Friday, March 30, 2012

An Old Mercedes

March 31

It is a 1975 Mercedes 230 gas-operated four-door sedan, dark green. I bought this motorcar from the original owner when it was 19 years old. It has now been eight years, a move to Florida, two weddings and 35,000 miles. I know I’m not being a good steward of my God-given resources pouring more money into this sedan.. Am I becoming too attached to this car? I sell it and buy a used American-made van.

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:20-21)

Richard Redfield

March 30

He was 80, a retired trust officer of a major bank, knew tons of people and was volunteering to help the foundation.
He was a raconteur. One snowy day, he and one girl showed up at preschool. "That was my afternoon with Katherine Hepburn.” He was fun, friendly and helped me for six years. “God willing” he’d say, then explain his next trip.
'God Willing.' I'll finish all this, have fun doing it and just maybe become a Richard Redfield to someone else.

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness." (Proverbs 16:31)

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Are you ready?

March 28
The phone woke me from a deep sleep.

“Lieutenant," the company clerk said:"it is 0605. and the Captain says get your (bleep) out to the rifle range the best way you can.” I drove to the pit area and found the field sergeant had everything under control. Thank God for sergeants.

At lunch the Captain with arms folded addressed all officers. “The first round was to go off at 0800." Pointing a finger at me he says, "The only one ready at 0800 was our pit officer."
My life commander tells me to be ready. I don’t want to be sleeping when He comes again. Are you ready?

"Be ready, for the son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
(Matthew 24:44)

Monday, March 26, 2012

Dead Dear

March 27

I am running late as usual for my 8 a.m. journalism class when the traffic slows for a dead deer in the road. When I entered the classroom, I blurted out, "sorry I'm late, there was a dead deer was in the road." After class my instructor says, " Don’t state why you are late, just sit down quietly.

The next class I came in quietly and sat. After class my instructor says, "I owe you an apology. I thought you made up that deer story but that night I saw a picture in the newspaper of that deer in the road."

"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness." (Proverbs 15:2)

Sunday, March 25, 2012

A Box of Oranges

March 26

We discuss bringing oranges from Florida to visit family in Tucson. I say I’ll pick some up. At noon I’m visiting the Sarasota Bay Rotary Club. The president asks if this is my first visit to the club. I know their tradition is to give away a crate of oranges to a first time visitor who came the furthest distance. I’m making up from Hartford. But I’ve been here before so I shake my head no. It turns out there are no first time visitors. He presents me with me the box of oranges.

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight." (Proverbs 12:22)

Quality Guy

March 25

When Michael Jordan retired from basketball he came to spring training with the White Sox in Sarasota. Don, an ex-Nike rep and Michael play golf.No press.Nofans.

At one green a small boy with a pad stands with an old man. Michael signs it. "Now you can tell your schoolmates that you saw Michael Jordan," The man says "My grandson is blind."

Michael drops to his knees, takes off his baseball cap and with the boy's hands in his, runs them over his face. "Now you can tell your friends you felt Michael Jordan's face and it is ugly."

“Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4)

Saturday, March 24, 2012

We Can't Out-give God

March 24

I receive a1099 from a client that reveals I earned $2500 the previous year for consulting services. I check my log but there is no entry showing a tithing (10%) gift of $250 to give back the first fruits to God. The next mail is an appeal from the Jesus Film Project.. The cost to train and equip a team is $250. OK Lord. I hear you. I write the check.

I receive an unexpected call. I’m to get $250 for drafting a national report. But I’m not even, now I owe a $25 tithe on the new $250. You can’t out give God.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in My house.”
(Malachi 3:10)

Friday, March 23, 2012

"Need Any Golf Balls Today?"

March 23

He is barefooted in wet shorts cradling a towel. Need any golf balls today?" The man has be in ponds and bushes where most Florida golfers fear to tread.
"Don't need any?" my playing partner replies and without thinking I echo, "I'm all set thank you."
The man says nothing, just turns and shuffles off looking at the ground. My next tee shot is awful. I turn to my partner and say, "I should have bought some balls from that guy." I clearly hear in my mind:

“ I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:45)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Bumperstickology

March 22

It is right there on the bumper of the car,clever pithy one or two liners to convey a message. These bumper stickers caught my eye.

If God is your co-pilot, switch seats.

Faith or Fear Take your Choice.

God answers knee mail

Kindness is a language
All can understand


“ I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)

A Large Box of Crayons

March 21

“God answered my every prayer,” Joy said excitedly on moving her dad to the Soldiers Home, “he even made a new friend and guess what, his name is Stewart Kindness. Imagine that.”

You would never know that her dad had walked out of her life when she was barely a teenager. Now she was a loving daughter and his primary health advocate. As an adult Christian she had asked God to help her forgive him. God had healed a willing heart.

“Ask and you will receive
That your Joy may be full.”
Psalm 55:22

A Daughter's Forgiveness

March 20

“God answered my every prayer,” Joy said excitedly on moving her dad to the Soldiers Home, “he even made a new friend and guess what, his name is Stewart Kindness. Imagine that.”

You would never know that her dad had walked out of her life when she was barely a teenager. Now she was a loving daughter and his primary health advocate. As an adult Christian she had asked God to help her forgive him. God had healed a willing heart.

“Ask and you will receive
That your Joy may be full.”
Psalm 55:22

Girl Basketball Player

March 19

By the last game everyone had scored except Melissa. In the closing minute I told Missey to camp near the basket and for the boys to pass the ball to her. They did. With two hands she pushed the ball up. It hit under the rim and bounced back to her. She pushed it up again and it went in the basket. Cheers and high fives.
A happy Missey came to the sideline. I gave her a congratulatory hug. I had no way of knowing it then, but this happy ten-year-old would be the mother of three of my grandchildren.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." (Jeremiah 1:5)

Friday, March 16, 2012

In His Perfect Timing

March 17

This morning Joy is up and preparing to go to Tampa to fly to Connecticut. She is going on a three-day winter retreat with twelve other women. .

The phone rings. It is the Soldier's Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts. They have a bed for her dad, Walter. He has been on the waiting list for a year. "God is great, perfect timing,” Joy marvels. She had planned to stay over Tuesday after the retreat and visit her dad. Now she can move him into the Soldiers Home.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above." (James 1:17)

A Promise Keeper

March 16

Joy ran into the house shouting the car was on fire. Outside I find steam coming from an over heated engine. I’m putting air in my bike tires to pedal to my men's bible study when Joy opens the garage door
“Yes, Jesus! We will not be defeated. Praise God," she shouts. As it turned out, the Lord had a better idea. My men's study group came to me. After they left, I went into the garage to deal with the car. I notice Joy had taped a sign to the door, "A Promise Keeper Lives Here"

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”(Proverbs 13:12)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Fallen Heroes

March 14

How often man falls from lofty heights. Names that jump quickly to mind are: Jimmy Baker, President Clinton, Tonya Harding, Charles Keating, President Nixon, O.J. Simpson, Martha Stewart,Mike Tyson and Tiger Woods. How about Arthur Anderson, Enron and World Com. It is all so sad.
Such falls can and do happen to all of us.
The rest of us are just not as visible. We have been warned. When will we learn?

"How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver." (Proverbs16:16)

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Elephant is gone

March 13
.
Today the doctor calls reporting negative readings from her mammograms. Joy says “the elephant sitting on my chest is gone.”

At one point in my life I had such restriction in one arm that I couldn't get into a coat by myself. The same thing began happening to my leg and when I stood up I couldn't move for several seconds. X-rays and an exam detected no physical problems. All these problems, which I experienced first hand, went away when I reduced the stress in my life.

"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (Matthew 6:27)

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Buying a Used Auto

March 12

The prospect of owning a newer car is exciting but I don't look forward to the haggling over the price. It is awkward. It’s embarrassing. It’s stressful. I know that moment is coming. How much do I offer? The sales person is going to try to out-maneuver me then he has to check with somebody in another office. I wait. When a deal is done why do I wonder if I could have bought it for less? Then I drive home and don't I tell the first person that admires the car, how little I paid.

"It is good for nothing cries the buyer. But when he had gone his way he boasts."
(Proverbs 20:14)

The Rehearsal

March 11

When I was in elementary school we had air raid drills. We would march by twos down the street to the brick library. All went well until the day our principle announced the possibility of a real air raid,not a drill. We were sent home immediately. Kids ran down the sidewalk screaming. Somebody yelled, "I hear a plane," I hit the ground.
As a child I had misplaced fears and so did my teachers that day. As an adult I have fears but this time I’m placing them in the right hands.

“But whoever listens to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure without fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33)

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Ask and Believe

March 8

A small group, meeting in a private home, are discussing starting a church. One person says they envision the new church being like Willow Creek, a large nondenominational church in West Barrington, Illinois. At this point the hostess opens her purse and removes a tattered newspaper clipping about Willow Creek. “Since reading this I have been praying for a church like that to be started here.” The clipping is 12 years old.

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Fear of Flying

March 7

Joy shares with our small group her fears about flying. She is seated next to a woman who teaches religion at a college.
Joy asks, “Why is your seat going back and forth? I don’t think playing with your seat is a good idea in this turbulence.”
The lady smiles, “ Maybe if you weren’t gripping my arm rest with the button so tightly my seat wouldn’t be moving.”

By talking about it and getting on that plane were her action step of faith, Joy is mastering her fear rather than letting fear master her. What fears must you confront?

“Give all your worries to God for He cares what happens to you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT)

Monday, March 5, 2012

Zacchaeus

March 6

I’m reading the delightful story of the short tax collector who climbed a tree to get a better look at Jesus who says, “Zacchaeus come down I must stay at your house today.”
Isn’t Jesus asking to stay in my house? How open am I to the invitation? Am I willing change as Zacchaeus did?
I don’t need any more motivation than what Jesus said to Zaccheaus.

“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10 NIV)

Temtation in San Francisco

March 5

It is Saturday afternoon in San Francisco. My consulting project is over and I am heading to a restaurant when I come upon a pornography shop with plenty of luring signage. It would have been easy to walk in, nobody will know. But I will know and God will know!

I remember what Joseph did when Potiphar’s wife tempted him. He ran.
I do likewise. I recall Joseph’s words to that woman.

"How can I do this wickedness, and sin against my God." (Genesis 39:9)

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Fifteith Wedding Anniversary Advice

March 4

"Many people have kindly asked, how do you look so young after fifty years of marriage,” the retired scout executive said. “Early on we had an awful spat. She went up to the bedroom and I went outside to cool off. We agreed if we ever had another tiff she would retire to the bedroom and I to the yard. You'd be surprised what fifty years of outdoor life can do for you." Here is some more marital advice.

“Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22)
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” (Ephesians 5: 25)

Things I Need to Hear

March 3

She wanted to update me on her job search. She is still struggling with some old issues that she knows she should give to the Lord. I ask the Lord to give me the words to say. I hear myself saying, “ Unfounded fear, self- doubt, and discouragement are not from the Lord."
“Neither is anxiousness,” she ads. “What is from the Lord?”

“The fruit of the spirit comes to mind.”

" Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control, are the fruit of the spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Beautiful Scene

March 2

The sun is nearing the horizon. Its orange-red glow cast a tongue of fire across a sparkling Gulf of Mexico. Small waves roll gently onto the beach while tiny birds scurry along the water’s edge. A dolphin breaks water in the distance while some pelicans fly overhead.
My wife and I hug taking in the sheer majesty of this moment. Joy begins praying aloud, praising the Lord for all this beauty, for the privilege of being here to enjoy it and for all God’s blessings.

"Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."
Genesis (1:31)

Providence

March 1

This morning Joy asks me to pray with her. She is going to a surgeon's office for her painful breasts. She hadn't been gone long when the phone rang. It was Steve, a friend. He said, "I was just coming out of the doctor's office and who do I run into but Joy. We hugged in the entryway. She seemed glad to see me. I called so we can pray for her over the phone.” We do.
When Joy returns she starts to tell me about running into Steve. I know, we prayed for you over the phone. She began to shake at the thought of it.

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7)