The Good Samaritan

I am always considering my faith. I was born into the Christian faith and as a young adult decided to search for more.

During this period of searching, my faith was strengthened as I went through the peaks and valleys that shaped me.

As a Father and Husband I am positive I do not have all of the answers however I have personal experiences that I share with my teenager daughter.

Recently we were talking about the importance of actions in addition to words.

As we were leaving church this past Sunday which was Palm Sunday, I pointed to a motorcycle that was riding past. My wife and daughter know how much I miss riding motorcycles and were just as excited to see the “bike” I am contemplating purchasing.  Just then the bike made a sudden stop and down went the bike and rider.

I immediately went to the aid of the rider, helping him up and moving his new bike to the side of the road. My daughter saw me in action and came to assist. She sprinted to church to gathered some bottles of water as I calmed and comforted the rider. During our chat I learned that he is a new rider, his bike is only a few months old and his injury did not need medical attention do to him being proactive with full riding gear including a full face helmet, gloves, long pants and boots.

After a few minutes and multiple questions about his state of mind I gave him my contact info and made him commit to follow up about his situation. He did follow up via email and thanked us for our efforts.

A few days later while reading a daily devotional I see the following.

The parable about the good Samaritan always touched me. Why did the Priest and the Levite avoid helping this person who was in need? Why did the Samaritan not only assist but provide extra help even using his “social capital” to make sure this man was taken care of?

In the morning before reading this devotional I was led to ask God to show me something spiritual today.  Hey God I saw it!

Friends be encouraged and think about the spirit of the 3 people in this parable and consider which one your actions are feeding.

Fifth Annual Bierfest hosted by The German Society of Pennsylvania

Review of the Fifth Annual Bierfest hosted by The German Society of Pennsylvania

In the land of Benjamin Franklin, a stone’s throw from the statue of Edgar Allan Poe’s raven, a

wonderful, glorious event took place on a day which was just as magnificent. The German Society of

Pennsylvania’s Bierfest. For those of you who want a quick recap, here it is:

Atmosphere: There were four main rooms that were serving beer and had all the action, which explains

why they are the only ones I know of, and why I wouldn’t know of more. There were happy people in all

of them, and some of those people were even in lederhosen and wearing drindls, which definitely

helped get to get a person in the spirit. Also, maybe because they sold a limited amount of tickets and it

was a lovely day outside, none of the rooms were overcrowded. This is a plus, because there was less of

a chance of spilling the precious nectar of the Gods.

Entertainment: In the PA Beer Hall, there was a Bluegrass band playing. It’s not my favorite genre of

music, but it was good. It didn’t make me want to drink more to forget it, so that’s good. In the German

Beer Hall there was a (brass? Not an entire one, just a trombone and some other nice instruments) band

playing a nice variety of songs, some German and some not (they played Sweet Caroline and other songs

like that at one point). In my opinion, the German beer hall definitely had the better entertainment.

Variety of Beer: There was a room filled with local, Pennsylvania brewers. And then another filled with

German beers. There wasn’t an enormous amount of them, but there were more than me and my

stepdad could handle. Plus, who needs and enormous amount of names when the beer is unlimited?

After a once through, you could start at the beginning again and they’d all taste different because your

insides would be halfway through fermenting.

Quality of Beer: Excellent. Which is another reason why the variety and range of selection didn’t matter

as much. You could stick with one brand get way more than your money’s worth.

Food: The food was excellent. There were sausage sandwiches and potato pancakes and other delicious

treats. My only problem with it was that there was not enough. It was free, which is probably why they

were small servings. There was a food truck right outside of the main entrance, but it was a little

inconvenient, for me at least, to take time out of my tour of my PA and German beer sampling spree to

leave the building to go buy food.

Price: When I first saw the price of the tickets, I was on the fence. But then I arrived, and readers, the

beer was free. All of it. As much as you could drink. Even with that amazing caveat, I did not see one

person lying on the floor. The attendees were either actually pacing themselves, or were some special

breed. Or they were smart about their beer drinking and somehow made themselves stick to one type

and didn’t do an entire taste tour of PA and Germany.

Overall grade: B+

Not a perfect A, because it wasn’t a month-long celebration and there wasn’t obvious access to water so

I could drink more.

Samantha Jade Thompson for Trenton 365 / Lifestyle By Amans Brindled

www.trenton365.com

https://www.facebook.com/amansbrindled/?fref=ts

Coverage from the 2015 Philly Bierfest