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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

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It seems like it's almost America's spiritual national anthem - even more so after the emotional earthquake of September 11, 2001. You heard it a lot then. It's that centuries-old hymn, Amazing Grace. For years, they've played it at the funerals of fallen policemen and firemen and of many everyday men and women. It's been the subject of a public television documentary. And on the emotional anniversaries after September 11, at Ground Zero, what song have the bagpipers played as they approached that site which has become hallowed ground? Of course, they were playing the haunting strains of Amazing Grace. Even for people who don't go to church or know much about the Bible or even believe much of anything, they know Amazing Grace.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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When you live in the New York area, locking up your house is just second nature. In fact, it's wise to make sure that every door and every window is locked. Unfortunately, all those precautions can work against you if you forget or lose your house key. Listen to the voice of experience. Not only are all those nasty people locked out, you are now locked out! I've been there and done that. I can remember making a complete circuit of the house, desperately trying every window and every door. And the good news was that sometimes I actually found something that was unlocked. I'd take even a window that I had to be a contortionist to get through! Anything to find a way to get in!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

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Not long after I got up this morning, I looked in the bathroom mirror - it wasn't very pretty. My hair had exploded during the night! (What I have!) There were whiskers that needed shaving; there were several repairs that need to be made. Maybe you have the same kind of experience when you look in the mirror in the morning. You ask yourself, "How in the world could six hours do so much damage?" Usually, what you see in the mirror involves more than just information (Oh man! Look at that skin! Look at that hair!) No, no, no, it calls for transformation! You see what you really look like and you got to work on it!

Friday, January 9, 2009

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I had to laugh as my friend Cathy told me about an experience she had at a former job, because it tells so much about how my half of the human race thinks - like men, I mean. Cathy and her boss had rented a car at the airport for a relatively short trip from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport to a nearby city. We're talking like a few minutes' drive here, but not for Cathy and her boss. No, they just kept driving in circles, retracing their steps, turning around. I mean, her boss obviously did not know where he was going. Cathy kept suggesting he stop for directions, but, "No, I know where I'm going." Of course men always do, right? She said she got to the point where she was ready to punch him if she saw this particular restaurant one more time! (Good thing she didn't!) Finally, four hours later, they got to their destination. Was this man lost? Yes. Could he admit he didn't know where he was going? No! He's a man!

Monday, January 5, 2009

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Our three-year-old grandson had found something he really liked in the Christian bookstore. He brought it to his Daddy and he told him he really wanted it. Our son-in-law said, "Well, do you have any money?" Sadly, our grandson said, "No." But his disappointment was quickly replaced with determination as he went over to this display area where they have this fake money you can buy. He marched up to the cash register with the prize he wanted and the "money" to pay for it. Dad re-entered the scene at that point and said, "Is that really money?" Finally, our grandson faced the sad reality. He said, "No. It's not really money."

Monday, December 29, 2008

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My wife, like many women, is like "wonder woman" when it comes to rescuing clothes that seem to be ruined by a big stain. Like our sons' high school football uniforms. Hey, our colors were blue and white. Did I say white? The idea was to have those white pants as dirty as possible at the end of the game to prove that you played hard. But the idea also was to have those pants really white at the beginning of the game. So, home they came with these pants that seemed terminally stained with dirt and mud and grass stains. Now the only way my very intelligent wife would let them play football was if they agreed to wash their own uniforms - smart lady. But she showed them how to get those stains out with her magic combination of regular detergent and dishwasher detergent. Now, no matter how dirty those things had been, they came out clean. And yes, the stains were all gone.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

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Who needs Santa Claus? Our family sure doesn't. Not with our little grandson around. With the family all gathered in our living room for opening our gifts, we've got the best gift-deliverer around. Our grandson gets so excited about each gift, no matter who it's for. He identifies what name is on the tag on each present and then he runs to deliver it to them. Of course, there are certain gifts he's more excited about than others - the ones that have his name on them.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

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It was World War I, and it was Christmas Eve. The German and British soldiers were dug in just hundreds of yards apart. But it turned out to be much more than just another tense and violent night on the battlefield. It began when one German soldier began singing "Silent Night" from his trench. Pretty soon he was joined in German by many more of his fellow soldiers. Amazingly, the voices of hundreds of British soldiers began to join in the carol from their trenches. Now that has to have been a moment those soldiers never forgot - opposing armies singing "Sleep in heavenly peace" in the middle of a battlefield.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

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Every time you sing that Christmas carol, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," you sing those words, "Peace on earth and mercy mild." But if you ever watch the news or read a newspaper, you might well be asking, "Whatever happened to peace on earth?" That's a good question. Some have said that the terrorism danger for Americans has remained high, even after September 11, 2001. One national correspondent expressed on television what a lot of people are feeling. He said, "I have never in my lifetime seen such a high degree of threat to our personal security." And recent financial developments sure haven't helped that. Then you throw in dangers that you may be facing personally, medical, financial, your personal life - where's that peace that Christmas is supposed to be about?

Monday, December 22, 2008

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Like most families, Christmastime for us has always been a season of secrets, mysteries and anticipation. And sometimes even a little frustration. Like the year my wife and I decided to build a dollhouse for our daughter and then a general store for our son. We closed off the basement and we set up our workshop. The sign on the basement door said, "Closed - Christmas Workshop." But, of course, the kids could hear the construction sounds downstairs, and it drove them nuts! They begged us to tell them what we were working on. But that, of course, would have ruined everything. Even though it left them wondering, we were building something nice for them. They just couldn't see it until it was done.

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