A trail hike was the perfect order of the day. The boys were excited about the idea. It would be a good workout and it would be good to be together. We planned to leave immediately after lunch. I noticed Daniel, who will be ten in November, and Wes, who will be seven in December, scrambled for their gear. They had spent the morning pouring over outdoor outfitter catalogs looking at sophisticated equipment that would be sufficient to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. I thought back over the years to the hours I spent with my official Boy Scout handbook. I was disgusted to remember that I spent more time reading about nature than I spent experiencing it. That’s when I said, “Guys, let’s just use the day packs we have and take a nice hike this afternoon.” They say the smallest deed is better than the grandest intention. The boys heartily agreed.
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Warnings and Evil Influence
Have you ever noticed that we rarely if ever get ourselves into trouble without overriding a warning first? Sometimes we ignore a series of warnings before we plunge headlong into trouble. Even though there are evil influences all around us God influences us to do right and warns us about evil. In his infinite creativity, though a network of angels, the voice of the Spirit, the dictates of His word, or the agency of human authorities God is always faithful to warn His children when they are about to do something harmful or foolish. Sometimes he uses Grandpas.
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Just In Time
I almost didn’t make it. I pushed all day to be ready to go at five. I would miss breaks and skip lunch and call in favors from others in the office. I had planned my route and I had timed it in my mind over and over again.
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How Much Do I Owe You?
My Grandpa was a country parson. Dad is a village pastor too. So it is something I understand and love. It is a part of my earliest memories. When I was a little boy we lived in a wonderful farmhouse, near Wayland, Michigan, which was loaned to the church for a parsonage. It was a big bungalow-style house surrounded by barns, a chicken-house and other outbuildings, a working windmill, and a lane trailing back to a mysterious wood. A huge coal furnace in the basement warmed the house. The massive furnace always fascinated me probably because Dad once used it to illustrate the horrors of eternity away from God. He opened the big door and said; “Can you imagine suffering in fire for all eternity?” Those kinds of things tend to stick in your mind. Not all my memories are so sobering.
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Hug the Boy
I’m not sure who said this but I believe there is truth in it; “Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tide and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”
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Child Missing (Christmas)
The family had hoisted the tree into place and begun digging through a box of ornaments and decorations from the attic when someone mentioned there was a piece missing from the nativity set.
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