Think About It

In the early morning hours of February 3, 1959 a small plane took off from a Mason City, Iowa airport carrying some pretty valuable cargo.  Onboard the plane were Charles Holley, Richard Valenzuela and J. P. Richardson.  The plane was headed to the Fargo, North Dakota, but it never arrived.  The plane crashed in a field near Clear Lake, Iowa and, according to Don McLean, it signaled the day that music died.  The tragedy that took the lives of the three music entertainers and their pilot has been the subject of history (and a lot legend), but as we look back on the event we can’t help but see that it shaped our perspective.  Who knows what would have happened to the careers of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens or the Big Bopper, but because of their untimely deaths they are forever ingrained in music history.  Maybe they are more popular now than they ever would have been if their careers had merely faded into obscurity. How do we approach the difficult times in...

Very few days go by that I don’t receive some type of “wonderful offer” in my email or through a voice message.  I have won countless contests, I have been chosen to collect and distribute funds for some crown prince of an African country, I have been selected to have a seemingly unlimited amount of credit and I believe that I may have won a free cruise and all-expense paid vacation.  If I am so fortunate, why am I still having to work for a living?  I mean, with all these things going for me, wouldn’t you think that I could have reaped the benefits of my good fortune and spending the winters on an island somewhere?  While the questions are tongue-in-cheek, the answer is very real – these offers are deceptive.  They are schemes to get me to fall under a fraudulent spell so that someone can misuse me and/or my resources.  Most of us know this and do our best to protect ourselves from these imposters. Now that we are in agreement about shams, let me ask an...

After sundown on April 20, 1865 John Booth and David Herold set out to cross the Potomac in a small boat.  The two men had been on the run since Booth had assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on April 14.  America’s most wanted had evaded soldiers, police officers and bounty hunters for days by living in the a thicket in a swamp in southern Maryland, but now the time was right for their escape to what they expected to the be friendly confines of Virginia.  The two men set off on the dark dreary night in hopes of finding freedom, but what they found was despair.  You see, after hours of paddling they discovered they had been heading the wrong direction.  Rather than reaching what they hoped would be the safety of Virginia they had actually ended up back in Maryland – even further north and closer to Washington D. C. (and the scene of the crime).  In a bit of irony this night ended much like the life of John Wilkes Booth.  Even though he was committed...

Have you noticed how rain can change our behaviors and attitudes?  I have seen people run out in front of cars to get in out of the rain.  We purchase umbrellas (which are often rendered useless with a gust of wind) to stay dry.  We change our plans or miss our outdoor workouts all because we want to avoid getting wet.  While rain can be annoying, it is just water!  It is the same stuff (and in the same form) that we voluntarily pour all over our bodies every time we take a shower.  The truth is that rain is good and productive, so rain isn’t the problem – our attitude about rain is our problem.  The other day as I was whining about the rain, it dawned on me that I have the same attitude about “life’s challenges” that I have about rain.  Life without challenges is non-existent, but even if it was possible to live without trying circumstances it wouldn’t be fun or productive.  The thing that gets us to try something different is coming upon...

          Why did God create the such beautiful flowers and amazing wildlife?  I think it is easy to understand why God created mankind, but when it comes to things like birds and flowers, why did He invest His creative energy in them?  Sure, a case might be made for them being sustenance for humans, but even that answer begs the question, “Why did He create such beautiful plants and such eye-catching animals?”.  If sustenance were the issue, a bland green plant and an ugly bird would serve the purpose just fine.           I don’t profess to know the wisdom of God, but one answer might be to remind us of His Awesome Power.  Let me see if I can explain.  When we see a beautiful rose or an amazing orchid, it gets our attention doesn’t it!  When we see the flash of a blue jay, the intense red of a cardinal or the regal coloring of a pheasant it has the ability to stop us in our tacks....

Over the last several years, the trend as been that whenever there is a documentary or movie about the death of Jesus, there is typically a segment that includes a description of the horrific nature of crucifixion.  While I understand the draw of this type of historical perspective and the value in reminding mankind of the hurt we caused the Son of God, it is important to understand that the shame in all of this is not merely the gruesome and painful nature of the crucifixion, rather it is that it actually had to occur in the first place!  Beyond that, the value of the insight gained from reviewing the death of Jesus isn’t determined by understanding the quantity of blood that was shed, rather it is found in appreciating the quality of the blood that was shed.  The revelation that must be discovered is not that a man died because His society was evil, rather it is that the Son of Man died because we sinned.  When Peter, who experienced the impact of the crucifixion ...

I am not altogether convinced that each one of us has one unique, individual calling to fulfill in life.  In fact, I am not even sure that what I am called to do today is the same thing I was being led to do twenty years ago nor will it be what I will be expected to do ten years from now.  While I do believe that God has plans and  directions for all of our lives (and equips us to accomplish those goals), I am not sold on the fact that once we accomplish our goal or find our place that we can comfortably settle in with a sense of achievement.  Who knows, maybe we have merely completed one step in the process taking us to a greater calling. Whether we are just beginning our quest or actively searching out the crowing apex of our mountain top, one of the most compelling questions we can ask ourselves is “How do I know where I should be going and what I should be doing?”.  A few of us might be honed in on a detailed life-plan, but most of us experience some type...