Friday, February 24, 2012

A Moving Lesson




During a household move, several years ago now, I was on one end of a bulky piece of furniture, backing into our kitchen from our garage. The fellow on the other end will go unnamed to protect his identity, but for the purposes of this article, we'll call him Pat Stevens ----of Mt. Airy, Maryland. Before lifting his end, Pat had paused just long enough to put on a pair of heavy leather work gloves. As I was backing up, bare-knuckled, he was explaining that he had torn up his hands so often helping people move that he had adopted the gloved-hand practice. “That may be necessary for a young buck such as yourself,” I thought, “but I was an experienced mover when you were lip-synching to your first Milli Vanilli album. My cat-like reflexes were finely honed before you swallowed your first strained pea.” 

Distracted by the thought, “I wonder if it was Mr. Gerber or Mr. Beech-nut who first made that ill-advised decision to strain peas?,” I receded through the doorway, somehow catching my left pinky on the latch as I went by. In the kitchen, I saw the tell-tale sign that I was bleeding--- blood proceeding from my skin. To make matters worse, it was coming from my little finger, which has always depended on me, and to which I've grown quite attached over the years. Perhaps you've already noted the irony of the situation. Seconds after Pat put on his heavy work gloves, explaining that he did so to protect his hands, I was leaving a substantial portion of one of my favorite fingers at my kitchen door. 

This State Means Business

Donna and I live in Maryland, which is an oddly shaped little state that was stuck between Pennsylvania and Virginia to keep Yankees and Confederates from having to rub shoulders with each other.  Our daughter and her husband live near Richmond, so we have occasion to travel Virginia interstates, where I've noticed signs that read, "Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft." If the signs said, "Speed Monitored by Aircraft" I would tend to believe them, but enforced by aircraft? Exactly how does the state of Virginia go about enforcing speed limits by aircraft?  Do they use a fleet of drones, or do they use attack-helicopters?

"RED TOYOTA VAN WITH NEW YORK PLATES TRAVELING SOUTH ON I- 95. IF YOU DO NOT IMMEDIATELY DECREASE YOUR SPEED, YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON. WE REPEAT, YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON. THIS AIRCRAFT IS EQUIPPED WITH HEAT SEEKING MISSILES, AND ONE IS PRESENTLY LOCKED-ON TO YOUR VEHICLE'S EXHAUST. THIS IS YOUR THIRD AND FINAL WARNING!" 

Monday, February 6, 2012

The Fowler's Snare

Have you encountered someone who laid a trap for you, or an authority who  falsely accused you?  As Christians, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. CS Lewis in his Screwtape Letters identifies some of the devices that Satan and his demons can use to make inroads into our lives, devices of which we should not be ignorant.


4 minutes 24 seconds

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Something Greater

To take up your cross and follow Jesus means, among other things, to deny yourself. This is certainly not a popular message. We don't want to hear what we can do to serve the Lord; we want to hear what the Lord can do to serve us. The Lord Jesus said if you aren't willing to surrender all and live for something other than and greater than your own pleasures and comforts, you cannot be His disciple.

5 minutes 26 seconds