King Kong and the Gratitude Principle

By Connie Cavanaugh –

I walked into the chiropractor’s office for the first time last year. I had never been to a chiropractor because I didn’t think I needed one. I held off and held off not wanting to spend the money and finally one day my neck and back were in so much pain I was desperate.

I dragged myself into Dr. Kong’s office and waited dejectedly in the torture chamber. I had never met Dr. Kong even though he had been recommended to me. I was picturing a tiny diminutive Asian man who would gently palpate my boo-boos and say soothing words.

The door flew open and in charged a man who looked more like King Kong than Dr. Kong! He was well over six feet tall and his booming voice could bring down the walls of Jericho.

Before I even had a chance to tell him how sore I was he bellowed: “Tell me one good thing that happened to you today!”

He caught me with my mouth open. I was stunned. One good thing? The reason I was there was because I was in pain! And another bad thing was that it was costing me money! And he’s asking me for one good thing?

He waited, hands on hips like a Germanic conqueror from the Middle Ages.

Seriously! He really means this, I thought.

“Okay, here goes,” I said, hoping to buy some time. I really had to dig deep but finally I came up with something.

“The sun is shining.” Whew! Now maybe he’ll start gently massaging my sore neck.

“Great!” He hollered. “Tell me one more good thing.”

You’ve got to be kidding? It took me a few minutes to come up with one! Okay, maybe he’ll give me a gratitude discount or something if I play along so I tried again:

“My grandkids came over for tea and toast this morning in their PJs. I love having them live so close by.”

“How wonderful for you!” He shouted. “What’s one more?”

Good grief? When would this end? If I was paying him by the minute, he was racking up a bill without helping my problem!

Frustrated, I declared sarcastically:

“Only my neck and back hurt, the rest of me feels great.”

“Aaaahhhhh,” he said, more softly. “That’s wonderful that you feel so good other than this little problem with your neck and back. Let’s see what I can do to help you.”

He got me! I didn’t even realize it but when I walked in the door, I was drowning in self-pity, so focused on my sore neck and back. It was consuming me. I was already leafing through nursing home brochures, convinced I would be in a wheelchair before long and need a mechanical lift to go potty. Dr. Kong saw the look on my face and knew what I needed – a little gratitude to get me outside myself and open my eyes to all the blessings I still had.

Gratitude shifts your focus from what you’ve lost or what you lack to all the blessings you still have. Tom Brewster must understand this gratitude principle because he wrote a book entitled: ‪Only Paralyzed from the Neck Down‬. I haven’t read the book but what message does this title send? It tells me: My body doesn’t work but thank God I’ve still got a brain. I can think. I can smile. I can see. I can hear. I can laugh. I can kiss. I can smell. I can taste. Only paralyzed from the neck down. Gratitude changes everything.

Wait Until Dark

By Karen O’Connor –

My four-year-old grandson, Miles, walked from one room to the next in our new house––located not far from his home. My husband and I had moved from Southern California to Central Coast California to be closer to Miles and his family. So he was intrigued by our new digs!

“I like coming to your house,” he said, as he continued to survey each detail. “You have a nice big television and a nice little television. You have a nice room for kids to sleep in and a nice kitchen. And you have nice snacks.”

It was clear we had scored. According to Miles, everything about our house was nice.

His mother and I agreed that Miles would spend every Wednesday at our house. He referred to it as a “play day with Grammy.” Granddad got in on the act too, building figures with blocks and creating designs with wooden tiles.

I took Miles and his friend to the park or out for ice cream or to the airport to see the planes take off and land. We had many good times over the months of our weekly get-togethers.

Generally I drove him home in mid-afternoon, after picking up his older sister from school. On a couple of occasions he asked if he could stay till it was dark. The setting of the sun seemed to indicate to Miles that he really did stay at Grammy’s for a whole day. So we gradually put that practice into place.

Then one day when his parents had a party to attend, I offered to keep Miles for an entire day and evening—until it was really dark! While we waited for his mom and dad to return, I suggested he stay overnight. He had an extra stash of clothes at our house and we always have a spare toothbrush for guests.

“Miles, what do you think of the idea? We’d love to have you spend the night. And I’ll make you a great breakfast in the morning and then take you home.”

He looked at me with worried eyes. “No, Grammy, I can’t stay overnight. I’m too little.”

“Really?” I asked. “But you stayed till it was dark and that seemed to be all right.”

He nodded his head and continued with confidence. “I’m big enough to stay till dark but not big enough to stay overnight.”

I accepted his response. “It’s okay. We’ll try again when you’re older, okay?”

He wrinkled his nose. “I can’t sleep unless my family is all around me.”

I’ve decided to put off my question till he’s in college!

Sneeze-quake

By Rhonda Rhea –

I was born in Texas. We’re mostly big sneezers there. It’s widely accepted that Texans do everything bigger. No wimpy little “achoo.” No, that’s simply not “Texas” enough. My sneeze, for instance, comes out in sort of a “Yah-hoo!” Heavy on the “yah” and extra, extra heavy on the “hoo.” It could hardly get more Texan than that—unless maybe I roped and branded something in the middle of the sneezing.

My Texas sneeze has a heaping helping of reverberation in it too. It can give ringing ears to everyone within an eighth of a mile radius for a good ten minutes. My husband says my sneeze registers 8.7 on the Richter scale. He’s exaggerating, of course. It’s probably barely a 4.

But to top it all off, my husband also tells me I always sneeze in nines. I think it’s interesting that he accounts for all of them. But then maybe it’s a little like counting down a missile launch. Except that it’s more like a missile launch…times nine. He’s asked that I start yelling “Incoming!” before the first sneeze launches. I hate to say it, but reverberation is not always a good thing.

It is a good thing, though, when we’re launching the grandest of all proclamations. Here’s hoping we can add even more decibels in proclaiming the message of Christ to a hopeless world. We have the message they need. That’s hope that’s worth yahooing about. Hope not just times nine. Hope times infinity.

Hold back my sneeze? I’m pretty sure I’d explode. We can’t hold back the message either. Peter and John got that. “For we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard,” (Acts 4:20, HCSB).

How can we not share it? Jesus Christ went to the cross and suffered that cruel, humiliating death on the cross to make it possible for us to have a right, tight relationship with our holy Heavenly Father. Astounding. The sinless Christ on a cross, hated and shamed, bearing our sin. All for our redemption.

God didn’t keep secret His plan for getting the word out about that redemption. He chose us for the job. First Peter 2:9 says, “You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light,” (NCV). The Father could’ve blasted the Good News over the most reverberating heavenly tweeters and woofers. He could’ve put it on YouTube. He could’ve beamed it over every satellite—or written in the stars, for that matter. He could’ve had the rocks cry out or used some sort of earthquake-attention-grabber. And He does so often use innovative ways to get His word out to those who need it. But the bottom line in His plan is for us to tell. What an honor it is to be included in that plan! That’s nothing to sneeze at, for sure.

And speaking of sneezes, you’re going to think I’m making this part up, but I started sneezing while I was writing this. Totally true. Mid first paragraph even. I haven’t seen the cat for over an hour.

The Glory of God on a Bun

By Kim Stokely –

Have you ever wondered why God gave us taste buds? If we were to ingest food merely as a way to get nutrition, to fuel our bodies, couldn’t He have made a bush that grew all-purpose super berries? Something that contained every vitamin and mineral we needed to survive?

Instead, the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, gave us tiny nodules on our tongues that register all kinds of flavors—sweet, sour, bitter and salty. I’ve come to the conclusion that He gave us these little bundles of sensitivity so that we could truly experience, in an internal way, His great and awesome splendor.

Think about it. A beautiful mountain vista or colorful sunset inspires praise. Handel’s Messiah sung in perfect harmony or a simple, but heart-felt worship song, can make us weep. The aroma of incense was an ordained part of worship in the Tabernacle. But what about taste?
I recently had the joy of experiencing the glory of God on a bun.

I sat on an unassuming dock, overlooking the calm waters of Long Island Sound, and took a bite of a plain hot dog roll overflowing with chunks of red and white lobster meat. As my teeth sunk into the bread and tender seafood, my mouth exploded with flavor. First, a savory burst of butter (my arteries are hardening just from the thought of it), then the subtle sweetness of the lobster. Time slowed as my taste buds reveled in celebration. I think I may have wiped away a tear of sheer happiness. Just as the Mayans believe their gods instructed them how to make chocolate, I believe God must have sent a dream to some unknown man so he would see that ugly, bug-like lobster and think, I wonder what would happen if I boiled that thing and soaked it in butter?

Surely everyone has experienced something like this at one time or another. A perfectly grilled steak, a decadent cheesecake or perhaps, a morsel of chocolate so rich and sweet you thought you heard angels singing as it melted on your tongue? When our taste buds encounter such flavor, they send out signals to the rest of our body−we shiver with pleasure, our hearts beat faster and, for a moment, everything is right with the world.

Ezekiel ate a scroll containing God’s word and claimed it tasted as sweet as honey (Ezekiel 3:3.) God’s word should not only educate us, but give us the same pleasure we experience when we eat a scrumptious meal or delectable dessert. It is not meant to be perused casually, but savored slowly, so we can revel in all He has to say to us.

The Bible commands us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” (Psalm 34:8.) I hope to do that each day as I read His word and as I return to that unassuming dock on Long Island Sound.

It’s Celebration Time

By Judy Davis –

My husband and I love celebrating our anniversary and my birthday in the mountains. Both of these special occasions are in the fall. We are staying at the Dillard House Inn located in the lovely mountains in Georgia. The Dillard House offers a variety of spacious, modern rooms with excellent and hospitable service. They have beautiful views of the surrounding mountain landscape. This time of the year the trees are stunning with the bright colors of autumn.

All rooms are within walking distance to the restaurant, stables, swimming pool and tennis courts. We enjoy eating delicious meals at the Dillard House. They serve a breakfast loaded with eggs, pork chops, ham, bacon, two kinds of sausage, grits, potatoes, gravy, pan cakes, cinnamon rolls and fried apple pies. They also have a fruit bar with the largest blackberries I’ve ever seen.

On the first day of our trip, we drove up to Black Rock Mountain. My husband’s driving is fine, but going around those sharp curves around the mountain make me a bit nervous. He looked over at me and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Holding on to my seat, shaking, looking down into the deep ravine, I whispered, “I’m scared.” It’s always a relief to get back to lower ground. I give thanks to God for His travel mercies. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” Psalm 100:4.

Last year we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary in Tennessee. We arrived in Pigeon Forge and checked in to our motel, the Inn by the River. It’s a lovely place and our room was so nice and cozy. We ate a delicious dinner at the Partridge and Pear restaurant. The Christmas decorations in the restaurant were delightful. After finishing our dinner, we walked next door to the Incredible Christmas Place to shop.

The next morning we visited the Apple Barn. They have scrumptious Homemade Apple Butter, Apple Fritters and Apple Julep and serve them with every Applewood Farmhouse meal. The landscape is magnificent with the mountains gleaming with all the bright colors of the rainbow!

Our last day we went to a wonderful dinner show called the Dixie Jamboree. The next morning we headed home enjoying our trip through the mountains around the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina. This truly was an anniversary and birthday never to be forgotten.

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