Keep Praying

 A friend in our church is going in for an operation for breast cancer. I pray briefly right then for the Lord’s mercy and hand in that surgery.

Later that day I learn that her operation went well and the surgeon thought it was a success. I quietly say,” Thank you Lord for a prayer answered.” I’m blown away when I hear that her whole office stopped what they were doing and prayed when she went into surgery and didn’t stop praying until she came out.

 “Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:28)          

Church Camp

 

August 30

 

The real purpose of church camp was to  teach young boys about Jesus. I recall one moment. The teacher used a beaker full of a red liquid to represent our sinful self. “This is what happens when we ask Jesus into our lives to forgive our sins.” he says pouring something into that beaker. The red disappeared instantly. That was cool to an eleven-year old, yet it would be forty years before I fully understood and accepted what that teacher was illustrating to a bunch of campers that morning.

“Truly I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Fire!

 

August 29                                              FIRE!

The word yells at you. It demands action." Call the fire department! Let's go! "Where are Pat and Steve?"  "At the fire!"  We run up the hill behind the cottage.  It is steep and long." "I smell it."  "I see it.”  Finally the top! There are two blackened faces, one boy holds a charged shirt. A circle of flames 10 feet in diameter is growing. Thank God there isn't a breeze.  Finally firemen, who panted up the same hill with back pumps, douse the flames. 

"But I have trusted in your mercy;My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalm 13:5-6)

Epitaph

 

August 27

What would you want written on your tombstone? Gino says; "his passing this way made a difference." I remember this because less than a year later, Gino died of a heart attack.. From the overflow eclectic crowd at his funeral and from the things that were said I knew that his “passing this way had made a difference” in a lot of people's lives including mine.

I know now it doesn't matter what is on my tombstone. Men will write that. What counts is what God says. I pray it will be something like:

"Well done good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21)

Hot Day

 

August 24 (weekend)

 "I had no idea why I bought four bottles of water," Joy tells me, "one bottle would have been enough for the trip home. Something just told me to buy four.As I approach the toll station for Sturbridge, I notice a family of four sitting by the side of the road with a dog. They are beat. I stop, all are thirsty, especially the dog."

“Whoever gives to one of these little ones a cup of cold water.... truly I say to you, he shall in no way lose his reward.”(Matt 10:42)

Agape' Communion

August 23

 Joy excitedly tells me that at a women's retreat, she was asked to serve communion. She knew that she wasn’t ready, but God was. “ We had an agape' communion. We were all in tears. Susie served the bread and I offered the wine. We were remembering Jesus and what he did at the Last Supper.”

 

“He took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it and gave it to them saying ‘This is my body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me. Likewise after supper he took the cup saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood. Which is shed for you.” (Luke 22: 19,20)

Dealing With Stress

 

August 22

 

We are moving and boxes are all over the living room. I fear two things I need are in one of the taped boxes.  “Let’s stop and pray right now,” Joy says.. “Lord we seek your help here. We need to find the work folder and the gift certificate or give us peace about it.”

I feel my stress subside. I thank her for her love. As I rise from my knees I spot an open box under the divan. Inside is my business folder and the gift certificate.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Yelling

August 21

 We received a call that a couple we knew was having a violent argument in front of their children. By the time Joy and I arrive the husband has left the house and the wife was still shaking from anger and fear. The confrontation started when one of the parents yelled uncontrollably at a child who refused to finish her breakfast. The other parent jumped to the defense of the daughter and a yelling match ensued.  How different things could be if they followed the wisdom of the Proverbs.

 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)

You can't out give God

August 20

Yesterday I finally broke down and bought a new printer for my computer to print these pages in draft. It cost $183 with tax.

For the next four hours I’m printing draft text or notes for this project. I finish and get online to check the stock market. A stock I purchased the day before is up two points. I sell it. My profit on 100 shares is exactly $183. Is this Divine payback for finally being obedient and buying that printer? I think so! Now I owe God 10%.

 We can't out-give God. Try it.

"Give generously for your gifts will return to you later." (Ecclesiastes 11:1)

Unconditional Love

 

 

August 18

 My teacher told the class my name meant “bald-headed monkey.” Laughter  “Your teacher is mistaken, you tell her your name means bald-headed eagle,” Mom said. My teacher apologized and told the class.

A loving mother and a compassionate teacher had restored a boy’s self-esteem.

I didn’t fully appreciate my mom’s love for me until she was gone. I bet the Apostles felt the same way about Jesus.

God loves us so unconditionally that, “He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)

100 holes of golf in one day

 

August 17

 

Years ago I played 100 holes of golf to raise funds for Christian charities. Each player had raised pledges by the hole. I leaned on my club when the ground gave way and swallowed my putter. I finished with a borrowed one. The golf pro suspects my old putter fell down the shaft of an old well. Later, I won a drawing for a new handcrafted putter. Now whenever I'm asked about my unusual looking putter, I say, "God gave me this putter. You see I was playing 100 holes of golf.....

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…" (James 1:16)
gofigureamerica.blogspot.com

 

Reeling in Walter

 

August 16

Walter, Joy’s dad, and I are returning from lunch to the Soldier’s Home. We enter the chapel together. I read from "Would you like to Know God Personally?" There is a suggested prayer to receive Christ through faith. I ask if this is his desire? He nods and he repeats the prayer. I call Joy who is still in Florida. I tell her and I hear a gasp.   “I can't believe this. God is wonderful. The last two days I have been picturing my dad standing before Jesus, head bowed, fidgeting and holding his fishing pole.” Praise God.

“Rejoice with me; I have found my sheep which was lost.” (Luke 15:6)

How Do You Handle Criticism

 

August 14

Some people turn criticism into fuel to propel them forward. For me criticism is a brake, which slows me down. I had a boss once who not only listened to me criticize a decision he had made but thanked me for it. I need to take a rebuke  like that, learn from it and move on.

How do you handle criticism? Does it slow you or grow you?

."Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." (Proverbs 8:31)

Guide Dog Standoff

 

August 11 weekend

 West Hartford CT business center is a small version of a big downtown where Fidelco trainers walk their guide dogs. I am behind a trainer and his dog as they arrive at an intersection. A car arrives at the stop sign. It is a standoff. I watch. Nobody moves. Finally the trainer, acting blind, gives in and waves the driver on. His mouth is moving as he drives by. I can only guess what words he uses to express his feelings. I shouldn't judge the driver who obviously is making a misjudgment of his own.

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

Scar on My Arm

 

August 10

It was a first date. I knew she was impressed as we unloaded the picnic basket and spread things out. The concert started and I got out the bottle of wine and  real wine glasses. I even brought a corkscrew. I was feeling proud of myself.

I knelt and held the bottle with one hand and the corkscrew with the other. As I was cutting through the paper that covers the cork I slipped and the jagged corkscrew sliced up my arm. I bled profusely. We never dated again and I still have the scar. 

“Pride goes before a destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)

High School Reunion

 

 

August 9

Signs pointed the way. I stood in the doorway, staring at old people. I wonder when we leave this world if there will be a reunion of souls that were in the same earthly class? Will the Heavenly reunion be just peers or will it include parents, mentors, teachers, bosses, children, and of course high school classmates?

 Will I be bored? Will I be shocked?  Will I be invited? I'll be happy just to be there.

 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last. For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 20:16)

Missed Opportunity

August 8

The man says, "You certainly model your faith and you don't shove it down somebody's throat. How did you get to where you are?" Its an invitation and I blow it. I had let me get in the way. I had tried to tell him how I got to where I was rather that tell him who brought me to where I am today. I should have quoted Paul's words.

"I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me;

and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
gofigure America.blogspot.com

Bright Light

 

August 7

Ron held the hand of his younger brother while in a coma in a hospital. "All I could do was groom him. and ask God where my brother was. There was a flash of light, so bright I dropped his hand. Then I knew he was with God and a peace came over me."

Don, struggling with tears, said he was beset by pain imagining what his little brother must have gone through just before the impact of the head on crash that killed him. “A bright light, temporarily blinded me and I heard in my head, ‘Don't worry I took him before the impact."

 ”Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your recovery will quickly appear."(Isaiah 58:8) 

Family Reunion

                

 

August 6

There is something special about a family reunion and seeing each other and the children who grow so quickly into little people. Once a year our various busy lives intersect for a day. We share and care, not because we know each other well but because we are family. God wants us all to love each other, simply because we are all family, His family.

 "A new commandment I give to you, love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (John 13:43)

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Barred from Prison

 

 August 3

Our prison services were suppose to start in February. I had April. I asked people to pray for me and they did. We never got into the Prison. The clearances hadn’t come through. We prayed for the men through the barbed wire fence. I was reassigned to December. A call in late November cancelled our group.

God didn't want me in that prison. Why? Wasn't I properly prepared? Wasn't my heart right? A year later I heard God’s reply, "You never asked Me." It wasn’t His will that I go, it was mine.

 “For without Me you can do nothing.” (John 51:5)

 

from go figure America. blogspot.com

Deserted Island?

 

August 2

We paddle a skiff to a small island of Panama. We walk a trail to some huts. Clothes hang on racks, chickens mill about but not a soul in sight. It is eerie. Now I have an inkling how missionaries must feel going to a remote area to share the Gospel. Their faith must  be bigger than their fears.

“Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and know I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”(Matthew 28:19-20)

from Go Figure America.blogspot.com

 

                                                                 Baseball Lesson

August 1 from my journal

The coach is chiding his third baseman from the bench.A grounder heads for third and the baseman, thoroughly rattled, misplays the ball. As the inning ends the player storms off the field and slams his glove down.The catcher tells him, “cheer up, the coach only rides those he thinks have potential. It is his way of trying to bring the best out of you.” The third baseman lifts his head.

God is like that coach. He is trying to bring out our best. He knows what is inside. He put it there.

“For whom the Lord loves He corrects; even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11)