It's Just Around the Bend Part 2: We Made It!

It was a long journey, but we finally made it to the boat ramp. Even though the day started out cool it got hot by the time we finished our journey. The heat added to our exhaustion. Even though we were exhausted and a little cranky at times we still worked together. We all paddled to help us get down the river. Some of you even got in the water when it was shallow and pulled the raft down river.

We learned quickly this was not a quick sprint, but a journey of endurance. We did not have a lot of choice in the matter, this was the journey set out for us. We could not stop in the middle of it when we got tired and say, “That’s enough. I’m exhausted and I’m going to quit here.” That was not an option. There was no way to stop and go back to our car. We had no choice but to “run with endurance” (Heb. 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us.”). It is the same with our walk in Christ. We get exhausted, frustrated, and cranky sometimes, but we cannot say, “Whoa, I’m tired. I’m going to take a break from being a Christian, and not worry about the people around me and how they view Christ through me.” Sorry, we do not get to take a time out from being a witness for Christ …even to other Christians. Now let me take moment right here to say I know I am not perfect and I do not always present the best witness for Christ (a lot of times because I am tired and cranky). I am sorry for that, but I am also human, and we humans are not perfect. The Lord knows this and forgives us, but He also wants us to do our best, which is why we are to “run with endurance.” Sometimes we stopped paddling because we were so tired, but after a rest we paddled again.

Finally the boat ramp came into view and we felt our spirits lifted with the joy of seeing it. I think I even heard a little “Hallelujah” chorus from somewhere. I think we all would have shouted for joy if we had not been so tired …and too embarrassed to cheer in front of the two guides at the boat ramp. As we came within thirty yards of the boat ramp (our finish line) our joy was suddenly sucked away as we felt the raft shudder and then come to a complete stop. What happened!? The river became so shallow our raft was dragging on the bottom and would not move anymore. We all had to get out of the raft. We could have stopped right there, become angry, sat down and pouted, and told the two guys to come and carry us the rest of the way (I am sure they would have laughed and walked away …and I would not have blamed them). But we did not. We got out of the raft and several of us pulled the raft across the pebbles and shallow water. Even though the raft was heavy we pulled it all the way to the ramp, we endured. It was easier to pull the raft and endure because we were so close to the finish …it was right there, we could see it clearly. (2 Tim. 4:7, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!”). It is easier to endure when you can see the finish line, but when the finish line is out of sight we still need to endure and finish.

That was a long, tiring river journey, and we suffered a little (Rom. 5:3, “Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,”), but it was worth it for the memories, the growing, and the togetherness.

I hope when our journey here ends we can say, “I have endured, I finished my journey, and I have kept the faith!”

Oh, and the two otters …to be continued.

Love You,
Dad

Lessons from Scary Movies

It happens all the time. You're watching a

scary movie and some guy or girl does something dumb and you think “Oh, he’s going to die.” We can learn a lot from that dumb guy and scary movies. For instance, in scary movies the guy that’s too curious and goes to investigate a sound in a dark room always ends up dying.

Lesson 1: Don’t be curious about the dark side. (2 Titus 4:3, “For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.”)

Lesson 2: The girl who runs out of the safety of her house screaming into the dark woods ends up dead. Never leave the safety of God’s Word. (Psalm 91:4, “He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.”)

Lesson 3a: The dude that looks back while running away from the killer always trips... even when there’s nothing on the path to trip over. Always run forward, keeping your eyes on the path ahead of you. (Prov. 4:25-26, “Let your eyes look directly in front of you and let your gaze look straight before you. Make the path for your feet level, so that all your ways may be established.”)

Lesson 3b: The girl that trips usually hurts her ankle and it requires her friends to come back and have to help. Sometimes you need help getting away from your sin. (James 5:16, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”)

Lesson 4: If you ignored Lesson 3a, and you looked back and tripped, don’t sit there waiting/crying. Get up as fast as you can and run! (Acts 22:16, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.”)

Lesson 5: Creepers/ Monsters/Killers are always long distance runners in scary movies. Train for long distances, train in God’s Word. (Heb. 5:14, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”)

Lesson 6: Saying “Hello?” or “Who’s There?” as you walk through the dark house. It just lets the killer know where you are. It’s not very wise. Be wise. (Psalm 119:98, “Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.”)

Lesson 7: People move into a haunted house and weird, scary things start happening, but they don’t move out. They stay there and try to “fix” it. They should just move out as soon as possible. We should “get out of” the sin as soon as possible. Weird things start happening, but we don’t always stop right away. (John 5:14, “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’”)

Lesson 8a: The killer/creepy dude never dies the first time (or stays dead). In scary movies the killer always gets back up after the hero has stabbed, shot, hit, or crushed him. Never assume sin will go away and you will never be tempted by that same sin again. (1 Kings 15:34, “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.”)

Lesson 8b: The killer always gets up after the heroin has turned her back on him, and discarded the weapon used to “kill” him. Never get rid of your weapon. Always pray and since you can’t always carry your weapon, the Bible, with you, memorize scripture. (Joshua 1:8, “Keep this book of the Law on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”)

Lesson 9: Always make it a head shot. Zombies are only stopped with a shot or stab to the head. Make sure you don’t leave room for the sin to keep coming after you. (Matt. 26:41, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”)

Bonus: Lessons from Movie Villains

Lesson 1: Just kill them. Villains have a bad habit of dragging things out by telling the hero how they’re going to kill him. Don’t just talk about how you’re going to stop sinning, just stop it. (1 Cor. 15:34, “Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning…”)

Lesson 2: Villains have elaborate machines to slowly kill the heroin that leave plenty of time for her to escape. Don’t take too much time coming up with an elaborate plan to stop sinning, but never end of doing. (1 Cor. 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”)

Lesson 3: Villains love to brag to the hero about their evil plans, and of course the hero escapes and then knows how to thwart their evil plans (Think of Dr. Doofenshmirtz). Again, don’t just talk about your plan to quit the sin because Satan will try to thwart your plan before you have a chance to implement it. (1 Thess. 2:18, “For we wanted to come to you – certainly I, Paul, did, again and again – but Satan blocked our way.”)

What about Spy movies? I’ll save that for another time ;)

Love You,
Dad

It's Just Around The Bend

Rafting on the White River …for 6 hours.

It was suppose to be about a 4 hour trip, but it went on forever, or at least that's the way it felt ...does anyone else have the "Gilligan’s Island" theme song playing in their head? 

The guide told us the trip will last about 4 hours if we do some paddling. He also said, “When you start seeing houses on the right then the boat ramp will be just around the bend, and I will meet you there.”

It started out great. The water and temperature were a little cold, but the weather was great, the river was moving, and we were having a lot of fun. All 6 of us fit into the raft fairly comfortably. Usually some of us sat straddling the side with one leg hanging over into the cool water and that way there was more room.

It was fun at first, but near the 4 hour mark we were getting tired and a little bored. We were also starting to get hungry …hmmm, it would have been a good idea to bring lunch. Well at least it was the 4 hour mark and we should be getting to the bend he was talking about which would represent the near end of our journey. What we didn’t realize was the river was flowing slower than expected and we didn’t paddle enough, so we were not near the final bend yet. We did finally come to a big bend and figured this was it! The boat ramp is just around this bend and we’ll be done. We can get out of the water, rest our arms and legs, be on solid ground, eat dinner. We finally floated around the bend and much to our dismay we didn’t see a boat ramp or anything. It was not the final bend! Oh how frustrated we were which was made worse by how tired we were. We started to complain about our adventure (which we loved at the beginning), and we started getting frustrated with each other. We so wanted our journey to end, and we didn’t even realize all the reasons why we wanted it to end.

We kept looking for the boat ramp …longing for it.

The boat ramp was significant. It represented the end of our very long journey, but it also represented food, water, rest, security, and comfort. Longing for the boat ramp is like longing for the Lord and heaven (Psalms 63:1, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you…”). The earth moans and groans for heaven, as we do. Sometimes we are moaning and groaning and we don’t realize we are doing it, and other times we know we are doing it, but we don’t realize we are moaning and groaning for the Lord and heaven (Romans 8:22-23, “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption”).

We need to realize sometimes when we are frustrated, tired, groaning, moaning, complaining, or whining, it is because inwardly we are longing for our Lord …and we don’t realize it. The next time you feel this way stop and ask yourself, “Why?” Then ask the Lord “Why?” and talk with Him. The next time someone else is displaying these “symptoms” stop and ask yourself, “Why?” Maybe they are just longing for the Lord and don’t realize it. Pray for them and your attitude towards them.

Well, we finally started seeing the houses our guide was talking about and the final river bend. As we came around the bend we were a little anxious, and a little excited with anticipation. We wanted to be at the boat ramp so bad we all leaned to our left and craned our necks to see if it was actually there as we came around the bend, it’s a wonder we didn’t flip the raft.

Praise the Lord! There was the boat ramp and two guys to help us out of the river. We were saved! We made it …6 hours after we started. (Psalms 62:5, “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.”)

There's a lot of lessons to be learned from our journey...

…to be continued.

Love You,

Dad