This morning I woke up feeling no different than I did when I went to sleep the night before. But something did happen. I awakened another year older. It's no big deal and except for the date on the calendar, it's just another day. As that great sage, Satchel Paige, once said, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you was?"
However, these pesky annual events do have a way of creeping up on you. I heard about a woman who was more athletically inclined than her husband and frequently would engage in biking, canoeing, and other strenuous activities. When her husband hit sixty, he came inside after a hard day of yard work and collapsed into his easy chair, bemoaning the aches and pains of his advancing age.
Attempting to comfort him, his wife reminded him that when they were newlyweds, they had looked forward to growing old together.
"Yes," he replied, "but you haven't kept your end of the bargain."
Someone once said that middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
I am convinced, though, that as long as we draw breath, God has a purpose for us. We are to be about His business until we are called to stand before Him. The Roman scholar Cato started to study Greek when he was over eighty years old. Someone asked him why he tackled such a difficult task at his age. Cato replied, "It's the earliest age I have left."
On October 16, 1995, Jeanne Calment of Paris was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records by becoming the oldest human on record - over 120 years of age. She was born in 1875, a year before the telephone was invented.
Jeanne remembered the construction of the Eiffel Tower and remembered selling colored pencils to the famed Vincent Van Gogh. She survived twenty-seven French presidents during her life. When asked, "What's the secret to your long life?" she responded, "Laughter!"
It's no wonder the Bible tells us in Proverbs 17:22 that "a cheerful heart is good medicine."
Besides, part of my motivation is to live long enough to be a problem to my children!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
A Fun Faith
If you know me at all, you know I love baseball. I am a die hard Texas Ranger fan and to be honest I may have lost a year or two from my normal lifespan watching the past two World Series'. I mean, why couldn't Nelson Cruz have been playing just a couple of steps deeper?!! Sorry, I got sidetracked.
I recently came across some interesting baseball trivia that I found fascinating. For instance...
*The odds of a fan being hit by a baseball are 300,000 to one. It's almost the same odds as catching a Josh Hamilton bat!
*The average baseball only lasts about a week. Each baseball is used only one time in a major league baseball game.
*Early rules allowed the hitter to request a high or low pitch.
*Manager Alvin Dark of the San Francisco Giants once told reporters that NASA would put a man on the moon before pitcher Gaylord Perry hit a home run. When Perry finally hit a home run, it was 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.
*Each baseball game has 12,386,344 possible plays.
I really find that last bit of information especially insightful. I hear critics of the game complain that it's too boring. But to understand that there are over 12 million different possible plays is incredible.
It's the same with life. There are so many different things that can happen in our lives. I can look back on some of my decisions and wonder what would have happened had I chosen another route. I certainly don't know what awaits me around the next corner, but I can't wait to see what the Lord has awaiting.
We are told in Acts 20:22,24 "I don't know what awaits me...But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus - the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."
In fact, none of us really know what lies ahead. We are instructed to have faith that, whatever is around the next bend, God has the situation fully in His hand. Life has its share of uncertainty, but know this, God sees things around that corner long before we get to it. Let's have faith to drive on.
I recently came across some interesting baseball trivia that I found fascinating. For instance...
*The odds of a fan being hit by a baseball are 300,000 to one. It's almost the same odds as catching a Josh Hamilton bat!
*The average baseball only lasts about a week. Each baseball is used only one time in a major league baseball game.
*Early rules allowed the hitter to request a high or low pitch.
*Manager Alvin Dark of the San Francisco Giants once told reporters that NASA would put a man on the moon before pitcher Gaylord Perry hit a home run. When Perry finally hit a home run, it was 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.
*Each baseball game has 12,386,344 possible plays.
I really find that last bit of information especially insightful. I hear critics of the game complain that it's too boring. But to understand that there are over 12 million different possible plays is incredible.
It's the same with life. There are so many different things that can happen in our lives. I can look back on some of my decisions and wonder what would have happened had I chosen another route. I certainly don't know what awaits me around the next corner, but I can't wait to see what the Lord has awaiting.
We are told in Acts 20:22,24 "I don't know what awaits me...But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus - the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."
In fact, none of us really know what lies ahead. We are instructed to have faith that, whatever is around the next bend, God has the situation fully in His hand. Life has its share of uncertainty, but know this, God sees things around that corner long before we get to it. Let's have faith to drive on.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
A Hero
I think I may have found a new hero. I've had many heroes in my past. The first I remember was Batman when I was a child. You know, Adam West. The origianal Batman from the television show. Soon Spiderman caught my attention on Saturday morning cartoons. Soon it was on to sports stars...Bart Starr, John Havlicek, and to this day I consider Ted Williams the greatest baseball player of all time.
But a whole new genre of hero has emerged. His name is Dave Alexander who in sports terms is an ironman. In other words, he competes in triathalons. These are the guys that bicycle several miles followed by a long swim, topped off with a marathon run.
You would notice Dave. He's 5-foot-8, 260 pounds, not exactly but the body size of these super athletes. I can identify with him in at least one respect. Even though I've never come close to completing even one leg of a triathalon, he resembles me in the size department. I've often said that I have the body of a 19-year old. I'm just stretching the heck out of it.
Alexander has estimated that he's finished close to 300 triathalons, causing his doctor to scratch his head in disbelief. Dave is 65-years old, has thinning hair, failing eyesight and his stomach gets bigger by the day. Still, he is still "fit" despite his chunky size.
He attributes his endurance to persistence. At one time he was completing two triathalons a week. A hero if ever I saw one.
We all have our heroes. Young people today tend to think of entertainers, older guys may look to military figures or someone they may have known.
Whoever is your hero, I hope Dad is on the list, hopefully at the top. We need dedicated Dads, Fathers who will set a positive example for their children. We need a Dad who loves his wife, who leads the family spiritually, and is the rock of the home.
Proverbs 13:1 says a wise son heeds his father's advise. We would be wise to listen to Dad,or if he has gone on to be with the Lord, to remember what he told us. And always listen to your Heavenly Father.
But a whole new genre of hero has emerged. His name is Dave Alexander who in sports terms is an ironman. In other words, he competes in triathalons. These are the guys that bicycle several miles followed by a long swim, topped off with a marathon run.
You would notice Dave. He's 5-foot-8, 260 pounds, not exactly but the body size of these super athletes. I can identify with him in at least one respect. Even though I've never come close to completing even one leg of a triathalon, he resembles me in the size department. I've often said that I have the body of a 19-year old. I'm just stretching the heck out of it.
Alexander has estimated that he's finished close to 300 triathalons, causing his doctor to scratch his head in disbelief. Dave is 65-years old, has thinning hair, failing eyesight and his stomach gets bigger by the day. Still, he is still "fit" despite his chunky size.
He attributes his endurance to persistence. At one time he was completing two triathalons a week. A hero if ever I saw one.
We all have our heroes. Young people today tend to think of entertainers, older guys may look to military figures or someone they may have known.
Whoever is your hero, I hope Dad is on the list, hopefully at the top. We need dedicated Dads, Fathers who will set a positive example for their children. We need a Dad who loves his wife, who leads the family spiritually, and is the rock of the home.
Proverbs 13:1 says a wise son heeds his father's advise. We would be wise to listen to Dad,or if he has gone on to be with the Lord, to remember what he told us. And always listen to your Heavenly Father.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Weird Facts
I recently came across some strange things you probably didn't know. For example...
Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet?
A duck's quack doesn't echo and no one knows why.
On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
It's possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not downstairs.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
It's physically impossible for you to lick your elbow.
Almost everyone who just read the previous fact will try to lick their elbow.
These are some very interesting facts but not things you really have to know. Well, you may want to rethink sticking that ink pen in your mouth!
Here's the thing that you REALLY need to know. Do you know beyond a shadow of doubt that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you know that if your time on this earth were to end in the next five minutes, in the next five seconds, that you would spend eternity in the presence of the Lord? Eternity is a long time to be wrong.
Yet, so many people are walking around with the assumption that just because they may go to church, that they live a good, moral life, that they are good to go come judgement day. Jesus tells us in John 10:9, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved."
In other words, there is no back door to heaven. It is only through the shed blood of Christ. We cannot work our way into heaven, we cannot wish our way into heaven, we cannot wiggle our way into heaven by adopting values and attitudes thrown on us by what today's culture endorses or what "religions" try to preach to us as being comparable to the example given us by Christ. In verse 14 we are told, "I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep..."
Will He recognize you as one of His flock?
Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet?
A duck's quack doesn't echo and no one knows why.
On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
It's possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not downstairs.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
It's physically impossible for you to lick your elbow.
Almost everyone who just read the previous fact will try to lick their elbow.
These are some very interesting facts but not things you really have to know. Well, you may want to rethink sticking that ink pen in your mouth!
Here's the thing that you REALLY need to know. Do you know beyond a shadow of doubt that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you know that if your time on this earth were to end in the next five minutes, in the next five seconds, that you would spend eternity in the presence of the Lord? Eternity is a long time to be wrong.
Yet, so many people are walking around with the assumption that just because they may go to church, that they live a good, moral life, that they are good to go come judgement day. Jesus tells us in John 10:9, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved."
In other words, there is no back door to heaven. It is only through the shed blood of Christ. We cannot work our way into heaven, we cannot wish our way into heaven, we cannot wiggle our way into heaven by adopting values and attitudes thrown on us by what today's culture endorses or what "religions" try to preach to us as being comparable to the example given us by Christ. In verse 14 we are told, "I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep..."
Will He recognize you as one of His flock?
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