Honeymoon Hazard

By Stephanie Prichard –

On the last day of our honeymoon, Don and I went to the beach within walking distance of our hotel. Neither of us was big on swimming, but, c’mon, we were in Hawaii! Besides, we’d be making footprints on the very sand where they’d filmed the movie “From Here to Eternity.”

Wouldn’t you know it—I’d barely entered the water when I stepped on coral. It cut right into the tender flesh of my sole and hurt like crazy. I tried to staunch the steady dribble of blood with my towel, but my Marine Corps husband declared we had to return to the hotel and get medical attention. So, hanging onto my man, I hobbled what seemed like from here to eternity down the long, long sidewalk to our hotel. My progress was marked by a trail of faint but bloody footprints.

The air in the hotel lobby was cool against my skin after the long march in the sun. Yet perspiration beaded my body and trickled down my forehead. And the lobby seemed awful dim. I thought about removing my sunglasses, but the elevator doors opened and Don all but hauled me inside. Suddenly, my knees went rubbery; the walls spun.

The last thing I remember was Don punching the button for our floor. The elevator lurched upward, but I lurched downward. Don grabbed me with both arms and glanced at my face. My sunglasses, he told me later, were pushed to the side and hung from one ear. My eyes were open in a blank stare. My arms and legs were limp noodles. He struggled to hold me upright.

Ding. The elevator doors slid open. Five people stepped forward, but stopped halfway. Their eyes widened and their mouths went slack. No one said anything. They literally froze.

My husband stared back, equally frozen, seeing himself with their eyes—a man standing in a pool of blood, a young woman limp in his arms, her head thrown back, eyes open but not seeing, mouth drooling, sunglasses swaying from one ear.

Ding. The doors shut out his audience.

Belatedly, he realized the gawkers were standing in the hotel lobby. The elevator must have gone to our floor while he was distracted with me, then returned to the lobby for its new load of passengers. Quickly, he punched the button for our floor again. This time when the doors opened, he picked me up and carried me to our room.

Within an hour, we were at a hospital to have the gash cleaned. The doctor didn’t anesthetize my foot, evidently confusing me as the Marine instead of my husband. Big mistake. Not only were the bottoms of my feet ticklish, but inserting a probe into my wound and poking it around was asking too much of me. Without thinking—honestly, it was purely a reflex action—I kicked him in the face.

Fortunately, I only grazed his nose, but my husband was ordered to hold down my legs for the rest of the procedure. My wound was being cleansed for my benefit, but my body interpreted it as an attack and wanted to respond with its own aggression.

Isaiah 53 tells us about Jesus’ wound.

His wound was fatal—He died “for our transgressions” (v. 5). Why? To cleanse us—“by His stripes we are healed” (v. 5) And because His wound was voluntary, indeed purposed, He bore it meekly—“as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7b, NKJV).

Jesus took our wounds for His.

Did you know we’re on a honeymoon now? Yep, from here to eternity.

Conversing with Horses

By Hally Franz –

There’s a youth horse competition next week, and my daughter has been preparing under the watchful tutelage of her grandfather. I don’t ride, but have observed enough lessons and practice sessions to know that riding success and safety is largely dependent on proper communication with the animal.

The rider uses her body to let the horse know what is expected. A gentle squeeze of the legs sends a message to the horse, as does an affirming pat on the horse’s neck. Riders are trained to look beyond where they are going rather than where they are. The horse senses this slight movement of the rider, and it conveys direction. Likewise, a horse may lean into his owner when the grooming feels especially good, or resist face grooming if struck there by a previous owner. When verbal commands are used, they are simple one-word communications. Good horsemen have mastered these communication cues and signals in order to get the best from their horses.

Communicating with husbands can present different challenges. I am a counselor by profession and by nature; my husband is a military-minded mechanic. I enjoy talking and listening; Tim—not so much. In our nineteen-year marriage, I have tried to educate him on the complexities of verbal and non-verbal communications. For example, it is rude to frantically thump your fingers on the table while someone is talking to you. That tends not to build rapport. He has tried to convince me of the merits of the K.I.S.S. Method (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Typically, by the time I have finished my introductory lines in a conversation, he has cautioned me not to “beat a dead horse.”

Talking to horses mandates knowledge of a certain equine language. Communicating with husbands often requires patience and acceptance.

Talking with our Heavenly Father is much easier. He understands any language we wish to use, but enjoys a respectful approach when we come for a visit. He has offered suggestions on what to say, but will listen to anything that burdens us. We can tap our fingers and use lots of words, and it is fine with Him. We need not look for just the right moment or make an appointment. He is there, ready and willing to listen.

That’s something worth talking about!

PRAYER: Gracious Father, thank You for being available whenever I need You, for understanding my needs when they aren’t communicated just right, and for accepting my muddled prayers exactly as they are delivered.

“The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29 NKJV).

Too Intense

By Peter Lundell –

Minneapolis Airport. In front of restrooms. A man walked by talking intensely on his cell phone. Some kind of processor reacted differently at higher temperatures. Really important stuff. The man was intense.

So intense that he marched right into the women’s restroom.

My jaw dropped, along with the jaw of another guy who was watching. “Did he just . . . ?”

“Yeah, he did.”

A lady walked out. No guy. Another lady, straight-faced as the first. Were they as obliviously focused on themselves as he was on his conversation?

Finally the guy came out. Still on the phone! My jaw dropped again.

He skulked around the corner of a service entry and appeared to hide, probably embarrassed. At least I hadn’t heard any screams. We continued to gawk as I imagined it wouldn’t have gone very well for him to admit during such a serious business call that he’d just walked into the Ladies’ room. I briefly meditated on that thought.

I saw a sharp contrast: On one hand, we can get so serious about ourselves and what we think is important. On the other hand, we can do mindlessly dumb things in the process.

Have you ever done something dumb, or made a bad decision, or hurt someone because you took yourself and what you were doing too seriously?

I’m all for striving and achieving, but not at the expense of family, or faith, or fully living. Try this: If you’re in danger of getting so focused on yourself or your own interests that you lose sight of things and people around you, ask yourself this question:

“What is God’s perspective on what I’m doing?”

PRAYER: Lord, work in me a heart of wisdom that I would live each day with Your perspective. May I see as You see, and may I think and act as You would have me.

“The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. . . .Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:10, 12 NIV).

The Sacrifice of Praise

By DiAne Gates –

I flopped on the couch this morning, my mood as gray and heavy as the stormy sky. This week has been filled with problems—serious, heart wrenching family problems. I’ve been reading through the Book of Psalm and today was the 66th Psalm, which began:

“Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are Thy works!”

Shouting joyfully to God was not on my agenda this morning. Rather murmuring and whining.

I read the psalm over again and remembered several other psalms. This wasn’t a suggestion. My brain screamed, All right, God. How? How can I be joyful about anything today? You know my heart is breaking.

But the words on the page didn’t change.

The silence was deafening. Why? Why is this imperative statement repeated over and over throughout the psalms?

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name for the Lord is good” (Psalm 100:4 KJV).

“O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things” (Psalm 98:1KJV).

“I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1 KJV).

That still, small voice whispered to my heart, “To come any other way tells Me you don’t trust Me.” I sucked a deep breath and heard, “Oh ye of little faith. In all of your sixty-nine-years, have I provided for you? Protected you and proven that I am at work in all things in your life? In all of your trials, sorrows, or problems have I ever left you alone?”

I lowered my head. “I’m sorry, Lord. Yes. You are always faithful. Please forgive me and I will offer the sacrifice of praise to You.”

That was the answer!

When I’m on top of the world and everything’s going my way, it’s easy to praise. Singing joy-filled songs at that moment costs me nothing thing. Was it David or Abraham who said they wouldn’t offer anything to God that didn’t cost them something?

Hmm. Could it be that coming before God with thanksgiving and praise, in spite of my circumstances, is that sacrifice of praise the psalmist wrote about? Could it be when I murmur and complain I’m saying, “God, you’ve not told me the truth. You’re not good.”

A bubble of joy gurgled deep in my soul and shattered the shroud of gloom that had consumed my heart. I reread the words of Psalm 66 and agreed with God that He was indeed an awesome, magnificent, and mighty God in all circumstances of life.

Throughout the morning, I sang, “What a Mighty God We Serve.” His peace filled my heart because I chose to obey His Word.

His joy changed my thoughts and emotions all day. Have the problems vanished? No. But in those quiet moments this morning, I gave them to Jesus. They’re too heavy for me to bear.

How about you? Are burdens suffocating your joy today? Wringing the last particle of endurance from your spirit? Are there burdens you need to relinquish to Him? He’s ready to listen and act when you come to Him. Sing the glory of His name, even with eyes pouring tears of sorrow. Offer Him the sacrifice of praise. Trust His faithfulness to work all things together for your good and His glory, because you’re His child. You belong to Him.

That doesn’t mean all things are good. Joseph spent twenty years in prison. I’m sure those prison bars didn’t seem good. But God was at work. Even when Joseph didn’t see or understand what He was doing. Read the account of Joseph’s life in Genesis 37-50 and remember. God hasn’t yet revealed the final line of your story. Do you trust Him? Then offer that sacrifice of praise. You can, because He never fails.

Ranting and Raving

By Elaine James –

She was ranting and raving. “This can’t happen! My house will not be worth anything. If this goes through I will be staring at walls five feet from my house. This could cause my house to be flooded even more. I must go fight city hall, this just can’t happen!”

As her blood pressure went up, I prayed “Oh Lord, what can I say to help this woman?” She has battled a severe illness in the past and she doesn’t need this stress now. Really none of us do. Neighbors were complaining that she was saying things that were not true.

“I will be praying for you,” I promised.

She stopped. A look of shock came over her. “Well…..I, I, I” the words slurred out of her mouth. She knows Jesus. We have talked about Him before.

I was reminded of the words I read just this morning in Deuteronomy 28 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you if you obey the Lord your God; you will be blessed in the city and be blessed in the country” (Deuteronomy 28:1-3 NIV).

“Come here and give me a hug,” I uttered as I opened my arms to her. As I embraced her, she sniffled. Tears began flowing down both our cheeks. I whispered “You are God’s child. He will not let you go. He loves you! Whatever the outcome, He always promises to be there for you. And getting all worked up can’t be good for your health.”

Maybe you too have been ranting and raving about something. Sometimes the pressures from life cause you to worry and be fearful of the future. It can be too much to handle. As a result, things come out of our mouth that should not.

Has this happened to you?

Thankfully, I had just visited with my Savior! Otherwise I probably would have been tempted to rant and rave along with her.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, I have been so worried about______. Help me to stop. I want to be able to give this to You. Forgive me for ranting and raving. Thank You for blessing me with the ability to give this to You today. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

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