Tuesday, August 12, 2003

It was the largest oil spill in American history - and it was, in a sense, largely the fault of one man. The tanker Exxon Valdez, remember, ran aground on a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound. The resulting oil spill did incalculable damage to the local fishing industry, to the environment in that very majestic piece of America, and to a lot of wildlife. The Commander of the Coast Guard said the passage there is ten miles across. He said, "So wide, your children could pilot a tanker through there!" So how did it happen? Well, an unlicensed third-mate was on the bridge that day, piloting the vessel. He was where the captain should have been. The captain was down below! That disaster happened because the man who should have been on the bridge wasn't!

Thursday, August 7, 2003

There are few words that strike more fear into hearts in Middle America than the word "tornado" - and rightly so. Twisters can hit so suddenly and do such awful damage. That was proven again when some deadly tornadoes tore through Oklahoma in 1999 - one of them was so strong that it was almost classified an F-6 - which would have created a whole new category of tornado. In light of the power of those storms, the story I saw on the evening news was amazing. After hearing one of those tornado warnings for the tornadoes in Oklahoma, a mother and her adult daughter went into a room in their house for safety. It's called a safe room or a strong room, and it's built with concrete that's reinforced with metal. And it's built to withstand even a hit by a tornado. Well, sure enough, the tornado hit that house and there was virtually nothing left - except for one room. The safe room. And when it was all clear, the mother and daughter walked out unscathed in a neighborhood where virtually everything else had been blown away.

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Frankly, most of us didn't know much about the space shuttle Columbia's amazing crew until the ship and the crew were lost in that awful re-entry tragedy. But then we began to learn what truly outstanding men and women these people were. Starting with their commander, Rick Husband. Hearing from his family and friends, it quickly became clear that he was a magnetic follower of Jesus Christ. He quoted from memory verses from Joshua 1 to prepare his crew the night before the launch. He prayed with his crew just before they met the press and boarded the shuttle. He molded his diverse crew into a bonded team. What touched me most was what Rick Husband did for his kids before he left. He made 17 videos for his daughter and 17 videos for his young son, each one a "devotional with Daddy" for each day he was scheduled to be gone - it was Daddy with the Word of God and Daddy praying with them. Can you imagine what a treasure that will be to them?

Friday, March 21, 2003

Trivia time. What GE-sponsored TV show did Ronald Reagan host before he became President? You're probably way too young to know the answer, right? OK. Wait a minute, wait a minute ... that older fellow in the back. What did you say? Yes, a program called "Death Valley Days." That's right! It was all about that hot and hostile stretch of California known as Death Valley - and the stories of what people faced in that place that all too often lived up to its name.

Well,

Friday, January 17, 2003

Every fall, the TV networks start hyping their new shows. And usually, they have a couple that feature a well-known star. You can be sure that those headline shows and those headline stars won't be on at 2:00 in the afternoon or 1:00 in the morning. No way. They will air sometime in the heart of the evening, like 8:00 or 9:00 - prime time! You know you've made it when you've got a show on prime time, you know. Even though a lot of what's on in those hours doesn't seem very prime to a lot of us, to the networks this is their best. Stick the reruns and the less popular shows in the off-hours when not as many people are watching, right? But prime time, hey, that's reserved for the best.

Friday, January 10, 2003

Pam was a young woman who was active in a Campus Life Club I ran some years ago, and she was very lonely. She used to call different ones of us leaders two or three times a week. Pam felt like she was unattractive. She had never had a date, and she had problems at home. And she usually called to talk about her problems and how depressed she was. Until that week she called me and I said to her, "Pam, don't call me again until you've carried out an assignment I'd like to give you." Well, I encouraged her to go to the local senior citizens' facility and volunteer for one night. She was hesitant, but she did it.

Well, that night she read to those folks and she walked with them and listened to their stories. When she was leaving, some of them asked, "When will you be back?" Well, she hadn't planned to come back. But their encouragements caused her to tell them, "Uh, next week." She did go back the following week - and virtually every week after that through the rest of high school. Last I knew, she'd become a doctor. Once she started to live for some people who needed her, Pam didn't call much anymore. She didn't need to. She was too busy making a difference.

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Marathon man! That's me when we're driving a long trip. I want to get there, and I like to drive, so we just keep barreling. Just ask my kids about when they were little. They knew we only stopped when the gas tank was nearly empty. They might say, "No, he wasn't marathon man. He was psycho man!" Well, I have to wonder if I would stop at all if the car didn't have to. You know, cars are like that. They just have to stop for refueling. Cars don't run forever. Neither do we.

Tuesday, December 3, 2002

Probably the most exciting American auto race of the year is the Indianapolis 500. Several have suggested that I should drive in it, but I think I'll hold off on that. Now, on the days before the race, anticipation grows as the drivers compete in the time trials and qualifying events that lead up to the big race. Then on the day itself, those powerful engines start revving, the fans and promoters are cheering, and the cars make their first drive around that legendary track. But there's no race that first lap. In fact, all the cars are going the same speed, led by some guy with flags flying out his window. Who is this guy? Well, he's the driver of the pace car, and everyone starts the race at the pace he sets!

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Mike is a follower of Jesus Christ, and he's an executive with a large printing company founded on Christian principles. They had worked for two years to land this contract with a major publisher, and they got it. Mike told me about the day when their new client brought in their first job. It was exciting, until he saw what it was about. It was all about horoscopes. Mike looked at his Sales Manager who had worked with him so hard to sign up this big company. Then he slid the manuscript back across the desk and said to his new client, "I'm very sorry, but we can't print this. See, we try to run our business by the Bible, and this would go against what the Bible says."

The man with the manuscript sat back in his chair, dumbfounded. Then he said, "In all my years, I have never had anyone talk to me like this." Mike was ready for the worst. Then the man continued, "I have never seen a company with this much integrity. We'll be bringing you a lot of business!"

Wednesday, November 20, 2002

It's one of life's great "mixed emotions" moments for most fathers - when it's your daughter's wedding day and you give away your precious little girl to the man she's marrying. The usual Daddy sentiment is, "Nobody's good enough for my little girl - but here she is." I have a friend who expressed many a father's wedding day feelings in an especially graphic way. He loved the man that his daughter was marrying. He was very happy to receive him as a son. But still, he said, "When I placed my daughter's hand in his hand, there was this feeling I couldn't get over - that I was taking this rare Stradivarius violin and placing it in the hands of a gorilla!"