Our friends bought a new horse lately. Her name is Peanut. Now, what kind of horse does that suggest to your imagination? Maybe a cute little Shetland Pony? Nope. Try again. Peanut is the biggest horse in their pasture. If you've ever seen those big Clydesdale horses in commercials, you'll have some idea of the size of this big mama. She's part Belgian, part Morgan, which means she is so big my body's probably not big enough to ride her. And she's named Peanut. Something is wrong in this picture.
It's a special thrill for a follower of Jesus Christ to be able to walk where Jesus walked. That's why, for many of us, a visit to the Holy Land is a special memory or a special dream. Years ago, one of America's premier preachers - his name was Dr. Robert G. Lee - paid his first visit to Israel. Every place was special, but when his tour group went to Golgotha, the place where many believe Jesus was crucified, he couldn't contain himself. He suddenly started running ahead of the group to get there. The guide had to run to catch up with him, and he asked him breathlessly, "Sir, have you been here before?" Dr. Lee paused and then he answered, "Yes, I have been here before. Almost 2,000 years ago."
My sister-in-law used to be involved with insurance claims. And it was not uncommon for her to have clients who had major messes to clean up. Imagine the damage that flood waters could do to a home, a major fire, or even frozen pipes that burst in the winter. That's when they called on a major company that is known for their specialty; they come in and clean those grossly soaked carpets, they restore that damaged furniture and those smoke-saturated drapes. They are known for being the ones who can clean up a mess that folks could never clean themselves.
Little Cindy had been a bad girl. She'd been sent from the dinner table to her room. After a little while, Mom and Dad thought the point had been made. They knew that children, of course, need to be assured of our love when we've disciplined them. So, Daddy went upstairs, opened the door to Cindy's room, and found her in bed, under her covers, snuggling with her arm wrapped tightly around her favorite dolly. Her father sat on the bed and he just gently said, "Cindy, I love you." Then he held out his arms to hug her. For a moment, the little girl just looked straight ahead and she hugged her dolly closer. But that couldn't last. Very soon, Cindy dropped her dolly and grabbed her Daddy in a big hug. Because a dolly is no substitute for a daddy!
It's always a political battle when the government wants to establish a toxic waste dump somewhere. Not too many people are all excited about having radioactive or otherwise toxic kind of material buried near them. In fact, the American government has established what they call a "Super Fund" to pay for the cleanup of some of those areas that can be hazardous to people's health. Well, I'll tell you what. I'd sure want it cleaned up if there was a toxic waste dump near where I live.
Our kids played with it when they were little. Our grandson plays with it now. I play with it every once in a while. It's that colorful clay in the round can - it's Play-Doh! You can squeeze that Play-Doh into something flat, something round, something long. You can turn it into any shape you want it to be. Which is OK for a toy; it's not OK for people.
We were eating with friends at a restaurant, and my wife unobtrusively gave me "the sign." She brushed her upper lip with her fingers. I know what that means - it's nothing romantic. Some crumb of my dinner has managed to escape going in my mouth, and it's on my mouth instead. If we're alone when that happens, I usually tell her, "Oh, I'm just saving it for later." I don't know why she doesn't just let me embarrass myself. That's called love, isn't it? I have no way of knowing that I'm carrying something that's going to embarrass me or make me look bad because I can't see myself. But she can and she loves me enough to tell me.
When one of our kids would be going through a sick spell, I used to tell them that they needed to get lots of sleep. That's because "when you're asleep, the good soldiers come out and fight those bad soldiers that are making you sick." Okay, so it's not exactly advanced microbiology, but it works for me. Actually, one of the amazing things about these bodies God has given us is how our body kicks into action when it's been invaded by an infection. All those antibodies go to work and those white blood cells start coming out in force. In fact, one way doctors look for infection is to check your blood for the elevated presence of white blood cells. They start multiplying fast when the "bad soldier" germs try to take you out.
We were between ministry engagements, and we took a short timeout in a picturesque mountain community in the Southeast. It's the oldest town in the area and its buildings make you feel like you've stepped back into the 1890s. It's got rambling Victorian mansions, soaring spires, it's got this classic railroad station. We stopped to ask a local man directions, and somewhere in the middle of his answer he made this observation about his town, "You know, this place is sort of like a movie set. There really isn't much here, but it sure does look pretty."
You see them in motel rooms, most public buildings, and you should see them on the ceilings in your house - smoke detectors. Those little plastic monitoring devices that sound an obnoxious alarm when there's smoke in the room. Just ask me; I proved it the day I left my English muffin in the toaster oven too long. The smoke detector did its job; a job that can actually save lives. You want an alarm to go off when there's smoke in your house, especially if it's warning you about something that could do major damage.
I know advertisers have to hate it, but the truth is that a lot of times we remember their commercial, but we forget their product. Recently, I saw a commercial like that. The ad really impressed me, but I have no idea what they were advertising. Anyway, it showed some scenes from recent explorations of space and some appropriate galactic scenery. And then, these words appeared on the screen, "The last frontier isn't space." OK, then what is it? The next words answered that question. "It's the human imagination."
Our friends Roy and Judy have been married for almost 30 years. But there are two words that took a beating early in their marriage and they still get a rise out of Judy to this day. The words "trust me." You know there's a story here. Years ago, Roy decided to try his hand on sailing one of those little Sunfish type sailboats. He wanted Judy to go with him. Her back was really bothering her, but he assured her that he knew what he was doing. "Trust me," he said. One problem: as they sailed away, the rudder kept coming off. That's rudder, as in what steers the boat. Well, Judy was extremely unhappy when rudderlessness ultimately led them to capsizing; a boat with a ten-foot mast stuck upside down in six feet of water. So much for "trust me."
We were speeding along an interstate in Texas, and suddenly there it was - a huge, illuminated metal cross. It just dominated the landscape, especially on the flatlands of Texas. That cross is actually 19 stories high and it can be seen from 20 miles away. They claim it's the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere. We've been by there before, but this was the first time we ever stopped and looked at it more closely.
Because we lived along the East Coast for so many years, we've had the opportunity to see many of America's old lighthouses. I love them. But not long ago we came up over the top of a hill on an interstate and I saw what I certainly never expected to see hundreds of miles from an ocean. It was a lighthouse with a bright, functioning light on top. Obviously, it wasn't there to point any ships in the right direction. Actually, it was part of a church that stands right near the highway. See, this lighthouse is for people!
I was in Cincinnati, working on the message I was going to give that night, and I had a wonderful view of the Ohio River out my hotel window. But it wasn't until I talked with an African-American brother that night that I realized the significance of that river in the history of his people's long fight for freedom. In the days of slavery, many slaves managed to run away from their slave masters, thus beginning their desperate flight for freedom. If they were captured, well, their fate could be severe punishment or worse. If they could make it to northern Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati, they were on the edge of their goal. And, once they were in what was the North, they would be helped to safety, maybe in Canada, or by those who ran safe houses on what became known as the Underground Railroad. Once I heard the history, I saw something very different as I looked out my window at the Ohio River from Cincinnati. I was thinking of slaves looking across from the border in Kentucky, realizing that if they could just get across that river, they would finally be free.
It's hard to believe it, but it's true. This man went into antique stores basically for one reason: he was interested in old baseball cards, which can be worth a lot of money sometimes. Well, in this one store he didn't see any on display, so he asked the owner if he had any baseball cards. The shopkeeper produced a cigar box with some very early baseball cards which dated back to the early 1900s. He said, "I don't put these out for everyone to see. I keep them in a drawer most of the time." Among those cards, the shopper found one of the most valuable baseball cards there is; one of those rare cards featuring Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. When the shopper inquired about the price, the owner said, "Well, I bought all of these from a woman for $20.00. But I know they're worth a lot more. I'll tell you what. I'll sell them to you for $200.00." Well, knowing the real value of just that one card alone, and desperately trying to keep a poker face, the shopper took him up on his offer. Later he sold that Honus Wagner card on the Internet - that one he got for $200.00 - for something like $200,000!
During a break for our hard working Native American team, we took them to an action park. Many of them were attracted to the maze at the park. We love to capture team memories on video, so one of our guys managed to find a spot looking down on the maze to shoot some video. And, it's really pretty funny because everyone is running down these twisting passageways, hoping to be the first person to find the exit. Unfortunately, most of those passageways of course led to dead ends. So people are going full tilt, right into a dead end, hoping - even expecting - that this is the path that will get them where they want to go.
Marie was a teenage friend of ours, and Tom was the big guy she really cared about. It was a long-distance romance since she lived in New Jersey and he lived in the Midwest. So, needless to say, his visits were pretty special. And Marie knew he was coming the next Friday. So on Wednesday she attacked her room trying to get it under control. She was at the point where she had everything in piles covering the floor, and she was in her grubby clothes, all hot and sweaty and grungy, and her hair's matted down from the sweat. Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Tom telling her how much he was looking forward to seeing her. No sooner had she hung up than there was the man in her life standing at the door of her room. He had called from just downstairs. "Hi, Marie. Surprise!" She was flabbergasted, she was stunned, and of course, she was embarrassed at her condition and the condition of her room. All she could say was, "I didn't expect you to come this soon."
I was with a group of young people who had the enlightening experience of going on a Trust Walk. They got into pairs, one was blindfolded, and the other got to lead that person wherever they wanted and however they wanted for five minutes. Then they reversed roles and the one who had been led got to be the leader, while their former leader got to be the blindfolded follower. I'm actually glad we videoed it; it was really something to watch. Some led their partner by the arm, others with the follower's hands on the leader's shoulders, and some just lead with their voice. And some led very carefully and considerately. They told them exactly when to step up or down, maybe there was a curb or some stairs. But then there were those who couldn't resist taking advantage of the situation, like Matt, he led his partner into a picnic table, over the picnic table, right into a tree, and right into a toy truck on the ground. You should have heard our discussion afterwards as people were talking about how they felt about being led and how they felt about the person who led them!
When Queen Elizabeth's mother, affectionately known to the British as the "Queen Mum," died at the age of 101, reporters did a lot of reflecting on her very special place in British hearts. Much of it was traced to the way that she stood by and supported her husband, the king, as well as the British people during the darkest days of World War II. Night after night, the German bombers would rain down destruction on England's largest cities. London lived largely underground at night, trying desperately to hold out against Hitler's determination to conquer their little nation. At one point, there was a rumor that Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, then just little girls, were going to be sent to another country for their safety. When the "Queen Mum" was asked about that, this was her famous reply: "The girls can't leave unless I leave and go with them, and I can't leave unless the King leaves. And the King will never leave."
