September 30, 2019

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Our son was so excited when he called us. Our year-old granddaughter had just gotten up and walked about 30 steps across the floor! We had seen her crawl for the first time...we'd seen her stand by herself and even take a step. But this time she had suddenly exploded into big-time walking. Our son seemed to have an immediate revelation about what this development was going to mean for the life of her parents. He simply introduced his announcement of her walking with these four words, "Let the games begin!" No kidding!

September 27, 2019

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I always thought they were buzzards - but a friend of mine who grew up with them circling overhead told me they are officially turkey vultures. Excuse me. Most of us think of them as nature's garbage collectors, but on a past vacation I developed an appreciation for their grace in flight. Watching them every day I saw them soaring in these graceful circles above me. And, amazingly, they almost never flapped their wings once they were airborne! They ride the warm air currents that rise from the earth as the days temperature gets warmer. They seem to just go where the thermals carry them. And I've got to tell you, it's beautiful.

September 25, 2019

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Boy, when our family was growing up, if you were planning to take our oldest son somewhere, you'd better have all your details or you may not go. See, he was never a great fan of surprises or mystery rides. No, in fact, ever since he was little he wanted a detailed itinerary before he could feel good about any trip.

Man, I would get so many questions, "Well, where are we going, Dad?" "How much money will I need?" "What will we do when we're there?" "What will we do when there's nothing to do?" "Where are we going to eat?" "How long will it take to get back?" Ahhh! He should have been a detective or a reporter with all those questions. I'm not sure he was all that unusual. I mean, most of us like to know a lot about our destination before we leave where we are. Right? But that information is often not available.

September 24, 2019

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It was one of those nights that flashes back in our memory for years, like treasured pictures in a mental scrapbook. It was the early 1990s and the Soviet Union was beginning to break up. Estonia and Latvia had been under Soviet domination for years, with Christians often being persecuted, or marginalized, even imprisoned and beaten. Our daughter was one of a team of college students, privileged to be one of the first Christian teams to be able to freely present Christ in Estonia and Latvia. They had just held some unforgettable meetings with believers in Riga, the capital of Latvia, and they had heard some of the stories of the price some of those dear saints had paid for their loyalty to Jesus. They'd been through so much.

September 23, 2019

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We were driving with some of our young Native American friends in Arizona and we were returning from a little sightseeing outing. And even though men never get lost, right? Well, the man driving did. As we were debating which way to go to get back, one of our Indian passengers described exactly how we had traveled to this area and exactly how we could get back. We listened, we tried it, and we weren't lost anymore! Now maybe it's just been my experience, and sometimes I even joke about it with my Native friends - Native Americans just don't seem to get lost! I've tried to figure this out. Maybe it's just instinct, but over and over I've noticed something. My Native friends pay very close attention to where they're going. Seldom do they have to travel there twice to know where they're going. Now, they have taught me a very valuable lesson - the way to know your way is to pay close attention to where you've been!

September 20, 2019

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It is not easy to get baptized in the desert, especially if you're of the persuasion that believes in being baptized by being immersed in water. Our daughter-in-law grew up in one of those areas without much water, so she got baptized in a horse trough...minus the horse of course. Some Marines in Iraq got baptized in a small brick chapel, in a rubber dinghy filled with water. A young corporal was one of those. He decided to get baptized as his unit was preparing to attack the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. Reports said that he came out of the water dripping wet and beaming. He explained his reason for doing it and for doing it then: "I just wanted to make sure I did this before I headed into the fight."

September 19, 2019

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The first hurricane I was in made me think of the Three Little Pigs story. It also made me think of the wolf, "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down." We were on vacation with our family at the time, and the hurricane was moving into where we were on the coast. We moved downstairs from our upstairs bedroom. We listened to the local station go off air because the water was coming into the station. We tried to sleep but the wind was howling and the rain was pummeling the house. Well the next morning we went out and we surveyed what had happened. The power was out. The trees and wires were down. There was like wreckage everywhere. We had to actually wash and flush using the water that we had wisely stored in the bathtub before the hurricane hit. We ate by candlelight. We changed all our plans, but we were safe. See the storm had beaten up everything around us and it sure affected our lifestyle. But the things that really mattered - they were safe.

September 18, 2019

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I had a funny conversation with the owner of a local restaurant one day. The restaurant was close to our office, so I was there pretty frequently. I usually ran in and grabbed the quickest thing I could and ran out. Well, I was at the cash register and there were two or three others waiting to pay when Tony, the owner, said, "What do you do anyway?" Well, I wanted an opportunity there, and I thought this might be the first chance I had to really let him know that I know Christ.

September 17, 2019

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It was a great day for me when I went bowling and found out that they had invented automatic score keeping. I never could figure it out, especially on the more complicated stuff, when you just had to add it up on these cards. We never went bowling often, but when we did, we used to fumble around trying to figure out how to score the game. There are some folks who'll say, "Let's just have fun in this (whatever the sport is). Forget about the score!" We are not among those folks. No, in fact, no matter what the sport, most athletes would not be interested if no points were kept for goals, or runs, or touchdowns, or whatever. But I have to wonder if the people who just enjoy the game without keeping score have a little less stress in their lives.

September 16, 2019

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The battles were horrendous. The casualties were many. But the outcome changed everything. That's a very quick summary of the final episode of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic trilogy, Lord of the Rings. That trilogy actually jumped off of dusty bookshelves and into the popular culture with their portrayal in three very successful movies. In the story, Tolkien weaves a tale of a world called Middle Earth where these soulless, subhuman beings are attempting to stamp out what they call the "Age of Humans." Finally, in the concluding "Return of the King," Middle Earth's rightful king, Aragorn, leads the humans in one last, all-out attempt to turn back the forces of evil. After many costly battles, there's this glorious coronation day for the triumphant king. As the crown is placed on the head of the rightful ruler before this jubilant crowd of his subjects, they know the dark days are over. And the one who crowned him makes this hopeful announcement, "Now begin the days of the King!"