Monday, April 27, 2009

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I saw an ad for one motel chain that had an interesting slant. Apparently, they wanted to highlight how very restful a stay at their motels can be. So as you watch the front of one of their facilities, you hear only the persistent ringing of a room phone. It continues to go unanswered as the narrator points out that you may sleep so soundly at their motel that you may sleep right through your wakeup call. Now, assuming the motel guest has a flight to catch or appointments to keep that day, that's not a good idea.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

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My wife isn't really very big on jewelry, but she takes special joy in pieces that are family heirlooms, like an engagement ring that originally belonged to my grandmother. Over the years, the three small diamonds that had been in that ring had been removed. So, all that was left was a gold band with three empty settings. Well, my wife managed to get a great deal on some stones that she could have set in that ring. It wasn't particularly beautiful before. It's really beautiful now.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

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When I meet people who went to elementary or high school with my wife, they tell me she was shy. I didn't know her then, but I have found that very hard to accept. From the time I met her at a Christian college, she was vivacious, she was outgoing and she was confident. I've asked her about this seeming contradiction. She actually says that both descriptions are right. In her secondary school years, she lived in the country with parents who gave her a lot of love and courtesy and spiritual wealth, but who didn't have much of what our world calls wealth. So, she lived in a home without the conveniences that many of her friends in town would consider basic. She didn't have money to spend on clothes or makeup, so she felt a little self-conscious in a campus world that was so much about the way you dress and the "stuff" you have. But when she got to a Christian college, suddenly everything changed. Here's what she said: "For the first time in my life, the playing field was level."

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

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Ah yes, World History class. I'm sure you remember very vividly all the things you learned there! Right? Well, if you remember anything, you probably remember that for centuries the nations of Europe were fighting it out to be number one on their block; often using their ships to build their empires. If you were out on the high seas back then, sailing for England for example, the only way you knew if an approaching ship was friend or foe was by their colors flying from their mast. That was also how they would know whether or not to shoot at you as well. As the story goes, many captains decided to strategically lower their colors in a risky situation so folks wouldn't know what their allegiance was. But apparently there were a few bold and courageous skippers who gave a different kind of order to their crew. It went like this: "Nail the colors to the mast." "Uh, sir, that means we can't lower our colors if we need to?" "That's right, matey. Nail them to the mast!"

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

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My friend Alan was working with a carpenter friend of his on a building project. Out of the blue, Alan sprang this rather unusual question on the carpenter, "Do you know what the most powerful nails in the world are?" The craftsman paused on his ladder for a moment and then he replied, "I don't know. U.S. Steel?" Alan said, "No. The strongest nails in the world are the three nails that held Jesus Christ on His cross." And then Alan just walked into the other room. A few minutes later, the carpenter called for Alan. He said, "Man, you've got to help me. Every time I drive a nail now, it's like I'm nailing Jesus to the cross." My friend responded, "Well, in a way, we did."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Strongest Nails in the World."

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

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City Boy here is a lot of fun to watch when he's trying to be Farm Boy. My wife and I were helping out in someone else's barn the other night when it happened: the large shadow of something flying over our heads. I hadn't seen the creatures yet; all I could see was this massive shadow on the wall. I knew my responsibility as a man. That's right, run for help! Well, there was actually no reason to run. When we looked up, we saw what was casting those huge, unsettling shadows: some little moths, flying around the little light overhead. The shadow was scary; the reality behind the shadow was not scary at all.

Friday, March 27, 2009

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When you live around New York City like I did for 30 years, you take people on lots of tours. We've had friends visit us from all over the country - all over the world - and, of course, they all want to see the sights of New York that they've heard so much about. We've gotten to take many of them to the Statue of Liberty, the late great World Trade Center, Times Square, Broadway, the United Nations, Central Park. And something interesting happened to me as I introduced others to the place I knew so much about and I'd seen many times. In a sense, I discovered those places for myself in a new way, and I was actually energized by watching their reactions to seeing it all for the first time.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

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I have an inspiring view out of my office window. I look out at a mountain with this rolling field in between me and the mountain. The field dips down into a hollow, or a "holler" as they call it down South. In the spring, some of the trees in the hollow start to bloom in living color. The redbud, the dogwood, they just start setting out their blossoms in all their glory. Last spring, someone walked into my office, glanced out that window, and said, "Well, look at those beautiful trees down there." They are beautiful, but they're in a spot where very few people ever see that beauty.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

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My friend Stan was having some new computer systems installed in his office. In the course of their work, the installers asked him what his password was. Well, in order to understand his answer, you need to know that Stan has experienced a dramatic life change because of something that happened to him spiritually a few years ago. He told the computer guys, "My password is 'Jesus.'" Needless to say, they weren't exactly ready for that one. One of them said, "So you can't get in without Jesus?" My friend smiled and said, "Exactly."

Monday, March 16, 2009

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My life was profoundly affected by the example of five American missionaries who died trying to get the Gospel to a Stone Age tribe in Ecuador who had never heard the name of Jesus. They were actually murdered by the tribe that was then known as the Aucas. Amazingly, the wife of one of those missionaries and the sister of another actually went to the tribe that had killed their loved ones to tell them about Jesus. Today, some of the murderers of the missionaries are the pastors of the Auca, or Waorani, church. It's an amazing story.

I had the unforgettable privilege a few years ago of going to the Ecuadorian jungle to tape a radio program about what happened there. And I met Mincaye, one of the killers, one of the pastors. I learned that those missionary women had difficulty translating the Bible into the native language because this tribe had no word for, actually no concept of, "forgive." But the message somehow had gotten through to Mincaye. Here's what he said: "What we did to those missionaries was a terrible thing. But one day soon I will see them in heaven because Jesus has washed our hearts."