Drawing Alongside
After scaling a 350-foot rock wall, my climbing partner and I came face-to-face with a massive ice formation—thick, solid, and vertical. Too good an adventure to pass up, we began crunching into the solid wall of blue-green ice with our ice axes and the spikes of our climbing boots.
diligent to avoid distraction
I want to use my young gundog for deer hunting. This requires, however, that he not be led astray by the distractions of pheasants or other game birds which also inhabit the woods and forests we hunt in. So I keep training him on deer scents and tell him “no” firmly if he starts to pursue anything else. This takes a lot of time, patience, and diligence, for he’s having to learn to do the type of hunting that I want him to do, not the wide variety of interesting pursuits that he would like to engage in.
good ideas aren’t enough
My local church is always looking for ways to reach the young people in our community. Some of the ways we’ve considered have included having a toddler group for teenage mothers, hosting a barbecue for the local youth, opening up our church building as a youth drop-in center, and even helping out with a multi-church mobile youth club bus.
A Class Act
There’s something within the human condition that seems to enjoy seeing others fail, especially if those who fail were previously successful. For instance, we might celebrate seeing a top sports team fall from their lofty perch after a long period of success. About time too, and other phrases come to mind.
Is It Him?
When I began training my hunting dog, I kept him very close to me, issued only one command, and made sure to enforce the command, should he not understand or obey. Each time we had success, I would give him a little more freedom and then repeat the command, making sure he received a lot of affirmation and praise for his compliance. These days I can let him loose in the woodlands and be assured that all I have to do is call his name and then give a hand signal and he will do as I tell him without delay—most of the time at least! He hears my voice, he is listening all the time for it, and he wants to obey because he trusts me.
Prepared to Go
Theodore Bayley Hardy, a chaplain in the British Army, is one of the most highly decorated noncombatants of World War I. On his gravestone are etched some letters most people won’t understand: VC, DSO, MC. They reveal that Hardy—who died from battle wounds—received the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, and Military Cross for his service.
Tracking and Planning
When I spotted some fresh tracks last week, I determined that they had been made by a fairly large red deer, almost certainly a male. So I worked out where he would be lying down for the day, then I planned my evening ambush. After I sat motionless for almost 2 hours, he made his appearance. Stepping out from the woods, he came to within 8 yards of me. The only problem was that he came directly behind me! As soon as he caught my scent on the wind, he disappeared like a ghost. My carefully conceived plan had come so close to working, but in the end it counted for nothing.
a calling
I never wanted to be the pastor of a church. So when I was approached by the elders of my congregation and asked to consider the role, I immediately refused—telling them quite clearly that being a minister was not my calling. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be no good at it. The whole idea didn’t appeal to me, and so—in my mind—God would certainly not require me to follow such a path.
the basics
My friend is a highly qualified mountaineer who has climbed some of the world’s greatest rock and ice routes, including the famous north walls of the Eiger and Matterhorn. So does he teach his clients how to climb better by demonstrating specialized equipment, showing them how to pull themselves up with two fingers on steep walls of rock, or how to place ice axes into ice that’s only a quarter-inch thick? You would think so, but he actually spends the first few days teaching them how to walk! Most people assume they have the basics sorted out, but—in fact—they can’t even walk properly, and that will prevent them from climbing to their full potential.
Where’s Home?
For more than a decade now my family and I have lived in rental homes. This has made it possible for us to be ready to pack up and move whenever God revealed His next plans for us. Recently, however, we’ve been asked to leave our current home as the owner has new plans for it. It’s a beautiful house on a very large plot in the middle of a forest, so we’ve grown very fond of living there. But after 6 years we’re saying goodbye and don’t yet know where we’re headed.
Living Now for Eternity
Gladiator contains an inspiring scene set just before a battle. The Roman general Maximus exhorts his troops with these words: “Remember, what we do in life echoes in eternity!” He encouraged his men to conduct themselves with the kind of valor that would cause them to be remembered long after their death. But he also knew that their conduct in the present could affect their future.
What Are You Afraid Of?
One of my jobs, being a rock-climbing instructor, includes helping people overcome their fear of heights. I explain to them that the real issue isn’t falling, but hitting the ground. Then I remind my clients that they have the proper safety equipment and good anchor points—making it impossible for them to drop. One thing they need to grasp is that their mind is actually lying to them, and that they can override their panicky thoughts. Being up high is not dangerous in itself; it’s only dangerous without the right safety equipment. Talking this through with them can take a long time, but they usually end up pressing on.
Messages of Hope
I love collecting old books. There’s something exciting about holding in my hands a work that’s been thumbed through over the years by others. In my mind, each tome has a story to tell far beyond the words on its pages—if only it could talk!
Trusting God
Years ago, God put it on the hearts of my wife and me that I should attend Bible college. We didn’t fully know why or how, but we trusted that He had a plan. Our problem was that we were in a tough financial condition. We were literally praying for food to feed our family week by week. Then the due date for the payment of the tuition fees arrived, and we didn’t have a penny to put toward the cost.
earnest prayers
As a child, I was told that I should put my hands together and close my eyes to pray. So I used to scrunch up my eyes and clench my fingers together to be even more earnest as I asked God for the things on my heart. The harder I worked at praying this way, the more God would answer—or so I thought!
