Friday, October 31, 2003

Movies wouldn't be nearly as exciting without those stunt men. You know those high-priced stars aren't going to take all the risks that give the viewer those big thrills. Every once in a while, a script will call for a man to fall off a building or a cliff. And that star says, "I'm outta here, folks." But later the viewer will see a man hurtling through the air backwards, and you know it isn't a dummy because his arms are flailing. Or maybe some might argue that the stunt man is a dummy for taking a plunge like that. But it sure looks like we won't be seeing that falling man again. Oh, but appearances aren't everything. No! It looks like he's headed for a crash, but he's actually headed for a net!

Friday, September 26, 2003

It's amazing what a difference a camera can make, isn't it? Allan Funt, the creator of "Candid Camera" sure proved that over and over, and now his son is proving it on an updated show based on the same idea. People do these dumb little things, and they're totally unaware that the camera is rolling and the nation is watching. If they knew, they'd never do what that show tricks them into doing. Of course, the results of unknown cameras aren't always humorous, like incriminating photos being taken of a Presidential candidate or a Christian leader - and they have been. How many times has the subject of an incriminating photo said, "If I'd only known they were recording this"? Maybe you should assume they are.

Tuesday, September 2, 2003

It's one of those historical images that you just don't forget -- the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in the heart of Baghdad. That moment, more than any other, represented the liberation of the Iraqi people from the long oppression of a brutal dictator. Now, the mission had been called Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the Iraqis were finally free. Good news! Maybe. The days immediately after those powerful moments of liberation showed what can be the ugly side of freedom, as well -- with people looting, pillaging and rioting. They were free -- but some were out of control.

Tuesday, August 5, 2003

Our family has had the wonderful opportunity of visiting some of the most beautiful places in America, and taking in some incredible views in America. From the top of towering mountains, from the edge of the Grand Canyon, and in my wife's estimation, often too close to the edge. There's good news and bad news about getting real close to the edge. The bad news: it is dangerous at the edge -- you can fall off. But the good news is -- the view from the edge is spectacular!

Thursday, March 27, 2003

During the 2002 professional football season, Donovan McNabb quarterbacked his team, the Philadelphia Eagles, to an exciting playoff season. In fact, they played for the NFC championship and missed being in the Super Bowl by just one victory. Unfortunately, McNabb was injured for the Eagles' first playoff game - which meant he didn't dress for the game but he was on the sidelines with his team. A friend told me that fans and sportcasters were commenting on the man in the McNabb jersey, sitting on the Eagles' bench as the game kicked off. And they questioned why Donovan wasn't out there, standing with his team, encouraging his team. But the guy wasn't leaving the bench. Apparently, security men even came up and talked with him. Of course, it's always nice to say you talked to your star quarterback. It was in the second quarter that it finally dawned on somebody - the guy in Donovan McNabb's jersey wasn't Donovan McNabb! Somehow, this guy who looked a lot like the real Donovan - who wore a jersey like his - had slipped onto the field and blended into a team of men who were real players!

Well,

Friday, November 29, 2002

Years ago when I went on my first international ministry trip, I went just about as far as you can go - 10,000 miles to Singapore, Australia, New Zealand. I was going to be away for three weeks, which was the longest I had ever left my wife and our three young children. My wife mobilized the kids to put little love notes all over and all through my luggage. We had a nice meal together on the way to the airport and then some special hugs and kisses at the airport. But I did have to leave. And I'm not kidding you, it was a sad moment. My wife was trying to look like she was fine. The children were obviously hurting. And I managed to hold myself together until I rounded the bend in the concourse, then I started wiping tears from my eyes. It was really hard, but one thing made it OK. It was only temporary. We would be reunited.

Thursday, November 21, 2002

It was a sign of hope in the awful despair at Ground Zero. There's a good chance you've seen a picture of it. In the horrific collapse of the World Trade Center towers, two cast iron beams, forming the shape of a cross, apparently were driven through the roof of the 6 World Trade Center building. Later, in the shell of 6 World Trade, rescue workers found that cross, amazingly, standing upright in a sea of rubble, with insulation hanging on one arm of the cross. Ironworkers eventually removed it from the rubble and they mounted it on a concrete slab, a remnant from a collapsed bridge between two World Trade Center buildings. One Brooklyn firefighter said the cross was a symbol of some hope to his heroic "brothers." He said, "It reinforces their faith in God - that God's here for them."

Monday, November 4, 2002

Since September 11, 2001, Americans have gotten used to what someone has called the "new normal." Part of that is this color-coded terrorism alert system provided by the Government to let authorities and citizens know that the level of risk that they have assessed from recent intelligence has gone up or down. It's not a great shock that before and after the first anniversary of those September 11 attacks, there were increased indicators of possible terrorist activity. So, the Attorney General, John Ashcroft, announced that they were raising the alert status from yellow - level 3 on a 5-point scale - to orange, the second highest state of alert. In explaining how Americans should respond to that elevated risk, the Attorney General gave some simple advice that really stuck with me - "Be alert - and be defiant."

Friday, October 18, 2002

We met Larry when we went to explore some land that my wife's great-grandfather had homesteaded more than a century ago. That land is now part of a much larger farm that Larry owns - a farm that has been suffering from four years of serious drought conditions. The land is dust, the grass is very brittle, and the corn has stopped growing at about two feet high. Like many farmers in the area, Larry has had to sell half his herd of cows because there will be nothing to feed them in the winter. I didn't know where Larry stood spiritually, but I asked him if we could pray with him, right there in his field, and he said, "Yes." After I finished praying, Larry said quietly, "We've been doing a lot of that lately."

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

My wife rang me on my cell phone with an urgent message to get back across town to our daughter and son-in-law's house. "They've got a fire!" she said. As I approached their house, I could see a grass fire burning in the field near their house and rapidly approaching their house. A neighbor's trash fire had suddenly gotten out of hand and had spread rapidly. The firefighters arrived just before I did and thankfully they quickly got it under control. We were really thankful that our kids had been home and had seen the fire or it might have even burned their house. They were told that the fire did not mean there would be a blackened field in front of their house - there would, in fact, be beautiful grass growing there pretty soon, rooted in soil that would actually be enhanced by the fire. And, sure enough, there's a rich field of green today.