My Ongoing Thoughts

November 12th, 2018

11/12/2018

Jerry Watts is an Associational Missions Director serving in Mississippi. He is a gifted communicator who has spent over forty years as a Minister of the Gospel. In a message he once preached based on Proverbs 14:34 and Isaiah 5:20-23 and titled "America: An Upside-Down Nation", he tells the following story…

"As a kid, I used to love the 'jungle gym' - you remember that? We, as the less sophisticated people, called them the monkey bars. And they were rightly named so because we would hang upside down for extended periods of time. Have you ever hung upside down? The world looks different. If you stay in that position for an extended period of time, you'll discover some unusual things happening.

Instead of citing all the physiological problems which could occur, just make a note that the big problem is our circulatory system. The way the body is made up with its veins, arteries and heart, it uses gravity to get the blood to your feet and pump the blood to your head. Reverse your body and some damaging things can happen.

According to Professor Ashley Grossman of the Barts Medical School (Queen Mary, University of London) this may happen, 'Fluid will start to ease out of your blood vessels, you can't get oxygen, and the lungs will become rather still so you will get breathless.' By the way, to remain in that position can lead to a stroke or death."

Dr. Watts then goes on to make this observation:

"To take an honest look at this great country is to see that things are 'out-of-whack', 'unusual', 'out of sync', and 'upside down'. We have become like the Apostle Paul and seem to do what we shouldn't while not doing what we should. We seem to declare right wrong and wrong right. (Like Isaiah 5:20: 'Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!')

Why is this? The writer of Proverbs explains it in simple terms 'Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.' It has been said that America will only be great as long as she is good, and when she ceases to be good she will no longer be great. Righteousness is up and sin is supposed to be down - in a normal world."

I share this on Veteran’s Day weekend because I am greatly concerned about the moral and theological state of our country. Our nation has changed so much in the last few decades that I sometimes wonder if the country in which we now live would be even be recognized by those brave men and women who served and, in so many cases, sacrificed their lives in order that America might be a great nation.

If they somehow came back and walked among us, would the world seem as if it had somehow turned completely upside down? Would they ask themselves whether who we now are and what we have now allowed ourselves to become was worth their sacrifice? Would they say, “Do you mean to tell me that I died for this?!”

I may not can control what others value or how they behave; but for my part, on this Veteran’s Day weekend, 2018, I want to live a life that is worthy of the sacrifice that was laid down for me! I want all those brave men and women who came before me, especially those who served so faithfully and who sacrificed so willingly, to know that I am appreciate of what they valued and how they proved it.

And I want to prove this by the choices I make and by the way I conduct myself in my own time, even as they did in their day and age!

They say the best way to change the world for the better is to draw a circle, get inside of it, and change everything inside that circle for the better! Want you join me in upending your own little portion of this great big world?

If so, perhaps it can be said of us what was said of those first followers of Jesus Christ (in Acts 17:6): "These are the ones who have turned the world upside down!"

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/14-34.htm; https://biblehub.com/context/isaiah/5-20.htm; https://www.biblehub.com/acts/17-6.htm.

AUTHOR SOURCE:
http://jerrywatts.net/about.html.

STORY SOURCE:
https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-outlines/77603/america-an-upside-down-nation/.

A SHOW OF HANDS

11/9/2018

In a quirky, somewhat offbeat movie from the 1980s titled "My Stepmother Is an Alien", Dan Akroyd and Kim Bassinger once sang a song together, giving their impression of the famous comedian, Jimmy Durante, as they did.

The song was titled "Did You Ever Have the Feeling That You Wanted to Stay?" The lyrics include the line: "Did you ever have the feeling that you wanted to go, and then you had the feeling that you wanted to stay?"

These words come from a song made famous by Durante in a 1944 film titled "Two Girls and a Sailor." It had earlier been sung by Durante in another movie, 1942’s "The Man Who Came to Dinner", with Monty Woolley, Ann Sheridan, and Bette Davis.

I share all of this because it sets up a wonderful story that demonstrates how life can sometimes imitate art.

It seems that, at the close of World War II, famed performer Jimmy Durante was invited to entertain wounded soldiers at a certain veteran's hospital. He said he would be able to do only one very short routine as he had two radio shows to do that day.

For this reason, the man who invited him was amazed when Durante didn't rush off but rather gave three complete routines.

"Why did you stay so long," the man asked, "you've probably missed your radio shows?" Durante answered, "Look at the men and you will see for yourself."

There on the front row were two men, each of whom had lost an arm, who were applauding by clapping their two remaining hands together."

This Sunday is Veteran’s Day – the day we rightfully set aside to honor those who have served in the various branches of the Armed Forces in order that we may have the freedoms that we do.

As this appropriate day of recognition unfolds, make certain that you take the time to slow down and stay awhile, and spend a few moments with someone who deserves to be honored for their service and sacrifice on our behalf!

And, in yet another case of life imitating art, use your own hands to applaud them for what they have done when they themselves stayed put, sacrificed their own agenda, and served you and me!

SOURCES:

https://cdmalele.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/did-you-ever-have-the-feeling-that-you-wanted-to-stay/.

https://aksermonillustrations.blogspot.com/search?q=veteran.

APPROPRIATE DAILY ACTIVITY

11/5/2018

Now that my daughter and her family have moved back to east Tennessee, I am in big time trouble. She, my wife, and my mother-in-law all simply love to cook. Between the three of them, they have researched every recipe Julia Childs, Joanna Gaines, and the Pioneer Woman combined have ever concocted.

Throw my two precious daughters-in-law into the mix, and one can quickly see that Thanksgiving amounts to a full scale cook-off! Let’s just say that their daily activities between now and the big day will involve lots of “KP”! And the big loser in all of this will likely be my waistline! Let’s face it… the battle of the bulge is an ongoing and difficult struggle! And I have come up on the losing end far too many times.

But this year, I am fighting back! I have been trying to cut back a little on my eating and do a little more exercise in advance of the impending assault. More times than I care to recall over the past few weeks, I have sacrificed my taste buds on the altar of discretion. Even worse, I have gone home, put on my walking shoes, and plodded up and down the road.

I am doing all of this precisely because I know the big day is looming. I know even now that the moment will come when the table will be arrayed against me with all manner of delectable weapons. And I know full well that I will likely succumb on that day.

But I do not intend to go down without a fight. At least I will have a little room to absorb the shock and let out my belt a loop or two. And so, for this reason, as the Apostle Paul once said, “I beat my body into submission!”

All jokes aside, Thanksgiving is only 17 days away. That’s a mere two and a half weeks! It is fitting that we should set aside a day to give God thanks for all He has done for us. But we do not need to wait until then to ponder how blessed we are! For my part, I am reminded each and every day just how blessed that I am.

To begin with, I live in the greatest country on earth. Sure, we have our problems. But in spite of these, we still live in a land of plenty as compared to so many others in this world. As I have testified, I do not go hungry. I also have clothes and shoes on my body, a roof over my head, and a warm bed in which to sleep.

In addition to such abundance, I enjoy reasonably good health. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife, children, and extended family. And above all, I was blessed to have been created in the image of Almighty God. And even though my life was marred by sin, I was still loved enough by that God that He chose to redeem me through the sacrifice of His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ.

If all this is not enough to be thankful for, then I do not know what is! And for this reason, I will follow the Psalmist (107:1) and say: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.” Dieting and exercise are good activities to undertake on a daily basis. But an even better daily activity is thanking God for how good He is to us!

Given that the following verse (107:2) admonishes all the redeemed to do the same (“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so…”), I encourage you to join me on this day, and on all days to come, and offer a simple prayer of thanksgiving to God for all of His blessings.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/bsb/psalms/107.htm.

KEEPING ONE’S NOSE CLEAN!

11/1/2018

Nicole Darrah recently reported the story of a Saint Bernard dog up in New York state which quite literally stuck his nose in where it did not belong! “Ruckus”, as he has affectionately been dubbed, had clearly found his way on to a porcupine's bad side. The encounter apparently unfolded sometime back in September.

Fortunately, this bit of bad luck was counteracted by a stroke of good luck a few days later, when the folks at the Humane Society of Greater Rochester took him in so he could receive the necessary treatment. They also found him a new home!

This may not have been Ruckus' first run-in with a porcupine. Not only did he have quills covering his face, jowls, and nose; he even had them deep down inside his mouth.

The article goes on to cite National Geographic, telling us that porcupines are the "prickliest of rodents". In fact, a single animal can have more than 30,000 quills! And every single one of them can be used quite effectively for personal defense. And while it is not true that they can be shot from a porcupine’s body like arrows, quills nonetheless detach quite easily when touched.

Alas, however, all’s well that ends well! The folks who helped Ruckus out were quoted at the end of the article as saying, "We are so happy for Ruckus, and hope that he never crosses the path of a porcupine again." I'll just say "Amen" to that!

Of course, dogs are not the only ones to stick their noses in where they probably shouldn’t! We humans are pretty good at it as well! In fact, we have multiple idioms for the matter – from “being nosey” to “nosing around” to “nosing in”!

When a person is said to be nosey, it simply asserts that he or she is being unduly inquisitive. In plain English, a nosey person is someone who all too frequently interferes in other people’s business, especially when this business does not concern them in the first place.

Of course, individuals who pry into another’s business customarily do so by just plain asking far too many personal questions. And usually, after all the questions, comes the unwanted person opinions to boot! All of this tends to happen just before they pass along whatever tidbit of information they have gleaned to some equally nosey counterpart.

Sadly, we all know this sort of person. Even worse, if we would be honest, sometimes we all even act like this sort of person!

Given that this matter of nosiness is such a pervasive issue in our midst, we should rightfully ask whether the Bible has anything to say about it or not? And the answer is… “Yes, it does!” For while so many of our colloquial phrases about being nosey may not be found in the Bible, the subject at hand certainly is.

In his First New Testament Letter to the young pastor Timothy (chapter 5, verse 13), the Apostle Paul touches on this subject. He addresses those who “get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to.”

Paul’s immediate context is certain idle widows where young Timothy ministers. But clearly, he had us all in mind. It is God's way of reminding everyone who is a believer that none of us are to behave in such a manner. For in truth, any of us can fall prey to idleness and lapse into behavior that is harmful and destructive. Instead, Paul implies in verse 14 that we should find something worthwhile to do instead of nosing around and thereby giving the Devil opportunity.

Elsewhere, Paul even equates gossip (defined as repetitious idle talk and rumormongering) with all sorts of sinful endeavors that lead to spiritual death among unrepentant people! In his New Testament Letter to the Romans (chapter 1, verses 28-32), he states:

28Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Wow! It seems that God is just as concerned over nosiness and gossip as He is over those things so many of us consider far worse. If this be the case, then, let us be careful about being too nosey! It may seem harmless enough, but the Bible associates it with evil and spiritual death.

I’m glad Ruckus was rescued. I’m glad the quills in his muzzle all got removed. Otherwise, he might literally have starved to death. Perhaps we all should learn a lesson here. Sticking our nose in where it doesn’t belong can be painful. Even worse, it can even be deadly!

STORY SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/us/saint-bernard-gets-on-porcupines-bad-side. Nicole Darrah, the author, covers breaking and trending news for FoxNews.com. She can be followed on Twitter @nicoledarrah.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblehub.com/niv/1_timothy/5.htm and
https://biblehub.com/niv/romans/1.htm.

SEE ALSO: https://www.gotquestions.org/being-nosey.html.

LIFE WITHOUT REGRETS

10/29/2018

As I did last time, I base my post today on a recent news story. This one tells of a certain woman who made a decision to cut herself off from her parents – literally! It seems that Paulina Casillas Landeros, age 23, of Guadalajara, Mexico, had a falling out with her with her family - especially her parents - because they disapproved of her way of life.

They were not in favor of her tattoos and other extreme body modifications, such as a back corset – where piercings are created on either side of the spine, laced with ribbons and pulled tight. Neither were they impressed by her split tongue.

As a result, in a fit of anger, she undertook a drastic act of revenge against her estranged family. Desiring to "cut all unions from everything and everyone", she literally had her belly button surgically removed from her body out of spite. Her purpose was to symbolize that she was no longer connected to them in any way.

Afterwards, she sent her detached belly button to her then-boyfriend as a "present". After all, he had encouraged her in her rebellion against her parents.

However, three years have now passed and Landeros has since made up with her family. She now regrets her decision, describing it as "reckless and impulsive". In fact, she now realizes just how irreversible the decision to remove her belly button was.

She also now claims that "the professional gave me very bad advice on how to take care of the trauma so it got infected." According to Landeros, "I was suffering. I spent days in bed as if I were quarantined. I couldn’t stretch, push, stand up or laugh. It gradually healed itself but not 100 percent – it will never close entirely."

Irrespective of the pain involved, Landeros says she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her belly button after it was removed. She decided to turn it into a sort of token of love for her then-boyfriend, Daniel Ramirez.

Now, however, she has since lost both a boyfriend and a belly button! And she lives with regrets each and every day for the rash and foolish way in which she behaved. "I do regret it when I put myself in my mum’s position, it must have been devastating for her, she was so sad."

As I read this, I could not help but think about the first few chapters of the Bible. Genesis chapters 1 and 2 recount how God created the world and all that is in it. It also recounts how men and women were created at the very last as the crowning glory of all God's creative work.

Unique among God’s creation in that they bore the Image of God, Adam and Eve were placed in a bountiful garden called Eden and allowed to live an idyllic life. God’s only requirement was that they obey His words to them.

Nonetheless, they chafed under His word, and in chapter 3, were enticed by the Devil in the guise of a serpent. As a result, they rebelled against their Creator, permanently disfiguring their Divine image with the blemish of sin in the process.

By chapter 4, of course, they had already realized their mistake. But the damage had been done. And the enamoring and enticement of the evil one was to fill them with regret ever thereafter.

Of course, Adam and Eve’s story is everyone’s story. As such, it is my story; and it is your story. As the Old Testament prophet Isaiah puts it (chapter 53, verse 6), "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…" And just like Adam and Eve, we all bear the scars of our willful rejection of our Creator and His word.

How sad would be our plight if this is where the Biblical story ended. But, praise God, it is not. There is more to the story – much more. The rest of the story is that God sent His Son to fix what we could not fix. Jesus Christ, the Divine Physician, redeemed us in our broken state by giving His life as an atonement for our sins.

Through Christ, therefore, the Bible tells us that we are a whole new creation! All that sin has marred and disfigured has been made whole again by Jesus Christ! And because of this, we can live life without regrets! As the Apostle Paul puts it (2 Corinthians 5:17-18): "17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…"

And that, my friend, is reason enough to live life without regrets!

NEWS STORY SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/health/woman-regrets-removing-belly-button-sending-it-to-boyfriend.
SCRIPTURAL SOURCES: https://biblehub.com/isaiah/53-6.htm and https://biblehub.com/niv/2_corinthians/5.htm.

THE HEAT IS ON!

10/25/2018

A recent news article contained the story of a lightning strike that reportedly ignited a massive inferno this past week at the 150-year-old First Baptist Church in Wakefield, Massachusetts. The resultant fire destroyed almost everything inside the church.

However, amid the rubble, crews discovered that one particular painting somehow miraculously survived the conflagration. It was a painting depicting Jesus Christ, standing in a white robe with His hands, bearing the marks of crucifixion, open and extended.

The painting, which had hung just inside the church’s front doors, is said to have survived virtually unscathed with only a few drops of water on it.

One church member Maria Kakolowski, put it this way: “It’s a beautiful sign of hope and a reminder that Jesus is with us. I am personally just taking it as a sign and a reminder that the Jesus, the Christ that we serve is still alive and even though our church building is gone, our church is here. The God that we serve is still here.”

As crews began dismantling the remnants of the historic building, the church family expressed their gratitude that no parishioners were hurt. They also thanked the fire department for bravely battling the seven-alarm blaze. In a statement, they said: “We know that we serve a God who specializes in restoring brokenness and who can bring beauty even from ashes,” they wrote. “So we move into the future with trust, hope, and gratitude.”

And they can say this with confidence, as the building, which was originally built in 1872, has already been rebuilt once back in 1912 after an earlier fire!

As I read this article, I could not help but think about the famed “Charred Cross of Coventry”.

One of the most bombed cities of England during World War II was Coventry, England. The Nazis thought that they could break the spirit of the people if they bombed churches as well as factories. This they did with vengeance.

After the fire burned out at the cathedral in Coventry, the people attempted to clean up the place. While doing so, they uncovered charred timbers in the shape of the familiar Latin cross. They set it up in front of what was left of the sanctuary and held their Sunday worship services in that setting until they could rebuild.

In both of these stories, we are reminded that the person and work of Jesus Christ cannot be overthrown. No force of nature and no action of mankind can ever extinguish the message of the Gospel! The cause of Christ will inevitably prevail.

And for this reason, those of us who have placed our faith and trust in Him can have confidence no matter what we face. As the Apostle John puts it in his first New Testament Epistle (chapter 5, verses 4 and 5): “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

In the Old Testament Book of Daniel (chapter 3), three Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were given the choice between bowing down and worshipping a false image set up by King Nebuchadnezzar or else being thrown into a fiery furnace. They refused and he made good on this threat.

But when Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fire, he saw a fourth individual with them – one like the Son of God! What is more, he called for the flames to cease, and discovered that the three Hebrew men were unharmed by the flames!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are proof that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, cannot be consumed by any force in Heaven or on earth. And He Who withstood the flames with and for them is able to see us through anything we might encounter as well, no matter how much heat we might face!

NEWS ARTICLE SOURCE:
News story based on a report by Lucia I. Suarez Sang found at: https://www.foxnews.com/us/painting-of-jesus-miraculously-survives-inferno-at-historic-massachusetts-church.

STORY SOURCES:
The charred cross illustration is available widely online. See, for instance, https://www.store.sermonsuite.com/sermonstudio/charred-cross-coventry. See also: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40972700/the_charred_cross as well as: wpc.org/uploads/sermons/doc/August26Jones2012.doc.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/1_john/5.htm and
https://biblehub.com/kjv/daniel/3.htm.

CAT-ASTROPHIC FAILURE!

10/22/2018

I do not know if curiosity ever actually truly killed any cat. But it does appear to have at least gotten one into trouble a time or two! Witness the events that unfolded recently at the home of my son and daughter-in-law.

They have two felines that magnanimously allow them to live there. Of these, one is my kind of cat. Whenever my wife and I go over to visit, this first cat immediately proceeds to make itself scarce. It absconds to their bedroom where it literally disappears under their bed.

There it invariably remains, properly ensconced and resistant to all manner of enticement by my wife (herself a well-meaning but misguided individual who naively loves all cats) to coax it out, until the coast is clear.

Of course, this “all-clear” signal is only sounded in its mind once it perceives that any and all intruders are confirmed to have left the premises. Only then does it emerge. At least that is what we are told; for we have never actually witnessed this exceptionally rare event, as we are always gone when it happens. Needless to say, this first cat views my wife and me as unwelcome intruders in its domain and responds accordingly.

Conversely, their other cat is just my wife’s type of tabby. From the time we enter their home, it makes its loathsome presence known to one and all. Out it comes, boldly meandering all between our legs, meowing incessantly as it does. What is more, it persists in this behavior no matter how much it is discouraged by the recipient (usually me).

As if this is not annoying enough, it then proceeds to jump up on the couch. (This latter spot is usually my first destination upon arrival, thankful that I was able to secure a safe landing in spite of multiple and persistent attempts to trip me up and make me fall flat on my face.)

But then, this is all part of the master plan conceived by the diabolical feline. For it next impudently crawls into your lap, rudely rubbing its head all over your torso, and purring so loudly that your overwrought eardrums feel as if they can no longer handle the vibration. Even worse, it repeatedly dabs its wet nose onto virtually every single exposed piece of skin on your arms, neck, and/or face!

As you may have surmised by now, the little ogre and I are not on the best of terms! It obviously senses that I do not like it; and feeling is clearly mutual. Our relationship might even be said to border on adversarial! Thus, it was with a sense of satisfaction that I scored a rather minor victory over the beast on my last visit.

It happened this way. I was seated at the kitchen counter on a stool when, completely without warning, the fiend suddenly sprang up onto the counter next to me! For a moment, it was nip and tuck. We were literally eye to eye. It was a tense moment as we stared at each other! And it was only by swift action on my part that I barely managed to avoid a well-placed dab to my cheek by a fully primed wet nose.

Evidently frustrated that it had been thwarted in this assault on its primary target, it immediately let out a sharp meow, wheeled around, and zeroed in on its secondary target. Now, my son and daughter-in-law have a faucet on their sink that is designed to respond to the human hand. One slight touch turns it on while another turns it off.

Apparently, so does a dabbing with a wet nose! Having thus turned on the water, the beast whirled once more, gave me a scornful, condescending, and hate-filled look, and then exited stage-left!

It was then that I had my sweet revenge! Coming into the kitchen just in time to observe this patently heinous act, my son unleashed a verbal reprimanded on the culprit, harshly scolding it as he tapped the spigot and turned off the water.

Yet, even as the beast skidded across the floor and prepared to round the corner into the adjacent room, it somehow managed to shoot a malicious and reproving glance over its shoulder at me.

For my part, I knew exactly what it was thinking as it did: “Alas, big boy, you may have won this round! But this battle is not over! Mark it down! I will be back!” Even now, I am confident that the monster is planning its next diabolical move, awaiting my next visit with infinite patience even as it does.

All jokes aside, in the First New Testament Letter of the Apostle Peter (chapter 5, verses 8 and 9), we read the following:

8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Thus, while my ongoing struggle with my son’s cat may be a figment of my imagination, the ongoing struggle I have with the Devil is quite real! He would like nothing more than to see me stumble and fall prey to his devices.

But praise God, I do not face my adversary alone! I have an Ally! I have One who fights by my side and empowers me in my daily struggle against the evil one! The One Who stand by my side is none other than the third Person of the Divine Trinity – the Holy Spirit! And in His power, I can withstand all of what the Bible calls the “schemes” of the Devil.

No matter how diabolic they might be, these schemes are destined to be a “cat”-astrophic failure!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblehub.com/niv/1_peter/5.htm and https://biblehub.com/niv/ephesians/6.htm.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

10/19/2018

Here while back, I saw an advertisement for a 1990s day at a local high school. I was immediately reminded of two things. The first was how my own children, who all graduated from high school in the first decade of this century, had each in turn asked me what it was like to go to high school back in the 1970s.

The second was me myself back in the 1970s asking my own parents what it was like to have gone to high school back in the 1950s! For just as kids today have 1990s day, and just as my kids had dressed up for 1970s day, even so we had all dressed up for 1950s day.

We really were enthralled with the 1950s back in the 1970s. To begin with, we had all grown up watching the situational comedy called Happy Days on television. And then, while we were in high school, the movie Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, came out. We all had the songs to the movie’s accompanying soundtrack, along with the accompanying images from the movie, burned into our collective psyche.

These days, when I periodically catch the movie Grease on television, I take a few minutes to relive some of the memories associated with it. I enjoy the general nostalgia associated with the music. It reminds me of a time in my life when I was much younger - and all that goes with such times in a person’s life. And I still wonder what high school was like for my father and my mother.

But nowadays, when I watch a movie, I tend to pay more attention to the details. I tend to focus on a movie’s themes, as explored and conveyed in its writing, especially its dialogue.

Accordingly, I find that there is one particular scene in Grease that speaks volumes to me, even at this point in my life. (Spoiler Alert! For those who have not seen the movie, the following paragraphs give away the plot!)

The main characters, a greaser named Danny Zuko and a sweet Australian girl named Sandy Olsson, have met and fallen in love while in high school. About halfway through the movie, the two of them are on a date at the “Frosty Palace” when, weary of hearing Danny make fun of all the local jocks for the umpteenth time, Sandy confronts him with a rather jolting question: “Well, other than make fun of others, just what all have you done?!” (My paraphrase.)

Stung by this question, Danny tries out for basketball, wrestling, and baseball; but only winds up getting into fights with the various athletes he so detests. Eventually, however, at the suggestion of his coach, he settles on cross-country running and manages to sufficiently impress Sandy.

Nonetheless, it isn’t until later in the movie that he stumbles upon his true gift. The members of his gang, the “T-Birds”, are all supporting one of their own in a one-on-one hot-rod race for the “pinks” (pink slips or ownership papers). At the last minute, his friend who owns the car is knocked unconscious. As a result, Danny is forced to take the wheel and run the race, which he manages to win, securing himself both personal glory and his own set of wheels!

If you think about it, the question with which Sandy confronted Danny - “Just what have you done?” - is a question we all probably need to be asked on occasion. And the plain truth is that the more this question troubles us, the less likely we are to have done and thus, the more likely we are to need it to be asked of us!

I love the story Jesus Christ once told called the “Parable of the Talents”. It is recorded in the New Testament gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verse 14-30. You can read it in full here: https://biblehub.com/kjv/matthew/25.htm.

The essence of Jesus’ story is that a master endows three of his servants with an assortment of talent each according to his respective ability. The word “talent” is an ancient Greek term for a weight of gold equaling around 75 pounds. But for the purposes of the story, the play on words in English is quite apropos.)

In any event, the master then goes away for a time, telling each of them to put their various amounts of talents to work on his behalf. After some time, the master then returns and calls each servant to accountability for what he has done with that with which he had been entrusted.

As the story makes plain, two servants have worked hard with the talent with which they have been entrusted, and have each produced an increase. They find that they are rewarded by the master. Conversely, the third servant was slothful, and simply buried his talent in the back yard. Thus, when the master returns, this last servant has no increase to show for the time that he has had the talent entrusted to him. As we might expect, at the conclusion of the story, this last servant is punished rather than rewarded.

This powerful and pointed story raises one fundamental question: “Just what are you and I doing with the talent we have each been given?!” Let that sink in for a moment. Better yet, let it jolt you like Sandy’s question did to Danny in the movie! And if it makes you uncomfortable, then all the better! For this may just show how much you needed to be asked this very question!

Jesus was right! Everything we have is on loan from God, including our abilities! And one day, He will call us all to account for what we did with what we had! For my part, what I hope to hear is “Well done, good and faithful servant!’’ But I know that for this to happen, I need to be busy using my talents for God’s glory! With His help, I am trying.

What about you? “Just what have you done?!”

TRADE SECRETS

10/15/2018

Beloved by generations of young readers, especially girls, the “Nancy Drew” series of mysteries has sold over 200 million copies and been translated into seventeen languages worldwide. It was also later made into both a film and a television series.

Eventually numbering over 500 books, this wildly popular Young Adult American Mystery Series, complete with its eponymous female fictional character sleuth, was originally created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer as a female counterpart to his earlier “Hardy Boys” series. Suffice it to say that Nancy Drew has since become a cultural icon!

Over the decades, no less than thirteen ghostwriters created the stories, most all writing under the pen name of Carolyn Keene. Years later, in a court case involving authorship brought to bear by another party, it was revealed that the original “Nancy Drew” author was a lady named Millie Benson. She had written twenty-three of the first thirty books.

What is more, as a ghostwriter, she had only been paid $125 per book. When asked if she was upset about the seeming unfairness of such a setup, given that the publisher had reaped so much financial reward and she so little by comparison, Benson, who died in 2002, is reported to have humbly replied: "Nope. It was simply my contribution to the children of America."

And what a contribution it was! The character of Nancy Drew has been cited as a formative influence by a number of prominent American women, including Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Sonia Sotomayor, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush.

When Ms. Benson was further asked why, if not for fame or fortune, she was still writing well into her nineties, she replied: "Writing is a way of life for me. It's like getting up and having breakfast."

For my part, I find it remarkable that, in the world in which we live, a person can devote nearly six decades of her life to a given occupation with little or no return other than her desire to be a blessing to others, especially children. Not just remarkable, but refreshing!

It certainly goes against the grain of everything we are taught about making our mark in this world. Just as it does about making as much money as we possibly can! Rather, what Millie Benson’s life reveals is that using one’s God-given talent to be a blessing to others is rewarding in and of itself.

In short, Ms. Benson chose to live the way she wrote her stories. She used each to reveal hidden secrets. And life’s big secret as revealed in her own life is this: using one’s God-given talent to honor Him by being a blessing to others is the greatest reward we can experience in this world!

The truth is that when we eventually come to the end of life’s trail, as we all assuredly will one day, we will likely find it far more satisfying to know that the use we have made of our time and talent in this world has led to the motivation and inspiration of others rather than to our own aggrandizement and enrichment.

Perhaps this is just what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he told the Christians at ancient Rome to honor others above self (Romans 12:10). For we are never more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ than when we deny ourselves for the benefit of others! And now that you know the secret of life, make certain your own, like a well-written Nancy Drew mystery, ends well!

COMPILED FROM A NUMBER OF SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildred_Benson.
http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbbio.html.
https://www.toledoblade.com/Books/2002/05/29/Blade-columnist-Nancy-Drew-author-Millie-Benson-dies-at-age-96.html?abnpageversion=evoke.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2017/12/11/archives-nancy-drew-author-mildred-wirt-benson-ladora-iowa/941906001/.
John Seewer, "Nancy Drew Author Keeps Going at 96," The Daily Telegram (1-05-02).

HOW TO SURVIVE A STORM

10/11/2018

My heart goes out to the folks in Florida who have now been clobbered by Hurricane Michael. I have friends and family on the Florida coast. By God’s grace, they themselves are safe; but they have still suffered catastrophic damage to their property.

Of course, Hurricane Michael comes on the heels of Hurricane Florence, which earlier slammed into the Carolinas. The terrible toll of death and destruction left in the path of both of the these storms will be felt for quite some time. I pray for those living in the aftermath as they pick up the pieces of their lives and go forward.

As is looked at pictures and saw drone footage of the recent destruction, I was saddened. But, I could not help but notice a pattern in nature. Trees everywhere were devastated, with the exception of one type: the simple palm tree. For the most part, this latter species of tree seemed somehow to stand the storms far better than its counterparts.

So, I naturally asked myself why this was. And while I am no arborist by trade, my research seems to have revealed three significant reasons why palm trees tend to survive hurricanes when other trees do not.

The main reason has to do with the structure of their leaves. Rather than numerous limbs and branches full of thousands of leaves spread over a lush canopy, a palm tree has a far fewer number of long and slender leaves that can rather easily be disposed of in fierce winds. Thus, the palm tree loses its leaves much easier than any other tree loses its branches. And once the leaves have gone, there isn't much left to catch the wind. Hence, the tree is not as susceptible to wind damage in a prolonged storm.

The second reason is that a palm tree also has a very flexible trunk. The structure of palm trees is not like that of other trees. The latter grow in a radial manner, producing the well-known tree ring pattern. Conversely, palm trees grow more in a cylindrical nature. This sinewy structure allows the palm to bend and sway as much as fifty degrees in the wind without snapping.

Lastly, palm trees have a rather shallow root system as compared to more sturdy trees, such as hardwoods. In addition to gathering more nutrients from surface water in sandy soil, a shallower and thinner root system spread over a larger area gives the palm tree a larger footprint, and therefore a greater area of support by which it is anchored.

Can we learn anything from all of this? It seems we can. For one thing, storms are a part of life. These storms can manifests themselves in many ways - physical, psychological, emotional, relational, financial, social, political, and yes, even spiritual. What is more, it has often been noted that every single person is either just now coming out of a storm, in the midst of as storm, or else heading into a storm.

So, then, how best do we survive these inevitable storms of life? We can learn from the simple palm tree, and best survive life’s storms by realizing that we must be willing to let go of certain things. And this is true no matter how full they might appear to make us, or even if we have been attached to them for a length of time. Even good things can become burdensome at times. Therefore, learning to let go of a load of inessentials that can easily be replaced later is a good way to get through a difficult time.

Another way to survive a storm is to learn to be flexible. While standing strong is the ultimate goal, being rigid and inflexible is not. Palm trees survive by being flexible and so do people. Learning to give and take without giving any real ground is a fine art that most of us would do well to develop.

And lastly, we survive storms best by making certain that we have the proper grounding. An intricate network of roots – social and spiritual - spread out over a wide area will give best us the support we need to hold our ground. Equally as important, these roots will then enable us to quickly rebound by reabsorbing the life-giving nurture we need to get over our battering and sprout new foliage and fruit for the future.

Then we will be like the righteous person described in Psalm 1, verse 3: “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers.”

INFORMATION SOURCE: https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/how-do-palm-trees-survive-hurricanes.html.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://www.biblehub.com/psalms/1-3.htm.
NOTE: Here is a video of what is left of Mexico Beach, FL where my family once had property that is now completely gone after Hurricane Michael: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXCgj2G7giw.

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