Strawberry Pie and More Joy

John Paton and his newlywed wife were the first Christian missionaries to the cannibal populated New Hebrides Islands.

Paton’s exploits were brave and adventurous. His commitment to the task was the stuff of legends. However, it is the statement by his dying wife which burned into my heart and soul leaving a permanent and precious mark in my life.

“I would do it all again, only next time with more joy.”

That statement has renewed my vow not to let this world rob me of the joy of living. “I would do it all again, only next time with more joy.”

Paton and his new bride, Mary, left Scotland to embark on an ocean journey to the Pacific South Seas. They volunteered to be instruments of God’s love. Their lives would be in constant danger. Several years earlier, two missionaries survived only a few minutes before they were murdered and eaten. This was not the travel agency’s honeymoon paradise.

John and Mary Paton carried with them the most important thing in life, love for God and love for others. They were compelled to show hostile natives that love. Love always comforts; it never condemns. Love always continues; it never ceases. Love always takes us home; it never closes the door.

In Robinson Crusoe fashion, John and Mary Paton established a residence along the shoreline of Tanna. Savages occupied the inner island untouched by western civilization. These violent natives were well versed in fear, hate, and hurt.

Difficulty, danger, and death awaited the newlywed missionaries. Somehow, they survived the sporadic attacks and inquisitive incursions of their hostile hosts. Ten months after the arrival, the Patons enjoyed the birth of a son. However, three weeks later, Mary died from a fever. The baby boy died seventeen days later. Paton dug the graves, buried his loved ones, and slept on the ground to protect their bodies from the cannibals.

We can only imagine the pain and heartbreak. Paton was overcome with sorrow and loneliness. Almost every day, he had to flee for his life, with breathtaking tales of escape, often hiding in a tree or the darkness of the forest. The unrelenting danger was real. Each crisis was like a scene from a movie thriller.

Although Paton often had to run for his life, he kept running in the right spiritual direction with his #1 Textbook. He never gave up his attempts to convince the violent natives of his loving intentions. After years of perseverance in love through threatening trials and miraculous escapes, the whole island population became transformed by the powerful love of God through the words and actions of this one man.

The converted chief later told Paton about the night they intended to attack and murder him but were stopped by the many guards surrounding him. Paton said he was alone. The chief objected, describing his frightened sight of the hundreds of armed soldiers in shiny garments surrounding the Paton campsite.

Paton had the courage to risk everything to do the most important thing. He loved first. He loved most. The story of his platform of influence has inspired thousands of young men and women to risk loving others in that same manner.

Paton’s precious wife, Mary, also risked everything to love others who identified themselves as enemies of that love. As she lay dying, her husband shared his sorrow and remorse for taking her so far away from home and family, from comfort and safety.

Mary affirmed it was also her choice to share love with these hostile people in that distant land. She did not resent her husband’s leadership, nor did she regret God’s guidance. Amazingly, she had no remorse over the soon to come ending.

She consoled her grieving husband with these words, “I do not regret leaving home and friends. If I had it to do over, I would do it with more pleasure, yes, with all my heart.”

I would do it all again, only next time with more joy.

There is coming a time for each of us where we will feel the same way. Life has felt hard, almost impossible at time because of encounters with hurt and hatred. Unwanted suffering and trials made the climb harder, and the valleys sunk far lower than we anticipated.

Stop and think. Look back on your life. You cannot change what happened. There is no benefit to questioning or reliving your decisions about what you did or did not do or should have done. There are no “what-ifs” in God’s plan. The past is unchangeable.

If you knew this was to be your journey through life again, would you worry, grieve, and complain more? Or would you wish you could do it all again, only next time with more joy?

One day, I talked about the Patons’ attitude about life and the desire to do it all again, only with more joy.

That next week, my sweetheart daughter reminded me of those words. I was in the garage feeling very frustrated as I helped my son with his procrastinated science project. Then the door opened with the precious smile of my adoring girl. “Remember Dad. Someday you will wish you had done this with more joy.”

Parents tend to get upset when their children do not listen. Why do they listen to the parts that cause us to eat our words? Did I wish I had engaged in the midnight science project with more joy?

Yes, I do. I would love to be with my children now, involved in a late-night science project or a lengthy piano practice, just with more joy. I would give anything to look into that messy room or see that dented car again, just with more joy. I would embrace their defeats and the shared heartaches, only next time with more joy.

Some of my life adventures were tough like recycled tests in college, eating the enemy’s cake with forgiveness, and heart crushing spiritual disorientation. Other events were less challenging but still needed a dose of more joy.

One occasion involved strawberry pie.

Our family had recently moved to a different city. New friends invited my six-year-old son and me to a college basketball game. When the announcement was made regarding the halftime pie-eating contest, I was informed that my name had been entered. Funny joke.

As the game got closer to halftime, I became a little worried and then fearful. I do not enjoy being in the spotlight, especially in the role of a fool. There were several thousand spectators at the game, so rest easy my soul. What are the odds?

The halftime introduction of participants began. First, a ten-year-old boy excitedly dashed out of the stands with his arms raised in the air as he rushed to his place at the table set up along the free-throw lane. A college guy dressed in home team apparel was named next. Apparently delighted to be in the competition, he and his friends celebrated as though he had won the lottery.

My fear was realized with the next announcement. The PA system loudly called out my name, several times. I was stunned. My son and friends stood and cheered with excitement, pointing to the selected party. Yes, the contest drawing had been rigged by my new friend, Bill Johnson, who printed the tickets and strategically placed my name in the “random” drawing. Right! This was my initiation into a new band of brothers. Funny joke. Not to me.

My associates hooped and hollered as if I had been selected third in the NFL draft. To me, the announcement sounded more like the list for the guillotine. Just shoot me now.

I reluctantly sat in the middle chair between the two eager challengers. When the time clock started, I took on the strawberry pie in front of me. I might be shy, but I am competitive.

I was no match for the other two contestants who literally planted their faces into the pies. They ate like hogs freed from a hunger strike. I wilted into third place as I stared into the pie covered faces of my rivals. Everything was not lost. I was awarded what remained of my pie as a consolation prize.

When I returned to my laughing friends, I handed the pie box to my son. I have never forgotten his look of major disappointment as he opened the box top and stared at how much of the uneaten pie remained. “Are you kidding me? Is that the best you can do?”

There is no shame which compares to a dad disappointing the son who idolizes him. Our family motto is “always do your best and never quit.” How do you explain to your son that in the spotlight of the gladiator arena, you failed at both? Not funny at all.

This was a low point in my quest to be the greatest dad in the world.

I wish I had participated in that unwanted pie contest with more joy— yes, much more joy. Throughout these many passing years, my contest manipulative friend continues to surprise me with the gift of a strawberry pie, conveniently presented in the same packaging as that first one. I eat as much as I can with as much joy as possible. Then I share the rest with even more joy.

I would do it all again, only next time with more joy. That is true not only for the fun times and the family times; it is true for the challenging times and the rough times in life as well. I would do it all again, only next time with more joy.

How many times have I said those words at the end of a difficult chapter in life or in a relationship?

I have been cheated and mistreated, which sounds like a country song. I have messed up and seemingly missed out. I have failed, fallen, been forgotten, and fooled. I have grieved, mourned, wallowed in self-pity, and lived with anxiety, worry, and fear.

I survived crisis, conflict, and coronary challenges. I outlasted discouragement, discrimination, dismissal, debt, and defeat.

I do not need anything changed in my past life. I only wish I had done it all with more joy.

How does a person live with more joy? Here is a #1 Textbook life lesson for us to share:

  • Faith in God goes to the source of joy. “In God’s presence, there is fullness of joy…The joy of the Lord is your strength” (#1 Textbook).
  • Hope in God fuels joy. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy…God has given you heavenly joy so that your joy might be full.” (#1 Textbook).
  • Love for and from God is the expression of joy. “I showed you how to live with lasting joy: Love others in the same manner and as much as I love you” (#1 Textbook).

The key to joy is awareness of God’s presence in all the different situations in life. When I look back over my life, both the delightful and the difficult circumstances, I wish I had been more aware of God’s presence, even at a strawberry pie eating contest. I would do it all again, only with more joy.

“Count it all joy when your name is called up yonder…or at the pie eating contest” (#1 Textbook).

Yes, I would do it all again, only next time with more joy.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Artificial Intelligence-AI.

My frustration with automated customer service has been well-documented. My latest misadventure into the depths of machine-generated cyberspace technology was no exception. Yes, I argued with a machine.

I am sure you can hate and relate.

I do not like to say it, but I have a lot of experience with this. I yell and argue with a machine that does not listen. I am determined to show the lifeless machine how it feels to be placed on hold. I hang up! How do you like them apples?

AI responded, “The correct expression is to say those apples.”

Soon, AI customer service will not only correct me, but possess the capability to yell back at me.

I bet you have stories that can beat my recent experience. This story is just to help us connect. Just nod and say, “Been there.”

Before I composed this Winsday Wisdom, I asked AI for assistance in writing about this issue.

My question posed to AI: How can I more concisely describe the craziness of customer service artificial intelligence interactions with disgruntled humans?

This was the AI response:

Customers often find themselves trapped in a loop of automated responses that fail to address their unique concerns. The lack of empathy and understanding from AI can lead to heightened frustration, as customers yearn for the human touch that machines simply can’t replicate.

AI generated customer service forms a bit of a blast shield for the complaining customer. When the bot cannot help them, a real person agent can come in as the hero.

Delay the customer for their own good! Seriously, I would never have thought of that. That is far beyond all human intelligence. One needs artificial intelligence to make up this stuff.

Well, I needed a Hero last week!

My online order arrived later than its promised delivery date. The package contained a different and lesser value item than I ordered.

It was time to call. The phone was fully charged.

Frustrated, I picked up my phone and dialed the customer service number. After navigating countless menus—“For English, press 1. For frustration, press 2”—I finally got through to a chatbot named Clarity 3000.

WHAT??? Instead of calming music, I listened to an empathetic robot explain how important it is to help with my wait time for a human to address my complaint.

Clarity introduced itself with all the enthusiasm of a caffeinated squirrel. “Hello! I am Clarity 3000, your dedicated customer service assistant! How can I help you today?”

“I need help with my order.”

 “Please describe your issue in one word,” Clarity responded.

I sarcastically responded, “Fraud! Unfair business practices!” (A friend who has successfully managed high-quality customer service centers shared this hint to expedite a response from someone in Customer Resolution.)

My AI Clarity-bot responded, “Thank you for your response! That was FOUR words…Did you initially say ‘food’?”

I thought I heard a series of chuckles on the bot’s end of the call.

I shouted over the laughter, “NO! I said fraud, not food! I received nothing!”

I felt my sanity slipping. Clarity’s navigational sister, Siri, keeps reminding me I missed that turnoff many miles back.

Clarity kept talking. Do you know some people like that? This AI robot was more human than I imagined.

“Processing your request… ‘food’ order not found. Would you like to order some delicious tacos?”

I was aghast in my best Uncle Derwin’s expression of aghastment.  “Are you serious?! I did not order food or tacos! Tacos? Fraud. FRAUD. FRAUD!!!”

Clarity AI responded quickly. “Your tacos have been ordered and shipped. Checking our Pet Department to order Frogs.”

In that belligerent response, I realized I had lost my sanity and purpose for the call somewhere along the way. You have been there. You know the drill and the execution…preferably a firing squad.

After numerous loud requests to talk to a live agent and many strong taps on the ‘0’ button, Clarity had its own “Eureka” moment of discovery.

“Please wait! Transferring you to our human representative.”

Finally…a human voice. No! I was wrong. Now was the time for the music. Music…but not A Peaceful Easy Feelin’ and I know you won’t let me down” kind of Eagles’ music. It was not I Feel the Earth Move under my Feet by Carol King or the James Brown version of I Feel Good.

I was not very familiar with this AI-generated tune, but I quickly resonated with the thought. I think the wait song was You’re Going Down by The Sick Puppies. The song has a nice feeling of pumped-up hatred. Each time the chorus kicks in, it makes you want to look for someone to kick in their teeth or tear their ligaments apart. The music was a compilation of infuriating sounds designed to mess up this guy until he breaks or at least hangs up.

Yep! One of us was going down!

After what felt like eons, a human finally came on the line, though they sounded suspiciously like Clarity’s twin. “Thank you for calling Customer Support! I’m Tim. How can I assist you?”

Apparently, Tim was from a different part of the world…or universe. I could not understand his accent or his name. No prejudice here. I admire someone from another country who is willing to work where they must be conversant in gibberish different from their native language. However, it does make it more challenging for the customer.

I froze. Did he say his name was Tim…or Kim…or Them…or Dim-wit? I mumbled that I needed help in a language Tim could not understand.

Clarity-clone 2 asked, “Could you share your name? How do you spell that?”

Can you spell that? First of all, I imagine my name appears on your computer screen along with all the other personal information your company has about me. If you listen, you can hear my voice get louder and more emphatic.

“My name is Rex.”

The human Clarity could not understand what Robot Clarity typed. “Did you say Mex or Sex?”

I responded clearly and slowly. “Rex. R-E-X.”

“Did you say R-E-S?”

“No, Rex. R as in Radio, E as in Echo. X as in X-ray.”

AI Clarity Robot 1 interrupted the call. The correct response should be “R as in Romeo.”

Well, Romeo and Rex go together, but this was not the right time or place for that. Clarity-clone 2 was no Juliet. Ok, I tried again, “R as in Romeo, E as in Echo, and X as in X-ray.”

Tim’s response, “Ok, thank you, Mr. REX-A?“

The remaining time of my interaction with Miss Clarity and Mr. Tim did not go well.

Several times, I had to ask him to repeat his questions, which I could not understand. Every time, he asked me to repeat my answer and spell it out.

When I responded that I lived in Broken Arrow, he asked me if I was Indian. When I said the city was in Oklahoma, he asked how to spell that. The coup-de-gras was when he asked if Oklahoma was in the United States. No lie! I replied that we were landlocked and could not escape.

Clarity-clone 2 continued, unfazed with the confusion. “Can you give me your order number?”

After finding the catalogue number, I began spelling it out when suddenly, Clarity 3000 piped in again, “I heard ‘C-A-T!’ Did you order a cat?”

“No, I did not order a cat!’ as my voice approached a pitch only dogs could hear.

Tim transferred me back to AI Clarity 3000, where I could yell into the void of Artificial Intelligence!

Clarity chimed in, “Your tacos are on the way. Please hang on while I check the availability of the CAT. What is your preference for size and color?

Hanging on. It can be frustrating. Usually, we hang on to a call or a relationship because we are hopeful, if only slightly hopeful. I know you can identify with frustrating customer service.

What about your own emotional hanging on with someone you know? There can be lingering effects from fear, grief, anxiety, or worry. It might be triggered by devastating news, stressful circumstances, or unexpected loss. You feel physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained.

You might even feel spiritually disconnected or relationally detached. Your spiritual vision is impaired; your thinking is clouded. Sadness becomes your constant companion. You cannot just “snap out of it” and feel better. Something is wrong.

You feel trapped in a prison of extreme loneliness where you imagine no one cares, while you battle fear that someone might check on you. You feel judged, condemned. Feelings of helplessness and uselessness and worthlessness weigh you down with self-imposed guilt.

You begin to emotionally shut down, too weak to even lift your eyes toward the horizon of hope. Just hanging on by a thin thread. You feel more like a machine than a human being created in God’s image.

Sometimes all you can do is sit in the darkness of your hurt and cry. Sometimes your prayers feel frozen in time and space. In the midst of that discouragement, the God of hope sits down beside you in the darkness, takes your hand, and holds you through the night. You are not judged; you are loved.

Even when you do not see God, feel God, hear God, sense God, God is still there, with much love and understanding, with no condemnation.

God never promised that life would be easy and carefree, but God does promise that he will never abandon us. Weeping may tarry through the night, but joy comes in the morning (1 Textbook).

Lift up the eyes of your soul. your help and hope are on the horizon (#1 Textbook).

Today is a good time to do what Artificial Intelligence cannot do. Review the greatness and goodness of your God. Replenish your faith. God will never let you go or cancel His steadfast love.

You never have to listen to an automated recording when you need to talk to God. Open the #1 Textbook any time of any day or night. Just start reading and then start talking. God has heard you while your mind was still forming its thoughts into understandable words. Every breath you take is directly from the heart of God. Every step of your life is written in God’s Word (#1 Textbook).

If today finds you acting like a scaredy cat or whining like a lonely dog, just remember, God knows and cares. God loves first and loves most, always and forever!

Heaven’s customer service is highly rated and never augmented by Artificial Intelligence.

P.S. I am working with some high-tech engineers to develop Calamity Jane 45, an Argumentative Artificial Intelligence customer service representative who will fight with you like cats and dogs.

The one who hangs up first in this battle of wits demonstrates its higher intelligence.

So, if you get disconnected in the middle of your raucous rant, beware. The post-recording will say, “D as in Delta, U as in Uniform, M as in Mike, M as in Mike, Y as in Yankee.”

Y! Why? Because we like you. M-O-U-S-E.

A HORROR STORY

WARNING: This story includes some horrific images.

Some people love Horror movies and books. I am part of the many who cannot stand them. If you are in this second camp of the squeamish, you might want to skip this Winsday Wisdom. This Horror Story ends with a vital message of hope that we all need as well as some valuable perspective on our fears. But like real life, none of us would choose the in-between stuff to gain the prize.

All of life is a stewardship of God’s purpose. That includes the gift of pain. Pain packages will arrive in different sizes, shapes, and colors. Hurt and heartache become the common characteristics delivered to the heart’s doorstep.

Sometimes the pain is physical, sometimes emotional. It can be sickness, stress, or sorrow. It can come suddenly or slowly; its duration might be short or lengthy, its explanation simple or complicated. One thing is consistently certain; it was not what you ordered.

Mona was involved in a horrific car accident on a hot summer day when the rear tire blew out. Mona lost control of the vehicle as it left the road and rolled several times before landing upright into a fence.

She was transported to a trauma center in critical condition. Lacerations near the eye, fractured vertebrae, broken ribs, respiratory distress, and bleeding in the brain. She coded once. Mona recovered and her condition greatly improved.

Her decline began to spiral when necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh eating disease, set in. Her forehead was solid black; they removed 60% of her scalp. They continued to remove more and more over the next few days. The decisions got progressively harder to make. The surgeon removed her right eye, then the facial skin down to the middle of her cheek; it was a race against the bacteria headed to the brain.

At this point her family loved her enough to let her go home with the Lord. Through many prayers, they heard God’s echoes of mercy and His whispers of love throughout the fourteen days in the hospital. Where sorrows like sea billows rolled, it was well with her soul.

God’s Word offers a promise that we know for those who love God and are called according to his purpose, all things work together for good. All things for good. All things.

The context of Romans 8:28 includes suffering. Suffering can arrive packaged in sickness, sadness, separation, sorrow, or sleepless nights.

Some suffering is felt from the pain inside us brought on by self-inflicted misery. Some suffering involves pain imposed on us from the outside by others who mess up our lives. Some suffering like in Mona’s story seems to sum up it all up at its worst.

No matter how pain comes and how long it lasts, ALL of it is a stewardship issue. Why? Because all pain, no matter what size, shape, or color, comes with instructions about God’s purpose.

ALL things work together for good. . .

There are four lines of thought or belief systems connected to this principle. (1) ALL things work together for good or (2) MOST things or (3) SOME things or (4) NO things. It’s all, most, some, or nothing. Those are the only options for Mona’s family and for you in your life struggles.

You can pretty much throw out “some things” as any kind of trustworthy philosophy because that leaves everything to a God who controls nothing, not even chance. You can also eliminate “most things” as a viable option because that would mean that God’s power can be stopped and His goodness can be diverted by something more powerful. What kind of God is that?  

So reality boils down to two options on polar opposites of the spectrum. One choice, nothing works together for good because life is just chance, chaos, and confusion. If that is true, then nothing has value or purpose in this world. Nothing. Not pain or possessions. Not the past or the future. Not even life itself.

The other view is for everything to work together for good because God is sovereign and loving and has gladly chosen to do you good with all His wisdom and power. If that is true, then goodness is guaranteed. Nothing can stop or even hinder God.

Which one is it? Nothing or everything?

Now here is the kicker.

WHAT YOU THINK DOES NOT CHANGE REALITY, BUT REALITY CAN CHANGE YOU.

Reality changed Mona and her precious family. It changed me as I walked through this Horror Story with them. It also made the answer to the four viewing options of life crystal clear.

What would Jesus say?

God’s Son Jesus voluntarily left his home in glory to come down to our fallen world, humbled himself as a man to love, teach, and help us. Yet He was hated, rejected, humiliated, shamed, mocked, beaten, whipped, and left to die on a cross. It was all suffering and pain, all bad things done by bad people.

However, when mankind, representing and including each of us, made absolutely the worst decision ever in history by rejecting Jesus and crucifying God’s Son, God turned that into our greatest good. Now we are forgiven and accepted by God and adopted as His very own children.

What would Jesus say? The correct answer is ALL things.

In the very worst case scenario, God brought about the very best thing that could ever happen to us. So that is our hope! When everything was on the line and we made the wrong choice and did the wrong things, God still caused it ALL to work together for our greatest good.

All things. God wants you to know this is true at all times in every circumstance. The reality is not some things or no things; it is all things including the most painful struggles and suffering. God connects all the dots and brings together all the plots of your life story. He wraps up the loose ends. God is so big and His loving arms are so wide that He can wrap His goodness around all things including difficult people and despairing circumstances.

There are many things we do not know.  We do not know why babies die or families fall apart or children have special disabilities or loved ones have brain tumors or a mother suffers from a flesh-eating bacteria. But we do know God has not forgotten us or stopped loving us nor will He ever be hindered from working all those things together for our greatest eternal benefit.

I cannot explain why bad things happen to good people like Mona. God does not need me to protect Him or to defend His ways. God’s plan is far too complex, and way too connected to so many lives throughout so many generations that our earthly minds could not comprehend it if it were explained to us. 

However, God has given us the simple version of something more glorious than any human mind has ever imagined.

THE WORST THING GOD WILL EVER DO TO YOU IS DRIVE YOU TO HIMSELF TO DO YOU GREATER GOOD. God will teach you and empower you to live and love like Jesus.

Surely God’s goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life and then I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Do you believe that reality? Mona’s family believed it until the big test came. Now their hope would have to overcome the deteriorating circumstances. It’s one thing to have this wonderful promise marked in your Bible with the ability to recite it in the emergency waiting room, but it does not become real without you being placed in a humanly helpless and hopeless situation.

Could you hold to that belief if you received the news that your spouse has been in a car accident? What about learning she is in critical condition? What about when her heart stopped? Would you still believe in God’s goodness when she began to show evidence of pain from a flesh-eating bacteria? Would your confidence grow stronger while her skin color turned increasingly darker as more skin died and decayed?

My stomach gets sick even thinking about the Horror Story nightmare that became part of Mona’s life and her family’s struggle with her last earthly days, days no one could ever have foreseen.

Mona’s faith was probably the strongest. Her only concern was for her family. She believed in God’s care for her as she prayed for her family as they worked through the horrific tragedy. Eventually, they found their faith firmly anchored to the God of Hope.

Was it easy? No. Do not assume this brief summary implies that. The human heart reacts traumatically to pain, even more so when it is your loved one’s pain. Questions abound. There are few answers if any.

Why? No one knows. How did this happen? A tire blowout, car wreck, ambulance ride, surgery, ICU? Those things happen. No one wants to get that kind of news, but how does that end up as a story about flesh-eating bacteria? Contamination somewhere, certainly, but what are the odds? And why Mona?

Mona could surely be included in the top echelon of the sweetest, kindest, most soft-spoken godly women who have journeyed through this worldly wilderness. She was the helpmate to her husband as she nurtured her family and cared for others. So why was her life taken so early and why so horrifically?  There are no answers for that, just faith that looks for grace and not explanations.

Please, please do not make the mistake to think that this story of faith in trying circumstances was as simple as a prayer away. In my many years as a pastor, I have witnessed too many traumatic tragedies. I have cried and prayed with numerous families engulfed in crisis, sat in countless emergency waiting rooms, wept uncontrollably in the hospital chapel, and offered physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort to hurting hearts devastated by sudden events which would redirect the course of their lives.

However, I have never been as overwhelmed with anything in someone else’s family as with Mona’s sudden suffering. It hurt to watch a husband mourn the loss of his wife, to observe children grieve at the loss of their mother, and see siblings weep for the loss of their sister. But the greater sorrow was watching Mona in her loss of earthly life as it moved from the loss of her abilities to the loss of her identity. It was traumatic beyond words.

This was a fearful Horror Story nightmare coming to life and, yet, I have never seen the presence of God’s peace and hope more real than in Mona’s family during those trying days of unspeakable sorrow. 

Do not misunderstand me; I have witnessed God’s power and love with many families over the years. This does not take away from the significance of their stories of faith. 

I, too, have personally experienced God’s sustaining grace and future hope when there was no human help, explanation, or prospect of anything good on the horizon. Those times are more significantly precious to my life’s story as I embrace the Apostle Paul’s dying testimony in 2 Timothy 4 as my own, “Surely the Lord has stood with me in all the trying times both past and present and I am confident He will guide me safely home in the future.”

However, because of the flesh-eating bacteria, Mona’s story became far different from anything I had known. I know how Jesus touched lepers whose skin was rotting away and their limbs falling off. I am certainly not Jesus, but I know Jesus lives in me and leads me to others like Mona and her family for the purpose of reminding them of His presence and love in the midst of their journey through the desert wilderness. This was not some spiritual fairy tale or Guidepost devotional; this was real life drama. It was a Horror Story.

However, it was not the horror or even the fear of holding Mona’s hand that dominated my feelings in this particular family crisis.

I cared about Mona, but I also shuddered to think about the possibility of my wife being in this frightening scenario. I cringed inside as outwardly my head slowly nodded in disbelief. The physicians’ reports would just get worse and then much worse. The decisions went from difficult to impossible, how much skin to cut away to save her versus how much surgery would result in more disfigurement than with what she would want to live.

But Mona’s house was built on solid rock and not sinking sand. When this terrible storm came, her house of faith stood strong.  And oh, how strong they stood! Through it all came a demonstration of family confidence in the God of the Romans 8:28 promise which defied the devastating circumstances. The confident faith did not come easily, but it was genuine; it was powerful. 

The transforming power of God’s promise was on full display. The worse the news, the greater the faith in acceptance of God’s will. More tears meant more prayers. More anxiety would suddenly feel like more peace. They cried in the valley, but stood high on the Rock of Ages.

I SAT IN AWE OF GOD. 

What can I say? You would have had to been there, but then I would not wish that or anything like it on anyone. But God did. Why? I only rely on what God has already told us. 

God knows what He is doing. It is ALWAYS wise, right, and good. ALWAYS!

He is the God who causes all things to work together for good. ALL THINGS!  Car wreck? ALL THINGS! Surgery? ALL THINGS! Code blue? ALL THINGS! Flesh-eating bacteria? ALL THINGS! Death? ALL THINGS! How do you find hope in ALL THINGS, especially the surprise packages of pain?

I do not have answers for all your questions, but I do have a Biblical principle sufficient for all of the chapters in your life‘s story.

You find God’s will for your life in God’s Word.

God’s will is for you to have hope—the confident expectation that you will experience all the goodness God has promised…somehow…someway…sometime. And where do you find that hope? You find it in God’s Word. 

“Hope is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. How can you know you have faith unless that faith is exercised?” That is the way the preacher and prolific writer from the past, Charles Spurgeon, described the process.

Mona faced her Horror Story of death with that hope. ALL THINGS turn out for our good. That will be true for you. I do not have an explanation or a road map, just a promise from the God who cannot and will not lie. It is the promise from the God who rejoices to do you good (Jeremiah 32:41).

You will find the hope you need in the Word of God. Read it. Cling to it. Saturate your life with it, and when your personal pain package arrives marked, ALL THINGS, God’s Word will guard you through the desert wilderness and guide you to the springs of grace flowing with fresh hope.

Yes. HOPE WHEN YOUR LIFE BECOMES A HORROR STORY.

Your pain package will most likely be unwanted. It will most certainly be unexpected. It will become part of your life’s story, probably the best chapter. 

What are you going to do with it? Read the Horror Story through the lens of God’s Word. Embrace it. Be a good steward of it. 

Your story might not be told to thousands here on earth, but it will touch somebody’s life. Mona and countless multitudes will set heaven ablaze with rejoicing at the faithfulness of God’s goodness to you.

ALL OF LIFE IS A STEWARDSHIP. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO LEARN GOOD STEWARDSHIP OF ALL THINGS. IT STARTS WITH A PAIN PACKAGE. WHEN HANDLED PROPERLY, IT OPENS UP INTO A BEAUTIFUL GIFT BEYOND IMAGINATION.

EYES UP! I look to the hills from where my help and hope come. They come in ALL THINGS.

I love you because I was loved by God first and most.

The Greatest of All Time

A recent sporting event was won in dramatic fashion. The TV commentators referred to it as the greatest comeback win of all time.

Sports writers and fans are quick to announce someone or something as “the greatest ever.” Then people argue over their opinions.

Several months back, a friend sent me a request for the full version of something I shared over thirty years ago at a national FCA conference at Estes Park, Colorado. I commented that “there has never been a greater comeback than when Jesus…”

He asked if I had the notes in my files. Good luck on that. Last night, I opened a book and the notes fell out. Sometimes, that is how Winsday Wisdom works. Thanks Brad!

When the sports pages continue to proclaim someone or something “the greatest ever,” we should be reminded that these fantastic feats dim in comparison to the greatest of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.

No one in athletics has ever paid a greater price to achieve a goal than when Jesus paid it all on the cross.

There has never been a greater upset than when Jesus upset the plans of Satan and turned the cross from tragedy to triumph.

There has never been a greater weight lifted than when Jesus lifted the immeasurable weight of sin off the shoulders of all mankind.

There has never been a greater “in your face move” than when Jesus went into the depths of hell and snatched the keys of sin and death from Satan’s grasp.

There has never been a greater obstacle overcome than when the stone was rolled away and Jesus burst forth from the tomb as the Resurrection and the Life. Now because He lives, we can live also.

And there will never be a greater comeback than when the Lamb who took away the sins of the world comes back as the King of kings and Lord of lords. On that day, all that has been accomplished by believers will be placed at the feet of Jesus and we will proclaim HIM AND HIM ONLY worthy of all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise forever and ever.

Until that day, “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned and unclean.

How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be…How marvelous, how wonderful is My Savior’s love for me.”

It is amazing to be the teammate of Jesus in the greatest victory of them all!

Enjoy cheering at sporting events, applauding at artistic presentations, and being amazed at the wonderful achievements in life. I pray they all serve as reminders to turn our hearts and minds into joining God-Admirers.

I hope these lyrics will help you join all the God-Admirers cheering the God of Psalm 145.

Psalm 145  (The Song of a God-Admirer)

I will extol Thee,
Oh God my king;

Time will cease to exist before I cease to sing.

I say the Lord is great. I say He is highly to be praised…so great and let me search and discover how great. When my fathers did sing to the generations ring, I sing it back and forth of who you are.

The Lord is gracious, full of mercy, slow to anger, and abounding in love.
Over all of His works,
Of which I am truly one.

His mercy hovers like a cloud
Never raining dry.

Myself and the saints will sing power and glory everlasting. As long as your rule endures, I admire Thee.

Sustain me when I fall;
Lift me up when I’m bowed down.
You are the water
Never failing to satisfy.
You are right in all Your ways
And yet You are kind in all You do.

I cried and You saved me;
Lovingkindness keeps me.

I say the Lord is great,
So great, let me search
And never discover how great.
As long as Your rule endures.

The Lord is gracious, full of mercy, slow to anger, and abounding in love.
I admire Thee.
I admire Thee.

Lyrics by Dr. Myles Roberts

NO THOUGHTS TODAY

I JUST WAS NOT THINKING TODAY.

I recently wrote that I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

I meant every word. However, there are times when I am not thinking about you. In truth, I have moments where I do not think about anything. That is a little frightening!

There are times that the chains on my mood swing just snap...and I go into Stupid Ville.

Thoughtless. Mindless. Scatter-brained. Moronic.

My childhood dream was to become an astronaut. Unfortunately, it was not in the stars.

I fell short of NASA’s astronaut standards for eyesight, intelligence, aviation skills, and problem solving. How was I to know that my failure to accurately follow an assigned check list would haunt me for the rest of my life?

Last week, my wife lowered her hopes from words to pictures. That’s right. Pictures! She used to give me a list of items to buy at the store. Somehow, this Ivy-League educated husband finds ways to miss or mess up something on the grocery list.

This time she sent me to the store with pictures of the food purchases. (No, this is not the grocery picture assignment I mentioned before. This happened after months of flash card training at home.) How humiliating!

Well, not as humiliating as when I returned home with blackberries, instead of blueberries!

When my wife pointed out my mistake in the colored berry selection, I muttered, “Well, I feel stupid.”

My adorable wife laughed as she asked, “Didn’t you look at the picture? Did you not think to look at the product description next to the picture?”

I was stunned. I did not know if that was one question or two?

Now I am back to the preschool basics of learning colors and counting and reading.

Well, the store assistant assumed I could not read. That was also humiliating. When he offered to help, I showed him a picture on my phone and asked if they had any berries that looked like it. He stared at me as if I were stupid. I explained that the chain on my mood swing had snapped.

In my defense, the color in the picture was very misleading.

I already admitted I failed the astronaut eyesight exam. Apparently while navigating a spaceship, it matters whether you hit the abort liftoff black button on the computer keyboard rather than the rocket thrust acceleration blue button.

The only areas where I surpassed NASA standards were weight and stupidity. One was fixable through a better diet. The other cannot be fixed. Not even by the greatest minds in the known universe.

There are moments when my stupidity ventures to boldly go where no stupidity has gone before.

STUPIDITY. If you need me to provide a definition, then just consider yourself far above the minimal standard for ‘idiot.’

Stupidity is universal. We each exhibit some degree of it at various times in life. It does seem to come more naturally to some. I know a few people whose stupidity appears endless and effortless.

To help all mankind, I wish to offer these suggestions to avoid doing stupid things.

  1. Do not stand over a toilet with your eyeglasses on top of your head. (The absence of clean eyeglasses did contribute to my inability to discern the picture colors for the berries on the shopping list.)
  2. Do not place your cell phone on top of your car.
  3. Do not place your billfold on top of your car.
  4. Do not place your mail on top of your car.
  5. Do not place your wife on top of your car.
  6. Do not close the car door before your foot is fully inside the vehicle.
  7. Do not try to walk on ice.
  8. Do not fall on ice without access to a cell phone to call for help.
  9. Do not come home with three ice cream cones when there are four grandchildren at the house.
  10. Do not use stupid phrases as computer passwords, such as Dumb and Dumber, or Dummy and Dummy2. I suggest using my favorite password, 2Dumb4U.
  11. Do not drive away from the gas station before returning the gas pump to its stored position.
  12. Do not stomp on the brakes when your Raising Cane’s sauce is open.
  13. Do not stomp on the brakes when your beverage cup is unsecured.
  14. Do not stomp on the brakes when your hot pizza box is in the front seat. (Seatbelt laws should be enforced.)
  15. Do not stomp on your brakes when your ride-along dog is standing in the back seat. (It is amazing how quickly a pet can become a windshield ornament.)
  16. Do not forget…anything (anniversary, birthdays, doctor appointments).
  17. Do not leave the water running in your sink…in your shower…in your lawn sprinkler.
  18. Do not drop your cell phone into the Bermuda Triangle darkness between your car seat and console.
  19. Do not make impulse purchases without checking the three figure return shipping costs to China.
  20. Do not get into the wrong car just because it looked similar to yours.
  21. Do not think that money in your checking account never needs to be replaced.
  22. Do not think that anything on the internet is ‘free.’ (You just signed up for a ten-year monthly supply with no customer service connection.)
  23. Do not stick a suction cup to your forehead for the grandkids to pull off.
  24. Do not call someone “Buddy” or “Bro” or “Idiot” just because you cannot remember their name.
  25. Do not reply to a “bless you” for your sneeze with “you too.”
  26. Do not scream at the traffic red lights more than three times in a row.
  27. Do not use hand signals to communicate with other drivers.
  28. Do not carry five sacks of groceries at one time so you can make fewer trips from the car.
  29. Do not place a water-filled ice chest on the hotel clothes cart.
  30. Do not leave your room key and ID in your locked hotel room.
  31. Do not be intimidated or stopped or made to feel guilty while enjoying a ‘family size’ bag of chips or cookies all by yourself.
  32. Do not type an angry text or email that you never intend to send. (Ooops! Did I just hit the ‘send’ button?)
  33. Do not binge on The Good! The Bad! And The Ugly while naming people you know who could play those characters.
  34. Do not give your honest opinion about someone’s recipe, clothing, haircut, or parenting technique…NEVER! NO MATTER WHAT!
  35. Do not show any signs of life when your friend asks for help to move a few rocks.
  36. Do not move your spouse’s keys to a better place to keep them.
  37. Do not open a pill box over the sink.
  38. Do not rinse silverware while the garbage disposal is engaged.
  39. Do not tell a caller you are not home before checking to see if their car is in your driveway.
  40. Do not leave your dinner meal unattended on the table stand next to your chair while you go to the garage refrigerator for something to drink. (Some dogs see that as a grand opportunity provided by their ‘stupid’ owner.)
  41. Do not make private comments on a group text.
  42. Do not set the table for the family dinner before you realize the dishwasher was never turned on. (At that point, it might be ‘stupid’ to even mention the slight discrepancy between people’s varying definitions of clean and dirty.)
  43. “Do not ever argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” (Mark Twain).
  44. Do not ask a stupid question without expecting a truckload of sarcastic remarks from my family.
  45. Do not pause the washing machine so you can throw in your red shirts with your wife’s laundry.
  46. Do not continue driving to the next town while your car’s dashboard flashes ‘No Fuel.’
  47. Do not give a smart phone to a stupid person. (That is stupid!)
  48. Do not waste your time trying to teach a stupid person how to use their smart phone. (That is stupider than more stupid!)
  49. Do not try to convince a stupid person that what they are saying or doing is stupid. (That is the stupidest waste of time!)
  50. Do not honk your horn louder for stupid people. (They will not notice and, if they do, they will think you are celebrating with them!)

The old wise Albert Einstein spoke about his Theory of Relativity in real life terms. “There are two things that are infinite: The universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the universe…The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has limits.”

Maybe there is an APP for stupid people. Surely, there is a market for it.

I do predict that Artificial Intelligence will be defeated by Natural Stupidity.

I am going to go along with Shakespeare on this one. “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

DO NOT FORGET THERE IS BEAUTY IN STUPIDITY…USE PICTURES TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ACCENT COLOR.

Others will have to put up with my stupidity because YOU CANNOT FIX STUPID.

Stupid people do not gain wisdom as they age; they just become old stupid people.

I pray the Lord saves me from being morosoph– an educated person who lacks common sense, good judgment, refuses to listen to other ideas, but insists on commenting about everyone and everything.

To conclude with a hopeful thought, it is worth noting that jellyfish have existed for thousands of years without possessing brains.

So, remember that the one who laughs last is usually the one who thinks the slowest.

EYES UP! LOVE YOU!….even when the chains on my mood swing snap.

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY

I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU TODAY.

That statement can be one of the most enduring phrases you can share with someone or hear from them.

That is so kind, so…thoughtful; unless the follow-up words describe how much they despise you or how angry they become when they think about you.

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

Thoughts. We all have them. Some fewer than others.

The same is true of Feelings. We all have them in different shades of emotions.

I have been thinking a lot lately. More than usual.

Most likely, I have had thoughts about you. Good thoughts!

Thoughts of gratitude. Thoughts of laughter. Thoughts of tears. Thoughts of concern. Thoughts of good memories. Thoughts of future time together.

Thoughts of missing you. Thoughts of being with you.

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

Contemplative thoughts about the distant past. Anticipatory thoughts of the impending future with its desired experiences but unknown reality.

Wasted thoughts about the “What-ifs” which do not exist in the past or future…and never will.

Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts. At other moments, I cannot find a single thought in this dummies’ dungeon of darkness.

Lately, I have been cramming as many thoughts into my day as possible. Melancholy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Tender thoughts. Tough thoughts.

Thoughts blur reality and fantasy—where dreams long to be real, and reality sometimes feels unreal.

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

Why do some thoughts remain stored securely in my memory bank, while others fade away, never to return?

And speaking of outer space, some of my thoughts venture into new frontiers to boldly go where my thoughts have never gone before. See? A strange Star Trek thought just popped up.

Thoughts do travel farther than we realize. Where do our last and lost thoughts go?

That is a rhetorical question. I know where God sends my thoughts. They are schematically connected to my wife.

I can hear her now. “I know exactly what you are thinking.”

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

My thoughts move in slow and rapid cycles concerning Life, Death, and Eternity. Thoughts about so little time. So much time. Forever time.

My thoughts wonder how years of time can go by so fast while I stare at the seconds on a clock timer moving so slowly.

I sort through cluttered memories to recall my earliest childhood thought. This process presents some confusion, as I sometimes find it difficult to remember even my most recent thoughts.

As I was saying…What was I saying?

That raises another questionable thought. When I remember something, did I just find my lost thought where I misplaced it?

I know a thought initiates an action, but I am convinced that I hear some people’s words that did not think first.

While my thoughts digress, I wonder why a new thought is also one’s last thought? Hmmm…Think about that.

Back to my thoughts about my thoughts.

Why do my thoughts remember a version of me who no longer exists? I knew better than to still try that.

OK. Back to my thoughts about my thoughts, just a little more disappointed…and injured. I really thought I could still do that.

Thoughts influence emotions and actions.

I am thankful for new thoughts. I tend to dwell on angry or embittered thoughts for too long. Why focus on those things when there are so many beautiful, joyful, and wonderful things to think about?

My thoughts often need fresh perspectives. Negative thoughts tend to linger and take root like weeds in a flower bed. Bad thoughts will not go away on their own. Neither do they dissipate because you do not like them.

Negative thoughts must be replaced. That is right. A new thought chases away the last thought. Think about the things that are good. The worrisome thoughts will flee into some cyberspace storage unit.

Try it and remember to turn off the recycle button.

My best thoughts are overwhelmed with the magnitude of God’s unending thoughts concerning me.

God’s thoughts of me exceed the immeasurable number of grains of sand in this world. God’s thoughts of me surpass the countless multitude of stars in this universe. (Psalm 139:17-18)

God’s thoughts of me mean I always have a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

I am a God-Admirer. I need to use more of my thoughts to express that to you and to God.

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

Those are God’s words of love to me…every morning…every day…every night.

God’s Word can shape my thoughts.

You become like you think in your heart (Proverbs 23:7)

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8).

That is great advice for God-centered thoughts.

God’s Word will give you a new mind with better thoughts. Then you will know what God wants you to do. And the things you do will be good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2).

I am following through with more of my thoughts…at least the good ones…Ha!

When I think of you, I stop and pray for you. I pray a prayer of gratitude for your part in my life. I pray for God’s mercy and help in your life circumstances.

I text more to say, “EYES UP! LOVE YOU!”

Every time I send out a Winsday Wisdom, it comes with my thoughts of love and prayer. Each e-mail arrives with an unspoken “I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.”

I am getting older every second of every day. My thoughts are becoming more sentimental, more loving, more grateful, more hopeful.

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

GOD THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY!

EYES UP! We both love you very much.

Before I finish, I also thought about this.

Do you realize every language started as a thought of some gibberish until one person convinced other people that what he/she said was a real word?

From bum to beatnik, jazz to rock ‘n’ roll, groovy to disco, fruit punch to flower power. Each began with a thought.

That thought is far out or at least a long moonshot. So is baby doll or cougar. Oops. I just had a senior moment.

Wow! Senior moment. Who was the first to come up with that phrase? I bet they do not remember!

Do you see what I mean?

Be careful. One thought might end up going viral and then the next one, you bite the dust.

As for me and my thoughts, I have much for which to be thankful.

I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY.

CHARACTER and COURAGE

I hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend whether you are chillin’ at the beach, fishing on the lake, watching fireworks, grilling, or cuddling up on the couch watching a movie or reading a book.

My Winsday Week recommendation is to watch Chariots of Fire, renowned for its awesome music theme, or explore the larger story in the book, Something Beyond the Gold.

My brief synopsis contains Preview Spoiler Alerts and Subliminal Suggestions.

CHARACTER, COMMITMENT, AND COURAGE MATTER IN LIFE…everyday…with everyone… involving everything.

Imagine doing something impossible…something which has never been done before. Eric Liddell faced that challenge. The Academy Award winning movie, Chariots of Fire, told the real-life story of Eric and his track competitor, Harold Abrahams. The film follows them through their university years as they prepared to compete for the 100-meter gold medal in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

The most dramatic scenes highlight one of the reasons Liddell became so famous as he refused to compete in his best event, the 100-meter heat because it took place on a Sunday. He was a very committed follower of Jesus Christ. His decision shocked the world. Years later, Liddell would be tested far beyond mere physical ability as a missionary to China. He had postponed his missionary service for this opportunity to glorify God. As he told his sister, “I plan to serve God in helping others, but God also made me fast. When I run, I can feel His pleasure.”

Liddell was harassed about his decision by the British Olympic Committee.

Despite this, he didn’t back down on the issue. When offered an alternative plan, he agreed to run the 400-meter race. He was fast but nowhere near the fastest times of the other athletes.

Liddell also was noted for his very peculiar running style as a sprinter. When he kicked it in gear, he would throw his head back and flail both arms like he was fighting the wind.

Liddell ran the Olympic race clutching a small piece of paper with a note given to him by the American 100-meter finalist: “In the old Book, God says, “He who honors Me, I will honor.”

The writer of Something Beyond the Gold described what happened next. The shot of the starter’s pistol echoed around the stadium as the 400-meters race began. Eric Liddell lunged forward. The spikes on his black leather shoes gripped the rolled cinder track surface. Puffs of gray cinders burst from under his shoes with each stride.

Liddell was running in the outside lane which was a disadvantage since he could not see how well the others were doing. Running next to him was the American, Horatio Fitch, the favorite to win the gold medal. Fitch had set a new world record that year. The Swiss runner, Joseph Imbach, was in the next lane. He had also broken the previous world record. The cheers of the crowd roared throughout the stadium in anticipation of this battle.

As the runners streaked down the back straightaway, it was Liddell still out in front, sprinting through the first 200 meters in 22.2 seconds. Another British runner was close, and the favorite Fitch appeared to be gaining ground. The crowd suddenly went silent as Liddell continued to lead.

Most thought the 100-meter star could not keep up this full out sprint in what many consider the toughest race of all. The crowd waited for Liddell to falter from using all his energy and stamina in the first half of the race. As the runners entered the final turn, Fitch made his move, and the crowd erupted with loud shouts.

It seemed impossible for Liddell to hold off this challenge. When everyone expected Liddell to fade, he threw back his head and began to flail his arms like a drowning man. Like a rocket shot from a cannon, Liddell had a burst of speed and began pulling away from Fitch’s challenge.

Instead of slowing down, he ran the second half of the race faster than the first. The crowd sensed an upset and roared for Liddell’s finish as British flags waved throughout the stadium. Liddell lunged for the finish line five meters in front of the favorite Fitch.

He had done the impossible. Liddell fell into the arms of his coach and then to the ground as he struggled to catch his breath. Thunderous applause erupted throughout the stadium. The noise was deafening. It was later reported that the celebration could be heard all over Paris.

As the sound levels lessened, an announcement came over the speakers declaring Eric Liddell the gold medal champion with a new world record.

The crowd went wild again as his British teammates hoisted him on their shoulders and paraded around the track. Liddell defied the odds and won the event with a world record performance (47.6 seconds). His incredible victory further strengthened his belief in God’s promise, “He who honors Me, I will honor.”

He was just an athlete who remembered the most important thing in life: Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength and then love your brothers as yourself.

Liddell ran the race as a full out sprint. How did he do it? Listen to his description. “I run the first 200 meters as hard as I can. Then, with God’s help, I run the last half even harder.”

Winning the Olympic gold medal was truly an impressive achievement, but it was child’s play compared to what Liddell did next. Originally born in China to missionary parents, he was educated in Scotland. Although he ran under the British flag, China regarded him as one of her first Olympic champions. The following year after his Olympic victory, Liddell spoke all over England and Scotland to raise funds for the Lord’s work among the poor and needy. Then he returned to China as a missionary.

For several years, Liddell served as both a science and sports teacher at a college in the same Chinese city in which he was born. He also engaged in preaching and humanitarian work. He helped the poor and sick.

During this time, the Japanese were attacking China as part of World War II. Liddell ran the risk of being shot every time he walked out the door. The situation was so dangerous that the British government advised him and other British citizens to leave the country. Liddell’s family left, but he voluntarily stayed to help the needy.

Eventually, the Japanese invaded China and took control of the city. Liddell and other foreigners were sent to a prison camp. Liddell spent his time teaching children and sharing what he had. However, his health rapidly deteriorated. He suffered from a brain tumor.

The English Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, managed to secure Liddell’s freedom in a prisoner exchange, but Liddell declined and instead offered his place to a pregnant woman who was also in the camp, saving her and the unborn child. Liddell died in a World War II prison.

A survivor of the prison camp described Eric Liddell this way. Often in an evening I would see him bent over a chessboard or a model boat, or directing some sort of square dance – absorbed, weary and interested, pouring all of himself into this effort to capture the imagination of these penned-up youths. He was overflowing with good humor and love for life, and with enthusiasm and charm. It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known.

God has given you some ability and opportunity. The main goal is to use your platform of influence to glorify God and help others.

Eric Liddell often said, “A fellow’s life counts for far more at helping others than his athletic endeavors.” His character, perseverance, endurance, and kindness set an example for every one of us willing to take on the impossible.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

CHARACTER, COMMITMENT, AND COURAGE MATTER IN LIFE…everyday…with everyone… involving everything.

EYES UP! LOVE YOU!

For Your Eyes Only

It was memorable! It was stupid! It was memorably stupid! It was extraordinarily memorably stupid!

It was one of the most inspirational illustrations ever performed before a live audience. It was a rare, unusual, remarkable event. As I said…truly extraordinary.

If you were there, you had never seen anything like it. I was there doing the illustration. I could not see anything.

Why? I blinded myself in an extraordinary display of stupidity.

KIDS! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!                                                                                

DO NOT TRY THIS ANYWHERE OR AT ANYTIME!

The scene was a college football team retreat. I was the inspirational speaker. That in itself might seem somewhat comical. The intent was to spiritually challenge the players as they prepared for the new season ahead.

I wanted the lesson to greatly impact their lives, so I chose the story of the woman who poured her expensive perfume on Jesus. The eyewitnesses called her action “a waste.”

The main point of the story is that Jesus praised her actions, calling them “Extraordinary.” Personally, I was rocked by Jesus’ description of extraordinary: “She did what she could.”

SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD.

Consider that for a moment…and for a lifetime. Jesus defined “extraordinary” as doing what you can do. It was not some monumental feat. It was not some unbelievable action.

A WOMAN JUST DID WHAT SHE COULD DO WHEN SHE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT.

IN THIS CASE, SHE LOVED FIRST AND LOVED MOST.

EXTRAORDINARY!

The woman’s gift of love was an expensive jar of perfume that she broke and poured over Jesus’ head. The fragrant aroma quickly filled the room and got everyone’s attention and Jesus’ commendation.

I had an idea for a visual illustration of the story. I asked some stylish players for their favorite cologne. I bought a bottle, which was quite expensive. That was exactly what I needed: a bottle of costly, fragrant cologne.

At the start of my presentation, I gave the cologne bottle to a player in front and asked him to pour it into a small paper bowl. As he worked on my request, I told the team that some criticized the woman’s action as wasteful.

Then came the moment. I mentioned the well-known brand of cologne and its extravagant cost. I asked what they would think if I used it all at once?

Foolish? Funny? Wasteful? Or a life lesson?

My intention was to illustrate the vast difference between “Pretend” and “All-In.”

A player or team can pretend commitment to the goal through words or demonstrate the reality through visible actions. Talk about it or do it.

I leaned back and poured all the cologne on top of my head. The pleasant fragrance quickly filled the large room.

I wish you could have seen their shocked faces because I did not. I heard the gasps, but my stupidity blinded my eyes.

As I leaned my head forward, the cologne began streaming down my face. I underestimated the flow. There was little hair to soak up or hinder the downward rush.

Suddenly, the costly cologne flooded into both eyes. It hurt and felt as if my eyes were on fire.

My eyelids instinctively closed tightly, and I was unable to open my eyes at all. It felt as if they were glued shut.

(How would I ever know how “eyes glued shut” might feel? That experience began as an illustration to my wife of what a handyman can do. Pretend or All-in? It was a Super-Glue moment of stupidity.)

I could not see. I began a wild frantic search for the towel somewhere on the stage. I stumbled around with my arms outstretched, mostly grabbing air. I touched the stage curtains.

At first, the players thought this was part of the act. I looked like a mime pretending he was blind. But this was not intended as part of the show. This was Panic-ville at Blind Man’s Bluff!

My arms flailed. My feet stumbled. My eyes burned. Was it comedy or an emergency?

I grabbed the towel and dabbed my eyes. They would not open. The stinging intensified.

Then the thought hit me. I could go blind. I told the players I had done something really stupid and might have permanently injured my eyes.

I was Sightless in Seattle. The song, Blinded by the Light, rang in my ears as the cologne burned in my eyes.

I heard Bruce Springsteen singing, “I was blinded by the light, cut loose like a (dumb) deuce, another (idiot) runner in the night.”

Several players rushed to offer assistance. I asked them to let me finish the lesson first.

It was a great life-lesson.

With my eyes shut tight from the cologne flood, I spoke about something extraordinary. I called attention to the sweet aroma that filled the room. I pointed out how one meaningful action could create a scent of love that influences many people.

I challenged them to do something extraordinary with their football season and with their lives.

Pouring cologne over my head became a big problem. The burning and blinding feeling did not go away. Medical assistance could not ease the pain. We rinsed the eyes several times. We tried to flush them with a stronger stream of water.

I think I even asked someone who knew Jesus if he would just spit on them. All to no avail. I could not open my eyes.

I sat with a towel pushed against my eyes. I thought about the stupidity of my actions. I strained to open an eye. The eyelids would not budge. It was definitely a super-glue stuck feeling. The stinging intensity did not subside.

Would the blindness be permanent? That thought certainly crossed my mind.

Several players required medical treatment for trauma. Two still suffer from “olfactophobia,” an anxiety disorder caused by the fear of strong fragrances such as cologne.

At some point, my eyes began to see flickers of light. The recovery was slow and painful. Eventually, I would heal except from the embarrassing stupidity.

The optometrist said there was no lasting damage, but I might have occasional irritation. I pointed to my brother and said, “No, that has been a permanent condition that started when he deflated my new basketball with thumbtacks.”

The doctor laughed and said that at least my eyes smelled good.

The shirt I wore that night of cologne calamity was used many times afterward. Once, I wore it while mowing the lawn in the summer heat. It was washed at least seven times.

The polo shirt retained a sweet fragrance for over three years. When I talked about this Biblical story at another church, I brought the shirt to showcase its lasting scent.

I asked several people to smell the shirt and describe the odor. That is a risky request. I do not recommend asking that question when you go to church.

In this case, everyone mentioned that the shirt smelled good.

Extraordinary is just doing what you can do. Sadly, that is unusual on this earth. Why?

Most people do not do all they can do in this life to love first and love most. They withhold love from God and others. They prefer to be lovers of self in love with money and pleasures (#1 Textbook).

Love should never be half-hearted. Never mediocre. Never part-time. Never a second-thought.

What can you do?

Extraordinary is a small step between what you refuse to do and what you will do. Extraordinary is just doing what you can do.

The love of Christ is a sweet aroma. Extraordinary love has a lasting effect and can create an everlasting impact.

What can you do?

Jesus lives inside you to lead you to others He intends to love through you.

Will you Pretend or be All-in?

You can do something special today. Jesus will see it. God’s Word states that unselfish acts of love will be remembered in heaven forever.

In truth, heaven will be extraordinary. We will be fully equipped to love in the manner Jesus has loved us. First and Most. We will do what we can do to love other heavenly inhabitants engaged in the same purpose. Extraordinary!

What could you do if you were All-in?

This week is a wonderful opportunity to love God and love others first and most.

How? Just do what you can do. Give your selfishness away.

Live for a cause which is greater than yourself and lasts longer than your earthly life. That will be called extraordinary in heaven.

There are many needs in the world that we cannot meet. You and I cannot solve all the problems, feed everyone who is hungry, or end poverty, even in our own cities. We cannot fix every injustice.

THE LORD DOES NOT JUDGE US FOR WHAT WE CANNOT DO.

GOD ENCOURAGES US TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE CAN DO TO SHARE LIFE’S MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE OF LOVE.

What can you do? You can take your love to a higher level. Show kindness, compassion, and encouragement. Write someone. Text. Call. Pray. Support. Give. Love. Do what you can do.

Just be you and do what you can do to love God and love others. Love never goes unnoticed by God.

DO WHAT YOU CAN DO. THAT WILL BE EXTRAORDINARY!

FYI: I HAVE THE BEST SMELLING EYES IN THE WORLD.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO…BUT NOT YOUR GRIEVANCES

REMEMBER THE ALAMO…But do not dwell on your past battles in life.

Remember the Alamo!

I loved the historical account of the Alamo and the John Wayne movie version.

My heart was captured by the tale of 186 Texas fighters holding out against the larger Mexican army led by Santa Anna for thirteen days during the Alamo siege in present-day San Antonio.

My favorite movie moment is when Colonel Travis, faced with a fight to the death, drew a line in the dirt with his sword and declared, “If you have the courage to stay and fight with me, step across the line.”

Facing defeat and death, they chose to stand for what was worth their lives. They left behind a legacy of bravery and sacrifice for freedom.

I watched the historically inaccurate and poorly acted movie as a child, teen, young adult, and older person.

My mother often remarked that I kept hoping for a different outcome.

How many of us remember our past battles in life? That War of Words.

We all have past hurts and grievances from being treated unfairly by others.

We often recall past events, hoping we could change what happened. We ponder the “what ifs” and the “I wish I had said or done that.”

But we cannot change what happened, no matter how often we remember and rethink the scene.

We focus on how to express our hurt or anger towards someone because of their words or actions. We craft the perfect comment, text, or email to reignite the battle or renew the word war.

We behave like Santa Anna at the Alamo. Peace negotiations are not an option. They can admit they are wrong and know they are dead to me, or they can just die and go to hell.

“We drink the poison our minds pour for us and wonder why we feel sick.” (Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird).

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We drink the poison. We drown in a cesspool of self-reflective memories. Our thoughts cry out to “Remember the War of Words,” but it does not lead our minds to freedom.

As Nelson Mandela stated as he was released from twenty-seven years of imprisonment in South Africa, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”

Mandela chose peace and reconciliation as a better way forward. His life demonstrated the importance of letting go of past grievances for a better future.

You and I cannot change the past. We can wallow in its disappointments. We can be imprisoned by its hurts. Or we can let go of the past regrets, worries, and grievances for a better future.

How? Eyes up! Your help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121:1).

Do not dwell on the past…God is doing a new thing in your life. The Lord is making a way through the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:18-19).

Here is one thing I can do because of God’s grace at work in me. I will focus on this one thing. I will forget what is behind and put my thoughts and efforts into what is ahead. I will press on toward the goal to finish my race and receive the heavenly prize (Philippians 3:13-14).

Holding on to anger, resentment, and unforgiveness keeps us chained to our past. The result is unhappiness and emotional turmoil.

Forgiveness lets go of the past. It does not alter what happened, but it transforms you. It begins to heal you emotionally and free you to live and love, unchained.

Make allowance for the faults of others and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:13).

Put away all your bad feelings about other people. Leave behind your anger and hurts and arguments and harsh words and dislikes which should have no place in your life. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ (Ephesians 4:31-32).

We will need God’s help to do that. EYES UP! The Lord is here to help right now.

We all face difficulties that threaten to overwhelm us. We all face the temptation to dwell on past battles in life as the reason for our present unhappiness.

All struggles in life are temporary, like suffering. They have expiration dates. Do not keep them around longer. They will only cause you to feel worse.

“We drink the poison our minds pour for us and wonder why we feel sick.”

God loves you unconditionally. There is nothing in your past that will ever cause Him to love you less. Joy and goodness await you…fresh every morning.

Ask the Lord to help change your focus today. Renew your mind with God’s Word.

Remember the Alamo but get rid of the past poisons in your life.

DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST. LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND LIVE IN THE PRESENT.

GET YOUR EYES UP SO YOU CAN SEE HOPE ON THE HORIZON AND HAPPINESS SURROUNDING YOU NOW.

WISDOM IN THE WASTELAND (Tribute to a Friend)

Note: Please disregard this if you are hoping for some wisdom or theological thoughts. However, our #1 Textbook tells us there is a Time to Laugh. Just hoping to crack a smile.

This is my tribute to O Bud of Mine. I hope this finds you well and fine.

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I met Jeff when he had long hair, wore short shorts, drove a Datemobile, and acted like Jerry Lewis on a golf course. Hey laaady!

His strangest visit to the Sandite movie theatre was to view the double feature Planet of the Blood and Spencer’s Mountain. I am not sure he was ever the same.

I saw him battle pirates in the office of our pastor who often envisioned himself as the swashbuckling Long John Silver.

My friend, Jeff, has spilled more glasses of tea on our dining table than all my kids combined.

When he was new Christian, the pastor announced that a seriously ill church member had gone home. Then the pastor asked Jeff to say the offertory prayer. Home meant heaven, right??

Yes, it was surprising and slightly embarrassing to pray for the grieving family and then find the person prayed for sitting in the pew, laughing.

In his role of Minister of Announcements, he once offered a comedic safety announcement following a week of record rainfall. He urged the church attendees to “use the blue pew cushions as floating devices in case the heavy rains continued to flood our streets.“

I thought it was hilarious, but I was the only one who laughed, while puzzled congregants tried to detach the cushions.

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During our joint counseling sessions, he continued to whisper caution in my ears with the same admonition Dallas Cowboy Coach Tom Landry used when his quarterback, Danny White, audibled to the wrong play: “No, Danny! No!” He knows counseling is not my forte.

When you ask me for counsel, I can only assume you are out of all other rational options.

Each memory has its own story, better told by him; but I could if I must.

I witnessed Jeff supervise a funeral fiasco that ended in a family fight which necessitated police and firemen intervention.

The Tombstone Showdown was real. I was a bystander, there for support and protection. The fight breakout was shocking, but it was no surprise to Jeff to see me backing up farther and farther from the skirmish.

I hope I was praying. I know my mouth was as wide open in astonishment as my eyes. I had never witnessed something like this before. At least, not in a cemetery.

We were aware of some family unrest. Much to the chagrin and disapproval of their children, the elderly couple had welcomed a stranger into their home. This man, a druggie, began to take on the self-proclaimed role of “stepson.”

There had been several shouting matches between the son and so-called stepson. Threats were made regarding his presence at the memorial services. The tension was prevalent. The danger of disruption was anticipated. A police officer was hired to provide security for the event.

The two daughters flew in from California. The unwelcomed stepson appeared as well. The son refused to come to the cemetery, but his two sons were more than capable stand-ins for the revenge tour.

As Jeff finished his closing prayer at the graveside, he declared that this concluded the memorial service. He went to shake the hand of the grieving widow. As the stepson expressed his condolences, chaos broke out.

The grandsons completely ignored Jeff’s closing declaration of “Peace be with you.”

As my uncle would often whisper in his fake dismay, “I was aghast.” Aghast–to be filled with horror or shock.

The two young adult grandsons literally leaped over their grandmother and into the hated fall guy. Grandmother was knocked to the ground. Her head missed a tombstone by inches, or things would have been much worse.

The two grandsons began to pummel the unwanted family intruder. The security officer pulled away the bleeding and bruised victim. As the police officer held the screaming man in a headlock, the two grandsons continued to pound away at his face and body.

The officer had called for backup. I was doing my part. I backed up. Four gravediggers were standing nearby. They rushed into the skirmish and literally wrestled the two grandsons to the ground and held them there until help arrived.

As Jeff struggled to help the knocked-down grandmother, he nearly fell back into the open grave. Jeff’s wife had blood all over her. Jenny had offered aid to the bloodied stepson. She had to go for shots once she learned that the bleeding drug addict had hepatitis.

Sirens filled the quiet solitude of the cemetery. Four police cars, an ambulance, and a firetruck raced to the scene. I have never witnessed a funeral like this one. I have the highest respect for my associate and longtime friend as you can tell by my next comment. If you are expecting a fight showdown in Tombstone, call Doc Segner.

I have known Jeff since his early college days. I observed Jeff rebuff the many amorous advances from women desiring to permanently ride shotgun in the Datemobile. Some wore high white go-go boots. Jeff ended up at Casa Bonita on the other side of town, hoping to be unseen.

One girl had her boyfriend deliver a note to Jeff which should have been preserved in the Smithsonian.

The churches were filled with many hopeful matchmakers, but Jeff always “nipped it in the bud.”

However, I was there with him on a golf course in Arkansas when he was confronted with the possibility of losing the love of his life. Never has such fear and such hope entered the mind of a man at the same time. Thank God for Jenny.

I finished the golf round while Jeff sped home to Louisiana. His life was changed for the better.

Brief interruption by the special girl who changed my life for the better. I wish I could say the same for her.

My wife just yelled from the bedroom, “Do you ever get a shooting pain across your body as if someone was stabbing a voodoo doll that looked like you?”

I replied, “No.”

She responded, “How about now?”

As my Pastor Tim once said in a sermon, “that is not Truism or Biblicism. That is Awfulism.”

Back to the Wisdom Wasteland Tribute.

Jeff’s greatest talent is observing people. He sees the humor, irony, and “conundrums” in life. Conundrum-a confusing and difficult problem which might be impossible to solve. Jeff taught me what “conundrum” means and often showed it in his actions.

That ministerial talent has successfully made me laugh during funerals, song services, and keynote addresses. He has cracked me up while he was preaching, making church announcements, and welcoming guests. He has caused my mind to shift to laughter in elders’ meetings and while listening to him read Scriptures.

I witnessed him trying to take credit for the Glorietta Mountain Jehovah-Jireh canteen. That day, God provided water on the mountain for my thirsty young disciple, Curtis Davis, and me. It came with an important lesson about faith.

Jeff said he tossed the canteen under a bush, just like he tried to throw cold water on our miracle. What’s next? Did he light the fire in the burning bush that changed Moses’ life? Did he unlock the Philippian prison door so Paul could go free?

I know he once described a vison of himself as a cliff diver near the site of the “swine dive” in the days of Legion’s lesson on faith. That drop the mic moment left all of us in stitches. It just cannot be told without banishment from our cancel culture.

Jeff often criticized my failure to preach thematic sermons for seasonal occasions. He was particularly against my reliance on expository preaching book by book, especially when we were in Lamentations during Christmas.

He took sermon notes of only my mispronounced words.

He singlehandedly ended my practice of summer camp “God Bless You” services because it might include holding hands, not to mention actually becoming a blessing to someone. That subject always appeared to be far and removed from his mission in life.

There is some background to his reluctance. One night, a young man took the opportunity to replace the usual “I want to say God bless (someone’s name)” with the surprising question, “Why do I hate Jeff?” (Ouch! I did not see that one coming.)

Jeff compared my sarcastic humor directed to him to the electric eel which hides among the rocks in the water, waiting for the right moment to rise and zap its prey with a strong Taser-like shock. Whatever one calls it, I enjoyed it immensely.

A rose can be called many names and yet it remains a rose. The same is true of a horse’s behind. I had many names for this Wasteland Wonder from Sand Springs.

  • Doc (not sure of the origin but I think he was once a sports trainer)
  • Whiff Wang (he could completely whiff on a golf shot and then whack the golf ball a country mile all in one incredible non-stop circular motion)
  • De-Bud (self-explanatory)
  • Corrie Ten Segner (He was complaining about starvation two hours into a twenty-four-hour staff retreat fast.)
  • Weather Wizard and Clairvoyant of the Clouds (Jeff was always apprised of the weather causes and conditions, more accurate than the TV meteorologists)
  • Luke Skidwalker (When the less known pilot of Star Wars struggled with how to use the chopsticks in a Chinese restaurant, Obi-Wan said, “Use the forks, Luke.”)
  • Counselor of the Brethren and Carnac the Magnificent (He is the best counselor I know who knows the most comedic lines by Johnny Carson’s Carnac routine.)
  • Heaven’s Pooper Scooper. (He once cracked up all his associates at a John Piper Bible Conference when he observed an attendant sweeping up trash in one of the aisles. “That will be me my job when all of you are listening to Jesus in heaven.”)
  • Walking Conundrum, Sage of Nonsense, and Sultan of Sarcasm. (self-explanatory)

Time does not allow me to list all his honorary titles. Well, onward with this Tribute before the orchestra starts playing me off the stage.

Jeffrey Lane’s songwriting has no peer in its prowess: (Please imagine yourself sitting next to someone singing these song versions…in church…pre-ministerial days.)

  • Tell the Gnus and the Elephants, Too.
  • Blessed Insurance Jesus is Mine
  • When the Road is Full of Yonder
  • I’ve got the Pizza Pie of Understanding Down in My Heart
  • Bringing in the Sheets
  • Give me Cheese-Sauce, Give me Cheese Sauce
  • Andy Walks with Me
  • And the infamous Through many dangerous Toys and Snails that Saved the Ranch for Me.

Jeffrey composed some of the all-time greatest Christmas hits:

  • Noel, Noel spelled backwards is Leon, Leon
  • While Shepherds Wash their Socks by Night
  • And his classic musical improvisation in protest to my Christmas Lamentations’ sermons:
  • Deck the Halls with Fire and Brimstone. Fah-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. We are all going to hell in a handbasket. Fah-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. (Please sing it Myles)

JEFF REMAINS THE MOUNT EVEREST ON MY HORIZON.

His infamous comedic moments were highlighted by his perfect delivery of the best lines from Johnny Carson as Carnac the Magnificent.

“Heaven has no brighter star than the stellar mind and omnipotent master from the East who was formerly the manicurist for Howard Hughes. May his Perrier water be secretly bottled in Tijuana.

And now for the one guest who remained until the end of this celebration, I present the envelopes that any child of four can plainly see have been hermetically sealed and kept in a #2 mayonnaise jar since noon today under Funk and Wagnell’s porch.

No one..and I mean NO ONE…knows the contents of these envelopes but the Guest of Honor, our Swami of the Springs, who will ascertain the answers to these questions having never seen them before.”

Envelope 1: A, B, C, D, E, F.
Answer 1: What were some of the earlier forms of Preparation H?

Envelope 2: Peter Pan.
Answer 2: What do you use to fry a peter?

Envelope 3: Kumquat.
Answer 3: How do you call your quat home?

Envelope 4:  Shoo-be-doo-be-doo.
Answer 4: What do you look for when you are tracking a shoo-be-doo-be?

Envelope 5: A full moon.
Answer 5: What does the choir see if the pastor’s pants fall down?

Envelope 6: Zippity doo-dah
Answer 6: What do you say to someone who left his doo-dah open?

Envelope 7: Sissss, Booom, Baaaah.
Answer 7: What do you hear when a sheep blows up?

Envelope 8: Hi Diddly-dee.
Answer 8: How do you say, “Good morning” to a diddly-dee?

Envelope 9: Rosy-red cheeks.
Answer 9: What do you get when you sit down on a rosy-red fire?

“And now the last envelope.” (Applause)

Envelope10: Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
Answer 10: What is the best thing to do if you swallow a hand grenade?

I had a lot on my mind this week, so it was time to clean out some of the files. I realize only former fellow staff members could fully enjoy this tribute. They could add so much more.

God knew I needed Jeff’s Jerry Lewis in my life. When pastoral life was in its darkest nights, he could make me laugh, even when he declared, “I just said what you were thinking, but too godly to say it.”

The young man whose testimony was once declared “not to be worth a nickel” became a wonderful counselor and tremendous Bible Teacher.

Every pastor and every struggling soul would benefit from such a friend. I did.

Jeff was one member of a ministry team that included Steve Sharp, Derek Cox, and Big John Flanagan. Along the way, we were joined by Tim Gibson, Andrew Moss, Rafe Semmes, and Myles Roberts.

I am forever grateful for these men and their wives, for their faith, for their love, for how they blessed Vicki and me.

There were special times and many wonderful memories. They were the best years of my ministry.

We charged the gates of hell, stood in the face of lions, and walked through the fires of adversity. By God’s grace, we experienced revival, spiritual awakening, transformation, joy, and lots of laughter.

I do not desire to go back to those times. My prayer is that each one of us will finish strong in the role and places we serve now. May we Preach the Word. Live it. Love God and others. Love first and Love most. One day we will gather in heaven with a host of people who blessed our lives along the way.

Any reflection on those times by this old preacher would be incomplete without these trips though the Wisdom Wasteland. Through it all, Jeff’s friendship and laughter were priceless in value.

On earth, his golf shots still end up in the woods. In heaven, he will be the richest Pooper Scooper of us all.

Sail on Cyrus! Happy Trails Trigger! May the good weather always be at your back! (Or should that be the other way around? Ask the Clairvoyant of the Clouds.)

EYES UP! LOVE ALL OF YOU WHO LASTED TO THE END OF THIS WISDOM WASTELAND.

Bonus Envelope: Sage, Soothsayer, and Big John.
Bonus Answer: Name two mediums and an extra-large.