Tuesday, July 17, 2007

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We get our share of storms where we live, and we’ve got our share of trees. So, you can probably figure out the rest. After almost every storm, I make the rounds in the yard, picking up the souvenirs the storm left behind. I haul all those downed branches to my special brush pile place, even if they’ve got leaves on them. Even if I am a city boy, I know there’s no use planting those branches in the ground and hoping they’ll grow more leaves. In fact, those leaves they have are soon going to fall off. As soon as the branch gets separated from the tree, it starts dying.

Monday, July 16, 2007

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My wife and I will never forget our time on the little island of Haiti, some years ago. It's the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and a heartbreaking place for anyone with a little compassion in their heart. While we were there, missionaries told us about one recent tragedy; one indicative of so many in the lives of these beautiful people. There had been an epidemic of conjunctivitis, or "pinkeye" as it's often called. Women were frustrated by having their eyes crusted over or running with conjunctivitis, so they tried what they thought might cure it - bleach. They rubbed bleach in their eyes. You know the outcome.

Monday, July 2, 2007

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It's a ghost town now. But in the 1880s, she was one of the boomtowns of California - all because of some silver in the ground. When the price of silver soared, so did their fortunes and so did the population of this little town that we visited not long ago. But when the price of silver crashed, well, so did the town. Back in some of her better days, a fire hit the town and it burned a lot of it to the ground. The only original buildings still standing there today had one thing in common. In a town that was mostly wood structures, these were the ones that were made of adobe. They've reconstructed some of those wood buildings, but hey, they weren't there long ago because they couldn't survive the fire.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

When a little child gets home later than they're supposed to - well you know that there is going to be on the other end. There's going to be a worried and not very happy parent waiting for them. I heard recently about a little girl who got home unusually late from school only to find a daddy who was not happy at all. He asked the little girl why she was late. She said, "Because my friend broke her dolly." Her dad said, "Oh, okay, so you stayed with her to fix it?" He didn't expect her gentle little reply, "No, Daddy. I stayed with her to help her cry."

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Our daughter-in-law is getting our baby granddaughter off to a great start - every day. In fact, if you're in any way related to one of Snow White's seven dwarfs (Grumpy, in particular) or even negative old Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, this baby girl can help you. Each morning her mother sits our little darling in her lap and says, "Honey, 'This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.'" After which she raises our baby's hands above her head and shakes them as Mama says, "Ya-a-a-ay!" It's really cute. But what about a day when this little girl is throwing up about very fifteen minutes? That's actually what happened the last time they were visiting us. I hope she's not allergic to me. It was so sad to watch this troubled look suddenly come across her little face, followed by a fountain of gross stuff erupting from her mouth. But still, Mom said, "Honey, even this is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." And before Mom could grab baby's hands, this time she raised one hand all by herself as Mommy said, "Ya-a-a-ay!"

Friday, May 18, 2007

Linda is one of the members of our ministry team, and she married a guy with an eye; an eye for artistic possibilities, that is. Ted works on home improvement projects, and he actually helped to improve our home a little bit not long ago. For example, he created this beautiful shelf in our living room. It's made from wood that he scouted and found in the nearby forest. My wife said, "Hey, we're the only ones with a shelf just like that." See, Ted does originals. Well, recently, he took Linda into the woods to see a tree that he thought had tremendous artistic possibilities. So, he envisioned out loud what he wanted to make of it. Linda's comment on this little field trip was slightly amusing: "Ted saw this beautiful work of art. All I saw was a tree."

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

A local pastor told me about an incident that reportedly happened when a world-famous professional golfer was playing in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, the King was so impressed with this man's playing that he said to him, "I'd like to give you a gift of appreciation." Now this renowned golfer told the King that no gift was necessary; he just appreciated the opportunity to play in his country. But the King was insistent, not only that the golfer receive a gift, but that he could name any gift he wanted.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

It was a wonderful/awful day in my life - the day my mother took my hand and walked me the two blocks over to Park Manor School in Chicago. It was the day I went to school for the first time. Kindergarten, here I come! It was exciting, but it was hard, too. We didn't do any pre-school stuff back then; my family didn't even go to Sunday School. So here was little Ronnie leaving the safety of his apartment, leaving his mother, leaving everything that was safe and familiar for a place I had never been. It sounds a little silly, knowing what I know now. Still, the fears and the feelings were very real then. But if I hadn't left home and stepped into the unknown called school, I would have missed so much!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A pastor friend of mine wrote recently and caught my attention with these words: "I'm thankful that the Lord has a sense of humor." He went on to tell about a Sunday some 55 years ago. He was in child care during the Sunday morning worship service with a friend of his, and they decided they wanted to find out what the "grownups" were doing in the sanctuary. So they devised an elaborate escape plan. They waited until the adult child care workers weren't looking and they made their break. At an opportune moment, they darted out of the kindergarten room, determined to see what went on in that morning worship service. Unfortunately, one boy got caught at the last minute, but he yelled to my friend, "Keep going, Paul! They got me!"

With adults in hot pursuit, my friend entered the first door he found into the sanctuary and found himself on the platform with the entire church looking at him. He had come in during the offering and both pastors were seated, doing nothing. To five-year-old eyes, it looked as if nothing was happening. The little explorer thought, "Is this all church is?" It was about that time his grandmother motioned to him to come down from the platform to her pew. In his words, "I was summarily grabbed, placed down next to her and told that I was in more trouble than I could ever imagine." Here's a fun footnote: for the past 25 years, the little boy who invaded that service has been the pastor of that church!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Boys usually love foot races. It gives you a chance to show off how fast you are. Unless it's a three-legged race, in which case even an Olympian looks like a total klutz. They first roped me into a three-legged race at a Sunday School picnic when I was a kid. What they do is they tie each runner's leg to the leg of his relay partner. Then you get to see which team can round the track first, tied to each other. Speaking as a veteran, believe me, you stumble, you stagger, and you limp your way through this event where everyone looks dumb. What's really fun is when you go down and your psycho partner decides to keep running, dragging you along.