Friday, August 28, 2015

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Each winter certain parts of America get hammered, of course, with monster snow storms. And when it's our turn, we all have stories about how we survived the winter of whatever year.

But no one has a story like a Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland. I never met him, so I hope I got it right. But for 64 days he saw little more than white. He was the first person to cross the continent of Antarctica alone and unaided. It took him 64 days to cover a frozen 1,675 miles. He actually harnessed Antarctica's fierce winds by strapping himself to a parachute-like sail. Get this! And with the winds in his favor, he could ski as much as 140 miles a day. All the while, he towed a sled carrying more than 300 pounds of supplies; enduring monotony and temperatures that dipped under 40 below.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

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Some people get a lot of recognition at their high school graduation. I got a lot of recognition at my graduation practice. We were out on this athletic field. I still remember it was a beautiful June day. We were lined up in alphabetical order like we would be at commencement. Now, the idea is to march up to the platform in step to the familiar strains of the traditional graduation march "Pomp and Circumstance."

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

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Maybe it's because my father-in-law was a corrections officer for a while, and I've heard his stories about the wasted lives behind prison bars. Whatever the reason, I've always admired the men who minister as prison chaplains. That's a tough ministry, but it's a ministry so desperately needed.

Monday, August 24, 2015

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We had lived in that same town for almost twenty years. So I could drive around town blindfolded. And, sometimes, I would act like it. Well, there was the day when I suddenly realized how casual I was cruising the streets close to home - too casual. You know, when you're in an unfamiliar situation you put both hands on the wheel, all eyes and ears, you're intent, you're focused. But, "Hey, these streets, I've driven here a thousand times!" So you just sort of go on auto pilot. Frankly, you know, there were times I didn't pay much attention. Well, for some reason, one of those National Safety Council factoids popped on the TV screen in my brain one day. It said, "The vast majority of accidents take place within a few miles of home." Well that's interesting! It's when you feel the safest that you're really in the greatest danger of all.

Friday, August 21, 2015

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Princess Diana was what they called the People's Princess. I think that's a fair name for her. She fascinated the masses. Her life with the Royal Family was well documented and well followed; still talked about. It began with the fairy tale romance where they didn't live happily ever after. And then her struggles being a Royal, and then the awful night in a tunnel in Paris when the princess died. And then there was the unexpected, unprecedented outpouring of love and respect for her.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

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There's a spot in Vermont that our family has loved to visit for years. And God introduced us to some wonderful friends who made it possible for us to stay at the place they own. Even to get there is beautiful! First, we drive through the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. And then we enter the Champlain Valley of Vermont. And as we're leaving the one range of mountains we're looking at the next range; the scenic green mountains of Vermont.

Monday, August 17, 2015

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Senior year in college! Somehow our son had maneuvered himself into a coveted on-campus house for his senior year. The guys had their stuff and their whole universe there. Not necessarily an orderly universe. He told me that one day he and several other guys were talking about a student leader who was a friend of theirs. Let's call him Marty. Now, think of the atmosphere of college guys in a room together. Yeah, well our son was reviewing some of the dumb things (at least in his opinion) that Marty had done in his leadership choices.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

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My son had more bruises on his body than I've ever seen. He was playing freshman football, and he paid a price. I mean, the coaches ran him until he almost dropped. They ran the guys through all kinds of exercises-hitting, tackling, and sweating. And some guys actually quit because it was just too much. But finally, the games began, and they were winning. And after one of the games they had a great celebration coming back on the bus. They weren't thinking very much about their bruises, because they had just had a 20-0 shut out and they were keeping their winning streak in tact. And that afternoon, my son weighed the pain he's experienced against that pleasure. Now, what he concluded may help you weigh yours.

Monday, August 10, 2015

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If you've ever seen a total eclipse of the moon, you'd have to agree it's pretty amazing! The moon - the great light of the night - suddenly starts to disappear. That big old moon darkens little by little until finally there appears to be no more moon. But don't panic! The moon has no light of its own of course. It's just light reflected from the sun. So, when something comes between the moon and its light source, something like a little tennis ball called earth, the moon just goes dark.

Friday, August 7, 2015

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Five-year-old Jeremy started school in the Fall, and it was more than he bargained for. It was his second morning of his kindergarten experience. Mom got Jeremy up and started helping him get ready. And then came this question, "Do I have to go back to school?" He wasn't counting on an encore. His rationale was, "Well, I already went yesterday." His mother told us, "I didn't have the heart to tell him he's got twelve more years of going to school." Well, he went off to day two - of year one - of twelve more years.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

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I met a man from St. Joseph, Missouri, and I surprised him with my trivia knowledge when I said, "Oh, Pony Express country, right?" He confirmed my recollection that his town was the beginning of the famous Pony Express. What guys those were! Man, they rode their way right into the history books. They're practically legends of the Old West. I mean, they rode endless hours through hostile territory, risked their lives to deliver the mail to the West Coast. You knew that part. What you may not know is how many guys we're talking about here in this legendary operation-just 80 riders, and only one mail delivery was ever lost. How long did the Pony Express run? Only 18 months! It only took a few people a short time to make a great impact!

Monday, August 3, 2015

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My wife is like a human camera. She's able to record in her mind life experiences in living color and in full detail. I wish I could do it! And growing up on a little farm in the hills gave her a childhood full of memorable memories.

Friday, July 31, 2015

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I remember one time years ago when our area had a garbage strike. (It's not a great memory!) The garbage piled up in our garage while the sanitation folks figured out their deal, and it took a while. And it took awhile to get the smell out of our garage.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

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Since we're not all military types, it's probably good to explain what a beachhead is before we talk about one. A beachhead is not where the beach begins. And it's not a guy who just thinks about getting to the beach all the time. In wartime, a beachhead is pretty serious business. It's a small piece of ground that you try to take as your first step in taking all the ground that your enemy holds.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

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My friend Jim loves to wear this shirt that says, "I've been to the wilderness". That's what it says on the front. On the back it says, "I can handle anything." Sounds a little cocky maybe, but he did earn the right to wear the shirt. He went out on a two-week wilderness program where they pushed him, and all those on the trip, to go way beyond their limitations. Running for miles, climbing for hours with a heavy backpack, living off the land, blazing trails, enduring the heat, going solo for two days with almost nothing to live on. Hard? Yes. Fun? Not particularly. Worth it? Ask Jim. Or, better yet, read his shirt. "I've been to the wilderness. I can handle anything!"

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

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Man, did my wife and I grow up in two different worlds! While I was growing up in a little apartment on the South Side of Chicago, my future wife was living in the Ozarks in a tarpaper cabin, wallpapered with Montgomery Ward catalog pages to keep out the winter wind. They called that area "Trail's End", and it was. When her Dad got out of the service, his parents gave him some land where he literally bulldozed a road and then a lot out of the woods. I think my wife's early years sound a little like something out of Laura Ingalls Wilder or the Waltons, the old TV show.

Monday, July 27, 2015

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It used to be a lot simpler to take out the garbage. The only decision we had to make that day was to take it to the curb. Not so much anymore! Now you've got to make sure you don't put out any grass clippings or limbs with your regular trash. We recycle everything! And those items are supposed to be separated. When we lived in the Metropolitan New York area their rules about garbage disposal were even more complicated. My friend Craig had recently moved there and wasn't familiar with the regulations. He let his garbage pile up for the first few weeks with odoriferous results. He finally found the instructions on handling trash and he told me, "It wasn't that I didn't want to get rid of that garbage, I just didn't know how to."

Friday, July 24, 2015

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Sherry's family, who she loves very much, they live in Minnesota, and that's where Sherry lived. She had a home church and a place to work until she decided to move to Arizona. Why, you ask? Why would a young woman to-tally relocate her life to a place where she doesn't have a job and doesn't know many people? One reason: my youngest son. She was about to be his serious girlfriend. And Arizona would just happen to be where our son lived. He worked with Native American young people there. And it should come as no surprise that she wanted to be where the man she loves was. She rearrang-ed her whole life to be with him, and now she's our daughter-in-law!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

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When Princess Diana died no one could have ever predicted the massive public outpouring of love and grief that came from the British people in the week following her death. Maybe you remember that sea of flowers that enveloped the front of Buckingham Palace and Diana's personal residence at Kensington Palace. You couldn't get anywhere near the gates. The flowers seemed to stretch out endlessly! Someone who had been close to the Princess said, "Diana had no idea she was loved like this." That's sad but not unique.

Friday, July 17, 2015

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All right, let's start with a little magic trick today. I need your imagination if you don't mind. Sitting on this table in front of me is this a paper bag, okay? Next to it is a glove. Here's the trick. My glove is going to pick up the paper bag. I have laid down the glove right next to the paper bag. Okay, "Glove, pick up the paper bag! Ah, Glove! Pick up the paper bag!" Are you surprised? Nothing is happening. Now it doesn't matter what I do, doesn't matter if I baptize this glove, get it confirmed or dedicated or rededicated. It's not ever going to pick up the paper bag!