Lessons From The Raft

By Peter Lundell

Recently I went whitewater rafting with my friend Ronnie. Our group of seven shoved into the river for what became a living parable of life.

Though we wore helmets and lifejackets, nothing kept us in the raft but our feet jammed into the toeholds. In life, we can get all the insurance and security we want, but whether we avoid danger or disaster is partly out of our control in the churning world through which we travel.

At one point the raft went vertical on its side and all but one of us fell out. In life, from beginners to experts, we all get thrown for tizzies. And when we do, it’s critical that we look out for each other and help each other get back in the boat.

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A Thankful Heart

By Lisa Bell

I quit. Look at all the things I do. No one appreciates me and frankly, I’m tired of giving and never getting anything in return. Humpf. Let me just stop taking care of everyone and everything and see how much they miss me then. Maybe if I just up and leave, then they’ll appreciate me.

For once, I have a common bond with women all over the world. Surely, other women feel unappreciated, unnoticed, and unloved. Other women sail along in this same boat – or at least a matching one. The holidays approach and I have so many tasks on my to-do list. How will I ever accomplish all of them? An already busy schedule explodes into unachievable and I push myself beyond human limitations.

I really do love the holidays –the preparations and expectations – children coming home and everyone gathering in love and thankfulness for so many blessings. Still, I get so focused on stuff that my heart feels anything but thankful. Now how did that sneak up on me?

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With A Gentle Spirit

By Marty Norman

Planks are big and need to be dealt with, especially when they are large, glaring, and stuck in our own eyes. Splinters are small but oh so much easier to extract in comparison.  

Recently I was in a Bible study where a friend approached the teacher, concerned that he had misspelled the word transparency on his flip chart. Not one to be shy, she thought he ought to know. Thus followed a detailed discussion about how easy it is to see the splinter in a neighbor’s eye yet how hard to see the plank in our own. We agreed that we rarely see our own mistakes, especially in written form, but oh how they jump off the page on someone else’s paper.

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My Phone Is Way Cooler Than Your Phone…

By Darren Marlar

So, you’re excited about getting that new super-thin cell phone that takes photos and holds 100 songs, are you? Oh puh-leeze… that is SO mid-March, 2009. I’m guessing your family also plays games on giant cardboard squares with dice and tiny pieces of plastic you have to move by hand. How positively ancient!

The newest cell phones allow you to watch American Idol or Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. TV phones are everywhere. In fact, Samsung is working feverishly on an even more futuristic cell phone that can, “feel, think… and reproduce” and have “artificial chromosomes.” (I’m suddenly feeling very uncomfortable about doing or saying anything in the vicinity of my ultra-modern cell phone. Still though, I must keep it – otherwise, how would people know that I’m still cool?)

Of course, cell phones are just one aspect of our lives where we feel the need to continually upgrade, refine, add-to, etc. But it doesn’t stop there. When’s the last time you shaved using a razor with less than three blades without feeling like you’ve slighted yourself from getting the closest shave possible? I’m guessing that some time in the next six years we’ll have a ten blade razor called “The Decathalon” which will shave you so close that a doctor will be required to be on stand-by with an I.V. and blood bag – just in case. 

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Detour Ahead

By Sharon Autry

Taken from Hold You, Mommy ~ Moments with God for Moms on the Go (Bethany House)

We were clashing about everything: clothes, hairstyles, being upside down more than right side up, rolling eyes and disrespectful remarks to my husband and me. Anything I said made her angry and that made me furious! I was trying to think of something to say to her that would be considered “praise,” but I wasn’t coming up with much! How had we ended up here, on this bumpy detour? I didn’t know. Panic set in as I wondered, “If she’s like this at eight, what will the teen years hold for us?”

A couple of days into this relationship detour, we had dinner with some friends. After we left, their eighteen-year-old son commented to his mom, “There’s just something special about her (my daughter).” The next day my friend called me and passed on the compliment. My mouth dropped open. “What?” I wanted to say. “Are we talking about the same demanding, argumentative kid?” 

The rest of the day, I looked at my daughter differently. I had been missing her. She wasn’t the only one who was on this demanding and disagreeable detour! In fact, I think I had driven her there! (Pun completely intended!) That little bit of praise from a trusted friend changed my perspective. I shared the comment with my daughter and she beamed.

From that experience, I learned some things. First, when I have a good word to pass on to another mom about her kids, I need to share it. Instead of noticing the negative things, praising the good qualities I see in her child might rescue that mom from a deep struggle she is having. 

Second, passing on that compliment gives that kid an “I believe in you,” message that they could be longing for. When you hear those words as a kid, they have a way of sticking for all of your life. 

Finally, I realized that if I’m on that disagreeable road with one of my kids, I need to try to see it as a detour. Detours are time-consuming, confusing, and bumpy, but they eventually wind around and get back to the main road. If you’re there with one of yours, let God guide you so that you can guide your children.

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for the reminder that detours have their place, and that sometimes the scenic route is a path of blessing.

“A word spoken in due season, how good it is!” Proverbs 15:23b KJV.

Sharon Autry is the wife and mom of 3. She has co-authored two books with her sister, Mom and Loving It and Hold You, Mommy. For helpful mom resources, visit www.momandlovingit.org

 

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