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Thursday, March 10, 2011

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Our family, and probably yours, can be divided into two functional groups: the morning people and the night people. Which, by the way, are dysfunctional the other part of the day. You have those at your house? Well, often they marry each other. I don't know why that happens. And then they drive each other nuts at the beginning and at the end of the day. Now, my daughter, for example, oh, she was the slow freight train in the morning. She was almost a no freight train in the morning. It was hard to get her up; it took a long time to get her going, not much spark there, not too many smiles. She was not really like that the rest of the day. But morning was just not her time.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

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A number of years ago, my son was a lineman on the local football team, and all of his friends were too. And they were all lifting weight a lot and getting bigger. And they were all eating a lot, and also getting bigger because of that. Well, I noticed that all the guys who were playing on the line were developing big muscles and big stomachs to match. And I was dumb enough, because they were all bigger than I was, to comment on that one day. And my son indignantly said, "Dad, we're proud of that! That's 'lineman's gut'!" I never heard that before, but I mean it looked to me like it was "lineman's fat." But I guess I didn't know what it really was. Well, that same son later lost 30 pounds and the tummy was all gone. So, I said, "Son, do you remember when you told me that was 'lineman's gut'?" He looked at me and he said, "Dad, I think that's what we call a rationalization."

Monday, March 7, 2011

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We had a home of our own! The ministry I was working with in the New York area that is. We rented a facility for many years, and then God provided this rambling old home that we called our headquarters and the home of our ministry finally. And, it was a great gift, but it took a lot of work to get it in shape, like most old homes do. So, a lot of friends came in to help us with painting, and wallpapering, and electrical work. And then we were in, but one big job remained. See, the outside looked kind of shabby. It very much needed a good paint job. The problem was that our staff didn't have the time, and I'm not sure they really had the ability to do it right. And we for sure didn't have the real equipment to do a big painting job.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

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Okay, we're going to do a little experiment right now. If you're near something printed (and you're not driving), let's say a book, a newspaper, magazine, would you just like hold it in front of your eyes? Okay, now wait, wait, if you're driving, remember you're excused from this. But otherwise...you got that in front of your eyes alright? Now, hold it a foot or so from your eyes.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

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Back when my son was old enough to get his license he began to watch me drive. Frankly, it made me think about how I was driving. I wasn't sure I wanted him to copy everything he saw me do. I mean, I'd been driving for 25 years or so, and maybe that was the problem. I think I'd become - I don't know - a little overconfident with that ton of steel that I propel down the highway, maybe even a little careless sometimes. I suspect overconfidence is the invisible cause of many crashes...many crashes.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

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I love those old westerns! Things were so simple then. You knew the good guys were good, and the bad buys were bad. The hero well, he only kissed his horse. And the most he did with a girl was probably sing some trail song to her. And there was always a predictable showdown with the head good guy and the head bad guy. One of the classic lines usually came as the Marshal stared down Bad Bart. And he said something like this, "I want you out of town by sundown." Great line. It's a great way to keep peace in town - or anywhere for that matter. I don't mean asking people to leave, but setting a deadline like that.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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When I'm on a plane I usually don't have much time for looking out the window; I usually have a lot of work to take with me. But one night I caught a view that was very distracting. My son happened to be with me on this trip, so I pointed it out to him. There was literally a line in the sky. On one side there was the glow of the setting sun. It was day in that half of the sky. The other side was pitch black, and everything on that side, of course, was like very night. Now, I don't know all the scientific explanations for this; I'm not going to get into the meteorology. I just know what I saw. I poked my son, I got his headphones off his head so he knew what I was saying, and I pointed excitedly toward that startling contrast. And I said, "Look! It's the line between night and day!"

Monday, February 21, 2011

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We have five members of the Hutchcraft family. Actually at one time, there was a sixth unofficial member of the family - our parrot, Pierre. Now, my 14-year-old son took care of him, and he had a problem. See, Pierre needed a bath. He really needed a bath. And our method of giving him a bath is to put him in the tub. Now, I don't know if this is conventional or not, but we put him in the tub and he would really love the shower...sort of like the Amazon jungle where his roots are - a rain forest I guess.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

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Well, it was a great milestone when all our kids got to be teenagers, and I didn't have to buy any more Play-Doh for a while. Oh, I've bought my share, and now it's for grandchildren. You know, when I did buy it for my kids, I found it in the strangest places. Oh, it's a good toy. In case you missed the thrill, you might not know this, but Play-Doh is this multi-colored, soft little clay that comes in these little cans. And it's a lot of fun if you're a kid; even if you're an adult I suppose. But my kids liked it because they could mold that Play-Doh in any shape they wanted. They could buy different shaped molds, and have Play-Doh animals, and Play-Doh cars, and Play-Doh tools. It's fun to be the Play-Doh shaper! It's not fun to be the Play-Doh.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

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I don't think it's that I'm incompetent when it comes to technical things. I think I was just born a hundred years too late. I probably would have fared better when they hadn't invented so many machines and appliances, and computers. I would have done fine in those simpler days. I mean sometimes it is just so embarrassing. I can't you know, get a lamp to work, or I can't get some appliance to work, and no matter what I do it doesn't go on. The ending is too often the same. My youngest son for example would come in and say, "Dad, is it plugged in?" "No." Oh, I didn't check that! I hate that! So many times we tinker with everything and miss the one simple factor that needs to change.

Friday, February 11, 2011

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So, did you look in the mirror today before you left the house? What did you think? It's amazing how much damage one night can do, isn't it? Probably when you went to the mirror today you combed something, or you brushed something, or you washed something, or you covered up something. Or if you had a full-length mirror, maybe you decided there's something you need to lose? Or maybe you needed to straighten something. What's the purpose of having a mirror in the first place? I suppose you could be like Fonzie when he looked in the mirror and went, "Whoaaa!" You know? And you really liked what you see. But I think for most of us, the reason we have a mirror is so we can see what needs changing. Did you know you own another mirror besides that one in the bathroom and in the bedroom? Oh, this mirror is made of paper, not glass. It's designed to be looked into, though. And you're supposed to change something when you see yourself.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

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I don't know if you're like me, but have you ever wondered where children learn all the psychology they seem to know? They use it pretty effectively to get their way. Oh, we adults have to take courses in child psychology. They don't take courses in adult psychology, but they do pretty well. Kids learn very early how to maneuver, and motivate, and manipulate to get what they want. They use division. You know, like divide and conquer - kinda get Mom and Dad played against each other. They use guilt sometimes to do it; sometimes, they even use, yeah, deception.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

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When our kids were living at home I couldn't believe people actually paid to go to the circus. We had a circus right there! It was free - a three-ring circus. Now the most exciting issue was usually, "What am I going to wear today?" And then that cry by various experiments with different combinations until some outfit finally looks right. Does that sound familiar? Of course it's always punctuated by these discussions of who's wearing whose shirt, or whose pants, or whatever. Actually, whether you go to school or to work, what to wear is kind of a challenging choice. Unless of course you're one of the lucky ones; you just wear a uniform. You don't have any decision to make; somebody else made it for you. You have to consider the weather, and what season it is, and what mood you're in, and what people you're going to see, and do the colors match, which is hopeless for me. Well, in the process, you might overlook the one item you have to wear to school or to work every day.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

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Now, I'm not in the business of advertising any particular ice cream spot, but let's face it, it's kind of fun to go to Baskin Robbins. You know, they have all those flavors they advertise. Now, you can write to me and tell me that maybe you like another place better, but listen, I know you like to go where there's a lot of flavors. And you know what? It takes me an hour to decide sometimes which one I want. Well, not really, but seems like an hour to the person whose waiting on me. But the variety is a lot of fun. Now, can you imagine an ice cream store that offered only vanilla? Yeah, uh-huh...boring! After a while you get tired of the same old flavor. Can you imagine a person who said, "I only eat vanilla. I never tried anything else." I'd say to them, "Man, look at the list! You're missing so many flavors. You can have ice cream so many different ways." How boring to think that all ice cream has to be the one flavor you like.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

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There's nothing more discouraging for the family chef than these three words, "I'm not hungry." Maybe you've faced those words. You know, kids have impatient stomachs. Of course, only kids. We don't, right, adults? But kids have impatient stomachs, so they eat whenever the urge hits and whatever the urge tells them to eat. And, of course, I'm sure our kids were like yours. They would usually go to the refrigerator and get some carrots or a tossed salad. Right? Some broccoli, some high fiber cereal? No! Our kids did not! Don't worry, neither do yours. Oh yeah, they'd go after junk food. Most kids today are junk food junkies, and they fill up on it. So, my wife would give us this beautiful spread of pot roast, and potatoes, and fresh vegetables, home baked bread. And the troops, "I'm not hungry." They're too full to eat. How discouraging when they're full of junk food. Now junk food may be okay, but not when it spoils your appetite for real food.

Friday, January 28, 2011

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Did you ever notice that children are great score keepers, almost before they can count. Oh yeah, they're really adept at measuring how they're being treated compared to the other kids in the family. Maybe you've noticed that. Now, our oldest - our daughter, was followed by a brother two years younger. And when they were little, I was introduced to this score keeping aptitude by little brother's four word statement, "How come my sister?" He'd then go and talk about some inequity he had noticed. It was always followed by little brother's presentation of some perceived injustice. His sister apparently got something good that he didn't get. Or he got something bad that she didn't get. "How come my sister?" It sure did make me think twice when I was buying gifts to bring back from a trip, and a lot of other choices I made. Actually, our son was verbalizing a concern that bothers a lot of us long after we're grown up.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

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I was speaking in a city out west, and went back to my hotel room and I flipped on the evening news. And I saw the most incredible police chase I think I've ever seen recorded on a camera. It just so happened that after a burglar robbed a local savings and loan that the news helicopter happened to catch sight of him. And as the police were pursuing him, the helicopter was overhead filming this. It was almost like a TV show, but it wasn't fiction; it was really happening.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

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We have one of our staff who has a pretty regular assignment. That is, show up at the post office every morning. Yeah. Yeah, the one who goes there is a pretty familiar figure. They know about what time to expect our person to come in, and they know it's important. See, the orders are, "Don't stop at the office. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Go straight to our post office box." See, that daily trip to the post office is really our lifeline. She checks the box and there we find the contributions that really keep us going, very important communications, maybe answers we're looking for. And I'll tell you what, if she's sick, we'll send somebody else over there the first thing in the morning. We are dependent on that daily pickup.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

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When we finally graduate from childhood to grownuphood, we trade in some simple games for some complicated games. You know, once you get bigger, you have to learn all the rules of football, and baseball, and basketball. And they can get pretty complicated. But I remember some of those uncomplicated games I played with I was little, like dive bomber. Yeah, simple rules. All you had to do was come in with your arm extended and knock the hat off the other guys head. That was pretty simple rules. Oh yeah, and try not to knock off the head with the hat. And then we played keep away. That was pretty simple. Keep throwing the ball back and forth and keep it away from the guy in the middle. That was easy. And dodge ball, Did you ever play dodge ball? You know, we'd play dodge ball when a bunch of us guys would get together and we had a good sized ball. And the object of the game was very simple. When another guy tried to throw that ball at you, you just tried to dodge it. In fact, we boys got pretty good at dodging. In fact, some of us still are.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

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If you're paying attention, a child will often tip you off very early as to what to expect from them later on in life. I've got movies of our daughter, and she was about five or six, seven years old, singing for us using a spoon - a big wooden spoon - as a microphone and standing on something in the living room as a stage. Well, over the years, God used her wonderfully in singing, and musically, and speaking. It was really no great shock; we saw the first hints of that when she was little. When our son was five, he was tying our house together with string very imaginatively. I'd walk in...I'd open the back door, and it would open the drawer of my dresser in the bedroom. He had everything tied together. At the age of 13 he was the technician of the house, who loved to figure out how things work; how to take them apart; how to put them together, I hope - how to solve problems. You know what? Grew up to be a great planner and a very creative technician in ministry. There's a pattern...a connective line from the past into the future in the life of every child; my child and God's child. In fact, that's true of you too.

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