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On Sacrifice

The other day I came across another of my favourite stories in the Bible. This one (again) involves King David. But first let me tell you a story, which may explain my point, at least I hope so. So there was a church bake sale and one of the mothers was running late.  She baked an angel food cake but in her haste, she opened the oven door too soon and it fell. There was nothing she could do because time was running out, so she grabbed a roll of toilet paper, put it in the crater of the cake and put an impressive amount of beautiful icing on it before jettisoning out the door for the church. As she and her daughter hurried for the church, daughter was given specific instructions,  "You run the cake into the back, I'll park the car and get to the table before it does and buy it!  Then, I will have paid my participation dues and no one will know what a disaster it was!" They agreed and the daughter hopped out with the beautiful cake.  But as the mom was heading into the...
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Givin' It Up

Well, here we are at the three-week before Easter mark.  If you're like me, it’s a time when things seem to be moving more quickly than normal.  Around my house, there’s a sense of changing seasons, and the work that needs to be done as we’ll be going into winter soon, but unlike you folks in the northern hemisphere, that doesn’t mean putting up the storm shutters and tuning up the snow blower … more like exchanging the short-sleeved shirts in the closet for long sleeves and packing away the snake discouragers from around the trash bins and water taps.  The snakes are still around, but they move a lot slower when the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  Some of my friends at this time of year are talking about “Lent” and what they’re planning to give up for it. In a way, it’s reminiscent of New Years and the lists of resolutions we like to make in January.  I grew up in a Baptist home that eschewed any and everything that hinted of “Catholicism"....
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Gettin' Old

The other day Tony was sitting in the living room with our oldest grandchild.  This was a rare experience, as he hardly ever stops moving, and Tony was thinking about how to capitalise on the moment. Maybe a little “Man to Man” talk he thought.   The Wise One versus the Young Accolade. But Grandson, who as a new 16 yr old,  feels pretty confident, and spoke up first. “Gigi”, he asked (This is not the French Gigi but the Japanese endearment for ‘grandpa’), “What’s it feel like to be old?” Tony sure didn’t see that one coming. Granted, he mused to himself, the question comes up often, but usually in the middle of the night, and not with anyone else present in the room. After a moment of reflection, Tony felt like he had something to say.  “Well, I miss the physical part of me. I’m in this recliner because it takes too much effort to go outside and play basketball with you ………. I’d like to, but it hurts.” While he pondered that, he thought suddenly, “Oh no! I don’t...
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Those Intrepid Shepherds

I heard some interesting news this last week.  While they’re having unseasonal snow in New York, I hear that New Zealanders are having blizzards of their own (Global Warming, I guess). Anyway, a shepherd was herding his flock of sheep when a midsummer avalanche hit without warning and buried him.  It was only a little slide so no one really got too fussed, but at the end of the day when the shepherd didn’t come home, they got worried.  The search began.   48 hours later they found him, comatose and barely alive. Fortunately, he did survive, and made a full recovery Now here's the interesting part. They found him only because noticed his little flock of sheep were huddled together, standing in the slide area.  Now I think you can see the sermon coming. Sheep are well known, for, uh ......... not much, really.  They do tend to follow well, and since they have no defensive features to speak of, they make, uhm… really great prey. They don't have a 'rescue'...
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Little Things Matter

This Sunday promises to be chock full of emotions for us.   Emotions of gratitude, mostly. Some of you know our dear friends Bob and Gail Gierhart.  We have travelled through life with them since we were in college.  They went to Japan, then we went to Japan.  They came to Australia, then we did the same.  I know it looks like we’ve been following them around, but it was purely a “God-thing”, honest!  They retired, so did we (A function of age, so couldn’t be helped).  Bob and Gail went directly BACK to full time work, whereas we didn't really, although sometimes it feels like it. Anyway, this weekend, as you're reading this, they're retiring again, from Nuuanu Baptist Church in Hawaii.  They're young at heart like us and together we enjoy wondering what we're going to do with the 'rest' of our lives, and the abilities we’ve picked up along the way. We tend to spur each other on and call each other to reasonable tasks, so stay tuned. Another ...
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The Hows and Whys

Tony preached a sermon the other day that got me remembering the last 5 years of our mission career.  We were working in the Tsunami zone, very close to where we invested 25 years of our lives and incredibly close to the epicentre of the 9.1 earthquake that happened there. The earthquake/tsunami happened on March 11, 2011.  Because of our history in the area, it was only natural that we started working right away with volunteer teams and surviving church members. One blustery cold day (it was still very early spring) we had been giving out food from our van when we ran out.  The Japanese were kind and appreciative, but they were also desperate for the supplies we were bringing. Under the circumstances, the now-empty van seemed pitifully small in face of so much need. Our hearts were heavy as we drove away, leaving a line of hungry people.  We only had a paltry few snacks left which we figured we could divide between us and call it lunch, so we decided to go up the hi...
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Planes Trains and Automobiles

Several weeks ago, we took a quick trip to Sydney that we won't forget soon. It's only an hour’s flight, practically in our back yard if you’re in an airplane.   Did you ever see that 1987 movie, " Planes, Trains and Automobiles"? It comes to mind as I write. After church on Sunda, we packed our things, said a heartfelt “Thank you” to our daughter, whose past employment for Qantas still gives us “standby” status to fly really cheaply. Now, "Standby" means exactly what it says. After the plane has boarded, after full-time employees have boarded and after they, at least to our imagination, comb the airport terminal to see if there be ANYONE else who might want to go to Sydney, then we’re given a ticket and allowed to get on. The problem is, Qantas (and just about every other airline these days) has gotten very efficient at loading a plane to capacity. Add to that a few cancelled flights for bad weather, and our chances for getting on dropped from “ain’t likely...
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