Tuesday, January 10, 2017

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The funeral plans for Matt were in the works. The Park Service had announced that Matt was one of five people who had been killed in a plane crash on a mountainside in Montana. The funeral never happened. Suddenly, Matt's bereaved parents heard the stunning news: although he had been badly injured, their son, along with one other Forest Service worker, had just been rescued alive, miles from the crash site. Rescue workers at the scene of the crash had concluded that the charred wreckage and the scattered human remains indicated that the crash had been "un-survivable". But amazingly, Matt and his fellow worker hiked for 29 hours, often in subfreezing temperatures, until they reached a highway where a motorist picked them up. One news magazine called it, "A Miracle in the Snows of Montana" (Newsweek, October 4, 2004). I guess!

Monday, January 9, 2017

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Our daughter is all grown up now, but she'll never forget that very scary moment when she was four years old. My wife was shopping in a supermarket with our son riding in the grocery cart and our daughter walking with her – well, actually running ahead of her. Karen had warned her to stay in the same aisle she was in, but we're talking a firstborn here – so she had to run ahead to other aisles to explore, of course. Until suddenly she noticed how high those shelves were and how long those aisles were, and the fact that she didn't see anything familiar. And suddenly she felt that awful feeling that she still describes today as "scary" – she was lost. Not too long ago, she told me how it felt. As a grown woman, she said, "Suddenly my security wasn't there." Thankfully, her mother came looking for her. Our daughter got lost, but someone who loved her found her.

Friday, January 6, 2017

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We had someone on our ministry team who was really an enthusiastic auto-racing fan. If you're into that sport, you know a name like Jeff Gordon is one of the best in the business. One of the people that helped him get to that position is the man who has been head of his pit crew. You've probably seen those high-speed cars swing into their service pit and only seconds later they roar back into the race.

My racing fan friend told me about a TV special a while back on Jeff Gordon. On it, they interviewed the head of his pit crew – who, by the way, has a degree in organizational behavior. Isn't that interesting? He revealed just how amazing the work of the pit crew is in a sport where seconds really matter. The pit crew chief said they will change up to 20 tires in one race. Just think of what those speeds have to do to a tire! And they change a complete set of four tires (You ready now?) in thirteen seconds. That's faster than I can finish off a bite of my dinner! The driver, of course, is the name everyone knows. But the driver knows he's nothing without his pit crew!

Thursday, January 5, 2017

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The precision of America's weapons during recent military engagements has been pretty amazing. But even in these days of high-tech efficiency, there are still casualties and fatalities from what's called "friendly fire". In the war on terrorism, one of our most accurate bombs went astray and killed some of our own military. Several days after that tragedy, four of the men injured by that bomb – men who lost some of their comrades – were interviewed. I was struck especially by the comments of their commanding officer. Basically, here's what he said. "I will have my time to cry and grieve for what we've lost, but not now. I have men to lead and I have a war to win. My feelings will have to wait."

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

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I missed that sunset a few nights ago, but I saw something just as beautiful-the afterglow. A sky painted by my favorite Artist in brilliant hues of orange and yellow. Look, I've seen a lot of sunsets all over the country and all over the world. But the show isn't over when the sun goes down. No, the sky is still glowing; often magnificently. The sun may be gone, but its aftermath is still beautifying our horizon.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

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She was only 21 years old – but she was well on her way to becoming a superstar. Aaliyah was enjoying huge success with her music, and she was beginning to emerge as an actress with a great future. But all that ended in one awful moment in the Bahamas when the plane carrying her and her crew crashed shortly after takeoff. What made the crash even more tragic was the fact that apparently it was avoidable – at least on the preliminary findings of the investigators. The plane had been loaded with something like twice its maximum baggage capacity. And investigators believe that it was all that weight that made the plane go down.

Monday, January 2, 2017

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The Seattle Mariners were in the middle of a baseball game when it hit. It was an earthquake! And the sportscaster in the Seattle King Dome said, "Man, everything is shaking here." Well, the newscast showed the reaction of the Seattle star Ken Griffey, Jr. Even though he is one of baseball's premier players, he ran over to a spot on the field where he could see his family in the stands, and it wasn't baseball he was thinking of all of a sudden. He was motioning to his family to get out of that stadium, now and to start driving home! It reminded me of the night when an earthquake hit that third game of the 1989 World Series in San Francisco, and the remark the San Francisco catcher made that night. Even in the midst of living his World Series dream, speaking of that quake he simply said to a reporter, "Sure does change your priorities, doesn't it?"

Friday, December 30, 2016

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It's usually the most watched event of the Winter Olympics every four years: the women's figure skating competition. Let's go back in the time machine to the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy. A lot of America's hopes for a gold medal were riding on Sasha Cohen; especially after she managed a thin, first-place edge after the initial short program. Then came that decisive long skating program. Suddenly, all hopes of any medal seemed to disappear with a major fall that she had early in her program. The TV commentators actually said, "Well, now it's going to be a fight just be on the podium." With a major deficit in her score from her fall, Sasha Cohen could have easily lost heart, but she didn't. She fought back with a strong and impressive showing in the rest of her performance. When the rest of the world's best had all skated, the young woman who had fallen-who seemed to have forfeited any hope of being a champion-stood on that podium with a coveted silver medal.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

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As our kids were growing up, Saturday was always chore day at the Hutchcraft house. It was the day we got our leaves raked and bagged, rooms got cleaned – or hosed out like a monkey cage as the case may be. It was the day the garage got dug out, the dirty clothes got clean, broken things got fixed. It wasn't that kids jumped out of bed on Saturday morning said, "What do you have for me to do today, Dad?" No, Saturday mornings often involved some delicate labor negotiations, especially when it came to someone getting a job that meant more time and more dirty work than some of the others. That child might say, "I don't want to do Job A. I want Job B." To which I would reply, "I pay the allowances and the bonuses around here." (See, usually there was extra pay for extra work). So I would tell them, "Don't forget lesson #1 of working – you don't pick your jobs. The person who pays you decides the jobs you'll do."

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

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If you consider yourself a religious person, boy, have I got good news for you! Recent research indicates that those who consider themselves religious tend to have lower blood pressure than the rest of the population, they are less likely to be obese, to have cancer, to be hospitalized, and they have a 29% greater chance to live longer! And religious people (it says) tend to have lower rates of depression, less suicide, greater sexual satisfaction in their marriage, and overall a greater sense of well-being. What do you know, Jesus was right when He said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness" and "Blessed are the pure in heart" (Matthew 5:6, 8). Lots of good news if you're a religious person, and some very disturbing bad news.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

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You've probably never heard of the "Pig War" between the United States and Great Britain because it's a war that almost happened. That war almost started in 1859 on the disputed San Juan Island between Canada and the State of Washington. In the midst of that tension between England and the U. S., an American settler named Lyman Cutler shot a pig who was rooting through his potato patch. Unfortunately, that pig belonged to an Englishman, Charles Griffin. That incident was just like a match to a powder keg in an already inflamed situation. For twelve years, there was serious hostility and tension between the U. S. and British authorities over a pig. Finally, General Winfield Scott brokered a peace deal. So, fortunately, the only fatality in this conflict was a pig.

Monday, December 26, 2016

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If you've flown commercially, you know you have to go through a security checkpoint before you can get to your gate. And for those security personnel who man those metal detectors and X-ray machines, there is a four-letter word they won't tolerate. Of course it's the word "bomb." I mean, you can see signs warning you not to even joke about explosives or bombs or anything. And I'm glad! The slightest hint of the possibility of a bomb has been known to literally shut down an airport for hours-I've been there when that happened. That's fine with me if they want to check that out. Nobody in an airport wants to hear the word "bomb" because of what that word represents. That's something that could destroy everything.

Friday, December 23, 2016

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It might be the favorite song of the Christmas season; a lullaby written to the Christ Child many years ago in a little mountain village in Austria. You probably know what it is. A village pastor, desperate for some music for his Christmas Eve service since the church organ wasn't working, thanks to a mouse eating through parts of the organ! His composition didn't stay in that village. It spread from the Alps around the world, and you can't have a Christmas season without hearing it – probably multiple times. The signature song of celebrating Christmas, "Silent Night." Every verse ends with those beautiful calming words, "Sleep in heavenly peace." Nice words. Not always the way it is.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

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The Christmas season isn't complete for my friend Brian if he doesn't sing in that wonderful combined choir presentation of one of the most glorious musical compositions of all time – Handel's "Messiah" – with its unforgettable "Hallelujah Chorus." For many, it's a special part of their Christmas season.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

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It's time to wash the bathrobes again – for the boys to wear in the Christmas pageant. Like thousands of boys at Christmastime, I, too, was drafted into being one of those shepherds. I'm not sure my bathrobe got washed any other time of the year actually. To be petty, I always thought the guys playing the wise men had a better deal. They got to wear some fancy clothes, and they had something to give to Baby Jesus when they came – I think we used to call it gold, frankenstein, and myyrh. But not us shepherds. No, no! Since the Bible doesn't describe any specific gift the shepherds brought, we came empty handed. I thought we looked a little cheap. But I've learned something since then.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

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It was Christmastime and two-year old Timmy was sitting on his aunt's lap. He was ready to get down. His Aunt Gayle gave her usual requirement for letting him go, "You can't get down until you say the magic words." In case you've forgotten, the magic words are "pretty please with sugar and honey on the top." Right. Except for this time. Timmy turned to his aunt and he simply replied: "Unto you is born this day a Savior which is Christ the Lord."

Friday, December 16, 2016

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It was two weeks before Christmas. Our whole family was returning home from a Christmas party when a drunk driver decided he liked our side of the road better than his side. In a split second, he swerved right in front of us. The next second, I was looking at a hood that was folded up almost to the windshield. A few hours in the emergency room showed us that – miraculously – none of us had been seriously injured. The car, however, didn't do as well. It was totaled.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

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Our granddaughter was almost three when her parents took her to the place that blew her little mind-Disneyland. She loved Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh and Cinderella, and this was where they live, right? For many months afterward, she continued to talk about the experiences she had there. But it was her first reaction that was the most priceless of all. They got off the tram and walked onto the main street of Disneyland with a castle in front of them and Disney characters greeting them. Her reaction wasn't verbal, so it's a little hard to convey it. But imagine a dark-haired, dark-eyed, round-faced little girl stopped in her tracks with her eyes like saucers, her hands suddenly covering her mouth, and one audible reaction – gasp!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

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If you've ever been a Marine, this question is going to be a piece of cake. What's the motto of the United States Marine Corps? Even if you've never been a Marine, you may well know the answer: "Semper Fidelis" – always faithful. Or "Semper Fi," as the Marines like to say. But a former Marine recently told me there's another Marine Corps motto, and it doesn't appear on anything official, but he said it's one Marines learn to live by – "Semper Gumby." Remember Gumby, that rubbery cartoon character who could bend every which-way. Semper Gumby – always flexible!

Monday, December 12, 2016

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It was a beautiful day for sailing, and our friend Dave had invited us to go out on Long Island Sound with him and his wife. It was not hard to decide whether to go, believe me. The Sound was actually relatively calm that day. There was a very gentle breeze and not a cloud in the sky, but suddenly Dave announced to us, "We're heading in." I couldn't think of a single, rational reason to waste the rest of such an idyllic afternoon. I said, "Why Dave?" He said, "To beat the storm." Right?