Thursday, January 12, 2012

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Every summer we used to take a large delegation to a great youth conference in Ocean City, New Jersey. One of our veteran staff was in charge of that delegation, and it was a big responsibility at the shore. When my son was old enough to go to that conference, he commented on Greg's leadership. He said, "You know, Greg's really serious." Well my wife and I kind of laughed. We said, "Oh, you should hear some of the crazy things he's done down at Ocean City." And then my son said, "Not any more. He's in charge now." Well, my son was making a pretty valid observation. As your authority increases, so does your responsibility. Followers, I guess, can goof off, but leadership; oh, that's serious business.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

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I've frequently visited the beaches on the East coast with my family. Oh, we love them! One visit, it wasn't just another day with the family at the beach. No. No, see, the lifeguards at Ocean City, N.J. suddenly made everyone get out of the water - fast! And you know what I'm thinking. I'm thinking "Jaws"! So I was really cooperative. I got out real fast! Well, instead, it was all about these two children, and they had to plunge in and rescue them because they were in trouble out by a jetty there.

Friday, December 30, 2011

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Mystery rides were part of growing up at our house. Usually it was a Sunday afternoon, and I'd pile our three kids, who were little then and never will be again, into our car for a ride. I think we explored every corner of our area. And as we did, we discovered over the years, a lot of great things. But I've got one son who's a lot like me. He wants to know the plan before we leave.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

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So who needs an alarm clock in our neighborhood? We've got ravens! Yeah, those big black birds discovered our backyard. Now, ravens apparently are early risers, a little earlier than most people are. And they are also, shall we say, active conversationalists. Which makes them wonderful alarm clocks for those early morning hours whether you want them or not! Frankly I don't mind it. It's great to have all the birds singing their little spring concert in our yard. Actually, they do more than sing, they preach!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

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An air band - that's probably the only kind of band I'll ever play in. Now, if you're around teenagers for a while, you might have the thrill of seeing an air band in action. What will happen is they'll turn on a favorite song, and then they go through all the motions of banging it out of the guitar, beating it out on the drums, belting it out as the lead singer, but there's no guitar, there's no drum. Since they have no instruments, you know what they're playing. They're playing the air - thus air band. It's a lot of activity, but there's nothing coming out.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

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We took one of our granddaughters to the Christmas Festival at a theme park when she was two. And she loved it! There were lights everywhere, exciting music performances and a great Christmas parade. But there was one thing that impressed her so much, and she talked about it all year long - the Living Nativity. We got to see a portrayal of the angels' appearance to the shepherds, the visit of the Wise Men, and best of all, Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus in the Manger. From that night on through the year, when we would mention that theme park, the first thing she associated with it was "Jesus" no matter what time of year it was.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

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Having had two teenage boys who loved football, there was one Christmas gift that was a sure hit - a new leather football. And seeing how it was a rare 60-degree Christmas morning, do you think we were going to just sit around the Christmas tree and admire that ball? No! They went right outside and did what you're supposed to do with a football.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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Right after Thanksgiving, I make my annual pilgrimage to the Christmas corner of our garage. I did it last year, and I brought out Christmas. Now, we've been accumulating ornaments and decorations for a lot of years now, and it's always a big deal for the family when they make their annual re-entry; all those decorations come back into our life again. You know, the house is actually alive with Christmas right now. Well, I mean for a while. But before very long, I will reverse that exercise, re-pack everything in their aging boxes, and put them back in storage for another year.

Monday, December 19, 2011

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It was the biggest event of the year in the little town of Cornwall - the annual Christmas pageant, starring many of the people of the town. When it came time for casting the various parts, every parent, of course, was pushing their son or daughter to be included. On audition day, it didn't take long to match every part with just the right person.

Friday, December 16, 2011

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There's just no better time to have a baby boy than Christmastime. My parents did, we did. Not my wife and me! That would really be a Christmas miracle! No, it was our son and daughter-in-law.

And our family was able to say, with the ancient prophecy of Jesus' coming, "to us a child is born; to us a son is given" (Isaiah 9:6). And what a baby boy he was, charging into the world at ten pounds, ten ounces!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

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We have a wide variety of people that come to our front door. The salesmen; oh they're basically asked to stay on the front steps and give us their little pitch. And then there are those neighborhood kids who are, well, they are raising money. Well, they usually get inside the door; we'll let them in to the welcome mat, and we'll deal with them there. Now we have a lot of acquaintances and friends who we will just immediately invite into our living room to sit down and stay as long as they want. And sometimes at the door is a relative or real close friend, and they come in and they go straight to the refrigerator and help themselves. They go to the telephone without asking, they call whoever they need to call, they use the bathroom. So you can tell how close we are by how far a person is allowed into our house.

Monday, December 12, 2011

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The occasion was a city-wide art contest. They were told to paint paintings on the subject of "Peace." Well, you can understand the judges were attracted to this beautiful "pastural" scene that a local painter had painted. You probably didn't know that was a word, "pastural." Well, it was a green pasture with puffy white clouds and this beautiful blue sky and a little boy going by with a fishing pole over his shoulder, little quiet brooks and birds flying around. That got second place.

Friday, December 9, 2011

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It's about that time! Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. When I watched it last year, oh, you know, I was, as always heartwarming to watch those lights come on in the middle of the city where I spent so much ministry time.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

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Over the years, our family has had the chance to see Christmas from many different perspectives: Christmas in Manhattan, in Chicago's Loop, a mountain Christmas, a colonial Christmas, a white Christmas, a warm Christmas, and a one horse open sleigh Christmas.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

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I guess you could call it the two faces of Ian. See, Ian is a friend of mine who is the leader of a very effective youth ministry in New Zealand. And as you converse with him personally, well, it's obvious that he has a stutter. And sometimes it makes it difficult for him to complete his sentence, and I'm sure it's probably very frustrating for him. And while it's noticeable, it's not really that important to anybody. Actually he is a Godly, magnetic leader, stutter or not.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

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Oh, the frequent flyer bonus. That's one of the smartest ideas the airlines ever had I think. You know, you don't usually have to think twice about what airline you're going to book with. If they've got a flight going to the city that I'm going to anywhere near the time I need to go, you know I'm going to try and stick with that one company. Oh, I'm just a loyal kind of guy! No. See, the airline credits me with mileage awards that convert ultimately into discounts, and upgrades, and even free trips. They're getting a little harder to get, but you know, it's still a pretty good deal. Now, that bonus incentive sure has worked in getting me to stay with one carrier. And I understand it's worked on millions of other flyers too. The golden principle here is pretty simple: the biggest rewards are for those who stick with the same carrier.

Monday, December 5, 2011

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The barber shop I used to go to was definitely a man's world, and you got more than a haircut when you went there; you got an ear full. See, something seems to happen when men sit down in that barber chair. It's as if they were administered truth serum, and they start to suddenly talk openly about their relationships, and their marriage, and their kids, and their frustrations, whether you want to hear it or not.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

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My daughter wanted to put her fingers in the fan. Oh, she was a very little girl at the time. I said, "No." She cried. I think she thought I didn't love her and if I loved her I'd let her put her fingers in the fan. She really wanted to check it out!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

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Okay, some people might call it a form of insanity, I know that, but I love snow. I guess it began when I was a little kid. I guess kind of you're always a five-year-old kid when it snows, especially some of the first snows of the winter. There's this kind of kid inside of me that maybe has never grown up. Well, I love new fallen snow. That probably should be qualified. Oh, it's so nice to walk through our neighborhood when it's blanketed in white and there are no tracks. Now, when the snow has been around for a while, oh it's not really very beautiful. Yeah, it's gets dirty, and crusty, and slushy, and messy. You know. Untouched snow—oh, that's the best, kind of like untouched love.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

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I just can't get this little four-year-old girl out of my mind. Even as I was preparing this, her story just hits my heart again.

She and her family only had moments to prepare before the F5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri not long ago. Now, Mom and Dad battled fierce winds; they were desperately trying to shepherd everyone into the safest corner of the house, but not quite everyone. Somehow this little four-year-old daughter of theirs got separated from them, and these winds were so strong that it was impossible to look for her any more. So, they huddled together as the tornado made a direct hit on their house. When they looked up, it had leveled everything almost instantly.