white knuckles
When I moved near to the big city where I now live, driving on unfamiliar highways made me feel uneasy. Merging into heavy traffic elevated my heart rate. I dreaded becoming boxed in by tractor trailers and other vehicles. Cars and trucks streamed by me, making me feel that I needed to speed up. During these moments, my knuckles became white as I tensely gripped the steering wheel.
eileen and esther
Nine-year-old Eileen approached a pack of older boys in a schoolyard. They were beating an autistic student who was lying on the ground curled up in the fetal position. She asked the bullies to stop hurting the other student. The boys did stop, but only to push Eileen to the ground, where they cursed at her and stepped on her before fleeing. The local autism center later honored Eileen and said, “She defended this boy because of her courage.”
what we focus on
The moon has recently been so bright and big that it almost seemed possible to step out my window, onto its surface, and go for a 2 a.m. stroll. It’s beautiful, but its brilliance has been disturbing the rest of our little light-sleeper son who keeps getting up—thinking it’s time for breakfast. On nights like these, it’s hard to believe that the moon is, in fact, dull, lifeless, and dark. Only the reflection of the sun allows us to see it.
break camp and move on
In his book Seize the Day, Danny Cox, a former jet pilot turned business leader, explained why pilots needed a new ejection system. In the former system, when pilots initiated ejection, all they needed to do was clear the plane and roll forward out of the seat. During testing, however, the pilots wouldn’t let go of the seat during the process. The engineers came up with a solution. Two seconds after ejection commenced, an electronic take-up reel would immediately take up the slack and force the pilot forward out of his seat—freeing the parachute.
remember
My wife and I recently checked out the Titanic exhibit at our local museum. As we walked among the artifacts, watched videos, and viewed photos, the events of April 15, 1912—the day the Titanic sank—became real to us. One particularly moving account involved an older woman and her husband. When Ida Straus was asked to board a lifeboat with other women, leaving her husband behind, she refused. “I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die—together,” she said. They were last seen standing on deck arm in arm, awaiting the ship’s descent into the deep.
take a stand
Home-field advantage is no myth. According to Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim, in their book “Scorecasting,” the home team wins more often than the visiting team. Why? The writers state: “Officials’ bias is the most significant contribution to home-field advantage.” The officials respond to the pressure from the fans because they don’t like to get booed. When the contests are close, the officials tend to make calls that favor the home team.
surrendering the Son
God had promised Abraham that he would birth a nation that would bless the world (Genesis 12:1-4). This required a son, but no heir had come (Genesis 15:1-15). And it had been so long since the promise. Finally, when Abraham was 99 years old (and Sarah 90), the Lord appeared again, once more promising a child to Abraham. Sarah laughed (Genesis 18:12). It was funny—an old man and woman having a baby boy? The joy and the laughter arrived when God’s promise came true, when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5).
don’t stop
He was alone for most of his ministry. It seemed that no one cared to hear his words. He was dragged off against his will to live his final days in exile. He was a failure as far as how the world judges human achievement. Jeremiah (alias “the weeping prophet”) was his name.
good men
The opening line of the 1984 song “Holding Out for a Hero” asks, “Where have all the good men gone?” That’s a fair question in a world that has seen more than its share of passive or violent males.
right thing, wrong reason
I was preaching one evening when a mentally ill man walked down the church aisle, slapped me in the face, pushed over the pulpit, and sent the congregation into a panic. In a protective act, a church member named Gary stepped toward the man as he lunged towards Gary and his wife.
give me the hill
I climbed 3 meters up the massive wooden pole and froze in fear. The platform was still 10 meters higher. From the ground, a small crowd was yelling encouragement. “You can do it!” they shouted. “I know I can,” I replied. “I’m just not sure I want to.”
But I knew I had to because two of the encouragers were Al and Thelma,…
ordinary courage
Last year, when news of the Oslo bombing broke, a friend phoned Kasper Ilaug and told him that people needed help at Utoya Island, 15 minutes away. Grabbing gear and jumping into his boat, Kasper sped to Utoya and found mayhem. A shooter had begun to fire upon teenage campers and their leaders. Kasper pulled to the shore and loaded…
highly contagious
I rolled up my sleeve and looked away. The injection of immunoglobulin was going to sting, and I knew it. I knew, however, that it could prevent a battle with Hepatitis A. One of my family members had been exposed to the highly contagious disease—which karate- kicks the liver—and health authorities had recommended vaccinations for everyone in my household.
There’s…
