God Save Our Bathroom!

By Bob Kaku

Two years after we moved into our newly constructed home, we noticed hairline cracks forming in the tiles of our master bathroom­—all over the floor, shower walls, bath skirt, and even on top of the vanity counter. It looked like someone took a piece of chalk and drew lines on the tiles. The longest crack measured four feet and ran across multiple tiles. Where did these cracks come from?

“Lord, help! What’s happening to our bathroom?” my wife, Gail wailed.

I called the builder, and he came over to examine the problem. He squatted down toward the bath skirt and ran his finger over the crevices. “I think the problem is in the marble,” he said with a puzzled expression. “I’ll get back to you.” But we never heard back from him.

“It looks like we’re stuck since we didn’t extend the home warranty,” Gail lamented. “Who would have ever thought a new house would have such problems!”

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Should People Be Able to Make Their Own Decisions?

By Susannah Wollman

“People should be able to make their own decisions, don’t you think? Don’t you agree that as long as they aren’t stepping on someone else’s toes, people ought to be allowed to make their own decisions?” She is twenty-something, this daughter of mine, and although she has a husband and kids, she still likes to hear what Mom thinks. I’m grateful for that, because it does two things. One, it keeps me in her life. Two, it puts us on “friend footing.”

Friend footing is where you can discuss anything, and there is no judging, no preaching, no cajoling, and no directing. Just equal to equal, sharing hearts and souls. And I like that about my daughters, even if I don’t always agree with them.

I wish I could say that all my daughters are Christians, but that wouldn’t be true. Two are, and one says she is no longer a believer. She says she never truly was, although I held her little hands in mine to teach her how to fold them to pray. I showed her how to bow her head and bend her knees. We demonstrated thankfulness everyday, and showed generosity and unconditional love to all, friends and strangers alike. We homeschooled, with Christ as the center of our curriculum. In fact, one year I spent the whole summer preparing a curriculum that was based on the Sermon on the Mount. Every single subject related back to the Beatitudes in some way. It was tedious work, but work that made me very happy. I was leading my children to God! If only I could make THAT choice for them.

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Candy Cane Spaceship

By Jane Thornton

“Oh, Mommy, it’s what I always just wanted!”

This gushing exclamation from my three-year-old son melted my heart and that of every family member in the room. A repeat of that ringing approbation became our goal over the next few sets of gift-giving occasions. So, when Matthew, with his unique and mysterious imagination, announced that he wanted a candy cane spaceship for his birthday, creative genius throughout the clan went to work.

Phone calls were exchanged. Gentle inquisitions probed his fanciful mind. The usual answer, though, lacked detail:  “You know, a candy cane spaceship.” Aunt Nanny, natural-born artist, took up the challenge. With papier–mâché, glue, and paint, she created a masterpiece. The resulting red and white striped saucer, with a clear plastic dome for a bridge, perfectly-sized for a newly four boy, awed everyone who saw it. Except Matthew.

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The Perfect Christmas Gift

By Dorothy Ward-Winters

Many men are challenged when it comes to selecting a gift for their wife, especially during the Christmas season. My husband is gift-selection-for-the-wife challenged in the extreme. TV commercials have no effect on him. A pretty girl wearing a mink stole extolling its virtues for the wife would not occur to him to think she was talking about his wife. A mink stole in Texas? A plastic raincoat perhaps.

I once hinted for a vial of Chanel No. 5, a much advertised perfume during the 1950s and still popular today. Innocent that I was, I had no idea what it cost, but I wanted a bottle. Once I discovered the cost, I lost my desire for it. I knew we could use that money to purchase pajamas for a family of ten. I did not get the perfume.

Jewelry? Clothes? Each selection presented more obstacles. Poor husband, getting more and more frustrated would finally give up, meet me in the coffee shop, and confess, “Failed again”.

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You Can Stay Fit During Christmas!

By Laurette Willis

“I am the bread of life” John 6:48 Those words really put holiday overindulgence into perspective don’t they? Perhaps the overindulgence we could enter into this Christmas is filling up on the “bread of life” instead of the bread of this world—after all, Jesus was placed in a manger (a feeding trough!) as a baby.

When we think of the bread of this world, do you think of physical bread? It can be that, as well as what I call the “soul junk food” of this world. I’m referring to the PG-13, R-rated (and worse) so-called “entertainment” of this world (TV, movies, music, etc.).

Okay, now I’m meddling, right? It’s just that I’ve found that if I’m filling up on the world’s junk food through my eyes and ears, I also seem to want to satisfy my mouth with the world’s processed junk foods for my body.

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