Whenever my brothers and sisters needed to settle an argument, we would say “Dad said so,” or “Mom said so.” Their authority was good enough to see things happen. Perhaps you’ve seen the same at work. If your supervisor gave permission, then you could freely go where you needed to and get the job done. How about your personal checks? Are they any good without the authority of your signature? The name is the key.
Sherry and I love to read five psalms each night before going to bed. If you read five per day, you get through all 150 psalms in thirty days. Then you can start over again the next month. Psalm 34 is one that we read today. As we saw its depth and beauty, we wanted to share it with others.
Sickness fully overtook him,
Lazarus was in the grave,
Messengers sent to the master,
oh my brother can you save?
After four days he hath rotted,
stinking at the doors of death,
Now could even the Messiah,
bring back mortal life and breath?
I’ve enjoyed being unified in my relationships with others throughout my life. I was unified into a wonderful family with a great Dad and Mom and all eight of us kids. I was unified with my Boy Scout troop, my school class, and my soccer team. Later I was unified with my wife Sherry and our son Elijah. These are all relationships that endeavor to live the old motto “all for one and one for all.”
In elementary school, we had some classic “come back” lines in certain situations. If someone said they “loved” something, we would respond: “Then why don’t you marry it!” Another comeback when someone made a remark about us was, “Prove it!”
As the manager of “Wooly World” at the Toorak Hotel shopping plaza in Melbourne, Australia, I met a lot of men and women looking for high-end sheepskin garments. The most shocking experience of my sales life happened there in 1982.
Have you ever seen a newborn puppy or kitten, though blind, find their mother and begin to nurse? God built these “basics” (like feeding ourselves) into life. The basics are simple and easy to find and understand. When things get complicated, they can lose their value. Russian writer Leo Tolstoy said, “Give thanks to God who made necessary things simple, and complicated things unnecessary.”
I learned about my Dad by reading old newspapers about his Navy and Army service in World War II. I also heard stories about him from my Mom and other relatives. But the way I knew him best was by living with him, hearing what he had to say, and seeing his love for me in daily actions—like playing “catch” or praying together.
Ever talk to a spouse, friend, student, or coworker, and they haven’t heard a word you said. I’ve learned it pays to get people’s attention before I launch into what I want them to hear. God always pays attention to what we say.
It’s funny, but at some of the more challenging times in my life, ice cream has helped me. When I had a severe case of the measles, my Mom tenderly cared for me and gave me medicine with a nice bowl of vanilla ice cream.