Serve by Design

My Dad has been sharpening my lawnmower blades for years. He still can take a dull blade to his bench grinder and in a matter of minutes put a razor sharp edge on it. This is the interaction of bringing the rough surface of the grind or whetstone into proper contact with the metal edge of the cutting blade. The end product can be seen after the blade is bolted back to the mower's underside and the first run up the lawn has taken place. Looking back, one can see that blades of tender grass have been evenly cut so that the lines of each pass have a certain attractive symmetry to them. A keen eye is always able to detect when a blade is sharp! In the Bible, this process of "sharpening influence" upon another is applied to friend-to-friend communication. The writer to the Proverbs says, "As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens another" (27:17). The Bible has numerous examples of friends encouraging friends: David-Jonathon, Ruth-Naomi, Jesus-Peter, James and John,...

Landscaping Rock - A "Burden" to Carry! Diameter: 4 ft. Weight: 100 lbs. Monique and I were traveling this past summer to visit the kids and had a connecting flight through one of the airports on the way. While walking down the Jetway to board, we were engaged in a vigorous discussion and I blurted out, "That's not our concern!" At that moment, a young lady following us giggled and said, "You two are just like my parents!" We're finding out that the older we get, the more attention we are drawing to our discussions. That should give us pause! I'm not even sure what that conversation was about, but it seems that I felt free to say that we were not going to get involved in the matter. Now, understand that I have fashioned myself as a "fixer" or "problem solver." But with these passing years I have found this to be more wearying and am increasingly reluctant to take on another problem to fix. I do know, however, that th...

I saw a neighbor lady’s disappointment recently. As I was driving by, she had just reached into her roadside box to retrieve the daily mail. Her expression was displeasure, if not disgust. She evidently hadn’t received what she had been anticipating. I could identify with her feelings and fallen countenance. I miss first-class “snail mail!” I admit to being old-fashioned. It comes with getting old! “Back in the day,” has become my mantra. It bores my grandchildren and some of my peers as well to hear me start off a conversation with those four words. I can remember getting real mail. I long for those hand-written notes and even letters that used to come to my post office box. Hey, I would be glad to even get some of the type-written varieties today! It’s not that I lack for communication pieces. Like many in this digital age, I do get copious amounts of text messages, emails, push notifications and social media postings each day and sometimes every few minutes! As one of my pr...

Studio 22 (Used with Permission) During summer vacation visits to our grandsons in Texas, our tradition is to watch a series of movies. Last year, these featured a selection of films by Robin Williams. This year, we thought we would do all Pixar films, but ended up mixing in a variety of others. Now, it might be good to note that the boys have already seen all of these films, but they are re-watching them to enjoy this time with their Poppi who doesn’t get to the “movie house” very often! The surprising film in our near nightly gathering at the home theatre was an older one (2007) by Disney, Ratatouille. I had seen parts of this, but had never viewed it entirely. This animated adventure is about a Parisian rat named Remy who is, ironically and comically, an excellent restaurant chef! When the boys suggested this one to watch they noted that it was their dad’s favorite. Marc would later explain that it was the final review by the villainous newspaper food critic named Ego...

Leon Kilbreth, “Mr. Sunday School” to many of us serving in educational ministry in the midwest, shared a surprising statement years ago: “90% of teaching is the life and personality of the teacher!” He did not want any of the conference attendees to misunderstand. Kilbreth wasn’t saying that we only teach the Bible 10% of the time in our lessons. Instead, he was emphasizing by hyperbole that the Bible others see and hear comes from the life and personality of the teacher. If we aren’t “practicing what we are teaching,” we aren’t completely teaching the Bible. We may be sharing some useful truths, but we aren’t teaching with maximum influence. Who doesn't love a surprise?! Bernice Littleford of the First Baptist Church in Vandalia was my fifth and sixth grade Sunday School department director and teacher. She had a winsome spirit about her. Mrs. Littleford cared about older children. She was an experienced parent. When I was in seventh grade, her son, Jim would be my basket...

It is time for the area’s public and private schools to get back into session. Teachers report early to get ready for the new school year and students follow within days. As the doors open, everyone is sporting new clothing, book bags and a readiness to put the pencil to the paper or rather, the fingers to the keyboard! The summer vacation is over, and now, teachers will teach and learners will learn! So goes the calendar of educational development. "Teachers Serve by Design!" Image Credit: png.com The church has a similar cycle of learning. Teachers are elected for a new church year and September is time for promotion and a re-commitment to discipleship and growing in Christ. Our church has seen some changes this new year. One beloved Sunday School class has been shuttered after years of being together due to members who have passed or moved on because of death, health or other circumstances. The only remaining member has plans to relocate out-of-state to be closer to fami...

Our son Marc put out a four-box garden this season at his new house. He has always done some minor vegetable garden work that started back when he lived in Illinois. Now that he is in Texas, he dreams of a two-season garden: spring and early fall. He has set out a neat area in the corner of his backyard for his garden boxes and has filled them with tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, watermelons and okra. The roma and cherry tomato varieties have produced generous fruit for salads and sandwiches. The cucumbers provided jars of pickles. The watermelon made the summer meals more enjoyable. The green beans became the vegetable of choice for Sunday dinner. But, it was the okra that has been the gift that keeps on giving! It is a fact that okra loves the toasty temperatures of central Texas. This single plant has literally taken over the box and continues to reach upward each day bearing copious quantities of the most delectable of spiny projectiles. It requires daily attention in harvest...