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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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I imagine it's been a little while since you've asked somebody, "How's your liver today?" I never thought about it until my wife got sick. She had hepatitis, and for many months I learned how vital the liver is; never thought about it before. It's the filtration plant of your body. We've got all kinds of toxic materials pumping into us every day in medicines that we take, and foods that we eat, and our liver keeps those poisons from getting into our blood stream. Now, liver disease like hepatitis or cirrhosis can cripple you or even kill you if the poison can't be filtered. See, it's deadly if the poisons don't get filtered and they get into your blood stream. And there is one toxin that is on the loose, and it has a long history of being a killer.

Friday, January 14, 2011

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My friend, Ed, thought he had the perfect hiding place, and he told me about it. Now, Ed's not really his name, but it is a true story. The incident happened this way. About 20 years ago he was a teenager, and he came from a nice Christian family - nice Christian boy, except for some of his reading material. Now, it was before Internet days, so he had a habit of going out and buying Playboy and some other magazines like it, and he hid them in an old, unused icebox where no one ever went. And he was sure no one knew the place. Well, when he went to get his dirty magazines one day, they were gone. But that's only part of it. In their place there was a Bible. He knew his Dad had to leave it there. There was never any yelling, his Dad never talked to him about it, but he bought no more magazines because of that little switch his Dad had made.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

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King George and his army must have been having a good laugh. George Washington and his Continental Army had been whipped in battle after battle in their campaign to become independent from Britain. British troops had driven the Americans out of New York City, across the Hudson River, across New Jersey, and finally into Pennsylvania. Then came the winter of 1777, at a place outside of Philadelphia called Valley Forge. Washington's troops faced not only a physical winter there, but an emotional winter. Discouragement and defeat may have been their worst enemies. But General Washington wasn't about to let those enemies win. He fought back by immediately deploying his soldiers to fortifying their camp. Then the drills began. A veteran European military officer began to drill those soldiers every day, teaching them a single set of maneuvers rather than the multiple approaches that had created confusion in those past battles. That winter, they were learning one way of doing things while Washington worked on getting more recruits and building his army into a real fighting force. Many historians believe that the outcome of America's battle for independence was decided at Valley Forge more than any battle - an army that came out of Valley Forge to stun the British with major victories. One army went into the winter at Valley Forge - divided, discouraged, demoralized. Another army emerged from that winter. They were unified, they were fortified, they were confident because of what they had done with their winter.

Monday, November 8, 2010

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The man who first climbed Mt. Everest said his reason for risking it was simply "because it was there." That's how it was with that monster sand dune near a Bible conference where I was speaking. It was no Mt. Everest, but it was a pretty daunting mountain of sand. The reward for reaching the top was a scenic view of a nearby lake and the satisfaction that you did it. I convinced two of our team members to climb that dune with me. Climbing sand is kind of like "much effort, little progress," as your shoes start filling with sand and your legs start yelling "Stop this!" We were about halfway to the top when my younger colleagues said, "Is this far enough?" They were ready to quit. We stopped to catch our breath and I pointed to the bottom of the dune and I said, "Hey, look at how far we've already come! Let's not turn back now!" They rolled their eyes and grudgingly agreed to follow the old guy all the way to the top. We were very hot. We were very tired, but the view at the top and the joy of conquest made it worth it!

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