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)

Lost Swimmer

 

July 30 from my journal

 I ‘m 17 and the waterfront director at a Boy Scout camp. The counselors had left the water for lunch. My assistant says there is still a nametag on the board. Go check his campsite while I check the water.

On my fourth dive, I see the body several feet below me. I gasp, lose my air and re-surface. My heart is pounding. I take a deep breadth and dive straight down, arms extended. As I near the bottom the body is a towel draped over some rocks. When I surface my assistant is walking on the dock and tells me our missing person is at the dinning hall. My reaction is how heaven feels about a new believer.

"Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost." (Luke 15:6)

Small Plane Crash

 July 28 from my journal-weekend post

 A small plane plunges into the dark ocean off Martha's Vineyard claiming the lives of the pilot, John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, Carolyn and her sister, Lauren Bessette.

JFK Jr. left for the island that night despite predictions of poor visibility. A  reporter who is also a pilot concludes JFK Jr. fell victim to the young pilot's disease he called, "gotta-get-there-itis."

 I ask God, what am I supposed to learn from all this? "The reply comes quickly.

"Without counsel plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established."(Proverbs 22:1)

Angels in My Life

 

 

from my journal,July 26

 My thanks to these special angels:

An orthopedic nurse whoserved me for ten years so I wouldn’t be crippled;
The priest who stopped and taped a leaky fuel line in my car on a hot summer day;
The unknown angel who awakened me just as I was drifting off the road.

Thank you Lord for sending these and others in my time of need.

“He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:11)

 gofigure America.blogspot

"How was your day?"

 

July 25 from my journal

 How often do I casually respond, "ok or fine,"

 I take another look. The car accident that almost happened but didn’t, lunch with a friend and a hug and smile from my wife when I left. There were no severe pains, nothing dangerous to face, a computer to use, music to hear, and a Bible to read.  It was not just Ok. It was a blessed day.

 

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."(John 10:10)
"How was your day?" I now answer, "Better than I deserve."

A Valuable Reminder

 

 

July 24 from my journal

Roth, who is in his seventies and has Parkinson’s disease told this story to our group. He is at the pool and a young girl  swims to the ladder where he is standing.

"I thought because I am older and in my condition she should let me come down first. But she grabs the ladder, lifts herself  out of the water and swings by me into a wheel chair. It is then I see she has no legs. And I am thinking I’m handicapped.” We all needed to hear Roth’s message.

 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." (John 7:24)

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