Tuesday, January 22, 2008

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When our kids were growing up, the early morning shift around our house was particularly exciting. I was getting ready for a full day, three kids were scrambling to have what they needed for school, my wife was playing maid, chef, valet, and chauffeur. In the rush, a lot of our communication was basically non-verbal. For example, one morning I was shaving and thinking through this endless list of things I had to do that day - all the Lord's work, of course. I was mulling over a sermon, radio programs, an important appointment that day, an event I was planning, and my son popped in. Now, I must have succeeded in telegraphing how much I had on my mind (The Lord's work, remember?); he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Then, as I was praying about all the Lord's work I had to do that day, I remembered an important decision my son had to make that day, one that he probably needed to talk to his father about. I had just missed the Lord's work.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

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It's not much fun to perform without an audience. Toddlers believe that for sure. Our family was having one of those rare opportunities to have all of us together, and we were having some great conversations, keeping one eye on our little two-year-old granddaughter. And one eye wasn't enough for her. Using her recently enhanced motor skills, she started running wide circles right in the middle of the room. After her first two spins—which did manage to get our attention—she called out two little words I didn't even know she knew, "Watch this!" We did.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

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I was in my office, trying to crawl out of an avalanche of papers on my desk. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door - and in came one of our team members with his wife and their bright-eyed eight-month-old little boy, Zachary. My wife then joined our little Zachary party and proceeded to plop this animated little bundle right in the middle of my desk - in the middle of a mountain of paper work - right where I couldn't ignore him. And you know something, I didn't mind one bit. Little Zachary and I had a great conversation. That means I did all the talking. We played, we laughed, and Zachary creatively reorganized (shall we say) the project I was working on. It was one of the best things that happened that day. It took me a while to reconstruct my project, but it was fun having that little guy right in the middle of everything!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

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If you're a parent, you'll understand this. There are those times when you just wish you could trade places with your child because of the pain they're going through. Our 12-year-old son had been playing a pickup football game with some of his friends when a tackle caused him to break his arm. I mean, really break his arm. The fracture was so severe that his arm bone bulged out grotesquely, his hand was limp, and he was really, really hurting. The doctor met us in the emergency room and he went to work trying to reset this arm that was broken in several places. Our son was very tough, but it was obvious that he was in excruciating—I think almost unbearable—pain. He's pretty sure he doesn't ever want to do that again.

Monday, September 24, 2007

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The Lewis and Clark Expedition! They were that bold group of explorers that Thomas Jefferson sent to explore the largely uncharted Louisiana Purchase. The expedition, under the leadership of Captains Lewis and Clark, faced blazing heat and bone-chilling cold. They had some close calls with vicious animals, they were attacked by insects, they had the prospect of massacre by many Indian tribes whose land they were crossing, there were perilous passages, and even the death of one of their own. After a year and a half of paying a very high price, Captain William Clark stood one day in the bow of his boat, pointed west up the Columbia River, and shouted, "Ocean in view!" Later he wrote in his journal: "Ocean in view! O the joy! Great joy in camp! We are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we had been so long anxious to see!"

Friday, September 21, 2007

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One of our new staff members just discovered the secret in our headquarters dining room. As she was carrying her lunch to the table, she bumped into this white pillar that stretches from floor to ceiling, and it moved. The look on her face was priceless! She wasn't quite sure what she had just done, or if she was about to cause the collapse of the room on top of all of us. But, see, that's the secret. The pillar looks real enough, but it's just decorative. It's made of plastic, and it doesn't hold up anything!

Monday, July 9, 2007

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It was pretty scary for a four-year-old little girl. My wife's grandfather had somehow managed to drop his favorite pen down a cistern in his yard. She remembers it as being about 25 feet deep, and she remembers that because she was the one who had to retrieve Granddad's valuable pen. Her Daddy made this makeshift harness for her to sit in, tied a tope around her waist, and began to lower her down into that hole. Her mind was focused partly on the lost pen, and partly on what snakes might be down there in that damp hole in the ground. As she dangled in space in a scary place, she was counting on one thing: her big, strong Father was holding the rope.

Monday, June 25, 2007

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People who know me know that I'm a very focused person when I'm working on something. Except when it comes to the most distracting person I know - my little granddaughter. When she was only one-plus-year old, there was just no way to resist her when she came my way. She'd pull herself up by my pant leg, she'd stretch her arms my direction, and then made these cute little noises and irresistible faces - virtually begging me to pick her up. I'm not the only one who's gotten nothing done when she's around. No, she was that way with other family members; reaching out to be held. And I'll tell you this: our arms were always open.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

When my wife and I stuck our head out the door of our motel room one morning, we were greeted by a torrential rainstorm. Because we were driving a larger-than-usual vehicle, we had to park a distance from our room the night before, which meant we were in for a wet run to our vehicle. I was collecting our overnight bag, so my wife was the one who struck out into the monsoon first. For the most part, she was able to run under the cover of a motel overhang. So I took off, sprinting along the route that she had just taken. What I missed was her yelling "No!" to me as I approached a place to cross the parking lot. I missed her warning and promptly ran full speed into a huge puddle that had accumulated at the edge of the sidewalk: soaked socks, soaked shoes, squishing for the rest of the day. Oh, and my wife's feet? They were dry. Mine were soaked. The difference? She looked ahead to see where she was stepping. I didn't.

Friday, June 15, 2007

For years, the stories of J. R. R. Tolkien's "Middle-Earth" were contained in his "Lord of the Rings" book trilogy and enjoyed by a relatively small number of people who loved those stories passionately. But since the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy exploded from books to blockbuster Hollywood movies, millions became enthusiastic fans. The engaging fantasy world of Tolkien's "Middle-Earth," the unique characters, the epic battles, and the spiritual themes that run through the stories; there are many layers that have blended into an experience that has magnetized millions of people. It's a great story, but for many, this is a story that seems to say something - something important. Tolkien, the author of the "Lord of the Rings," was a man with a deep Christian faith, and that faith helped to shape the provocative spiritual themes that many find in "Return of the King," the finale of the trilogy. There is the ring. There is the king. And there, somewhere tied to both, are many of us.