Who Is Packing Your Parachute?
August 10, 2024 by Marty Norman
Filed under Family Focus
By Marty Norman
“ …Guard what has been entrusted to your care.” I Timothy 6:20 NIV
Recently I read a great article about a navy pilot. Shot down over Vietnam, he was forced to eject and parachute right into enemy hands, where he spent five years in an enemy prison camp.
Many years later he met a man at a restaurant who came to shake his hand. This man had been his “parachute packer”. Assigned to the bowels of the ship he carefully and laboriously packed parachutes for those above, those who would be flying on mission, carrying his parachutes as a safety net in times of danger.
The Power of Our Thoughts
July 30, 2024 by admin
Filed under Family Focus
By Norma Vera
While living in Ft.Worth I bought a new black Ford Focus. Then I moved to West Texas where it rains mud, the sun shines with scorching heat, and the wind blows constantly. I found that keeping a black car clean here, is next to impossible. The other day I decided to take it to a car wash, instead of washing it myself. The place where I took it was jammed packed. It was a long wait. My frustration grew as I stared at my wet car sitting in the blistering sun. Other cars that came after me had already come and gone. I begin to think some very unhealthy thoughts. When they finally finished and signaled me to pick it up. I noticed that they did a terrible job. My thoughts were screaming. “You bozos, I could have done a better job myself!” I was boiling mad. When I pointed out all the dried water spots, they took my car and waxed over the dry water stains. Thoughts crossed my mind that are not lawful to speak aloud. I asked them to call the manager.
I Can Do It Myself
July 19, 2024 by admin
Filed under Family Focus
By Jane Thornton
“That’s just weird.” My teenaged daughter scowls at a car when its driver honks at us. We are walking in shorts and strappy shirts (soaking up some sun), headed to the Rec Center to work out. “Maybe it’s someone we know.” I try to catch a glimpse through the windshield as it passes. “It was a guy, and I didn’t recognize the car.” My mind flies to my husband’s admonition to be careful. Although we live in Suburbia, USA, he gets anxious over our safety on the half-mile walk. Yet, determined, we cling to our independence. We offer reassurances: it’s broad daylight; the street’s well-traveled, etc. He concedes, we walk, and he worries. I like being self-sufficient, and I want that trait in my daughter—but not to the point of foolishness. I remember my pride, and frustration, as she reached age three. Her typical claim: “I can do it myself.”
A Door Without Hinges
July 8, 2024 by admin
Filed under Family Focus
By Marty Norman
A door is an interesting thing. Everyone has them, everyone uses them. A working definition, for purposes of this article is: an opening that allows a body to move between two places quickly.
Doormats
June 27, 2024 by admin
Filed under Family Focus
By Khristy Hullett
Jesus was not a doormat. He cleansed the temple with a whip. He mesmerized crowds of 5,000. He debated and stood up to the Pharisees and Sadducees. He endured inhuman pain and death. He was a man in the best and truest sense of the word.
