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Thursday, December 24, 2009

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It was Christmas Eve, and the Hutchcraft family was acting out the Christmas story. Our daughter was Mary, with a towel draped over her head. Our oldest son was Joseph, bathrobe and all. Our then two-year-old son was the closest we could come to a baby; he was in the giant laundry basket. I was, of course, an angel dressed in a white sheet, sitting celestially on the back of the couch. And my wife - well, she wanted to be a sheep. So she was crawling around the living room floor with our sheepskin rug draped over her, doing her very best "baaas." And the doorbell rang. It was two teenage girls from our youth group. Their folks were home getting drunk, and they were wondering if they could come to our house for a little while. When they came in, our Christmas players were in full gear, baa-ing and all. The girls looked at one another, wondering if we were in any better shape than their parents. But, hey, the door was open and we invited them right into our Christmas.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

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Narnia was a mythical land, created by C. S. Lewis, where the animals talk and where four children experience this series of incredible adventures. The seven-part series, "The Chronicles of Narnia," have long fascinated children and adults alike. And then came Disney's movie version of the first Narnia story, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," and it was a blockbuster. In the story, the wardrobe is the closet through which the children discover Narnia. The witch is the evil ruler of the land. She's creating an endless winter where it is "always winter but never Christmas." And the lion is Aslan, the great son of the Emperor from across the sea. He is, in C. S. Lewis' imagery, the Christ-figure of Narnia. As the children begin to experience the icy and dangerous world that Narnia has become under an evil ruler, one of the animals announces that there is hope on the horizon. Hope turns out to be five words: "Aslan is on the move." Indeed, he was, and Narnia would soon be set free.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

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Our grandson couldn't wait to tell me. His Grandma had bought a little kit for him called the "Magic Garden." Together, they put together these little plastic pieces that formed the frame for an outdoor scene that had a mountain as its backdrop. Then Grandma helped our grandson pour the liquid from the kit over the crystals that are hiding in designated areas of that frame. The next day our grandson came to our house to see what had happened. When he stopped by my office to tell me, his eyes got big and his hands were in motion to try to explain to me what he had seen, "It grow!" And he had this kind of sense of wonderment. He was right. The trees had sprouted full pink foliage overnight, colorful flowers and bushes had bloomed, and as our grandson said, "Mountain grow snow." Well, sure enough, the mountain had filled in with a cover of snow. Last night's plain plastic frame had suddenly exploded into this fully blooming, Technicolor show!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

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Dr. Harry Ironside used to tell a story about a man who lived in a small country town in England. One day, he went to London where he would need to stay for several days. He was glad to be there on a Sunday because that gave him opportunity to hear some of the great preachers of that day. He wrote home to his wife, and he said: "Last Sunday morning I went to hear Dr. Jones, and in the evening I went to the Metropolitan Tabernacle to hear Charles Spurgeon. I was so greatly impressed by both of them. Dr. Jones is certainly a great preacher, but Mr. Spurgeon has a great Savior."

Monday, December 14, 2009

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Firstborn children are usually known for their independence, which can sometimes get them in trouble. When our daughter was four years old, we were on a family shopping trip to the local grocery store. Her little brother was riding in the cart and our daughter was walking ahead of Mom and me and the cart. At a moment when we were looking at the corn flakes or something, she wandered off and into another aisle. To this day she remembers the panic of realizing she did not know where she was or where we were. She told me, "The aisle looked so long, the shelves looked so high, and I didn't recognize anybody." Suddenly, our little girl realized that she was lost.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

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The games that kids play today are so high-tech that the child actually has to teach the parent how to play them. One of our directors was describing a game his teenage son taught him that simulates combat in an F-16 Fighter Jet. He said there is one aspect of the game that's really nerve-wracking. It's when this beeping sound starts going off in your "cockpit." It's the signal that an enemy pilot has locked onto you. You're about to come under some heavy fire, man! In fact, I understand something like that happens in real life aerial combat situations. Of course, the question is, what do you do when someone has locked onto you and you are under fire?

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

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Our daughter and son-in-law and two grandsons were driving through the Midwest a while back and not liking the drive very much. For most of that day's drive, they were in the thick of a powerful storm system (maybe you've done that), with drenching rain, and more significantly, a lot of dangerous lightning until they got to Springfield, Missouri. When our daughter called us, they were heading south out of Springfield and liking the trip a lot more. She said, "You cannot believe how ugly it looks behind us. The sky and the lightning back there look angry and foreboding, but the road ahead of us is clear and bright!"

Friday, December 4, 2009

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As a longtime New York Giants football fan, it's hard for me to tell a story where a Dallas Cowboys player is the hero, but this one I couldn't resist. Charles Lowery tells the story of a visit by then Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman to visit this young patient's ward in a children's cancer hospital. T. J. was one of those patients, a young boy who was dying of cancer. After visiting with him, Troy promised that he would score a touchdown in that boy's honor. As he was leaving, T. J.'s Mom took the quarterback aside and told him that the boy didn't have long to live. Well, the promise stood. The following week was the Cowboys' first pre-season exhibition game, and they didn't even play Troy that week. But T. J., of course, he was glued to that whole game hopefully.

Monday, November 30, 2009

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It was one of those nightmare days, trying to get a flight out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Some thunderstorms actually sent flight schedules into chaos for about 24 hours. You know what that means. Two hundred flights were cancelled that day, a lot more were delayed, and thousands of people were scrambling to find a way to get to where they needed to go...including me. Finally, I just gave up on trying to get out that day and I reserved one of the last seats available the next morning for the city where I was supposed to be speaking. Well, 7:00 A.M. the next morning my partner and I were in our seats on a full flight. The engine was running - it seemed like we were ready to go. Until the cockpit came on and made this announcement, "Uh, folks, we've encountered one problem this morning. We can't find a captain for this flight." Oh, great! No captain! We're not going anywhere, folks! Well, thankfully, a captain finally came, and we finally got there!

Friday, November 20, 2009

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Amy Carmichael was one of India's most heroic missionaries, and a woman whose life continues to inspire many people today. She has written some inspiring words, but none more inspiring than her account of a scene she saw in her mind one sleepless night as she agonized over the people around her who didn't know Christ. She saw herself standing on the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped off into this dark and seemingly bottomless space. She described the people who were moving steadily toward that edge. She saw a blind woman plunge over the cliff with a baby in her arms and a child holding onto her dress. Streams of people began to come from all directions; all of them blind.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

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Some of our most memorable vacation moments as a family have been spent on the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina. It hasn't always been beautiful for ships that were navigating those treacherous shoals that are off the shores of the Outer Banks. It's estimated that over 2,000 ships have gone down there over those centuries. But a lot more lives could have been lost there if it hadn't been for the Cape Hatteras Light, one of the most famous lighthouses in America. Its octagonal tower rises massively above the beach and the sand hills, and it's been the guiding light that kept many ships from going aground. It's stood there for nearly two centuries. Imagine the storms that she's weathered; including more than a hundred hurricanes! Storms that blew away so many other structures, but the lighthouse still stands.

Monday, November 16, 2009

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Not long ago, we spent a couple of days at the home of a friend at the New Jersey Shore, just a block from the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived at night as this powerful storm started hitting our area. We went to sleep with the loud lullaby of winds that roared around our room and pounded the rain against the windows like pellets. The next morning, the ocean was something to see. Crashing waves, a heaving tide, a wild and angry look, and all kinds of junk thrown onto the beach by that turbulence.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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Jack Phillips was a senior radioman on the maiden voyage of the ill-fated Titanic. On that fatal night when two-thirds of her passengers and crew would die, Phillips received a message from a ship called the Mesaba. That ship was reporting a major ice field ahead and the message gave the coordinates where the Titanic could expect to encounter those icebergs. It was the place where just two hours later, the Titanic would, in fact, hit one of those icebergs; the one that would sink what was supposed to be the unsinkable ship. The message with the warning of what was ahead - would you believe it - didn't get delivered. Jack Phillips was really busy at the time, and he stuck the message on a spindle to be delivered sometime later, and it never was. That one decision would cost the lives of 1,500 people and the life of the radioman himself.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

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Twenty-three seconds. It takes you longer than that to eat a slice of pizza, or at least it should. It takes me about that long to just say three or four sentences. Now, a short TV commercial is longer than that. But every 23 seconds, something absolutely amazing happens inside you. Your blood pumps through your body, delivers oxygen and nutrients to all your cells, and carries away the impurities from your cells and starts back through again in 23 seconds. Mind-blowing! That's what it takes to keep you going. You've got to have that oxygen delivered regularly. You've got to have your cell garbage taken out regularly, and your blood gets it done.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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Because of my strong connection to Native Americans, I was especially interested in a story author Leonard Sweet told in a book of his. It's about a rite of passage that one tribe had for its boys when they turned 13. On that birthday, a warrior blindfolded the boy and took him several miles from camp. The warrior then took off the blindfold and left this young teenager in this dark, dense forest. The young man was expected to stay there for the night and fend for himself. When it got dark, it got really dark. The trees were so dense he couldn't see the moon or the stars. Oh, but he could sure hear those eerie sounds of the wind, the howls of the wild animals nearby, and the rustling of the leaves that sounded like an approaching enemy. For most boys, it was a night without sleep. And then the dawn began to break. And the young man could then see the forest as it really was; the flowers blooming, the majestic trees swaying in the wind, and the wildlife scurrying around for food. And then, the biggest surprise of all. The boy would see an imposing male figure, standing in the woods only a few yards away. He'd be startled at first, until he recognized the man. Unbeknownst to this frightened young warrior, his father had been there the whole time, ready to protect his son against anything that might harm him.

Friday, October 30, 2009

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In his classic, "Old Man and the Sea," Ernest Hemingway tells about a weary old fisherman who, like most of his village, has had hard times most of his life. He's barely eking out a living, and he goes out one day and decides to travel farther than usual to fish. And to his amazement, he hooks the largest fish he's ever seen in his life - so big he can't possibly bring it into his boat. So he begins to tow his prize fish behind his boat, excited about what this catch could mean and how it may be the beginning of a wonderful turn of his fortunes. It's the dream catch of his life! But as he comes into the harbor and up to the dock, his joy turns back to an even greater despair than before. All the while that he's been towing his prize; the other creatures of the sea have been feeding on it. And all that's left of his dream is bones.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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Our daughter-in-law grew up in the desert. So, the first time she saw the ocean, and the seashells that are all over the beach at low tide, she said, "Can you keep them?" She did! Well the good news is, yes, you can. And we've loved collecting seashells when we've had opportunity to spend time along the coast. Some of those shells make it to shore totally intact. Others are broken, sometimes by the surf, sometimes by seagulls who've peck them open to get at their yummy tenants. Occasionally, I've found a particularly striking treasure like the conch shell that I picked up a few years ago. It was badly broken. But inside there was some amazing beauty - beautiful swirls in white and blue and pearl, and it made an incredible design to behold. Outside, that shell was just rough and plain - just another shell - but not on the inside. I never would have seen its unforgettable beauty if it hadn't been broken.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

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He was having a great day on the slopes, and a lot of fresh snow - an already deep base. It was just the kind of day an experienced skier would hope for. But then this one skier decided that he wanted more. He skied onto another part of the mountain; a section that was clearly marked with a large skull-and-crossbones sign with a warning about going any farther written in bold print: "You may die. You decide." It couldn't be any plainer than that, huh? Sadly, that skier decided to ski where he never should have gone. Then came the massive avalanche that drove him headlong into a tree and buried him in a snowy grave.

Monday, October 26, 2009

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I first learned about the United States Life-Saving Service years ago on a family vacation. We got to see a life-saving station that had been preserved at a strategic point along the Atlantic coastline. There used to be many of them. In some areas, they were every seven miles along the coast. Each one was staffed by a seven-man crew. They were heroes in every sense of the word! When a ship was in distress near their assigned area, they'd go out into the surf, or the storm, even the hurricane to try to rescue the people on board. They lived their motto: "You have to go out. You don't have to come back." They saved countless lives who otherwise would have been lost.

Friday, October 23, 2009

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For years, her voice was one of the signature voices of Gospel music. When Bill Gaither started doing his Homecoming videos, her commanding voice became known to more people than ever before. When Vestal Goodman belted out a song, it captivated an audience. I was actually surprised to learn that Vestal Goodman's singing didn't always dominate a room. Her husband Howard said that when they first started traveling in itinerant ministry, his wife actually had this little, light soprano voice. Something obviously happened. The storm happened. The near hurricane-strength storm that hit Monroe, Louisiana the day they were supposed to have a concert in their big tent years ago. Those violent winds destroyed everything, including the tent and their sound system. They moved their meeting to a church that night, and Vestal asked Howard to accompany her on a song she'd never sung before publicly. As he started to play that song, something happened! Suddenly he was hearing his wife sing with this great voice he'd never heard before - a voice that belted out a Gospel song; not only for the folks in the church that night, but for millions of people for decades to come.

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