Conversation @ Home

January 31

I ask my wife how her retreat went.
"Remember how you felt when you had a defining moment?" she said. "Just imagine feeling that for an entire weekend. I didn't want to go home. I didn't know how to leave."

"Were you afraid of leaving God behind?"

"Something like that," she whispers.

“Well you didn’t," I offer, "God is never far away. We just need to stay in touch."

"For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21)

Wheelchair Story

January 30

A young lady tells me, “ I need to tell you my wheelchair story.” After a few weeks in Florida she sits in an emergency room scared and alone. “Praying softly I hear God say, ‘ I’m sending you an angel.”

She waits. She notices an older man in a wheelchair. They talk and after awhile her name is called to see a doctor. She realizes her fear is gone.. She thanks the man for talking with her and then adds; “I don’t even know your name. I’m Sherry.”
He says, “My name is Angel.”

“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matt (21:22)

I Killed a Man

January 29

It’s true! I killed a man. A nice man some people thought. I knew differently. He appeared to be the ideal family man. I knew different.

" He walked in lewdness, lust, drunkenness, revelry, drinking parties and abominable idolatry." (1 Peter 4:3)

This man needed to be destroyed. I killed him. I killed my old self. I'm a new person. Alleluia! There is a second chance God. Praise the Lord. Now I really know differently.

“ I say to you, unless one is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

Ice Storm

January 27

Everything is glare ice, "creek, crack crash." Branches are snapping off the trees like brittle spaghetti. It is still raining so I retreat from the yard and stand under the overhang of the house. There is a large crack and thud. A huge branch falls from the elm and is imbedded into the ground where I had been standing moments earlier. I stare in disbelief.

Some would say 'thank your lucky stars.’ That is how I felt once, but now I say luck and stars has nothing to do with it. What do you say?

“The very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:30-31)

Cranston

January 26

For three days, I clearly hear the word Cranston in my head. Why Cranston?

Today, I find behind other books, The Miracle of Lourdes by Ruth Cranston.
I guess I’m suppose to read this book.
The author goes beyond documenting several miracles at the healing pool at Lourdes. She writes, “The one way to peace and bliss, every great prophet has told us, is to give yourself away.” Have you given yourself away?

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (Matthew 16:25)

My Nephew's Van

January 25

My Nephew is driving alone along Route 20 in Charlton Ma. A tractor-trailer drifts over the centerline and hits his van behind the driver's seat pushing him off the road. The rig crashes head on into the car behind, killing the driver. My Nephew is unhurt. The truck driver is arrested.

In an instant, a life is taken, one spared.

"Watch therefore for you do not know when the master of the house is coming-in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. What I say to you I say to all, Watch!" (Mark 13:35-36)

City Slicker

January 24

I was a teenager from the city and had never ridden a horse. We walked the horses across a divided roadway onto a trail. After a gentle ride in the woods we turned toward home. My horse took off. I was hanging on for dear life. She bolted across Route 1A, horns blasted, breaks squealed and I screamed.

God's angel directed traffic that day and even provided the mud for a soft landing when I fell off when the horse stopped abruptly in front of the barn.

"He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways."
(Psalm 91:11)

God's Birds

January 23

Dr. Jerry Kirk, a preacher from Cincinnati said, "God's love for us is unlimited but our ability to receive that love is limited because our receiving mechanisms have been damaged by the world around us.” He asked Dora, twice a widow, what made her upbeat. Her response; "Every cardinal, I see I hear Jesus say I love you.”
The notion of damaged receptors speaks to me. The solution shared by Dora and Jerry has changed how I look at all birds. Every bird I see, I hear God say, "I love you." Try it.

"Consider the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap… yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26)

Pat's Vision

January 22

How insignificant I feel when I think of the vastness of God's creation. How can God have time to care about me with all those stars and galaxies out there to be concerned about?

Pat shares a vision of feeling tiny and lost in a throng of singing worshipers before the throne. She says, “Then Jesus, rising, says to the Father, 'these are the one's I have called unto you.' Laser beams emitted from His fingers and fell on each head, including mine."

"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32)

Water Towers

January 21

Driving the rugged arid parts of Arizona and Colorado, I notice a single pile of rocks up on top of a mesa. I learn that these are called "water towers." These rocks tell travelers below that from this point you can see water.
Those Native Americans and pioneers who erected these water towers were truly being neighborly, pointing the way to survival. The water towers are no longer needed but stand as monuments of brotherly love. I need to be a water tower to my neighbors.

" You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 23:39)

Consultant's Nightmare

January 20

My report is not coming together and it is due in the morning. I can’t find my notes. I pace. I slam draws. My wife softly urges prayer and sleep.

I am at my desk at 5 a.m. My mind is going a mile a minute. I’m recalling missing details. By seven my bible class prays for God's hand over my meeting. By ten I make my presentation to the executives of my client's organization.

The Spirit takes over the meeting. For every question raised someone else provides an answer. The hour ends with applause and handshakes. Go God.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6 NIV)

Lines to Ponder

January 19

“Nothing to excess.”(my dad’s line)

“Lust says get, get, get. Love says give, give, give.” (a retired pastor)

“An eye for an eye…and the entire world would be blind.” (Mahatma Gandi)

"If you are going through hell, don't stop there." (a businessman)

"I coach football but my purpose in life is to glorify God." (Tony Dungy)

“God scorns the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34)

Locked Out

January 18

Normally when my car is unlocked the trunk is unlocked but now the car is unlocked and I can’t get the trunk open even with a key. The garage owner tries several times-no go.

“Take it to a locksmith,” he says.This morning I notice a lone key on the rack. I try it. The trunk opens. For most of my life I was trying the wrong keys to open the meaning of my life. Then I found the one key that stands alone. Who holds the key to your life?

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
(John 14:6)

We are Where We Have Chosen to be

January 17

“He is 18, on drugs, is unemployed and has been arrested for stealing. She is 17, pregnant by him and drinks heavily. Both are school drop outs.”

The speaker, a minister, lecturer, and author, is addressing a men’s retreat. He asks, "You are the parish priest and this couple comes before you, wanting get married. What do you tell them?

After the laughter fades, he says, “That couple was my wife and I twenty three years ago.” His point is we are in life exactly where we have chosen to be.

Life is a result of the choices we make. We can choose to believe or not. It is our choice. What is you choice?

“He who believes in Him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already…”
(John 3:1)

In Who's Image?

January 16

Genesis says God created man in His image. My wife Joy asks, “Do we see God in our image rather than seeing ourselves in His image?"

I'm sure my perspective is seeing God in my image. That means God has feelings, emotions, thoughts and memories. OK so far. However, holding God in my image would also mean God has limits, warts, and is mortal. That's not good. That is not God.

So how do we see ourselves created in His image? It begins with belief!

Isaiah. knew in whose image he was created.
"Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."
(Isaiah 40:31)

Amazing Grace

January 15

This is a night that stretches me to the breaking point. I am nodding off when I read:
"Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul." (Proverbs 6:32) Wham! I lost my soul long ago. I'm doomed.

I read Luke 7. Jesus is eating at a Pharisee's house and an adulterous woman, washes His feet and dries them with her hair. The Pharisee is indignant. Jesus exposes his hypocrisy. Then he says to the woman "Your sins are forgiven."
In one reading I am convicted of the devastating severity of my sins against God. In the next reading I experience the wonders of His amazing grace

"For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Late Night Ticket

January 14

"Let me see your license please? You didn't stop for the traffic light back there."

"I was going right on red, no one was coming."

"You didn't come to a complete stop," he corrected. I'm going to have to give you a citation."

It is 11 p.m. you don't have to give me anything, I thought.
When the Trooper returned he explained I could appeal the ticket, pay the fine or eliminate the points by attending driver improvement classes.
Driving home my wife breaks the silence. "Are you going to pay the fine or go to driver improvement classes?" The way she articulated those last words did it. I was ticked.
I took a deep breath and said; "Lord take away these ugly feelings." He did! I paid the fine.

"Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like minded toward one another according to Christ Jesus." (Romans 15:5.)

Newspaper Intern

January 13

The publisher came into the city room yelling "whose old Plymouth is that out front?" It was my second day as a student intern at the Westerly (RI) Sun. He escorted me downstairs to remove my car.

Later, Abe, the city editor, lead me to the rear of the building. “You park there,” he said; pointing to a large paved area below us. That is the parking lot for the temple. If anybody says anything tell them Abe sent you." Abe was my neighbor that day.

A lawyer asks Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan and asks; "so which do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?

The lawyer says, "He who showed mercy on him.”

"Then Jesus says, 'Go and do likewise."
(Luke 10: 36-37)

My Sister's Class

January 12

My sister, fresh from graduate school, began teaching in the high school where I was a senior. I was enrolled in her journalism class. One day she walked into the room just as I was throwing a pear at another student. She took one look at me and said sternly, "Get out!"

I reported to the assistant principle. Without looking up he asked, “Why are you here?”

“My sister threw me out of her class.”

He stopped writing. I was given two weeks detention and I was grounded at home. I gained new respect for all my teachers, including family ones and a greater appreciation for learning.

"Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her for she is your life.”(Proverbs 4:13)

Stuck in a Rut?

January 11

One night, when I was a boy, my mother told me a simple story. A little frog landed in the middle of a deep tire track in a muddy road. Jump as he might he couldn’t get out. The other frogs watching him struggle headed back to the pond for the night. Splash- little frog was back. .

"How on earth did you get out,” the other frogs demanded almost in unison.

"I just jumped out," said the exuberant little frog, “you see a truck was coming.”

Deborah Deford writes in The Simpler Life, "We get into a rut and all of life takes on the color and texture of old mud. But staying in a rut is a choice.”

I was in a worldly rut for years. Then I saw the truck coming and made the choice to jump free.

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Conversation over Dinner

January 9

Joy and I are dining in the home of a minister friend and her guests. A marriage counselor says he worries about couples who say they never fight.

I pipe in with a brief version of a tiff that Joy and I had earlier at home. Joy wisely said for us to pray and God brought love and gentleness to both of us.

Driving home Joy says, "My heart soared when you had the courage to be vulnerable and say what you did at dinner. I love you all the more.”

She could have been embarrassed or angry. Instead she is filled with love and compassion. These are clearly God-given attributes!

"Let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." (Ephesians 5:33)

Trusting the Pilot

January 8

A winter storm is howling at BWI Airport in Baltimore. My flight to Tampa is delayed as crews plow the runways.

Finally it is our turn to take-off. While I pray, the plane roars down that snowy runway and up into the swirling storm clouds. The aircraft shutters, groans and shakes until we climb above the storm. The remainder of the flight to Tampa is a smooth one.

When I entered that plane I had totally given up control and put my life in the hands of that pilot. So why do I struggle giving the controls of my life to the Lord? Why can't I trust God to pilot my journey through life's storms. After all, who has had more experience?

"Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Homeless Man with a Bible

January 7

He said his name is Bill Young and he was looking for work and needed some money for breakfast.I handed him a couple of dollars and mentioned softly that he might have a better chance of getting a job if he didn't have alcohol on his breath.

I asked him if he knew Jesus. He took a small Bible from his sack. He turned to Luke 16-19.
"You read it," he demands, handing me his Bible. It is about the rich man and poor Lazarus eating crumbs.

“ The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham." I stopped. "Read the next line," he urges. “The rich man also died, was buried and went to hell and was suffering terribly."

I stood convicted of my arrogance and smugness.

"Judge not that you be not judged. (Matthew 7:1)

Why I Quit Smoking

January 6

At age 14 I started smoking. I felt dizzy and was sick to my stomach but I continued to smoke.
When I was 30 the Government warned tobacco could be harmful to your health. I continued to smoke. My dad finally quit when his doctor said he had emphysema. I continued to smoke. After some chest pains, I switched to a pipe and decaffeinated coffee. I continued to smoke.

One night my son Rob, then seven, asked, " Dad can you get heart disease from smoking a pipe?" I hadn't heeded the other warnings, but when God sent my son, I heard the message. I quit! For good.

Come to think of it, God sent His only son with an important message for all of us. Hear him!

“I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John12:47)

Latch Key Kids

January 5

This year my granddaughters became latch key children. Their mother joins their dad in the work force to make ends meet. A grandson is in day care.

The worry side of me goes wild thinking of what could happen during those few hours after school. Movies like "Home Alone" just add fuel to the what ifs? Their parents say, “The girls are eleven and twelve and they know what to do.”

Then I hear, “Remember when you were eleven?” The world was at war and my Mom went to work to "help win the peace." After school I returned to an empty house.

I WAS A LATCHKEY CHILD.

"Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Vantage Point

January 4

It is a full moon and a pleasant night to walk around the neighborhood. I muse how the ancients viewed this same moon, fearing it and even worshiping it.

John Glenn, the first American to orbit our planet and have a moon’s-eye- view of earth, takes another trip 36 years later. Now 77, Glenn catches the world’s attention on his "flag lap" around our earth. Walter Cronkite is back to report the event and the Australians light up their country for Glenn, as they did in 1962.

From space Glenn says, " Looking at the Earth from this vantage point, looking at this kind of creation and to not believe in God, to me, is impossible."

Right on.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

Leaving Home

January 3

On a walk around my neighborhood, I notice a small boy pulling a little red wagon with a suitcase in it down a driveway. As I near the house a man comes out, looks in the direction of the boy.

"Leaving home are we," I ask? The man nods.

That boy is testing his boundaries but what he really wants to know is that his parents still love him.

As a child of God, I have walked away from my heavenly Father. Like that little boy, I didn’t get far and I desperately wanted to know that God still loves me.

God tells us all the time that He loves us. We just have to pay attention and listen.

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His faithful love endures forever." (Psalm 136:1 NLT)

Airport Delay

January 2

My flight from Hartford to Sarasota is canceled.
I call Joy and she says "Look around and see who you can help. Go do the Lord's work."

As we end the call, I spot a man in a wheelchair looking at his ticket. I wheel him to the next gate. The agent redoes his ticket and turns to me.

"Oh I'm not on his flight," I tell him, “I ‘m going to Florida but my flight to Charlotte was canceled."

"I can get you to Tampa. Will that help?"

Tampa is only an hour away. My wife drives to Tampa International and we have dinner together afteall. It is amazing what happens when you help someone else.

" Lord when did I see you a stranger and take you in? Surely I say to you when you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it to Me." (Matthew 25:38-40

New Years Day

January 1

It isn’t a typical start to a New Year.

My wife Joy wants to let God orchestrate this New Year. At Christmas Joy asks that we give Jesus something on His birthday. We soon realize that means giving something of ourselves. Lord, I pray give me the opportunity to share this idea with others.

The day after Christmas the associate pastor of our church calls saying,” I was praying for someone to talk on resolutions at our New Years service and how they differ once you become a believer…and your name kept coming to mind.”

What a way to begin a year, in His will.

“In all your ways acknowledge Him. And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)