50 Years

I posted this on Facebook on December 20, 2018 as a tribute to my first marriage to my late wife Sue, and also to my marriage to Janet.

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Today would have been my 50th anniversary with my late wife Sue. On December 20, 1968, neither the thought of 50 years going by, nor the thought of her dying at a relative young age was in my mind. When she went to be with the Lord in 2001, I was utterly distraught. The thought of ever getting married again seemed like an impossibility and maybe even a betrayal. Then Janet came into my life in 2003, and I soon experienced in a very real and practical way that the Lord in His love and grace both gives and takes away.

Being married to Janet does not negate the reality of my love for Sue. Likewise, Sue in my past does not negate the reality of my love for Janet. One does not replace the other. The Lord has blessed me twice far beyond what I could possibly deserve. There is no way to explain to anyone who has never been through it what it is like to lose a spouse in death and then have the Lord provide a whole new situation. Neither Janet nor I would have wanted our first spouses to die, but we continue to praise the Lord for His great love and faithfulness to us.

James M. Bramblet Memorial Service

The following bio was read at the memorial service for James M. Bramblet on March 8 by one of his grandsons, James Bramblet, Pastor of Campbell Baptist Church in Campbell, California. It was written by Terry Bramblet, one of James M. Bramblet's sons. The memorial service was held at Lakewood Baptist Temple in Lakewood (Tacoma), Washington.

 

James Mathew Bramblet

 

March 2, 1924 - January 25, 2014

 

Jim Bramblet was born at home near the small community of Kendrick Idaho.  At the time his parents were farming on land owned by his in-laws at a place called Texas Ridge.  Jim’s sister was convinced by her older brothers that he actually arrived in the doctors black bag.

 

When Jim was 15 an evangelist came to the community and a revival started; including the salvation of both Jim and his future wife Vivian.  As we understand it all of his family was saved except for one older brother who was away at college.  As a result of this evangelistic campaign eventually all three of the Bramblet brothers spent their lives serving God.

 

After completing high school Jim decided to attend Bible School at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland Oregon.  It just so happened his future wife had moved to Vancouver Washington, just across the river. While at school he received his Selective Service notice and ended up in the Navy for the next three years.  During those three years, Jim and Vivian were married and their first child was born (Timothy).

 

After the navy and after finishing at Multnomah Jim and his small family moved to Moscow Idaho to take advantage of the “GI Bill” at the University of Idaho.  During this time two more children arrived (Terry and Janet).  Jim spent his weekends and summers preaching in a little town called Elk River, Idaho.  His plans were to become a pastor or missionary upon completion of school.  God had other plans though.  After graduation he was asked to teach at the Elk River High school, which he did for two years (a fourth child came along, Bill).  God was leading him to think about Christian School education and after the two years teaching in Elk River he was asked to become the principal of a small Christian School in Portland Oregon called the West Hills Christian School.

 

For the rest of their lives Jim and Vivian would be involved in starting or working with five Christian grade schools, two high schools and one teachers college.

 

Jim also believed in hard work.  Working with and for Christian schools often meant that he had no income during the summer months.  He would try his hand at about anything, construction, farming, working at a graveyard, and even building rock walls.  One year the whole family worked in the fields picking various fruits and berries.  Sometimes at the schools he was not only the principal but the main teacher, the janitor and the bus driver.

 

Jim Bramblet was a consistent man of God throughout all of his adult life.  He was the same at home as he was in public.  He loved to serve God and passed that along to his children and grandchildren.  He is survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, twenty-six great grandchildren, one missionary, three preachers, at least one teacher and many home school moms.

 

Several weeks before Jim died he was talking to some of his children about his future.  Did he want us to have the doctors work to help him get better or should we have them just keep him comfortable.  His first reaction was that he wanted “God’s will”.

 

We will miss his companionship and his wise advice.  We were blessed to have him as our dad.

 

…..So that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)

 

You can read an article entitled "In Memory of James M. Bramblet" here.

In Memory of James M. Bramblet

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15).

 

On December 1, 1988, the day Dr. J. Vernon McGee died, my wife Janet’s late husband, Ken Bonebright, came home and said to her, “A great man died today, and the world never even noticed.” The same could be said now about the death of my father-in-law, James M. Bramblet, on Saturday, January 25.

 

Jim Bramblet was not as well-known as Dr. McGee, but he was a great man and great servant of the Lord in his own right. He was a pioneer in the Christian school movement of the second half of the 20^th Century. Even though I had heard of him before I met and married his daughter Janet in August of 2003, I had no idea what a great man of God and a giant among Christian school educators he truly was. It has been my privilege and blessing to get to know him and benefit from his insight and wisdom. He is one of my heroes in ministry.

 

Janet had the privilege of helping take care of her mother in Tacoma, Washington for the final week of her life before she went to be with the Lord on October 4. We had her dad living with us here in Colorado Springs for the final three months of his life. He would have been 90 years old in March. We are planning a memorial service for him in early March in Tacoma.

 

During his more than 40 years as a Christian school educator, Jim Bramblet started a number of schools in Oregon, Washington, and California. He also taught in the state of Idaho. In addition to his work in Christian schools, he was also an interim pastor for a while.

 

During his college years, he began to understand the difference between secular education and truly Christian education. He said, “I had taken a course on the philosophy of education at the University of Idaho and realized it was all wrong … that it was not Christian. I began, from then on, to change my way of teaching so that it was definitely Christian rather than secular. … as far as I’m concerned, Christian schools are there to help parents educate their children.”

 

“Scripture makes if very clear that God created everything. In other words, all truth, then, is God’s truth. If it’s not God’s truth, it’s not truth. So then we need to realize that mathematics is not a secular subject, English is not a secular subject. History is not a secular subject. Even physical education is not a secular subject. Our God has created us in every aspect of our lives, and this too needs to be passed on to our children in every subject. This doesn’t mean that if we are teaching them mathematics, that every lesson is all about God. But they need to understand that God created mathematics. That he gave the truth about mathematics to us, and as they work these problems, they need to know that they are thinking God’s thoughts after Him. If they make a mistake, then they’re not thinking God’s thoughts. God stands for truth, and they need to try to strive to find the correct answer. And they need to understand that they’re dealing with things of God, because when God created the universe, He did it mathematically. Scientists who study the universe have to know mathematics. God created the universe after a mathematical formula. It’s very easy to demonstrate that, and the students studying math need to understand that so that when they come out of math class, they should have confidence that they’ve been studying the truth of God. It’s the same thing when they come out of their science class. They’ve been studying the things that God has created, and there should be rejoicing over all the wonderful things that He has made. … If it is taught correctly … they will appreciate knowing that they are not just studying dull old subjects, but that they’re studying the truth of God.”

 

These are just a few of his responses in an interview I did with him several years ago. You can read the entire interview here.

 

Jim Bramblet has gone on to be with the Lord and with his beloved Vivian. His impact on so many children and young people over the years will pay eternal dividends. We can be sure the Lord’s words to him are, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

 

 

To read articles by James M. Bramblet, click here.

Family Changes

I have not posted anything for a while. It has been an eventful past few weeks. In late September, it became evident that my mother-in-law, Vivian Bramblet, was nearing the end of her life due to leukemia. My wife Janet flew to Washington to be with her mom in Tacoma, and she was able to take care of her for the last week of her life. After she passed away, I drove to Tacoma for the funeral and to help take care of many details.

 

Janet's dad, James Bramblet, at first determined that he wanted to continue to live in the senior apartment they had enjoyed for the past year. However, it was not long before he realized that it would be better to live with family, and he has come to live with us in Colorado Springs. Jim and Vivian enjoyed 69 years of marriage and many years of service for the Lord in Christian school ministry and in various church ministries over the years. We are thankful for the privilege of having him with us as he approaches his 90th birthday in March of 2014.

The Real Source of Evil and Violence

by Kathryn Krummrey, RN

 

As we Americans awake one more time to another "morning after killings" experience, we must acknowledge some real truths. Evil, violence, and terror are found in the hearts and minds of people, not in the objects used to commit their evil.

 

In recent weeks and months we have had people hurt, maimed, and killed by various objects. There is nothing inherently evil in household goods that can comprise a bomb, knives, cars, ball bats, in strong arms and hands that are placed on small, weaker bodies of little children, or even in guns. The problem is not with these objects, but rather with the heart, mind and thought processes of the human being using these objects.

 

All caring American citizens want this terror in our land to stop! We want to send our kids off to school or to public events without the fear of terror and the carnage it can bring to our lives. We want the "old America" back when evil and violence were not invading our shores on a sporadic but regular basis.

 

So we must look back to what has changed in the heart of our people, our culture, and the way we think. In the last several decades we have changed dramatically in the way we think about the crucial values and morals of our society. In our "enlightenment" we became self focused people rather than family focused people.

 

Keeping the family unit strong and nurturing the next young generation dropped dramatically on our list of priorities. We sent our kids a message with our new laws and our new trends. Marriages are easily disbanded if it gets too hard. Human beings are only of value if they are wanted. We can also easily get rid of things we don't want and put a nice name on it, like being pro-choice.

 

We have outlawed the very things that gave stability, strength, and hope to Americans in tough times. Things like the Ten Commandments that told us how to honor God and our fellow man have been banished from our public places as if they were too dangerous for our kids to know. The freedom to acknowledge and call out to our God for his help at our schools was done away... And this is when evil came in to fill this void in our land.

 

We have raised a generation of people without the influence of God and what He values in their life. This is the true definition of evil; a total absence of God and His loving standards of conduct for His people. Societies of people are not healthy when there is a void in their spirit and soul. They fill this void with self serving evil rather than good for others.

 

I fear that we could now be on the receiving the end of some of our choices as a nation. Could this be one of the true sources of evil and violence in America? There is hope if we will turn back to the One who offers the real cure. Yet, I fear we may be too progressive and enlightened to do that.

The Importance of Church by Tim Bonebright

The importance of church is established at home. If a family fills its schedule at the expense of attendance at church, it is to the detriment of the family, and a valuable opportunity to teach faithfulness has been missed. In its place, the family has learned that church is not of great importance, that church is good when it is convenient. When someone says that they do not attend Sunday night service because that is family time, what they are teaching is that their church family and attendance is not important. They are teaching that secular activities that take place during the week are of higher value than the church. Too often we fill our week with events to the detriment of the family and time spent together. I cannot think of a better night to have family night than Monday night, Tuesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night.

As I look back to my childhood, I now understand that there was a reason why my parents did not book our week with events. There was a reason why we spent our evenings together. There was a reason why the family dinner table was frequented daily. There was a reason why our family had just one TV. There was a reason why this TV was not allowed to be turned on until 8:00 pm if it was turned on at all. There was a reason that as I got older my parents did not allow me to be out every evening. Finally, there was a reason why my friends always wanted to be at my house.

There is stability when the family is spending time together. Then your life is not always rushed. Then there is an excitement when together as a family church is attended.

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Tim Bonebright is the second of my wife Janet’s three sons. He was a youth pastor for six years and is currently between churches. He has a Master of Arts Degree in Biblical Studies from Maranatha Baptist Bible College.  Update, 2015:  Tim is now Pastor of Goodland Bible Church, Goodland, Kansas.