro-Muslim government took power. The U.S. Embassy was attacked, and hostages were seized on November 4, 1979. The thirty-ninth President lost his second bid for the office in 1980.

The power shifted once again when Ronald Regan defeated the incumbent based on failure to solve the hostage problem and other fiscal problems attributed to his administration. Regan held office until 1989 after winning the 1984 election as well. The hostages were released before Regan was inaugurated as our fortieth chief executive.

“Read my lips, no new taxes” was the campaign promise that convinced many to continue a Republican Presidency under Vice-President George H. W. Bush. His term was from 1989 to 1993. When other Republicans convinced him to sign a tax proposal that Congress passed, the Democrats used it to their advantage.

They nominated Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton as their candidate, and he defeated the forty-first to become the forty-second President. Clinton’s administration featured a joint Presidency with his wife, according to the GOP. She had no official title or authority. They were in the White House from 1993 to 2001.

Do you remember the September 11, 2001, attacks on our country? Muslim radicals hijacked four passenger jets and crashed them. Two took out buildings in New York City, part of the Pentagon building in Washington, D C., and the last went down in Pennsylvania.

When our forty-third President, George W. Bush, the son of the forty-first, addressed us that evening, he launched an investigation to determine how this could happen. We were involved in wars in the Middle East to eliminate factions supposedly responsible for this attack. His administration ran from 2001 to 2009.

Are you getting tired of the constant flip-flop of power from one political party to the other for over one hundred years? In 2008, we elected our first African American President, Barack Obama, a Democrat from Chicago, as the forty-fourth man to hold the office. He served until 2017.

I will not make any comments about the last three Presidents. There are situations that I feel will have to be resolved before we know what should be said without hurting feelings. Both current parties have opposing opinions of what should and should not be commented on. I hope these columns have given you insights into who our leaders have been.

Hoover to Ford

February 16, 2026

A vacuum cleaner to an automobile? No, Herbert Hoover accepted the Republican nomination in 1928 and won decisively. Before he ran, he was the Commerce Secretary from 1921 to 1928. He was our thirty-first President from 1929 to 1932. Often blamed for the Great Depression, it was his predecessors who might have been responsible.

Most of us know of FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only one to be elected four times. The first time was in 1932. Of course, he was a Democrat. I’m sure that you have noticed that we jockey back and forth from one party to the other. The problems in a particular year often result in a change.

Roosevelt attempted to keep the U.S. out of the Second World War, but his speech on December 7, 1941, put us there. Congress, the President, and the American public had to react to the brutality of the Japanese in attacking our base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He served as our 32^nd President until he died in 1945, when Harry Truman, the Vice-President, became the thirty-third to occupy the office.

Truman is known for ending World War II by bombing two Japanese cities with atomic bombs. These were newly developed, and we succeeded shortly before the Germans and Russians. When Truman ran for re-election in 1948, he faced Republican Thomas Dewey, and most of us have seen the headline that stated Dewey had won. An early case of stating false election results.

General Dwight David Eisenhower was elected as our thirty-fourth President and served from 1953 to 1961. He was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe when the Germans were defeated.

What most of you do not know is that Truman requested Eisenhower run as a Democrat in 1952. He declared to the President that he preferred the policies of the Republican party and they nominated him. His Vice President was Richard Nixon, who ran in 1960 because in 1951 the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, which limited our Presidents to two terms.

Now I can speak from personal knowledge of the rest of our Presidents. There will be some non-historical comments on these men. I remember the 1960 election when our thirty-fifth President, John F. Kennedy, defeated Richard Nixon and served from 1961 to his assassination in 1963. I do not have to look up these dates; they are etched in my memories.

Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the thirty-sixth President after John Kennedy was declared dead in a hospital in Dallas, Texas. He was re-elected in 1964 and declined to run in 1968. Since he served a little more than a year of Kennedy’s term, he was eligible to seek a second term of his own.

Richard Nixon was elected our thirty-seventh President and served from 1969 to 1974. He defeated Johnson’s Vice-President, Hubert Humphrey, and was the first President, and to this date the only one, to resign his office. Next time we will discuss the only President never elected as either President or Vice-President.

A Day for Love

February 14, 2026

Today is Valentine’s Day. This is the day we celebrate love. We are asked what love is, and we have difficulty answering that question.

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV

Yes, this is from The Bible. Do you believe what Paul says in this passage? Is love really that important? The question remains, “What is love?” It is not a feeling or an emotion. Say it with me, “I love you.” I am a word nerd. Break the sentence down. I is the subject, you is the object, Love is the verb.

Let’s let Paul define it for us. First Corinthians goes on in the fourth verse, “⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails.” NIV

Get it? This is the kind of love that Yahweh God has for us. The Greek word is Agape. You are probably thinking of another Greek word that we translate as love, Eros. Our word erotic comes from that word. It is not what most of us want when we think of love on Valentine’s Day.

We want our valentine to cherish us, care more about us than anyone else does. Those of us who are married wanted that on our wedding day. For some of us, it did not last. Are you in love with your spouse as much as you were on that day?

I must confess that I am not. Today, I am more in love with Cindy than I was fifty years ago. Many of you have not lived for fifty years. Our daughters have not. Does that surprise you that we were married before we had children? For celebrities and other influencers now, this is not the norm. It was for us and our parents and grandparents.

You decided that this person was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. You did not move in with them or spend the night or the weekend. You said, “I do,” and you meant it and kept your promise. We agreed to stay together in sickness and in health, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, and we have.

It hasn’t been easy. Love is hard work. “Love is a choice.” Read the book. Not just the one by that name, but the one I mentioned earlier. Read the Bible. That is where I find my answers. You can as well. You must read it to see them. Or you can follow and subscribe here, and I will continue to share what I have read from it. The choice is yours.

Twenty-fifth through thirty

February 13, 2026

Let’s continue with the twenty-fifth President of the United States. William McKinley served from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. The first to serve in the twentieth century, he was known for imperialism and protectionism. He was reelected in 1900.

He was shot on September sixth, 1901, died on the fourteenth, and his assassin was convicted and executed on October twenty-ninth. Talk about swift justice. Why, with all our more civilized laws, does it take over ten years to accomplish the same thing?

I think many of you have heard of his vice president who became President number 26. Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in and served until 1909. The hero of the Spanish-American War defeated his Democratic opponent and declared he would only run for an additional term in 1904. His choice to succeed him as the Republican candidate was William Howard Taft.

I know you’ve never heard of him. As our twenty-seventh President he served from 1909 to 1913. He is best known for being the only person to serve as President and a Supreme Court Judge. By the time the 1912 election began, Teddy Roosevelt had changed his mind about Taft and opposed him for the Republican nomination.

The organization of Roosevelt’s Progressive Party to oppose Taft caused the election of Democrat Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 election. Taft narrowly defeated the Republican Charles Evans Hughes in 1916. The First World War began in 1917 while he was serving his second term. He advocated the establishment of the League of Nations but opposed the ratification of the treaty to allow the U.S. to join.

The 1920 election saw Wilson running for a third term and losing to Republican Warren G. Harding. He was popular at the time, but after his death, some scandals caused him to fall from favor. The twenty-ninth President died of a heart attack in 1923, and his vice president succeeded him.

Calvin Coolidge was well known in the 1960s. Floyd Lawson, the barber on the Andy Griffith show, was known for attributing many quotes to him. I am not sure if they ever told us anything notable that he said. Silent Cal led our country through the roaring twenties. Fortunately, he was the first V.P. to be invited to attend cabinet meetings.

When the 1924 nomination was made, he took it on the first ballot. As the thirtieth man to hold the office, there are many stories about why he was not more outspoken. One that seems to have been verified as true was that he said, “I think the American people want a solemn ass as a President, and I think I will go along with them.”

Too bad that many of those who followed him did not feel the same way. Now we seem to have to try to forget what the politicians say as quickly as they open their mouths. Next, we will learn about the Great Depression and who blamed whom for it.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: What Day is it?