In the Zone

In 10th grade, I took on authority. The National Day of Prayer was coming up.  I wanted to lead students in a prayer around the flagpole.  I was told "no." My principal called me into the office.  He gave me all the reasons they couldn't allow this sort of thing.  Then, he told me something that scared me.  If I went out of the building and gathered around the flagpole, I could be suspended from school. It was probably a threat, but for a naive sophomore, it scared me.  I wasn't a troublemaker.  I didn't get disciplined very often.  I didn't want to be suspended. After talking with some adult leaders in my church, I made the decision to go anyway.  I remember sitting in the cafeteria until 7:55 a.m., and then marching out to the flagpole.  Amazingly, without being able to announce it over the intercom or hang up posters (and I'm old enough that this was pre-Internet), other students joined me.  All total, about 30-40 stude...

One particularly dark night, during a church bus run in Eastern Kentucky, I happened upon another car on a very narrow road. This isn't unusual.  It happened quite a lot.  This time, however, the driver didn't want to back up to a wider spot.  Instead, he expected me to do so. I must mention that this narrow road had a huge drop off to one side.  The church bus easily covered the width of the road, which curved behind me.  With students on the bus, I didn't feel confident in my ability to safely back the bus to a wider spot in the road.  I could barely see a few feet behind me in the mirrors. With neither vehicle willing to move, we had a standoff.  He sat there flashing his light.  I sat their drinking a 20-oz Coke.  After five minutes of impasse, the other driver slowly backed his car down the road to a wider spot.  I proceeded to move forward and go around. As I got near the car, the driver angrily motioned for me to roll do...

A while back, I ventured to Owensboro, Ky. to see the NCAA basketball national championship trophy. (That's me behind Coach Calipari and next to Coach Joe B. Hall.) University of Kentucky coach John Calipari took the trophy on a "tour" of Kentucky, making stops in all parts of the state.  Owensboro, where my wife has family, was the closest stop on the tour to my house.  So, we drove up to Owensboro that weekend.  My wife saw her family.  I waited for about two hours to see a trophy and a coach. Why?  I don't know.  I figured how often in life will I get to be up close and personal to a national championship trophy.  The next time I see it (if I see it) it will be behind glass and inaccessible to me.  This was an opportunity to see it and be near it. Some things you just have to see to experience.  I don't know if being there for the trophy tour counts, but I was determined to see it. Jesus says, in Matthew 5:8, that blessed are the...