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Monday, August 25, 2008

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Somehow we managed to surprise each of the three Hutchcraft kids when it came time for their 16th birthday party. Now our daughter's was a Teddy Bear picnic party. (You should have seen all those high school students coming with their teddy bears - even the guys! They really did!) And then the boy's themes were - well, there was the '50s theme, and then there was the Wild West party for another son. Actually, we have always tried to make something special out of the kids' birthdays. After all, your birthday is the only day of the year that's uniquely your celebration. It's always a great feeling to have a party in your honor.

Friday, August 22, 2008

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A lot of news stories just flash into our lives and then are forgotten almost immediately. Then there are those images that are just embedded in our brains for years to come. Several years ago one of those events happened, and a lot of us can still see the images of that dramatic rescue in our minds. A little toddler named Jessica had been playing in the backyard in Midland, Texas, and she plummeted down this narrow little shaft. She was wedged in there; trapped underground. It seemed as if the whole nation stopped to watch the tense vigil as rescuers tried to find a way to save that little girl. It was a long ordeal, but one rescuer, using a parallel shaft and working in the tightest of quarters, was finally able to get to little Jessica. And in a moment of incredible relief and joy, he brought her out.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

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I've had days when my back felt about 20 years older than the rest of my body. Sciatica is what I think the doctor called it. I just call it "sorebacka." I'm grateful I haven't had a bout like that for several years, but I can tell you that when I wake up crooked, I feel like just staying in bed or in any comfortable position I can find. But I got some good advice. Someone said, "Go for a walk when your back is hurting." Now, let me tell you this, walking is the last thing I feel like doing, but I decided to try it. I walked around our nearby lake, and by the time I returned, the pain had basically gone away. I had to force myself to exercise, but it was exercise that actually made me feel better. Now there's a new scientific study that compared two groups of people with "sorebacka" - one that took it easy and one that exercised. The exercisers reported less pain and more mobility. Now, what you don't feel like doing when you're hurting is what will actually help you stop hurting!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

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My friend, Bill, was used to handling heavy equipment, but he wasn't used to what happened that particular day. He had his trailer hitched to his dump truck. And Bill was driving his backhoe onto the trailer. One small problem - sort of a physics problem. As the weight of Bill and his backhoe pressed on the back of the trailer, the rear wheels of the dump truck were suddenly lifted up into the air which means no brakes on a downhill slope yet! So try to picture this: this man riding on a backhoe which is riding on a trailer, which is hitched to a truck that is heading straight downhill out-of-control. I said, "Bill, what did you say?" His answer was pretty simple, "Oh no! Oh no!!" He had absolutely no control. So how did he live to tell about it? Well, he threw that backhoe in reverse and backed off as fast as he could. Balance was restored and the truck and trailer - well, they jackknifed. And I'm not even making any of this up!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

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When you work at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, you know there will be no physical link to the outside world for you between February and October. You are 840 miles from the nearest populated site and you're facing average winter temperatures of eighty below zero. Now, imagine being one of the women stationed there and discovering a lump that indicates you have breast cancer. Distant medical authorities determined that this lady must receive some emergency medical supplies. (And it really happened.) Getting those supplies, though, is easier said than done.

Monday, August 18, 2008

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I was in the room when my friend Bob went up to the speaker for the day and made a fairly startling statement. He took his three young children with him, pointed to them, and said to this speaker, "If it weren't for you, these children wouldn't be here." Needless to say, the gentleman looked at him pretty curiously. But that was not an overstatement. And it attested to a dramatic miracle that my friend had experienced.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

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When our Native American outreach team went to Alaska, our only means of getting to remote Eskimo villages was by missionary aircraft.  Oh, man, our pilots were the best!  Many days we had to fly through low cloud ceilings and low visibility.  On a day like that, our pilots were checking every hour on the weather at our end and at our destination.  There was finally a break where we could fly, but it all looked pretty dismal when we took off.  The pilot of the plane I was in was instrument-rated, which enabled him to go to a higher altitude.  The pilot of the plane accompanying us wasn't able to take the high road.  So, my pilot kept in radio contact with the other pilot, but believe me, our planeload and the other planeload were seeing two totally different views.  From where the other plane was flying, it was dark, it was dismal, and it was very overcast.  But we were above all that. We were enjoying a beautiful, sunny day with all those clouds beneath us.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

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When our older grandson was 14 months old, he had a ball discovering his world. I loved to take him in my arms and get him excited about something in God's world. I'd point to a tree, or a flower, or a dog, or a cow and teach him the word for it. After that, whenever we'd be together, he'd start the pointing, and he'd give me his version of the word for whatever he was point to. But I think I saw the greatest wonder in him when he'd look up at the night sky. It didn't matter what was going on around him, he'd start looking up and pointing at the moon, at the stars; oh, man, he loved the stars. He just couldn't miss those lights shining in the dark night sky.

Monday, August 11, 2008

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When we were involved in building a new headquarters for our ministry, I have to confess that was new ground for me. I've been involved in building people my whole life, but not buildings. It became very clear that there is a specific order in which you have to do things. Obviously, you don't just start by having the carpenters show up and start putting up the building. There has to be a foundation laid first. But wait - you can't lay the foundation or start building until you have the detailed plans for the building. Yes, it takes contractors, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, pavers, and heating and air conditioning people. But first, the architect! Without his design, it would be just a mass confusion at the construction site. But thankfully, we had a gifted architect lay out a detailed plan, and things are working well because everyone is going by the plan.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

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Not long after the Gulf War, an Air Force chaplain planted this mental picture in my head I've never forgotten. He told me what he considered to be the ultimate example of loneliness. The chaplain said, "To me, lonely is a fighter pilot in his F-16, on a night mission over enemy territory. The only light is this eerie glow from his instrument panel - and his instruments indicate that his plane has just been "painted" as a target for an Iraqi SAM missile. The only sound he hears in that ultimately lonely moment is this song playing in his headset - God Bless the USA.

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