Your Relationships

When The Tapestry is Unraveling - #8188

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

I hope I don't have to be an expert on a subject to talk about it-in this case, weaving a tapestry. Actually, a lady who served as our receptionist was a very "crafty" type woman, and that includes making some beautiful tapestries. She taught me something about this kind of artwork-that it likes to unravel. All those threads that she so skillfully weaves into a creative pattern have this natural tendency to unravel, thus destroying the design she's worked so hard on. But how do you keep it together? Well, she says you put this frame around the tapestry, and with everything held together by the frame, you can keep weaving the tapestry without it unraveling.

While the Window's Open - #8183

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

I was sitting on our front porch, and I saw our son-in-law suddenly running full speed across the front yard, headed for the back yard with his camera in his hand. With my incredible detective mind, I surmised that he had seen something that would make a great photo; something that apparently wasn't going to be there for long. Actually, he had seen our horse running across the pasture with her mane flowing and beautifully illuminated by the setting sun. Well, having a wife who's taken some pretty amazing photos over the years, I understood this. I guess you'd call it the "seize the moment" thing. Photographers know about this, and you'd better not get in their way.

The House We Didn't Finish - #8172

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

I've got to tell you, it was a nostalgic time when we drove away that last time from our home of 24 years. We left behind a lot of memories in the walls, and a couple in the tree in the far corner of the backyard. See, when the kids were little, Karen and I decided we wanted to build the kids a tree house. So we made a plan, got some lumber, and started our little project. We laid down a couple of boards between two branches – it was the beginning of a floor for the tree house. Then we took a break. And we kept taking a break, and we never went back. Oh, yes, we intended to finish that house – but right up until the day we moved, those boards were all that ever happened.

The "Others" Factor - #8121

Monday, February 26, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Our son-in-law has always liked to ski, even though he has never gotten to do it that often. And like everything else he does athletically, he goes for it when he skis. But his last time on the slopes was different from all the other times in his life. See, for the first time, he had a son! And that little baby was on his mind when he was on the slopes. When we asked about his ski adventure, I got the distinct feeling he didn't take the risks he's taken before. Actually, here's the way he put it. Moving his arms in skiing form as he said, and just kept saying, "I'm a Daddy. I'm a Daddy. I'm a Daddy."

A Safe Place For Your Child - #8120

Friday, February 23, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

It's one of life's passages-taking your first child to college. You drive off, leaving your firstborn there, knowing your life and theirs will never be quite the same. When we left our daughter at the Christian college she had chosen, her two younger brothers were sure they knew how their mother would react. In fact, without announcing it, they just kept watching her all the way home, waiting for her to cry. Well, she never did, and our boys were baffled. They finally asked, " Mom, why didn't you cry?" (What is this to kind of watch Mom cry?) Well, see, the college had given us parents two days of very reassuring orientation, and my wife and I had been very impressed with how they had thought through their students' needs. So why didn't Mom cry? She said, "I don't cry about leaving my child when I know they're in good hands."

Un-cowarding the Cowardly Lion - #8114

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

It seems as if the movie comes around again about once a year on TV, and we get a chance to see that charming story called "The Wizard of Oz." What a quartet! I mean, Dorothy, the little Kansas farm girl blown into the Land of Oz. She wants to see the Wizard to get help to get home. Then remember, there's a Scarecrow, he wants to see the Wizard to get some brains. And the Tin Woodsman, well, he's looking for a heart. And last but not least, there's that lovable feline, the Cowardly Lion. Now I know some people who could use some brains, I know some people who could use a little more heart; but we're surrounded by people who could use more of what that Cowardly Lion was looking for. Remember, "I need courage."

"I Love You" at the Finish Line - #8113

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Sometimes my regular routine doesn't allow me as much exercise as I'd like. So when my wife and I would get a few days away, I would always enjoy picking up the pace a little with some biking or hiking that I didn't get to do usually, you know. Of course, I could usually feel that I hadn't been doing it enough. It's still true. The next morning I'm hurting in places I didn't even know I had places. I remember one time we were away at the shore, and I did this sunrise jog on the beach. I felt so healthy - and so beat. I was pounding back on the sand, all tired and sweaty and disgusting, thinking about walking the rest of the way. And there was my wife in the distance. And suddenly my motivation was back. I picked up my pace like an Olympian. I had almost reached her when I saw what she had written in huge letters in the sand, "I love you, Ron." Oh! What a happy ending to a long, hard run!

Everyone's First Class - #8105

Friday, February 2, 2018

Download MP3 (right click to save)

The bad news that I got at the airport was that my flight had been canceled, and the airline I was booking on couldn't get me to my destination in time for the meeting I was supposed to speak for. But the good news was that they found me a seat on another airline. But the bad news was that it was an airline I had barely heard of; I wasn't sure what to expect. But the good news was, it was an airline with a wonderful difference from all the others. There was no first class section, but every seat was as wide as a first class seat! And instead of the plastic plates, and paper napkins, and average food--or any food--I was used to in economy class, I got (well, we all got) china plates, cloth napkins, a real meal. I mean like they usually get in first class. That was the kind of treatment you would only get if you've paid for those expensive seats up front. But what a great concept this particular airline had: treat everyone as if they're first class!

No Unmovable Walls - #8066

Monday, December 11, 2017

Download MP3 (right click to save)

If there was one symbol of the Cold War years and a world divided between Communist and free, it had to be the Berlin Wall, of course. Some of the most dramatic images of the last half of the 20th Century involve that wall - the wall the Communists built to divide East Berlin from democratic West Berlin. There are pictures of the barbed wire along the top of the wall, the armed guards, the people who risked everything to try to escape from behind that wall, and the people who died trying. I think I was like most of the people on this planet to be honest. I mean we pretty much kind of thought that Berlin Wall would always be there. We couldn't imagine how it would ever be taken down. But go to Berlin today. The wall is gone, and it came down almost overnight. The wall we thought would always be there - gone.

An Island of Light In a Sea of Darkness - #8063

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Download MP3 (right click to save)

One Christmas season I saw what might have been the most impressive Christmas decorations I've ever seen. Oh, they weren't in midtown Manhattan or one of the many special displays I've seen over the years. They were in a little village on an Indian reservation in the Southwest. This particular tribe is one of the most spiritually unreached in this country. They're pretty isolated and they are a long way from anything else. When I drove through this reservation on a night one Christmas season, I was struck by the absence of hardly any Christmas lights or decorations. It was just dark! Until I reached this one particular village. Against the backdrop of near total darkness, the church there was ablaze with Christmas lights outlining the church buildings, the windows and the doors.

Page 10 of 43

Menu