Friday, July 15, 2016

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If you asked our daughter what was one of the most memorable Christmas gifts she ever received as a girl, I think she'd say the dollhouse. Now there are certainly better crafted dollhouses than the one her mother and I gave her, but we made this one! One December, we just hung a "closed" sign on the basement door and we made it into our workshop. Of course our hammering and sawing down there drove all three kids crazy. "What's going on down there?" Frankly, my December was really crammed, so the work was often pretty late. And it took quite a few hours (Face it, I was not ever asked back in the days of that Tool Time show to ever make a guest appearance). But I enjoyed every minute of working on that dollhouse. Was I tired? Yes. Was I too busy to be taking on this project? Yes. Did this make me go beyond the things I do well? For sure. Was it a pleasure? Yes! Why? Because it was for a little girl I loved very much.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

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Some years ago, my wife had a very serious case of hepatitis. Later, the specialist told her that the battle for her liver was so acute he could hear the blood rushing to save it; just like Niagara Falls, he said. Thank God, she recovered fully with no trace today of that disease or any of its effects. But it took a while – seven months of bed rest. That was an interesting time for Daddy – suddenly known as Mr. Mom – and for our three children. Thankfully, our church brought dinner to our home almost every night. God bless them! It's a good thing. I mean, if it had been up to me to feed the kids, they probably would have been on the cover of something like World Vision magazine. But tough as it was, my wife said she had so much to praise God for in her recovery from hepatitis. For one thing, no one could really look to her or count on her for seven months. Here's what she said about it. "God gave me the gift of cleansing my schedule!" He had weeded out a lot that she said didn't matter after all and left only what did.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

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John Parker had it made. After two attempts to escape being a slave to a Southern slave owner, he had finally gotten his freedom. He chose to live in Ripley, Ohio, right on the freedom side of the Ohio River. He got a house and he got a good job as a factory worker. In fact, ultimately, he owned a foundry and he invented many processes that were used widely in the foundry industry. He was safe, secure and successful. But night after night, John Parker risked it all. Under cover of darkness, he rowed across the river to the Kentucky side-slave territory. If he was caught, he could lose his freedom. He could even lose his life. But in spite of the risks, John Parker went looking for runaway slaves. And he found them and rowed them across the river to the freedom side. It's actually believed that John Parker was responsible for at least 900 slaves going free.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

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I kept telling my wife that I expected Tarzan or George of the Jungle to come swinging through our house at any moment. She had set up a corner of the house as her own personal little jungle to accommodate the new guests in our house-our orchids. She found some sources for orchids that were pretty reasonable, and she really enjoyed collecting them. They were very stately and lovely flowers.

Monday, July 11, 2016

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When you've got young grandchildren, over the years you keep learning about these "heroes" they have from children's videos and television programs. Now, we had grandchildren who got very well acquainted with characters like Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber from "Veggie Tales". Back in their day it was "Blue's Clues", "Bob the Builder", and so we had to learn about those. Bob the Builder, now he was the cause of some major excitement one Christmas. An aunt and uncle gave our 3-year-old grandson Bob the Builder coveralls. See, Bob would wear this yellow hardhat and blue coveralls, with yellow tools hanging from a tool belt. The coveralls even have the belt, with a yellow plastic hammer, a plastic screwdriver, a plastic wrench. When our grandson emerged from the bedroom as Bob the Builder, man, he just lit up with excitement.

Friday, July 8, 2016

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I was speaking for an Easter Sunrise Service in the Ozarks, and I saw something that seemed strangely out of place. In front of this church, there's a 10' section of a brick wall with a sign in front of it that says, "Berlin Wall." I was thousands of miles from Berlin, but here was a chunk of what used to be the most famous, and maybe the most infamous wall in the world. Many of us remember how the Berlin Wall represented for decades the Cold War division of our world into Communist and free. The Communists built it on the border between East Berlin and free West Berlin. In spite of that wall, many people still risked everything to scale it and escape to freedom. A few made it. Many died trying.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

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For several years, our offices were located on the third floor of an old factory building. An alley ran behind our building, and there was an antique elevator that was useful if you had to transport things to that third floor. If you parked back there, you had to walk by this big old electrical thing that was surrounded by a chain link fence – with a sign that had these words in big print: "High voltage. Do not touch." I personally never knew anybody who disregarded those instructions. I certainly was never tempted to.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

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Kobe Bryant decided to set off some fireworks for his final game in the NBA. Sixty points carried his team to an unlikely and dramatic victory! That's a pretty good way to wrap up 20 seasons and five championship rings! Kobe Bryant finished well, and he went out in a blaze of glory.

But so is my friend Kenny. Not on a basketball court. It was in his hospice room. The doctors said he didn't have much more time; walking as Psalm 23:4, our word for today from the Word of God says, "through the valley of the shadow of death." It actually begins that Psalm by saying, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Yes, though I walk through the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me."

Monday, July 4, 2016

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Oh, grandkids! They just keep lighting up your life, right? When our oldest was just past the one-year mark, it was exciting to see him investigating all the things around him and learning the words of what things are called – Daddy, car, moon, dog, ball. And he even learned one of the hardest words of all. It's not hard to pronounce – just to accept. You know that simple little word – "no". Now, I didn't say he liked the word. I said he was learning the word. In fact, I'm not sure any of us really loves the word.

Friday, July 1, 2016

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The Department of Homeland Security is a fairly new idea in American government. Of course, we live in pretty dangerous times and we need an agency that coordinates our efforts to keep our country safe from growingly hostile forces that could hurt us. But "homeland security" is hardly a new idea. It's been the job of every parent since children were invented. It's a sacred assignment – guarding our family from the things that could hurt them, and the job's never been more difficult.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

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The crews assigned to the recovery effort after the September 11th attack on the Pentagon had an awful job to do. They were working in 120-degree heat; they were making their way through the wreckage left behind when terrorists flew Flight 757 into the Pentagon. They didn't find any survivors. They did find a mass of concrete and metal debris; the metal too hot to touch. But the news reported that they had found a sign of hope as they looked into that black chasm inside. On a second floor, right next to where the jet sheared off a section of the building, was an undisturbed stool. On it was a thick, open book – a Bible. It wasn't burned. Neither was anything around it or on the two floors above it. The leader of the recovery team was quoted as saying, "I'm not as religious as some, but that would have me thinking. I just can't explain it."

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

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Lori Piestewa was the first woman killed in the Iraq war. She was a Native American and a single mom with two children. She died in an Iraqi ambush, and her good friend Jessica Lynch was wounded, captured and rescued. You might remember that. She was determined to help fulfill Lori Piestewa's dream – to have a house for her parents and her children. Jessica Lynch contacted the TV program, "Extreme Makeover," to see if they could make it happen. Their popular program showed them doing amazing makeovers of people's homes in a very short time; re-creating them into houses that were far beyond anything the owner's ever dreamed. They did it again for a war hero's family, moving them from their deteriorating trailer home into a wonderful new home. Given the good TV ratings of the show, apparently a lot of people loved to watch those amazing transformations.

Monday, June 27, 2016

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It was Bible story time for our three-year-old grandson. When Daddy asked about David, our little Bible scholar said, "David obey God." But when Daddy asked about Jonah, our grandson said, "Jonah not obey. Go in whale." Then, for the grand prize, "What happens if you don't obey?" The little guy paused for a moment and then he answered, "Go in whale".

Friday, June 24, 2016

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Marty McFly met a strange scientist with a machine that promised interesting results – the ability to go back in time. And he did. He went, as the title of the movie about it said, "Back to the Future." He had a most amazing experience getting to know his mother and father when they were teenagers – an experience some of us might find very interesting. His dad, George McFly, was a milquetoast, bossed-around kind of guy, afraid to stand up to anybody. Marty always knew him to be that kind of a guy, until he was transported back to the night that would determine the course of the rest of his Dad's life – and his Mom's. One decision – whether or not George McFly will stand up to the bully who is attacking his girlfriend – who is to become Marty's mother – is the turning point of George's life. And Marty is there to help his Dad make the right and courageous choice. It totally changes the course of George McFly's life. He steps up, defends his girl, and neutralizes the bully who wanted her. So instead of the life Marty has known with a pretty unsuccessful, wimpy dad, he returns to his life with a strong and successful dad because of that choice. A very different life because of one decision that changed the future.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

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Our daughter was doing something she did several times a day – picking up our infant grandson. She bent over OK – but suddenly she couldn't straighten up. A sudden pain shot through her back, almost paralyzing her really. She managed to set the baby down and to lie down on the bed. The pain was almost unbearable, and she couldn't move. Daddy was at the office and the only one there to call for help was our 3-year old grandson. He picked up the phone, dialed Daddy's office, got the receptionist and gave her a simple but direct message – "Mommy got boo-boo on her back – tell Daddy to come home now!" When he was put through to Daddy he gave it to him direct - "Daddy, Mommy got boo-boo on her back – come home now!" In a matter of minutes, it was Daddy to the rescue. In a matter of days, it was Mommy back to normal.

Monday, June 20, 2016

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Our girl was always a wonderful daughter and now she's become a wonderful mother. She's incredibly conscientious, attentive, loving - sounds like her father talking, huh? When our grandson was a baby she was pretty careful about what our he ate, about baby proofing everything, about always having him ride in his infant seat - oh, and about cleanliness. Oh yeah, hand sanitizer! That stuff that's called Purell - that antibacterial liquid that works without water. But it's not just Mom and baby who are required to use the sanitizer--oh, no-- any of us who was planning to hold him...especially in those early months when germs can do so much damage. It almost became a joke in our family...you reach for the baby and you will be intercepted by a bottle of Purell! Our daughter understood a very basic principle of staying healthy-if you want to avoid problems, keep your hands clean!

Friday, June 17, 2016

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I enjoy reading my newspaper. My kids enjoyed crashing through my newspaper to sit on my lap. Nowadays, it's getting harder to bother your father while he's checking out the news. You'd have to jump on his iPhone.

Anyway, I could relate when I heard about this little guy who kept interrupting his dad while he was reading his voluminous Sunday paper. For a while, Dad was able to buy a little time by saying "pretty soon, Son." But eventually, Son wasn't buying it.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

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My daughter and I hugged a lot when she was little. Even when she got to be a grownup college student, we would still declare "hug alert!" Sometimes, when I hug my daughter, she'll say, "You smell like Daddy." Now, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Now she hugs other men, of course – her husband, most of all...her brothers. She tells me they smell like themselves, too. I guess it's good that I smell like Daddy – I'd hate to smell like someone else. The fact is that people actually do have a distinctive aroma, whether it's pleasant or unpleasant. And we remember the smell they leave behind, don't we?

Monday, June 13, 2016

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The youngest of our three children had the opportunity to observe what worked and what didn't work for his older brother and sister - especially when it came to getting or not getting their way in their social life. By the time he reached junior high, he had developed a very interesting approach to getting a "Yes" to what he wanted to do with his friends. He would come to us, he would lay out a thorough plan, let's say for this Friday night. He told us which five friends were going, where they were going, whose mother would drive them there, whose mother would drive them home, what time they would leave, what time they would get home. We had everything but photo IDs of the kids who were going. Although, I'm sure he probably would have supplied those upon request. Obviously, there was one problem with this exquisite planning. We weren't consulted until the plans were complete, and a "No" to him would be a "No" to five friends and two drivers! As a father, I'd give that boy an "A" for initiative, but an "F" for checking with your father before your plans are almost irreversible!

Thursday, June 9, 2016

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It was during the Gulf War, shortly before the ground troops attacked Saddam Hussein's forces in Desert Storm. Everyone knew he had large stores of chemical weapons and that the Allied soldiers were in danger of those weapons being unleashed on them. I saw this interview on television back then. It was with an American soldier who talked about the training the troops were receiving in chemical warfare. Here's what she said, "You know, it's funny. They taught us about chemical warfare in basic training, but no one paid any attention. But now, well, everyone's really paying attention, taking notes, asking questions."