Think About It

         The other day we had some problems with our email account and I ended up having to change my password.   While that sounds rather easy, since I have email on several devices it ended up taking several steps to get everything synched.   As I thought through this process I got to thinking about how we go through a lot of effort to keep our private things private and secure.   We live in a dangerous world where our well-being is at risk and we have to be on top of our game to make sure we are protected.             Do we take as much effort to protect our hearts and minds as we do to protect our email, documents and bank accounts?   When we encounter immorality, hatred, greed and discouragement we put our spiritual selves at risk.   We have to be as vigilant in protecting our spirit as we do our stuff.   When Jesus prepared His disciples for some impending challenges He war...

What did you want to be when you grew up?   For me, it was probably a toss-up between a major league baseball player, astronaut or professional skin-diver like Mike Nelson (in Sea Hunt).   There comes a point in time when maturity takes over and our focus becomes a bit more realistic.   For some of us, when this kicks in we begin to look close to home for our mentors and role models.   Many young men start to watch their fathers and consider following in their footsteps.   Often, young ladies, will consider the paths their mothers took – whether as a stay-at-home mom or in a career path outside the family.   Sure, other people can (and will) have an influence on our lives, but for a period of time the influence of our parents is felt.             Have we ever given much thought to the way our Heavenly Father can influence our labors?   No, we won’t be able to follow in God’s footsteps as Creator and ...

         Ron Howard is one of those names that most people know in one way or another.  Some might remember him as Opie Taylor on the Andy Griffith Show, others may have connected with him in American Graffiti or Happy Days and some of the younger set might recall his work as a director.  His life and influence have shown up in many types of media.  The other day I was reading some quotes by him and came across an interesting one, “ I'm lucky in a lot of ways. And in my family life, my home life, is where I count myself the luckiest.”  Here is a man who has a lot of money and a ton of accomplishments, but one of the ones at the top of his list is his family.           How much do we value our families?  It is easy to feel a connection to our jobs or our social affiliations, but do we appreciate what we have in our families?  Sure, being a good husband, wife, mother, father or child can...

There sure seems to be a lot of news about protesting recently.   Whether its major professional sports stars protesting what they feel to be social injustices, political advocates protesting potential appointees, consumers protesting advertising campaigns or a number of other things, people are taking stands for what they believe.   Now, before we go any further, I am not going to offer an opinion on any of these particular incidences, but I am going to make a generic comment:   if we are going to take a stand on something we had better be willing to accept the consequences.   We are blessed to live in a nation where we can openly express our dissatisfaction, but just because we have the freedom to voice our opinion doesn’t mean that we are immune from having to pay a price for our beliefs.   Convictions have consequences – so before we take a stand, we’d better understand that not everyone will agree with us and some people might respond to the stand we take....

           If you live in most of the rest of the county you may have heard about Hurricane Florence, but those of us along the Eastern Seaboard are already well acquainted with her.  After several days of cloudy, rainy weather we are watching the storm’s development and trying to plan accordingly.  Jeane and I seem to be out of the main track of the storm, but we had some travel plans that were taking us into the path of the hurricane so we have been watching that aspect of its impact.            Now, the reason for this observation isn’t really about the storm – it is about sunshine.  Yesterday afternoon I walked outside and the sun was shining.  There was a bright blue sky – and I almost missed it!  I have been so focused on lamenting the cloudiness and preparing for the worst that I just about forgot to bask in the glow of a beautiful sunny moment.  S...

It wasn’t too many years ago that the word “hurricane” was met with a collective yawn.  While these were massive storms, people didn’t seem to be all that concerned – I mean, after all it’s just wind and rain, right?  Over the last few decades folks have begun taking hurricanes more seriously.  People are watching the weather with more interest.  Those who are in the direct path of the storm’s impact pack up quicker and leave sooner.  Even those who are on the outer edges of the forecast area begin to make more serious preparations.  Through the years, we have seen the power of the storms and are going to do whatever we need to do to get ready. Do we believe in an end to this world and an eternal judgement?  Are we as apt to prepare for the second coming of Christ as we are to ready ourselves for an approaching hurricane?  The Bible declares the Lord’s power through this reminder, “...  by His word  the present heavens and earth are b...

On the morning of September 11, 2001 I went to work burdened by a lot of things that seemed important to me.  It was Homecoming Week for our High School and, as the School Resource Officer, I was already concerned about the shenanigans I was going to have to deal with throughout the week.  To add to that, our community was hosting a huge celebration for World War II veterans that was going impact the entire community.  We were going to have thousands of visitors come into to town and we were going to be working twelve hour shifts to deal with the influx.  Yes, I was pretty worked up about the upcoming week.  Then, at 7:46 a.m. Central Time, my issues seemed very small.  We watched in horror and disbelief as the world seem to unravel right before our eyes.  The attacks on the United States on 9/11 adjusted the way we think about a lot of things – but there are a couple of lessons that we must never forget:  First of all, life can change quickly....