Subscribe  

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

One August night every member of our family got a new name. It was the night our daughter gave birth to her first child – a little boy. And that tiny eight-pound bundle made our daughter "Mommy," and our son-in-law "Daddy," and our boys were suddenly uncles, and my wife became "Grandma." And I became "Husband of Grandma." It was quite a night – and my wife and I were privileged to be able to be with our little grandson right in the birthing room only minutes after he was born. Those are moments I'll never forget. Seeing our daughter, the baby we once held, holding her first baby. And his Daddy, not knowing what other children would come, held that little guy in his arms and said five precious words: "My one and only son."

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

When we lived in New Jersey, twelve straight days of rain was pretty unusual. But I remember this time when we got to take our turn at almost two weeks without sunshine. For most of us, it was just a soggy nuisance. But for some people across town, it meant trading in their car for a rowboat. I turned on the news one night as they were talking about a roof that had caved in on a store in our town. It was the pharmacy I went to all the time. Apparently, water had collected until it just broke through the ceiling, and it literally washed one customer out the door like a raging river! I was in the pharmacy prior to the roof caving in and I noticed that they had put out a couple of buckets on the floor, catching drips from some leaks in the ceiling. First, some little leaks – then suddenly the roof caved in!

Monday, April 11, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

It's always a good idea to lock your luggage when you're flying commercially. It's especially a good idea if you're going out of the country. It's an even better idea if you know where the keys for your suitcase locks are before you try to lock them! I was packing in a rush for my flight to Mexico. I had my padlocks ready to go. I couldn't find the keys. Now with only minutes left before I had to leave, we launched this all out desperate search. We checked drawers – no keys. We looked in creative places – no keys! So I was resigned to leaving with unlocked suitcases and a garment bag, when I zipped this garment bag shut and I found the keys. Someone had been wise enough to attach them to the zipper that we use to lock...right there! What I had been looking for everywhere, it had been right in front of me all along!

Friday, April 8, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

As many of us northerners know, the beginning of Spring does not necessarily coincide with the official date on the calendar, unfortunately! For some of us it's Spring when we see the first Robin, or the first blossom, or green grass. For me, it's Spring the day the forsythia comes out. They appear suddenly. I'm driving along the highway one day, they're not there, and then the next day there's yellow everywhere! I want to yell out the window, "Hey everybody! It's Spring today!" Actually none of this Spring explosion of color is really sudden. Those flowers have been getting ready to bloom for weeks; it's just that I couldn't see them until now.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

If you think all American history is boring, you need to check out the greatest American adven¬ture ever – the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Just as America bought the Louisiana Purchase and suddenly owned much of the West, President Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to put together an expedition to explore this unknown territory. Imagine 30 men, going where no non-Native Americans had ever gone, see¬ing what no non-Native American had ever seen – like the Rocky Mountains, animals like antelope and prairie dogs, tribes that had never been contacted.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Look, you can't study all the time when you're in college; you need a little diversion, right? For me it was that little social action group that I put together. It's called The Vigilantes. Yeah, our social action consisted of very strategic maneuvers – otherwise known as practical jokes. One of them turned out to be very impractical, actually.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Governors' desks were vacant. Senators' offices were empty. They might as well have just put a sign on the door – "Gone to Iowa." Yep! The election season had begun a few months ago. Then they went to New Hampshire and South Carolina and on and on in the wild and crazy 2016 Presidential election year.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Our grandson loves to take home souvenirs from visits to our house: Rocks, shiny rocks, colorful rocks. So why not a rock tumbler for him for Christmas? Today, it's running full speed ahead tumbling rocks. For three weeks! For goodness sake, how long does it take to turn a blah rock into a beautiful rock anyway?

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

I was on a flight several years ago and my neighbor was one of the flight attendants. For whatever reason we ended up talking about plane crashes. Imagine that! One that came to mind in particular was a tragic crash off the coast of Nova Scotia back in 1998.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Kissimmee, Florida is right in the middle of some of Florida's most exciting tourist attractions. So, it's usually associated with happy times. But in February of 1998 the headlines were about tragedy in Kissimmee; 38 people killed in the deadliest tornado outbreak in the state's history up to that time. In its lead front page story, USA Today told about one couple who cowered in horror. And it said, "As the house they had saved ten years to buy literally broke apart around them." Then it got worse. "The garage door," the story said, "blew open and tore away. The door into the kitchen opened, and the wind sucked like a vacuum cleaner, pulling their five-year-old daughter, Elissa, away. Her Dad said, 'She was horizontal, and my wife was holding onto her legs. There was all this glass and everything started to disappear, all the furniture, and the insides of the walls. If my wife had let go of Elissa, we wouldn't have been able to find her.'" USA Today said, "But Judy's grip held. And in a few moments, the tornado had passed and Elissa was safe in her arms." Wow!

                

GET IN TOUCH

Hutchcraft Ministries
P.O. Box 400
Harrison, AR 72602-0400

(870) 741-3300
(877) 741-1200 (toll-free)
(870) 741-3400 (fax)

STAY UPDATED

We have many helpful and encouraging resources ready to be delivered to your inbox.

Please know we will never share or sell your info.

Subscribe

Back to top