Imagine a quiz show where the questions are tough, the clock is ticking, and the host has the same warmth as a tax audit. Welcome to The Weakest Link—a game where teamwork is essential, but betrayal is inevitable, and the only thing more brutal than the trivia is the elimination process.
In each episode, contestants work together to answer general knowledge questions and build up a cash prize. But just when you think you are in this together, the time comes to vote off the player who is dragging the team down (or, more often, the one who looks like a threat).
Then comes the dramatic music and the host’s icy glare as she declares, “You are the weakest link. Goodbye.” Apparently, this phrase is legally required to be delivered with maximum sarcasm.
The real fun? Watching contestants desperately try to explain why they voted off their grandma, or why they banked only $10 after six correct answers when there was a possibility of winning $100,000.
The host makes Cruella de Villa and the Wicked Witch of the West look like camp counselors. She skewers contestants with dry wit and deadpan put-downs, making losing almost as entertaining as winning.
The Weakest Link is perfect if you love quiz shows, enjoy watching the drama of contestants under pressure, or are just interested in watching strangers get embarrassed for not knowing the capital of France or the name of Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend.
I guess it helps me to feel better about myself.
Do you ever feel as if you are THE WEAKEST LINK? In your family? Church? Culture?
That is a common reaction for many of us when faced with the challenge that Jesus LIVES inside you to LEAD you to others He intends to LOVE through you.
How are you doing this week? Would you be voted by others as The Weakest Link?
Let us deal with the truth. Some of us are ready to be out of the game. Life can be filled with incorrect responses to simple lessons about loving others. Others are eager to blame you.
Honestly, what was your latest response to the question, “Who should you love first and love most? How many of us stood there with a blank stare, an empty brain, and a frozen heart?
It is as if we cannot produce a correct answer. Then come the flashcard pictures of our latest encounters. Our only defense is to vote that person out of our life as the weakest link instead of us.
It can be humiliating to be voted the weakest link on a game show or in real life. It is miraculous that Jesus uses weak links like empty stone jars and flawed humans to show the greatness of His glory.
I reflected on that situation this week as I continued to read the Gospel of John. As I previously mentioned, I am trying to slowly read it with the eyes and heart of a child.
There is a remarkably interesting life directing statement in Chapter Two that builds in importance as the bigger story unfolds.
DO WHATEVER JESUS TELLS YOU TO DO!
Do you remember the story setting?
Once upon a time, in a small town called Cana, there was a big wedding. Everyone was happy, laughing, and dancing. Jesus and his friends were invited, and so was his mother, Mary.
But suddenly, something went wrong—the host ran out of wine! This made the host very embarrassed and worried.
Mary told the helpers, “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do.”
Jesus asked the helpers to fill up six large stone jars with water, all the way to the top.
When the jars were full, Jesus told the helpers to take some out and give it to the person in charge of the wedding reception. When the host sampled it, he was amazed—it was the best wine he had ever tasted!
Jesus showed the glory of God’s love described as the theme and purpose of John’s gospel:
The Word became human and made his home with us…
and we have seen his GLORY, the glory of God’s one and the only Son…
full of GRACE and truth (unfailing love, unending goodness, and everlasting faithfulness) (John 1:14).
This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first of many times Jesus revealed the great goodness of God’s glory and his disciples believed in him.
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believethat Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. (John 20:30-31).
THE GLORY OF GOD IS REVEALED IN GOD’S GRACE THROUGH GOD”S WORD TO THOSE UNABLE TO HELP THEMSELVES SO THAT WE WILL BELIEVE IN JESUS.
As I looked at this first SIGN, I noted several simple life-lesson applications among the deeper theological truths being revealed.
Jesus can make something beautiful out of a bad situation.
Jesus helps those who cannot help themselves.
Jesus can use an empty vessel to bless others.
This is a story of The Weakest Link.
An empty vessel. Filled by Jesus. A blessing of LOVE to others.
I was the weakest link. Do you feel that way? God uses the weakest link to bless others.
Jesus announced He came to call the sinners, not the good. Jesus chooses the weakest links in the family and culture.
This is God speaking to us. “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do.”
Your obedience is an action of FAITHwhich highlights the goodness of God’s GLORY.
God’s Word is a living being…the re-creator of new people. Empty pots become full of His goodness and useful as a blessing to others.
GOD USES THE WEAKEST LINK TO SHOWCASE HIS GLORY.
That is the point of God’s Gloryin your life’s story.
YOU ARE A SIGN FOR OTHERS TO SEE THE GLORY OF GOD’S GOODNESS.
Jesus LIVES inside of you to LEAD you to others He intends to LOVE through you.
DO WHATEVER JESUS TELLS YOU TO DO. LOVE FIRST. LOVE MOST.
When you do what Jesus tells you to do, you change from the weakest link to one of the many miraculous SIGNS of the goodness of God’s glory.
Jesus takes your weakness and brings out the best in you. A beautiful blessing in a bad situation.
GOD INTENDS TO USE YOU AS A BEAUTIFUL BLESSING IN A BAD SITUATION!
It might even surprise a lot of people who voted you as The Weakest Link.
It was test day in Calculus 202 during my second year of college. This was the semester I realized I was in far over my head. I was drowning in an ocean of knowledge while surrounded by surfers riding the biggest waves and scuba divers plunging the greatest depths.
I stared nervously at the empty pages of the blue book on my desk. The final exam allowed three hours to answer one question. My academic future depended on my mathematical solution to the assigned dilemma.
“Neil Armstrong is stranded on the moon. Using your best knowledge, explain how you would bring him safely back to Earth.”
My hand was shaking; my head was spinning. I gulped and glanced around.
Tanaka was already scribbling furiously—probably already exchanging calculus equations with the stranded astronaut. Thomas was writing equations with his security blanket draped over his head like a spacesuit.
Benazir was leaning over her blue book as if she were guarding all the gold in Ft. Knox. Her father never faced this problem while ruling Pakistan. My sidekick, Charlie, wore a tiny astronaut helmet to cover his egotistical grin.
I followed my childhood instruction for handling times of stress. Take a deep breath and think.
I sighed and wrote:
Step 1: Tell the stranded astronaut not to panic. (That was a little ironic for me to write since I already needed a restroom break to avoid an embarrassing classroom reaction to the stress.)
Step 2: Call NASA. If they do not answer, try calling Shuttle Service.If unavailable, call on individuals to use their own rocket to pick up astronaut’s Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Call it Uber.
Step 3: Build a very tall ladder. This had been tried once before in Babel, but the project was never finished.
Step 4: Bake lots of cookies for fuel. Astronauts need energy, and besides, cookies make everything better.
Step 5: Set up a large trampoline in the Earth landing area, just in case Neil Armstrong tries to take “one giant leap for mankind.”
Step 6: Send me on a rescue mission with Tanaka’s calculations. He acts as if he knows what to do. I hate it that his writing is too small for me to read and copyon this blue book.
Step 7: If all else fails, transport my friend, Jeff Buzz Lightyear, to join the stranded astronauts. He will be of absolutely no assistance. However, his constant sarcastic agitation will force Armstrong to generate lunar distance from him. The greater the distance, the closer to a solution.
I put down my pen. I looked at my blue book and decided this was not rocket science, but at least I had a plan.
The next semester, at the advice of my English major roommate, I was studying the writings of Samuel Johnson. He made some memorable philosophical statements, but he had no clue when it came to moon rescue missions.
As I mentioned in the previous Winsday Wisdom, the Apostle John was entrusted with eternal truth written in simple expressions. He shared the most important things in life in ways a child can understand. There is a lifetime of lessons about love, faith, and hope which serve to lead us to join in the simple to understand but infinitely indescribable magnitude of the wonderful confession of Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
I first heard about John’s book as a child when I learned one verse. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
I understood I was stranded in a place where I was doomed. There was no hope of human calculations or strategies to rescue me. Like the Moses led Israelites who disobeyed in the wilderness on the way to God’s Promised Land, I had no hope of help to escape the deadly poison of unbelief (Numbers 21).
God already had a rescue plan. It was so simple I could understand it as a child. I now stand amazed at the divine love whose width, length, height, and depth exceed human understanding.
Jesus enlightened the inquiring Nicodemus about God’s rescue plan for sinners trapped on a dying planet. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:15). “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die…on a cross (John 12:32-33).
The crowds asked, “Who is this Son of Man?”
I am jumping from my chair with my hand raised in the air. “Teacher, Teacher, I know! The answer is in John 3:16!”
Here is a brief outline of God’s rescue plan:
For (purpose clause explaining why Jesus must be lifted up on a cross)… God (main subject)…so loved (main verb)…the world (object of God’s love).
We tend to think of the word, so loved, as a description of the magnitude or intensity of God’s love. God soooooo loved us with our arms spread wide from infinity to infinity.
That is true but the “so” word means “in this manner.” It emphasizes the specific way of HOW God loved’ In the original Greek, the word “so” begins the sentence…For in this manner, God loved the world..
The world in this verse is not the created heavens and earth in Genesis. This world exists as the people who do not know God, the sinners. God loved ME. God loved YOU.
that God gave His one and only Son. Jesus is the GIFT of God’s love…not something God was required to do or something we deserved.
So that (next purpose clause as fulfillment of the initial purpose)…Whoever (anyone without exclusion who wants God’s gift)… Believes (accepts and trusts God’s promised gift)…Should not perish (will not be eternally lost or destroyed)…But have (contrasting conjunction of a different eternal destination and experience)… everlasting life (with and like Jesus forever).
THIS IS A RESCUE MISSION EVEN A CHILD CAN UNDERSTAND AND BELIEVE!
IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. IT IS A LOVE STORY!
God showed His great love for us by giving Jesus to die in our place so we can live forever in God’s immeasurably limitless and infinitely endless love.
I was not sitting in a college calculus test. I was a young boy at home with my parents when I told them I understood God had a plan to rescue me. I knelt beside a green leather-torn footstool and told God I believed Jesus came to save me.
What happened in that moment was real and life changing.
As a young boy, I tried to picture God’s love like the snow falling softly, covering everything with a forgiving blanket. I went outside and made a snow angel. (Yes! That is the closest my actions ever got to being angelic!)
Lying in the cold, I stared at the sky, feeling small but somehow special. I whispered, “Thank you, God, for loving me this much.”
As the years passed, I gained a greater comprehension of the magnitude and wonder of God’s gift. God’s love is bigger than any mistake, any mess, any worry, any problem.
I still seek to grasp a better understanding of how God’s love never ends, never gets frustrated or angry, never grows tired, and never lessens.
God gives hope for stranded souls! His divine rescue mission is far greater than the hypothetical Moon rescue or the real-life Apollo 13 challenge.
This is the fullness of God in the simplest understandable terms. It is a children’s story to be read again and again even when you already know the ending!
Some simple moments in life have lasting lessons. Have you ever read John’s Gospel as if it were a first-grade reader?
I was blessed to share repeated nighttime readings of a children’s book with my daughter. Those simple moments became more than familiarity with the story characters, plot, and conclusion. It developed into lasting lessons about love, comfort, and connection.
Almost every night before bed, my daughter Kala would hand her mother or me the same well-loved children’s book, The Monster at the End of the Book. Its corners were frayed, the pages bore the wrinkles of countless readings, and Grover’s blue fur was faded from the fear of the monster. But Kala’s eyes always sparkled with anticipation.
I could recite the story by heart. Who am I kidding? Kala could perfectly recite the story without ever opening the book. [Spoiler Alert]
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However, the joy was in holding the open book as her head nestled against my shoulder. I could feel the warmth of her small hand holding mine.
Years earlier, my eyes beheld her loveliness for the first time as the nurse pulled back the cover of her blanket. As I teared up with joy, Kala’s hand reached out and took hold of my little finger. I felt and heard her heart. “Hello, Dad! I love you!”
My life has never been the same.
As we read the same children’s book for the umpteenth time, Kala would chime in with her favorite lines, giggling at the silly parts, and whispering along with the quiet moments.
The story was straightforward. Grover from Sesame Street asked us not to turn the page because he was scared of a monster on the next page. He tried to stop us by giving warnings, tying knots, building walls, and stacking bricks. But each night, something more valuable happened between the pages, beyond Kala’s gentle reassurances that it was safe to turn the page.
Our nightly ritual was more than reading words on a page. It was time carved out of busy days, a nightly promise that the world could wait. Through repetition, Kala experienced peace and love. Dad learned patience, seeing how every reading brought new questions, new giggles, new discoveries.
Kala learned to recognize the words. She took over the reading. The moments became even more memorable.
Over time, Kala started to notice details she had not noticed before—She learned kindness, caring, and courage–just as her father learned about the ever-growing heart of a child.
The book became a thread weaving us closer together, a testament that love is found in small, repeated words and actions, not just big gifts or grand gestures.
Years later, when Kala had outgrown the book, she kept it tucked beside her bed. Its worn pages were a gentle reminder that lessons of love are not always loud or grand. Sometimes, they are whispered each night, in the familiar rhythm of a story shared, again and again.
My wife stored that special children’s book for future grandkids as she continued the routine with each one huddled in her lap. Full of smiles. Full of love. Full of future memories.
The opening verses of the Gospel of John are among the most profound and poetic lines in the entire New Testament. Yet, what most readers might not realize is that this book was originally written in simple, childlike Greek, captured in the English translation. This is a first-grade reader.
John’s Gospel follows the simplicity of a Learn to Read book. “See Spot run…I see a cat…The bird is blue…Jack and Jill walked up the hill.”
Matthew wrote from the perspective of a contemporary eyewitness disciple. Mark penned Peter’s account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Doctor Luke was Paul’s missionary partner. His account comes from multiple interviews with eyewitnesses.
John also followed Jesus. He saw and heard all these things which Jesus said and did over those three years.
However,John writes from a different perspective. His gospel was recorded several decades after the extraordinary events of Jesus’ earthly life. John was an old man who spent years in reflection and narration about the importance of those times.
The landscape had changed. Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple had been destroyed by the Roman invasion. All the other disciples had died, many of them martyred.
This is an old man entrusted with eternal truth writing in simple expressions. His target audience features the present and future grandchildren of the children who lived through those years. This is Timeless Truth. This is Greatness in Simplicity.
He is sharing the most important things in life in ways a child can understand. As that child grows up, he/she realizes there is a lifetime of lessons about love, comfort, and connection which serve to lead us to join in the simple to understand but infinitely indescribable magnitude of the wonderful confession of Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
John is well aware there are more things about Jesus beyond what this children’s book can contain.Now there are many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written(John 21:25).
Here is Greatness in Simplicity.These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). [Children’s Homework: Check out how many times believe and life are connected in this children’s faith book. Maybe more Next Time.]
I first heard about this book as a child when I learned one verse. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son“ (John 3:16).
God loved ME.
Who among us has not had those moments feeling as if no one loves us. Why would they? We are unlovable. Messed up. Unsalvageable. Without Hope. So, we dread, fear, even believe no one does or could ever love us for who we are.
But NO! God loved ME…and YOU!
I stand amazed in the presence of my Heavenly Father and wonder how He could love me, a sinner. Are you amazed at why? Do you wonder how?
The New Testament reveals the Creator God as OUR FATHER. That is the Christian name for God. Who is His Son? His Name is Jesus. John knew Jesus and wrote a children’s book about the simplicity of His glorious greatness!
Our Father asks us to climb up in His arms and read this children’s book about Jesus. It is written in our Father’s own Word. There is not a Monster at the End of the Book. You will want to read the story again and again.
Open the first page.
John begins with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Each phrase uses basic vocabulary, echoing the language a young child might understand. Rather than employing complicated theological terms, John’s choice of simple words invites everyone into the mystery of Jesus’ identity.
It sounds like the beginning of the Big Book. In the beginning, God (Genesis 1:1). God spoke. His WORD was the agent of His creation.
Hebrews 1 records that God spoke His last full self-revelationto His creation.Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (vs. 1-3).
John shares this same truth in childlike simplicity.
In the beginning was the WORD. (In Greek, the Logos.) It means much more than the logic of correct reasoning.
The WORD is the self-expression of God. God’s own revelation of Himself, His thoughts, His purpose.
John’s children’s book states it this way.
THIS IS THE POINT—WHAT JESUS SAID AND DID ARE THE WORDS AND DEEDS OF GOD HIMSELF WHEN GOD WAS WITH US.
The next verses continue this pattern: “He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” [maybe more on this Next Time}
This use of childlike Greek is significant. It reflects John’s desire for his message about Jesus—the Word, the source of life and light—to be understood by all, regardless of education or age. It is a reminder that the greatest truths are often best told in the simplest words.
These are ideas that can be pondered for a lifetime, yet they are expressed through language that is direct and clear.The simple story is divinely designed for familiarity that will make us cherish our favorite verses, smile with joy at the good parts, and ask thoughtful questions about the life lessons.
This is the fullness of God in the simplest understandable terms. It is a children’s book to be read again and again.
THIS IS A GREAT READ EVEN WHEN YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ENDING!
Simple…yet filled with the most profound and cherished statements of Jesus’ identity, divine nature, and eternal purpose. With each subsequent reading, we notice new depths to the characters, the actions, the words, and the lessons of love, comfort, and connection.
The Gospel of John is like an ocean. There are parts shallow enough for a spiritual toddler to splash around in joyful safety. There are other parts to these simple words where the deepest spiritual thinkers can spend countless hours floating in its fathomless depths.
JESUS SHOWED US GOD, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his GLORY, glory as of the only Son from the Father, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.(John 1:14). [maybe more Next Time]
The first four verses of John’s Gospel continue to welcome readers of every background into the wonder and hope at the heart of the Christian faith.
I pray you will pick up John’s Gospel and climb into the arms of your heavenly Father…again. No one loves you as much as God does. Undeserved. Unlimited. Unending.
“Truly, truly, I love you so much I gave My Son for you. Child, I love you!”
OH, HOW I NEEDED TO HEAR THOSE WORDS TODAY!
I hope you will read the simple words…again.
I challenge you to read portions of John’s Gospel this week as if you are a child with a first-grade reader. Read each word slowly with childlike wonder. Read them again as you wade out into greater depths of understanding.
Read the Book again. There is God at the beginning and the same God at the end of the Book. As each page is turned in fear or excitement, “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God and me…Believe God the Father is in me, and I am in the Father” (John 14:1,11).
Read the WORD with your Father and become amazed at the lessons of love, comfort, and connection.
EYES UP! KEEP TURNING THE PAGES! THIS IS THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD!
I pray you will hear this child’s words, “ILove you, too!”
It was absolutely the fanciest restaurant I ever visited.
This was where small town met big city. While the Hick from Hooterville was the guest of Great Gatsby, the Godfather dined with the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
This was a long way from Sizzlin’ Sirloin.
I was a small town somewhat sheltered youth adjusting to my first year of college in a large city, twelve-hundred miles from home.
A prominent alumni football booster offered to treat my friend and me to dinner. He gave us the name of a restaurant, an address, and a time to meet him.We rode the subway from Cambridge to Boston’s North End, known as Little Italy. We exited at Haymarket Station and walked several blocks in the misty darkness.
We arrived at the anticipated spot. No restaurant marquee. No parking lot. No address numbers on the buildings. No people!
Can you sense our confusion? Our concern?
We did not have a Google map for directions. There was no Siri voice announcing we had arrived at our destination. We were in a section of the greater metropolis where we had never been. The dark buildings looked like warehouses.
It was raining. Pitch dark. No streetlights. No traffic.
We certainly were lost, but this was the address. We walked the block back and forth three times.
There was a small, green-shaded lamp above a large nondescript wooden door. No sign. No outside menu. No windows. Nothing extraordinary. It felt as if this were a set-up scene for a black-and-white noir film.
The lamp glowed softly, casting a halo over the unmarked door like a secret handshake was required for entrance. I hesitated, half-expecting a pair of muscle-bound goons to materialize from the shadows for the shake-down.
The appearance was very mysterious, and the atmosphere was a little frightening. It felt as if a knock on the wrong door could get you into trouble, terrible trouble.
I could hear the Music Man singing, “Well, my friends, we’ve got trouble, right here in River City! Trouble with a capital ‘T’ and that rhymes with “P’ and that stands for Pool. Oh, we’ve got trouble, terrible trouble.”
Green door, what’s that secret you’re keeping?
With my friend nodding in agreement, I finally gained enough courage to try the door. I rapped on the entrance twice. The door opened a crack, and a man dressed in a tuxedo nodded for us to come inside. No password was needed, just lots of nerve.
It was as if we had stepped into a movie. This was not Luby’s Cafeteria or the Waffle House.
The sounds of orchestra music flooded the room. Beautiful ivory columns supported the high ceiling with its large crystal chandeliers. This was a fancy elaborately decorated restaurant filled with guests enjoying food, conversation, and dancing.
Great Gatsby!I was in awe. Extravagance. Elegance.
Strangely, my first thought was this place is owned by the Mafia.
I am not sure where that thought originated because this event occurred before The Godfather movies and The Great Gatsby. The previous week I watched Clint Eastwood star in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.This might have been a gathering of all those groups.
We were immediately escorted to our host’s table by a pretty woman in a long flowing gown. She was not adorned with bunny ears or fluffy tail accessories. My momma warned me to stay away from those kinds of places.
I was surrounded by affluent people enjoying the luxurious environment and exquisite cuisine their wealth afforded them. Where did all these people come from? Back home, our big spenders drank coffee at Jack Briley’s bus stop.
My mother made certain I had proper attire. She and Dad were still making monthly payments on the Ivy-League blazer and the rest of my college wardrobe. I appreciated their sacrifice. Perhaps, the Tahona and Fairview natives worried too much about metropolitan fashion options.
Note: I discovered authentic fashion expertise during those college days. The pretenders and social climbers sought to impress with expensive clothing from the hottest fashion labels. The truly rich and famous wore comfortable sweatshirts, jeans, and tennis shoes. Mom would always gasp whenever I used that explanation for my clothing choices.
“Always act as well as you look” was her motherly mantra. “Impossible” was her son’s reply, accompanied with a smile and hug.
It was not as if I was totally unprepared for the occasion. I was not a complete stranger to fine dining.
There was a Sizzlin’ Sirloin in our nearby city …and I enjoyed chicken fried steak at Pete’s Sunset Corner Caféeach Friday before the big game.
I even had a semester of high school Home Ec class where we were taught some of the basics of etiquette…napkin in the lap, salad fork to the left, sharp knife on the right.
I might be a hick from the sticks, but I was no country bumpkin’.
This was a Classy Place. This was a Taste of Elegance.
Meticulous attention to detail was given to the table settings and presentation of each dish, creating a sense of luxury and sophistication. Fine china, crystal glasses, crisp linens, and polished silverware adorned the tables.
There were more forks than on the Walmart culinary aisle. Elaborate centerpieces featuring fresh flowers, candelabras, and ornate decorations added to the overall ambiance of the setting.I did notice the absence of neon beer signs on the wall. How classy was this place?
Impeccable service was provided by a team of professional wait staff, ensuring that each guest was treated as royalty.
A well-dressed man suddenly appeared asking how he could serve me. He stood there in silence as I struggled for the proper words. I guess that is why he is called a ‘waiter.’
I wish I could have stopped the slow-motioned muttering words that escaped my mouth as I asked if they served pepperoni pizza.
The waiter did not blink. He responded he was there for my drink order. I said I would just take a glass of water.
Suddenly, it felt as if the waiter transformed into a huge blitzing linebacker about to sack this quarterback. I did the one thing the passer should never do. I panicked. My anxiety got the best of me as I fumbled my unnecessary explanation. I replied, “I am Baptist, not Catholic.”
The whole table crew stared in hushed silence as if waiting on a replay ruling.
The waiter smiled and pointed to the glass of water directly in front of me.I had to crawl up from under the table to see it.
One guest sought to ease the tension by announcing we were dining at a three-star Michelin restaurant…”with no religious discrimination.” Awkward laughter.
Thankfully, I did not upstage my host by telling him my hometown friend drove a car with four Michelin tires. At least this eatery sounded like top-of-the-line stuff and not a low-end General Dollar fast-food stop.
I made a vow that night. Less talking.My sweet wife wonders why I share so little conversation at the dinner table. I still bear the scars!Every time someone asks me what I want to drink, my PTSD anxiety kicks in.
To this day, my Catholic college roommate always responds to any waiter’s drink requests with the information that I am a Baptist. Funny man!
The decorative opulence of this Mafia syndicate’s establishment left my mouth wide-open in awe. That was good because the Top Chef culinary menu awaited. Our host insisted we try everything on the menu.
The alumni booster asked me, “Have you ever heard of Saltimbocca alla Romana?The translation means “jump in the mouthfrom Rome.”
I replied with my own question, “Have you ever heard of Spiro?”
He responded with, “Carpaccio?”
I corrected him,“No, near Ft. Smith.”
My Sherlock Holmes investigation of the menu found familiarity in a few items. I assumed Chicken Cordon Bleu had chicken in it, although I was a little concerned about eating blue chicken. Perhaps the Shrimp Diablo had a popcorn shrimp version.
I recognized the first part of Filet Mignon Lilliputian. At least I knew not to pronounce it fill-it mig-non. I think Lilliputian was a hockey player for the Boston Bruins. I never heard of Canapés of Foie Gras, but my grandfather had a garage canopy which covered his lawn mower.
Oysters Rockefeller was off the table. I wanted nothing to do with slimy rich food. Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce almost made me gag thinking of my grandmother forcing me to eat spinach.
And what in Bulldog Land are Truffles?
Our host ordered for us as he rattled off his requests.Let the adventure begin!
First came my New England initiation ritual, cracking open a Maine lobster.
The waiter placed a bib around my neck. I think I was two the last time I needed one. Oh, I needed one and so did the people next to me who did not order the lobster that sprayed their table.
There it was. This experience would be memorable. I stared at the bright reddish-orange beast staring back at me with its giant claws outstretched as if challenging me to a duel.
My host and his other guests snapped open a claw, extracting perfect white meat. They were experts at this. Several demonstrated the proper technique to me. I was unsure if this crustacean might crawl away in laughter.
I picked up the lobster cracker which looked suspiciously like a medieval torture device. I tried to break the claw. It was embarrassing. My cracker (the silver metal one, not the salad garnishment) slipped. I pinched my own finger.
My scream was drowned out by the outburst of laughter. Having people laugh at me in public has always been one of my favorite experiences. Not!
This was no time to admit defeat. I was after de-claw. I repositioned the cracker, squeezed, and—crack!—lobster juice shot across the nearby table, narrowly missing the elderly woman’s pearl necklace.
She arched her eyebrow as she reached for her napkin. I grinned and muttered, “Sorry. First time. “
The next cracking attempt successfully freed a big piece of white meat. Unfortunately, it and the remaining portion of the claw were launched into the chest of my buddy in the midst of his own tormented battle. It exploded like a rocket. One piece of shell adorned the nearby water glass.
I was definitely indecisive about the worth of this mis-adventure.
Then came the “Eureka” moment. With the reverence of Indiana Jones discovering the Holy Grail, I dipped a morsel of lobster meat into the melted butter. Wow! Oh, the sweetness of Victory!
Just the beginning of the meal took thirty minutes and four napkins…not counting the extra ones needed by the people around me.
Surrounded by shattered shell and butter stains, I sat there as happy as a Hick in Hooterville could be.
[Full disclosure for trivia buffs and younger folk: Hooterville is located near Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, and the original mountain home of the Beverly Hillbillies where Jed Clampett shot up some bubblin’ crude. Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.]
The food frenzy had just begun.
The food was exquisite—the flavor explosion included handmade pasta with truffle, succulent lobster risotto, steak so tender it nearly melted. The vegetables were arranged in a swirl and the sauce looked as if it had been painted on with a makeup brush.I was unsure whether it was food or decoration.
The firstdessert arrived in clouds of sweet smoke.I witnessed my dad’s grill burst in flames for some well-done burgers, but never a dessert. This was intriguing.
I am positive I heard the Godfather’s Don Corleone whisper, “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
Well, I did not refuse the Tiramisùdessert made with layers of mascarpone cheese, coffee-soaked ladyfingers, and cocoa powder. I did not refuse the Cannoli or the Gelato. Then our host offered Panna Cotta. How could I refuse?
Some of you are thinking there is no way anyone could eat that much. It was no problem for a nineteen-year-old guy on an extremely limited budget.I hoped the host did not see me stuffing two Cannoli in my pocketfor a late-night snack.
I sat there stuffed like an old Bulldog ready for a nap.
As the two fattened (mixed metaphor) pigs stumbled out of the mysterious Mafia hideaway, we wondered if we would ever find the place again—or ever be able to afford it.
The answer is ‘No’ and ‘No.’ Sometimes, I think it was a dream.
To this day, I cannot tell you the name of the restaurant or where it is located.
However, I do know about the Door that leads to the ultimate feast more abundant and pleasurable beyond anything you might ever ask, think, or imagine.
The Great Benefactor God has extended a personal invitation for you to join in His heavenly feast (Isaiah 25:6). The family reunion and fellowship will be out of this world in its goodness and duration. Immeasurably limitless and infinitely endless.
The joyful celebration will extend through countless ages. Each banquet course will exceed the previous ones in pleasure and praise. Each moment perfect. But our capacity to enjoy each perfect moment will forever expand exponentially.
The book of Revelation echoes this promise: “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). This final forever feast is not just about food, but about restored relationships, eternal joy, and the fulfillment of God’s promises.
We will live and love in constant awe! Every hunger-physically, emotionally, spiritually—will be satisfied. Every bite of eternity will thrill the soul with amazement of its goodness.
You have a written invitation. Where do you go? Jesus told Thomas and all who ask, I am the Way (John 14:6) … I am the Door” (John 10:9).
Jesus used the Door metaphor as the access to the kingdom of Godwith love, beauty, and goodness far beyond anything we experience in the Sizzlin’ Sirloins of this materialistic world. This Door is the only gateway to spiritual fulfillment and eternal life.This is the timeless truth…There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).Jesus is the Door to an incredible endless future.
Jesus often spoke about the image of a feast to describe the Kingdom of God. In parables, He told of kings inviting guests to wedding banquets (Matthew 22:1-14) and prodigal sons welcomed home to joyful meals (Luke 15:11-32). At the Last Supper, Jesus looked forward to the day He would eat and drink anew with His followers in His Father’s kingdom (Matthew 26:29).
Look for the Lamp of Love and Hope hanging on the cross. It points to the Door. Jesus is the entry point to a relationship with God and a permanent seat at the big banquet table.
This life is not about secret codes, rituals, or exclusive clubs—It is about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we find forgiveness, belonging, and purpose.An everlasting feast of family fellowship and unimaginable goodness.
And the greater news about the good news? It is not a dream! It is not a movie! We never have to leave!
The foretaste begins here and now. Surely God’s goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life…(Here is the drop the mic moment)…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!
BE BLESSED!
There is a prepared place and a planned time when God Himself will turn your hope into an everlasting celebration of a future where love has no limits and joy has no end.
Have you ever been around someone you were convinced that person was very confused.
CONFUSED—unable to think clearly; bewildered; disoriented; mixed up about reality.
I once dated a pretty girl who was convinced the sun and the moon were the same thing. I want to emphasize the past tense of the verb, “dated.” This was one and done.
My initiation into this strange belief happened on a stroll through a park on a beautiful moonlit night. She looked up at the evening sky, pointed at the crescent moon, and said, “I love how the sun changes its shape at night.”
I was startled. “What are you talking about?”
She replied that the sun transforms itself into the moon at night. “Don’t you know that?”
I laughed, thinking she was joking, but her face was sincere, her eyes curious, not crazy.
She continued her observation of God’s creation. She wondered if the sun just got tired of being bright all day and evolved into its moon clothes to rest at night. She imagined the clouds were like blankets the sun used to nap in the afternoon.
I went from amused to bemused regarding her astronomical observations. I shared I wanted to be an astronaut and fly to the moon. I expected her amazement at me having the Right Stuff. Instead, she expressed her concern that I better plan to travel at night and not during the day when the moon would be burning like fire.
I gently whispered that most people, including the most brilliant scientists, believed the sun was at the center of our solar system while the moon orbited the earth.
Her charming smile just dismissed my thoughts with her own question. “Have you ever seen an eclipse where the sun and moon hug?”
At this point, we were beyond correction. I was praying for a total blackout so I could escape undetected.
Instead, I thought some humor might bring her thoughts back to earth. I did my best Jimmy Stewart impersonation as George Bailey in the famous movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
“What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.”
This girl was starstruck, but not at my humor or grandiose offer. She began to ramble on about how stars were just bits of the sun that break off when it rises in the morning.
I admit to my fascination with stars and the enormity of space. I challenged her to a game to see how many stars she could count in one minute. As she stared into the skies, I slipped away…I needed a stopwatch!
I learned something that night about blind dates and about life. Sometimes, the important thing is not about being right. (Oh my, how beneficial that lesson has been in marriage.)
Life is not always about being right. Sometimes, it is more important to see the world through someone else’s wonder. For one evening, I lived in a universe where the sun and the moon chased each other across the sky, forever the same, forever changing.
What good does that do? Well, it provided a spark to this writer’s mind that was stuck where the sun does not shine. I had nothing for this week. Probably still have nothing, but I amused myself.
Sometimes, we are confused about truth.
In college, I was convinced I could squeeze my way through a Humanities test by describing the portrait of the artistic sculpture as archaic because of its poorly developed eyes.
The professor reminded me that this featured art object was a famous bust of the classical poet, Homer. There was a reason for the poorly developed eyes. My instructor wrote across my test book in large red ink letters, “Homer was blind!”
I believe my professor was convinced of that truth. I thought about writing him a note about this date I had with a girl who thought the sun and the moon were the same thing…Maybe she was blind!
I know a man who was convinced he would not die. That did not work out well for him. I think he was confused.
What about that person who is convinced he/she is always right about politics, religion, cooking, music, or sports?I wish there were a way to convince them to take a moonlight stroll through the park with Miss Solar, the Queen of Lunarville.
WE ALL LIVE AND LOVE BASED ON THINGS FOR WHICH WE ARE CONVINCED TO BE TRUE.
CONVINCED: to be completely certain about something; evidence for belief; to accept something as true; absolutely persuaded.
WHEN THINGS GO SOUTH AND SOUR IN YOUR LIFE, WHAT ARE YOU CONVINCED ABOUT?
Are you convinced this world is against you? Are you convinced you got the short end of the stick? Are you convinced of anything?
THE #1 TEXTBOOK TELLS US ABOUT THE UNFAILING STEADFAST LOVE OF GOD ALWAYS WORKING FOR OUR GREATEST GOOD.
THEN IT ASKS A HOPE-REVEALING QUESTION:WHAT SHALL WE SAY IN RESPONSE TO THESE THINGS? (Romans 8:31).
I would be most interested to hear what you will say in light of your life’s story.
As for me, I join with the apostle Paul in exclaiming, “For I am convinced that nothing can separate us (you and me) from the love of God. Absolutely nothing“ (Romans 8:38-39).
For I am convinced and absolutely persuaded not by arguments or explanations or calculations or education or indoctrination but convinced by God, by who God is, by what God says, by what God has done, by what God has promised.
Standing outside with binoculars turned toward the sky, my four-year-old grandson, Cooper, stared at the varied cloud formations and made a very important observation. “It sure looks like Jesus is up to something!”
As I look back over my life, I see that Jesus has been up to something every day. I stand in amazement as I see how all the dots in my life are connected by those big divine conjunctions: And God…But God.
What shall we say in response to these things?
For most of us, our days of childlike wonder and youthful joy have been scarred by suffering, chilled by circumstances, and distorted by spiritually impaired vision. My prayer is that this Winsday Wisdom might become your spiritual binoculars by which you gain a new perspective into the darkened clouds surrounding your life.
I pray you will see the reality of hope that Jesus is always up to something good in our lives. Sometimes we just do not see the goodness—or feel it.
Real faith struggles with doubts and questions. Like hope, it ebbs and flows through highs and lows, but the source of our faith and hope never wavers, never shakes, never weakens, and never lessens.
Our God is unchangeable, immoveable, unconquerable, and unquestionable in His wisdom, rightness, and goodness toward us. Despair is not the end of hope; emotional darkness is where hopeshines the brightest.
What shall we say in response to these things?
There is hope. It is not the stuff of wishful thinking or fantasy dreams. Hope is grounded in truth. That truth is revealed in God’s Word. It is real and relevant and reliable. It is supremely sufficient for your suffering and circumstances. It is like looking through spiritual binoculars of hope.
Hope: the confident expectation of experiencing all the future goodness God has promised you…somehow…someway…sometime.
Because of the future dynamic of hope, we have to learn to fight for that confidence in God during the present sufferings. We all struggle with the external forces of changing circumstances and the internal pressure of emotional stress. Even though God has promised us future good beyond our imaginations, there are times it feels as if God has forgotten us and it looks as if God’s love is absent from the scene.
There comes a time in all our lives when we cannot see and do not feel any hope; we need an outside voice to speak to us of truthful things blurred by our tears and numbed by our despair. If we are honest, we have all been there.
What do you do when it seems as though God has failed to come through for you?
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1).
What shall we say in response to these things?
In those moments when the sights and sounds of hope become distant memories,I can declare with the utmost confidence and unclouded hope, “It sure looks like Jesus is up to something!” I see it with the binoculars of faith. I observe it on the horizon. I study it in the clouds of witnesses. I shout it like a four-year-old full of hope and confident expectation of future good.
I am convinced because I know God better than ever before. I know God is supreme and sovereign. I know God is first and foremost in all mycircumstances. He is before all things and above all things. God is the ultimate reality and unsurpassed value of all things earthly and eternal. God is forever faithful and trustworthy.
I am convinced inGod and by God as I see how He works things together in my life for good. God did not leave me alone in my journey. He never abandoned me or left me without help and hope for both my earthly and eternal benefit. I am absolutely persuaded God will get me safely home.
As I look back on the road I’ve traveled,
I see so many times He carried me through;
And if there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my life,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
—“My Redeemer Is Faithful and True,” Stephen Curtis Chapman
Do you think I am convinced of God’s unfailing love? I am convinced that nothing can tear me away from God’s embrace. Not life or death. Not space or time. Not anyone or anything. Not the supernatural, not even my own wrong decisions and actions.
Few things test a driver’s patience like an unexpected delay in a construction zone.
HASSLE–AN IRRITATING INCONVENIENCE.
This week, it happened again… Every week feels like a terrestrial travel ritual. My driving time, with little room for delays, always hits a road work slowdown.
I was driving and praying…praying with my eyes open, as I asked God for a sign to help me with my upcoming decision.
And there it was, a big orange triangular sign with a clear message: “Slow Down.”
I saw the sign and the first innocent looking orange traffic cone. This did not set off any neurological warning signs. It appeared to lead into a smooth traffic merger.
Then another colored cone appeared. Then another. The pattern escalated exponentially, culminating in a dizzying slalom course of orange pylons, a labyrinth of frustration laid out with the precision of a drunken centipede.
Sign after sign caught my attention as chaotic reality took over my travel timeline.
CONSTRUCTION ZONE.
Merge Left…Road Work Ahead…Fines Double…25 MPH Speed Limit…Be Prepared to Stop…Road Closed…Detour.
I felt as if my cup was running over with signs from God.
There are several unpredictable flaws in the road repair system.
What does the Road Work Ahead sign mean? The “ahead” part can mean anything from “200 feet away” to “200 light-years in time.”
The term “construction” can refer to anything from a large excavation project with heavy machinery and a team of workers to a person staring at a crack in the street smaller than his half-moon one on full display.
As always, my journey into the construction zone began with a flicker of frustration which soon became full-out agitated annoyance. I could not find the escape route before it was too late.
I went from quietly praying to shouting, “You have got to be kidding me! Again?”
This shared human experience unites our politically divided country. Whether on your daily commute, engaged in a quick errand, or embarking on a long road trip, the sudden appearance of orange cones, flashing signs, and reduced speed limits can rapidly turn a smooth enjoyable journey into a slow-moving headache…or worse, an anxiety attack with exasperated exclamations! (Not that I am personally acquainted with those feelings.)
I suddenly found myself in a line of vehicles crawling past orange barrels, barricades, workers, and heavy machinery. Then came the sense of helplessness—knowing there is no express lane, no shortcut, and no alternate route.
Even the calmest drivers can become anxious and irritable.
Why didn’t Siri warn me of this? She probably did, but I assumed she was wrong. Last year, this area was a construction zone. Apparently, it still is.
Our city is always repairing or upgrading its roads. I understand the necessity for safer and better roads. I appreciate the diligent workers who provide them. However, why does the progress seem so slow, and the end is nowhere in sight?
Our wiser counterpart drivers might describe construction zone hassles as a minor inconvenience. I join the dumber majority who view it as existential torment moving at a snail’s pace.
What is a snail’s pace? According to Webster’s Dictionary, it refers to a very slow speed of movement. A snail moves at about 0.03 miles per hour, covering roughly three miles in four days. That was my construction zone last week.
Now, let me just skip to the real question. WHY ME? WHY NOW?
I am in a hurry. I am losing precious minutes at this snail’s pace.
One mystery involves construction workers or the absence of them. In one area, there is a crew of twelve laborers working diligently. In the next zone, all the workers are gone, abducted by an alien spacecraft, leaving their machinery behind as a monument to their sudden disappearance.
Where there are only orange cones and no people around, frustration builds. Most of the stress moves into the foot on the gas pedal. Just as you decide to speed past the orange barrels, someone suddenly steps out of hiding with a Stop sign. I think he was waiting for my car!
Or worse, there is a flashing red light accompanied by a siren! I know he was waiting for my car!
Numerous orange cones and barrels lined the way without any sight of workers or oncoming construction projects. Do you ever ask the rhetorical question, “Why?”
Why are so many construction zones absent of construction workers?
My dad had one very well-thought-out answer.
Whenever he encountered that situation, Dad would declare, “The government agencies have no place to store all those orange barrels, so they just move them around from place to place.”
Those orange barrels are used to narrow roadways, adorn highway shoulders, and create parking lots in the middle of the interstate highway. Where are the workers?
Do you see why that seems baffling to motorists?
Is this a construction zone or a mismanaged storage area for orange barrels?
I want us to shift lanes. How do you manage these construction zone delays?
Do you rant or laugh? If you do not laugh, you will eventually cry!
The next time your Rat Race slows into a CREEP and BEEP show, look for the HUMOR in the HASSLE.
Construction zones can be frustrating, but they connect us with other drivers in the same situation.Cultural or political differences do not matter when I am stuck in the middle with you.
I observe people. Have you seen how drivers deal with delays?
There are the Honkers.
Construction zones can transform a peaceful commute into an impromptu symphony, with drivers contributing to a cacophony of honks. Some compose elaborate honk patterns—Morse code for “move it!”—while others simply lean on their horn out of sheer existential frustration. If nothing else, it offers a chance to practice one’s air-trombone skills between orange barrel six and orange barrel two hundred six.
2. The Aggressive Lane Switchers.
Some drivers are headstrong in their belief that the left lane is moving faster, only to discover it is also at a standstill. Their unfounded Daytona motorcross skills result in a net-zero gain and a significant increase in hostility for them and the rest of us.They need a pit-stop.
3. There is always the Passive-Aggressive Bumper-Rider.
This guy (in my experiences usually a woman driving a large SUV,) who tailgates the car in front as if proximity will somehow violate the laws of physics and force faster movement. The Tush Push only works in Philadelphia!
4. I enjoy observing the Despairing Drummer.
The frustrated driver taps a steady rhythm on the steering wheel. The rapidity of the snare drum fingers evolves into slow pounding of the bass drum hand. And The Beat Goes On! (Now, that is a Sonny and Cher blast from the past.) The stomping rhythmic beat in the Dave Clark Five’sGlad All Over is followed by the iconic stomp-stomp-clap resonations of Queen’s We Will Rock You!The faster and harder the frustrated driver taps, the more their stress grows.
5.There are Conspiracy Theorists.
Why does it always feel like you hit every construction zone in the city, no matter which route you take? I have even suspected there is a special app used by construction crews to track my movements, ensuring those cones follow my planned path like a shadow. Another conspiracy theory suggests Pothole Partnerships are working in conjunction with Road Construction Companies.
6.Have you noticed the Sign Language Experts?
Dealing with detour signs and flaggers can feel confusing, like learning a new language. Many drivers often respond with exaggerated shrugs, big hand gestures, or mimicking U-turns with their fingers.
7. Surely, you have observed the Non-Stop Talkers.
Some drivers have no one in the car with them; but they narrate the traffic congestion with a running commentary fit for a comedic stand-up routine. They ramble on in a hysterical voice reminiscent of Les Nessman reporting the turkey drop traffic news to his WKRP audience.
8. There are the Unexpected Tour Guides.
Construction zones can reroute drivers through unfamiliar neighborhoods. Some people act as tour guides, pointing out sights: “On your left, you will notice another closed coffee shop. On your right, a mysterious alley leads to a garbage can. Did you notice Aunt Savannah sitting on the porch with her snuff can? That is Cousin Eddie outside in his bathrobe drinking a beer while emptying out the old RV’s porta potty into Clark’s sewer.”
9. Special kudos go out to the Music Playlist Disc Jockeys.
No one plans to spend an extra 45 minutes in traffic, but construction delays are the perfect excuse to rediscover those forgotten music playlists. Some drivers turn up the tu nes and belt out the “eighties power ballads” as if they are performing in a roadside musical. No, this is not a drive-by audition for The Voice. Other traffic jam DJs pass the time with a smile and loud bass-driven music that vibrates their car as well as yours. You are trapped to endure their created themed playlists— “Dancing in the Detour” and “Hits for Honking.”
10.No traffic snarl is complete without the Social Media Satirists.
In the age of smartphones, no construction delay goes undocumented. Quick-witted commuters snap photos of baffling signs or oddly positioned cones, turning them into viral memes. Other drivers are immortalized in social media photos of them using a finger to pick a nose or giving a middle-finger wave at the nearby vehicle taking pictures.
11.I also want to give a shout out to the Pretenders.
Some drivers function as if the traffic delay is an opportunity to practice patience. But I see them muttering under their breath. That fake smile cannot hide the growling snarl much longer. They focus on exaggerated deep breaths or counting to ten. Or are they just passing gas…I mean flatulence? Let no one judge. Everyone has their own way of finding comfort and peace amid the construction chaos.
There irs a Spiritual connection to these thoughts.
God designed this earthly life to be a Spiritual Construction Zone. Every circumstantial roadblock, detour, dead-end, and delay has divine design to it. They also come with signs written in God’s own words.
God works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11).
We know God works all things for our good (Romans 8:28).
This is a spiritual construction zone for you to be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23).
The God we love and follow took the worst moment in the history of the world in the crucifixion of Jesus and turned it into a moment of eternal celebratory remembrance. Since God did that at the cross, then God can repair life problems anywhere and everywhere for anyone, no matter how dark the sorrow or deep the loss.
God takes our most shattered days and our most disappointing delays, only to rearrange the pieces, and make them all eternally and immeasurably good beyond our imagination.
God knows what He is doing in your life. Inconvenient and uncomfortable circumstances form the spiritual construction zones where our impatience, grumbling, and self-centeredness are turned into joy, patience, peace, gentleness, and self-control.
Sacrificial love is never convenient. It never occurs according to your timetable. By its Christlike nature, it assumes a loss of personal time and comfort.
If you intend to go where God is leading, then you must take the road God has prepared for you. Every delay is perfectly timed. Every detour is a necessity. Every slowdown or bump in the road has divine design in its construction.
Every annoying orange barrel individual who gets in your way and under your skin has been placed there by God to merge your spirit into the simple truth that it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2::20).
And where does this spiritual road lead?
JESUS LIVES INSIDE YOU TO LEAD YOU TO OTHERS HE INTENDS TO LOVE THROUGH YOU.
Your spiritual road is full of Construction Zones but not empty of hope. The heavenly highway will someday usher you home without spot or blemish (2 Peter 3:14).
Conclusion
In this earthly journey, you will always go through another Spiritual Construction Zone. Do not be surprised. Do not worry or fear.
God’s Word promises that no man or woman has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord. (I Corinthians 2:9).
So next time you find yourself inching through a maze of orange cones, barrel barriers, and detour redirections, take a deep breath, turn up your music, look for the humor in the hassle, and remind yourself that better roads are on the horizon—even if they are still out of sight.
There is a war going on, and it leaves a heavy weight on your heart like the novel War and Peace.
Here are the FACTS:
A dissatisfied heart will NEVER have peace…with God, with others, or with self.
The War is from WITHIN. It is not caused by unwanted external circumstances. It begins INSIDE you.
I offer some thoughts about the concept, conflict, and cause of the private war being waged in our minds.
Why do we still fight?
“All conflict is caused by unmet or unrealistic expectations” (James 4:1).
Unmet or unrealistic expectations…often unmentioned. That is the root cause for all conflict. [Keep this one on file for future reference.]
God offers Peace in the gift of Jesus. Peace is nourished by the most important thing in life: Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength…and love others as yourself.
Our war is a struggle between our love for God and our selfish desires.
War and Peace. That is real life. Many of us know War better than Peace.
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, is seen as one of the greatest novels. I had to read it in high school and college. Sorry to my mom, teachers, and book-loving friends, but I did not understand or appreciateWar and Peaceat the time.
The names sounded like gibberish to me.It would have been easier to follow the plot if their names were Fred and Wilma, Barney and Betty, Pebbles and Dino.
The novel’s backdrop is war and peace and then war again between Napoleon’s French army and the Russian Czar’s military. The story follows family conflicts played out in the minds of individuals experiencing plot twists of happiness and hopelessness, trust and betrayal, as well as multiple trips to the lost and found love store.
War affects everyone, not just the soldiers. War is a frightening and destructive thing. Hostile conflict produces terror and tragedyboth in nations and individuals.
I am more familiar with thehistorical events written in God’s novel about real individuals facing similar outward and inward War and Peace struggles. I read in awe about Job’s traumatic suffering, Legion’s soap-opera darkness, the prodigal son’s journey to the bottom of the barrel, Ruth’s painful grief of lost love, and the undesirable circumstances that made up Joseph’s nightmare dreams.
These historical accounts were divinely written to inspire and give us hope as we seek Inner Peace in our struggles.
Many of us know the struggle of battling ourselves. This inner conflict often grows as we feel despair over tough situations or heavy anxieties.
We struggle within ourselves, and no one comes out ahead. Unfortunately, there is little peace and often no hope. This inner conflict takes place in our minds and stems from our hearts. The fight goes on day and night.
GOD’S GIFT TO US IS THE SOLUTION TO OUR PRIVATE WAR.
Though an army camps all around me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident (Psalm 27:3).
Life. Love. Peace. Hope–Christ in us.
THEN, WHY DOES THIS WAR CONTINUE TO RAGE INSIDE US?
It is a fight with our own selfish desires.All conflict, inward and outward, finds its roots in unmet or unrealistic expectations (James 4:1).
Where do you think these awful wars and conflicts come from? Do you believe they just randomly occur? Think again.
War continues because you insist on having your own way and struggle with it within yourself. You blame others and direct your anger at them.
You end up waging war against your own soul. (1 Peter 2:11).
Suffering. Sickness. Self-centeredness. (Dare I say it?) Sin.
[Note: I see sin as the attitude and actions of loving yourself more than loving God or others.]
We were created to seek good and happiness, but we cannot control the hurts and challenges we face.We sit on the fence between love for God and love for our selfish desires. So, we fight, fuss, and feud with God, with others, and with ourselves.
At some points in life, the unwelcome circumstances turn out the lights.
What can you do when night is dark…again?
Have you read your Bible?
HAPPINESS AND PEACE COME FROM GOD’S WORD IN YOUR HEART, NOT FROM YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
God’s Word is your sword and shield. It is peace for your heart (John 16:33). God will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord! (Isaiah 26: 3).
YOUR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING DEPENDS ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE, NOT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
The War for Peace starts with how you control your thoughts and feelings about life.
How do you view your life? Does it seem more like a burden than a gift? Do you feel your situation is more negative than positive?
One of theWar and Peacecharacters told his friend in despair to find peace by “thinking less and appreciating more.“
EMBRACE LIFE MORE AS A BLESSING THAN A BURDEN.
God showed us that our perspective on life is shaped by our thoughts.
You have a choice. You can dwell on the worries of the past or future. This path often leads to anger, anxiety, or disconnection from God and others.
God did not reply to Job’s question of “Why?” Instead, God showed His greatness and goodness that was far beyond what Job could fully understand.
Will your restless soul learn to see life without answers to the painful questions of “Why?”Like Job, you can choose to surrender and trust in God’s greatness and goodness for you.
Your private War and Peace could find a truce this week and embrace a new view of life.
Tolstoy wrote of Pierre’s heart and body in captivity now freed by the philosophical influence of his poor friend, Platon. (I might have the characters wrongly identified, so replace them with Pete and Pat.)
“Now he (you) had learnt to see the great, the eternal and the infinite in everything… and now took pleasure in observing the ever-changing, infinitely great and unfathomable life that surrounded him.”
The same suffering hero fromWar and Peacealso showed his strong faith in God during tough times with a simple way to find contentment in life:
“The great thing is to get on with other people.“
There is the key. Tolstoy offers the novel idea that was spoken into existence through endless ages. Every page of the #1 Textbook reminds us:
“Treat others the way you wish to be treated...Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another just as God has forgiven you”(Ephesians 4:32).
LOVE IS WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING.
Happiness is not a matter of freedom over captivity, or fun over suffering, or health over sickness. It is not dependent on the size of the pile or the depth of the pit.Happiness is connected to a love more influential than any unwanted or unpleasant circumstance.
LOVE IS WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING.
In God’s Word, I read about those who became conquerors in their struggles for peace and happiness when they found a love that made life meaningful.
Job chose to live in love despite the tragic circumstances. “The Lord gave me everything I have, and they were His to take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord…Though God slays me, I will still trust and place my hope in Him.”
Legion regained control of his mind and went everywhere talking about the greatness of God’s love. The broken, disillusioned prodigal son came to his senses and found love in his father’s embrace.
Faced with heart crushing pain and poverty, Ruthtold her grief-sickened mother-in-law, “I will go where you go, live where you live, and your God will be my God.”Ruthchose to live in faith and love shaped by the providence of her God.
Hated, abandoned, enslaved, betrayed, and imprisoned Joseph said it best about how one views his/her life. His heart and mind were shaped by God’s love instead of circumstances he never dreamed about. “God turned into good what others meant for my evil.”
There is a war for control of your mind. We battle guilt, worry, anxiety, fear, stress, insecurity, resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness.
We need to learn how to guard, strengthen, and renew our mind as well as our heart.
How?
*DO NOT BE LED ASTRAY FROM THE SIMPLICITY OF LOVING JESUS FIRST AND MOST.
How?
Sit down with God’s Word and soothing music.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
Take your thoughts captive and bring them back to God with your heart’s desire to live and love like Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
How?
DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK. (That is wisdom from God’s heavenly letters as well as Tolstoy’s earthly War and Peace.)
Just because you think and feel something does not make it true. We all get confused and delusional because our self-centeredness distorts reality. Your heart and mind are more deceitful than anyone or anything else (Jeremiah 17:9).
Do not trust your thinking or your feelings. Trust God’s Word. It is ALWAYS and FOREVER relevant and reliable, trustworthy and true.
Listen and consider this practical advice from God, the caretaker of your soul:
Give your anxious thoughts to God…Pray (talk to God) about everything…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Think about good things (Philippians 4:6-8).
The War has been won. God is with us. God is for us. God loves you and God likes you. Yes, God likes you, so smile a little. Feel God-given peace in your mind and heart.
How?
Preach to yourself. Pray truth into your soul, mind, and heart.
*Here is one of my multi-daily prayers.This is how I fight my thoughts and feelings with the truth all year long!
Thank you, Lord for loving me FIRST and MOST.Thank you for loving me ALWAYS and FOREVER.
Thank you for your love that WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING LESS thanIMMEASURABLY LIMITLESS and INFINITELY ENDLESS.
Thank you for your grace at work inside me to give me the desire and power to love You and others with that SAME LOVE!
*PS And here is my daily request for God’s great blessings on you.
May God’s mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you (Jude 1:2).
Let your mind hear the words from my heart, “EYES UP! I LOVE YOU!”
I intended to share some thoughts on the hardships and hurts of the difficult parts of life. I planned to rework some of the ideas mentioned in a recent article by a good counselor and writer. I decided it would be best to defer to his recent article.
“Five Life-Changing Words“ by Paul David Tripp
James 4 paints one of the most honest portraits of life in a fallen world.
We are guaranteed to experience conflict and disappointment in our relationships: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” (v.1)
We are guaranteed to experience sinful, selfish desires, even as we try to live a pure and righteous life: “Your passions are at war within you” (v.1)
We are guaranteed to experience outside assault and temptation from the enemy: “Resist the devil” (v. 7)
We are guaranteed to experience sadness, suffering, and loss: “Mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” (v. 9)
We are guaranteed to experience uncertainty and surprises: “You do not know what tomorrow will bring.” (v. 14)
Wow, this passage is brutally honest about what we all face! Does the harsh reality of living in a sinful, fallen world make you want to give up and quit?
Thankfully, this passage doesn’t leave us there. In the middle of James 4 is a little phrase that changes everything. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these are perhaps the five most life-changing words ever written: “But God gives more grace.” (v. 6)
BUT GOD GIVES MORE GRACE!
In the midst of it all, we are guaranteed grace!
Yes, life in a fallen world will be terribly discouraging and painful at times. The Bible never requires that you deny reality and pretend that Christianity transports you to a mythical island where you can live alone with Jesus in peace, while everything around you falls apart.
But, no matter what you are facing, you don’t need to panic. You don’t need to fear. You don’t need to consider abandoning hope.
Why? Because there is grace for whatever struggle you are facing. Hope is found in the One who has invaded your life by his grace. You are never alone.
Jesus is with you. Jesus is in you. Jesus is for you. He offers you grace that is up to the task even when you’re not.
On the back roads and the byways there is grace. In the throne room and the boardroom there is grace. In the valleys and on the mountaintop there is grace. In the cottage and in the mansion there is grace. In the farmlands and in the city there is grace. For the young and the old there is grace. For the weak and the strong there is grace. For the healthy and the sick there is grace. For the lonely and the loved there is grace. For the sad ones and the happy there is grace. For the hopeful and the hopeless there is grace. For the joyful and the joyless there is grace. For the grieving and those celebrating there is grace. For the welcomed and the forsaken there is grace. For the faithful and the faithless there is grace. For the believer and the doubter there is grace. For the courageous and the fearful there is grace. In the darkness and in the light there is grace. For the sinner and the seeker there is grace. For the worshipper and the rebel there is grace. In the shadows and the sunlight there is grace. In the morning and the nighttime there is grace. For all creation and every image bearer there is grace. For what has been and what is to come there is grace. For what you regret and what you deny there is grace. Everywhere you are, no matter who you are, no matter what you face, no matter what you need, no matter what you feel, no matter what you’ve done, no matter how great your shame, no matter how big your guilt, there is grace. For now and for forever, there is grace.
Some things in life are just funny. The humor just invents itself.
You Tube segments and shows like America’s Funniest Videos are full of ‘accidents’ that cause us to laugh…as long as it happened to someone else.
Seeing a dad get hit in the highly sensitive private zone with a kid’s baseball bat is always hilarious…and painful. People falling down the stairs or into a swimming pool cause us to smile. I especially enjoy the sudden embarrassment of a showoff braggart when a stunt goes violently haywire.
I once heard a coach share a funny story that I try to recreate every football season. I’m not sure if it was true, but I have never managed to set up a similar situation to Beat the Heat during the hot preseason in August.
At least, not until last week!
I invite you to cast your imagination into the reality of that moment.
I walked into a huddle of some football players who were standing around waiting for practice to begin. As they greeted me with hugs, several mentioned the brutal heat. Some were already sweating bullets under the blazing summer sun.
The heat from the football field was intense, making it feel like my flip-flops would melt. It was like walking on hot coals; the field felt like a furnace.
I commented that someone at the school forgot to turn on the new outdoor air conditioning unit. When a player responded he wished that were true, I doubled down on the fake reality.
I mentioned that a team booster had paid for the school to get a big AC unit for the football field. It was part of the new climate change curriculum. Apparently, someone forgot to turn on the unit.
I mentioned a hidden button behind the south end goal post that turned on the large cooling system for the whole field.
For those unfamiliar with this situation, our football team lacks a domed stadium. The chance of an AC unit cooling our entire field is as likely as transforming the sandy dunes of Death Valley into igloos filled with various flavored popsicles.
The reset button is on the back of the cactus plant.
I asked if any players would go to the far goal post, about seventy yards away, and press the reset button on the AC unit.
Every previous year, this was the point the story died, and the non-existent AC button remained untouched. The subject was about to expire into a pile of dripping sweat.
Surprisingly, one player asked where the button was. I felt excited because there was a bite on my line, and it could be a big one.
I explained that there was a reset button on the back of the goal post. We just needed someone smart enough to find the button and start some cool air blowing down the field.
A sophomore volunteer stepped up unexpectedly and began walking toward the far goal post.
He turned back twice and asked if I was serious. I smiled and gestured for him to continue.
The senior players’ surprised expressions changed from confusion to cheering. “Go! Hurry! Run! It’s hot!”
Our Beat the Heat journeyman turned to ask about the air conditioning button’s color. I said it was black and assured him there were no other buttons. He nodded, feeling more confident.
The players watched our AC pioneer as he jogged forty yards and looked back at his cheerleaders. I’m not sure if they understood the humor of the situation or were just hoping he would find the button for cool air on the hot field.
Our teammate was committed to the task. His desire to please the coach was admirable. His initiative to provide relief to his sweat-soaked comrades brought a tear to my eye.
Indiana Jones’ search for the lost ark was less intense than this football legend’s quest for the hidden button with its rumored power.
There was no quit in this young man and no excuses. He searched high and low. He circled the goal post. He peered under the black rubber padding. He even checked to see if the button might have fallen onto the turf below.
I had mixed feelings. I was aghast with a small touch of angst. I was shocked that the kid was so gullible. I was confused because this young man was smart and good, and he trusted me, his Uncle Rex.
His effort to cool the playing field’s heat was driven by faith rather than foolishness. I could no longer bear it; the phantom hunt had to stop. I told the players to signal him back.
I began to feel like the dad hit in his manhood with an errant golf club. This was becoming more like a Shakespearean struggle between comedy and tragedy.
It can be hard to see the thin line between Comedy and Cruelty in real life. My college professor pointed out how Shakespeare balanced this in his plays. His tragedies usually conclude with the hero’s death, while the comedies often end with marriage.
I was unsure if the professor’s comparison of marriage to comedy was sarcasm or personal commentary.
My situation (not my marriage) became a conundrum.I did not want my hero to die from the scorching sun or burning embarrassment. He was too young to marry although that did not stop Romeo’s intentionswith Juliet.
I needed some way to Beat the Heatand still save the hero.
I have a lengthy history of possessing a knack for picking out suspecting targets for a joke. I have walked the tightrope between Comedy and Cruelty many times.It takes laughter mixed with a little mild mischief.
I enjoyed handing out pillowcases for Snipe Hunts. I could keep a straight face while telling a fellow high school student he was wanted in the principal’s office. I was notorious for relaying fake callback messages to college roommates from potential girlfriends who did not reciprocate those feelings.
Then there was the incident at my school where students were suspected of dealing drugs in class. The students whispered and seemingly glanced around nervously as the tiny white objects slipped from one hand to another. The suspicious teacher followed her detective instincts. She quickly intercepted the transaction, confiscated the contraband, and marched the guilty students to the principal’s office.
The drug bust revealed the little white pills were Tik-Tac breath mints. That was the day my brothers and I began to refer to Mom as Starsky and Hutch, a popular TV detective show from the early era of Tik-Tacs.
There were other viral-worthy incidents which occurred before the existence of phone cameras. There were tomatoes tossed at car windows and tomatoes discreetly placed in police car seats. Sometimes the movie plays out exactly as scripted in the demented mind.
My best friend and I moved a locked car from a mall parking lot. The funny part is that the car was the only transportation for my younger brother and his date.
[Note: Remind me to tell that story. I can still see a young unmarried Angie anxiously waving her arms in disbelief as she pointed to the empty parking space right in front of the movie entrance.
The locked car had vanished. Angie’s eyes were big and questioning as she declared to Bill, “It cannot just disappear! It was right there!” The car was missing, but Bill was not going anywhere. There was a reason Mom called her second son, Cool Breeze.He calmly assured his future bride that they would find a solution. Time has not changed either of them.]
Okay, my point is that I can reference many moments in my life where the only thing missing from America’s Funniest Videos was the video.
I guess it was the boiling sun that caused this next memory to bubble up into my mind as I began to feel remorse about my foolish football fiasco to Beat the Heat. This moment had similarities to a golfing incident with my Guymon friends.
A cute rabbit appeared near a bush several yards in front of the fifth tee box.As I prepared to hit my driver, a golf partner verbally warned the rabbit that it was in danger. The low trajectory of my tee shot found the side of the Alice in Wonderland rabbit.
Whack! Thud! Bunny Down. Bunny Up. Two big hops. One high reverse backflip. Bunny Down…Forever.It was a belly laugh for my golfing comrades until that last bunny belly flop.
THERE IS A FINE LINE BETWEEN COMEDY AND CRUELTY.
I stood there as if staring into a mirage. The goal post looked like the fairway bush from long ago. Nearby, there was a small commemorative cross adorned with a chain dangling a rabbit’s foot.
I could not continue this Beat the Heat prank any longer. I urged the teammates to call back our air conditioning button hunting bunny.
Elvis was singing in my mind. Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true.
Some days you are the jester. Some days you are the joke. Some days you are the pigeon. Some days you are the statue.
“Count it all joy…Various trials will come and test your faith, but God uses them to produce growth in character and steadfastness” (James 1:2-4).
The word “character” comes from a Greek verb which describes cutting a groove or making a mark on something. Character is what marks your life. It defines who you are.
CHARACTER MATTERS!
You are not born with it. It is built into your life, much like the building of a house. The bricks are made up of faith, hope, and love. Trustworthiness, honesty, truthfulness, respect, and responsibility become building blocks.
There are many life irritants worse than summer heat or sand in your bathing suit. Most of us have something that rubs us the wrong way almost every day. We have daily interactions with irritating individuals, the sand in our shorts.
Remember that an oyster covers its shell-invader with layers of some altering substance until the irritating visitor becomes a beautiful, valuable pearl. Loving first and most covers the annoying people in your life. It might take some time, but it is far better than allowing their constant irritation to ruin your life.
God uses circumstances and other people to build character into your life. The building materials are pressed together by the various trials that you experience. Your mistakes only add more color.
I guess I calmed my regrets with thoughts of adding color to this young man’s character training.
I hugged our returning warrior. I guarded his dignity with a declaration that my AC button searcher was in on the gag all the time. He grinned and told me he loved me.
My opinion of him soared to new heights. He showed me what faith looks like in real life. He showed his teammates what loving your brothers looks like on a football team. It takes effort and perseverance. It sacrifices for the well-being of the team, no matter how hot the day.
I want that kind of teammate and I want to be that kind of teammate and marriage partner and dad and Bubba to my grandkids.
Here is my bottom line whether the circumstances of life are Comedy or Cruelty.
I will always do my best. Never Quit. Never. Always have fun. And keep the video camera handy for those hilarious moments that sneak into hot days like a cool breeze.
To quote Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Wellbecause Elvis has already left the building.
Years ago, I was at a mall in Oklahoma City, watching my three-year-old son lean on the railing above the food court. He looked down with wide-eyed wonder at the busy people below.
It was safer to be here than to take him to the nearby store where my wife and daughter were shopping. I felt joy as I watched him.
I wondered what he was thinking as he watched people ordering, eating, and talking about their lives. I did not think about it for long because he suddenly shouted loudly. His voice echoed through the food court.
“Follow Jesus! Follow Jesus! No turning back!”
Everyone heard the loud shout of his young voice. Some people likely choked on their sandwiches or strained their necks trying to find out where the bold declaration came from.
It remains the best sermon I have ever heard, brief and to the point.
Allow me to be brief and to the point.
DIRECTION MATTERS IN LIFE. FOLLOW JESUS.
Do not be led astray from that simple truth. The path for your life is set. God’s Word lights the way for each daily step.
One of the most influential preachers of early Americana was Jonathan Edwards. He emphasized this great Biblical truth. “The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.”
This truth captures the Bible’s message. It highlights the beauty of Paradise granted to Adam and Eve and the loss from their failure. This truth and resulting tragedy impact everyone throughout their earthly journey.
The restoration of that godly enjoyment is at the heart of why Jesus came, died, and rose again. He came to bring us to God, our exceeding joy (Psalm 43:4).
Our souls are meant to find joy and true value in being with God as our highest pleasure and greatest treasure (Psalm 16:11).
Jonathan Edwards preached that “the most pleasant accommodations . . . fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the Sun.”
GOD IS THE SUN. OTHER JOYS IN LIFE ARE JUST SHADOWS OF SOMETHING GREATER.
Note: This statement is an example. The sun is not God; it is part of God’s wonderful creation that daily reminds us of God’s glory (Psalm 19:1-2).
Without the sun, Earth would be dark and lose its gravitational pull. The consequences would be harsh and difficult.
Without God as our source of true joy, our moral compass becomes chaotic, and our search for happiness leads to despair.
God’s directional map reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:1-2 of that Hard and Harsh Reality to life.
Understand the path for those who live for themselves and follow the ways of this world:
We are living in the last days.
Difficult (fierce) times are coming.
Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of earthly pleasures without any love for God.
The circumstances will go from bad to worse.
The cost will go from things…to self.
The #1 Textbook shows us another way. A better way.
Follow Jesus. No turning back.
Pour out your life in love for God.
Pour out Christ’s life in love for others.
The circumstances will get harder, and the cost will get greater.
The circumstances will go from difficult to dangerous.
The cost will go from some…to all.
Do not be shocked by the tough realities of living in a world filled with sin and selfishness (just like we once were). No one is exempt. The path is difficult. The pain is real. But the goal is worth it.
There is enjoyment in each earthly day. Look to God to see it. There will be everlasting enjoyment in the future. Read the #1 Textbook to believe it.
Even as life’s journey takes us through difficult times, one truth stands firm: “Enjoying God is the only true happiness for our souls.”
Pay attention today, and you might hear the echo of a three-year-old’s shout as you go about your daily activities.
LOVE FIRST...LOVE MOST 