One Sunday afternoon, my son and I were chasing a Giants football game wherever we went. When we were near the TV at home, of course, we were glued to that. And then we were in the car, and so we'd listen on the radio. And when we got to a place where one of us had to go in, only one of us went in so the other one could stay in the car and could get an update. Yeah, a little fanatic! And then the one who went in got back as soon as he could.
If you're a sports spectator, it's the least exciting part of the event. If you're a player, it can really make an important difference. It's called a "time out." Now on TV, a time out is a good excuse for a commercial. But some important things are sorted out during time outs. A coach can give you some perspective on what you're doing right or wrong, some suggestions on how to play better, to improve, look at the weaknesses of the other team. You can catch your breath, you can recover, you can regroup. A time out wisely used can actually make a decisive difference in the game...in your game.
You know, I've been told so many times in my life, "Go take a hike," so I finally did. Well, this particular summer I was at a lovely Christian conference center in California called Forest Home. One day when I wasn't speaking, they had a nature hike. They had a fellow called Father Nature who took us out (you didn't know there was a Father Nature I'll bet) and he showed us the four different kinds of nature zones they had on their property.
You know, after a whole lot of airplane flights in my life, it was refreshing one day to have a pilot who really took seriously that little phrase "friendly skies." He was a friendly pilot! He was kind enough to keep pointing out what we were seeing below. Most pilots are friendly, but they don't take all the time to, you know, be kind of a tour guide and say, "On the left side..." "On the right side of the plane..."
Our family had a chance to visit Colonial Williamsburg, that great restored 18th-century village there in Virginia. And as we were looking at one of the more important homes there in Colonial Williamsburg, we noticed a lot of activity in the yard next to the house. I went over and I asked some people what was going on, and they said, "It's a dig." Sure enough, here were some archeologists and college students excavating in the yard to find the remains of the old slave quarters and to discover some treasures there in the dirt that would give them some idea of the lifestyle of those slaves back in the 18th century.
When it was 7:00 a.m. in the Hutchcraft house, the word "chaos" took a new meaning - a typical school day morning. It was very exciting to get two teenage sons up, get them around, and get them dressed and out to school. Of course, both of them were a little crazy like their Mother, and that contributed to the chaos as well. Finally we were able to get them off to school.
In my many years of youth ministry I have learned that teenagers love to get mail, and if they get mail, they'll probably look at it. They don't actually get all that much sometimes. And when you send them a promotional piece, there has to be a good attention getter on it.
I used to think that the more I got on planes and went places the easier it would get. Wrong! It always got tougher to be away from home.
I remember one major trip I took to South Africa. I knew I'd be gone for two and a half weeks, and as the family took me to the airport, we said a quick goodbye. We figure quick goodbyes are the easiest. And I remember as I walked through the door and left them behind and I got out of their sight, I was choking back tears. And I said, "Boy, I'm not like this very often." But honestly it hurt to leave them.
Now, the problem with professional football games is they keep slowing down for huddles and time outs; especially those commercials. I'll tell you when they don't slow down. It's near the end of the game where your team is behind, and with two minutes left, a team often skips the huddle and all the delays, and they just go right from one play to the next. They forget the game plan; there's two minutes left. They go for broke!
Hey, I really like Florida, and it's a great place, but I probably will never live there. I do enjoy going there, but my problem is I'm a four-seasons freak. I just enjoy the changes of season, and I think I would miss that a lot. Of course, I grew up in the north and so I probably got used to that.
Comments (2) 
