In the Zone

A few years ago, my wife's cousin had a serious accident. While riding her bicycle, she fell off the bike and landed on her head.  I should mention she wasn't wearing a helmet.  The result fall put her in a coma, and she stayed hospitalized for three weeks.  It was a scary time. It also woke me up the importance of helmets.  I'll admit.  I never wore a helmet while riding a bike.  My daughter will.  I simply don't want to take the risk of a serious brain injury that could be easily prevented by a helmet. In the same respect, I got my first chance to ride a four-wheeler a few years ago.  I wouldn't go unless they had a helmet for me to wear.  When my dad used to ride a motorcycle, I only had one request:  That he wear a helmet when he rides.  (Kentucky doesn't require you to wear a helmet by law.)  I didn't want my dad becoming a victim or a vegetable because he didn't wear a helmet. Helmets serve important functions....

I have to confess.  I've finally done it.  I've joined the exercise craze. Two weeks ago, my wife and I purchased a YMCA family pass that allows us to work out and have access to a personal wellness coach.  We chose it because the YMCA provides babysitting, so we can work out together and lose weight. It's a dual function.  We get to hang out and spend time together.  At the same time, we can lose weight and get healthier.  It seemed like a win-win situation. Everything went great until the wellness coach walked away to help my wife.  A little voice in my head told me it was OK to slack up.  "You don't really have to do 12 of these," it said.  "She'll never know." I have to confess again.  On at least one machine, I listened to that voice.  I didn't do the full number required.  I was too pooped and it was too hard. Temptation comes in all forms, shapes and sizes.  A piece of moist, rich, chocolate cake in front ...

The telephone in my kitchen rang.  I saw the caller ID:  Campbellsville, Ky.  I knew what it was.  I had applied and interviewed for a reporter position at a local newspaper in Campbellsville.  I was a wet-behind-the-ears college graduate, who took the summer off to participate in summer missions and now eagerly hit the pavement seeking gainful employment. I had never lived away from home.  I even lived at home while I went to college.  The summer hiring period had come and gone while I served Jesus in Florida.  The specter of returning to my retail job at the mall loomed larger as weeks went by with no prospects.  Seeing a job in Campbellsville, I sent a resume, scheduled an interview and scouted the town (though I was too young and inexperienced to know what to look for in a new town.)  It went well, and now, a week later, the phone rang. I answered it and sure enough, it was a job offer.  I got nervous and excited and anx...

Last year, I had a heart scare. I had spent the previous day weed eating and mowing grass, and I had trouble sleeping that night.  My chest felt as if someone was sitting on it.  The next day, the pain remained, but now I got winded walking up and down stairs. After dealing with it all day long, Sara, my wife, decided it was time for me to go to the emergency room.  I had, she said, all the signs of a heart attack. So we eschewed Wednesday night youth (and my bus run) to spend the evening in ER.  The doctors and nurses hooked me up to various machines, drew blood, ran tests and took chest X-rays.  After several hours in the hospital, the doctor finally came in with a diagnosis.  I didn't have a heart attack.  In fact, my heart looked to be in great shape. As it turns out, the weed eating part of the story is the most important.  While using the weed eater, I apparently pulled my chest muscle.  That's what caused the int...

People lie to get ahead all the time.  John Edwards lied about the mistress he had on the campaign trail.  Now, he's facing a criminal trial. Pete Rose lied to the commissioner of baseball, as well as millions of fans, saying he never bet on baseball.  The Commissioner at the time, Bart Giamatti, wanted to resolve it quietly, perhaps just suspending him for a year, but Rose denied his involvement.  He is now banned from baseball for life, including induction the professional baseball hall of fame. Richard Nixon, the President of the United States, lied about his involvement with the Watergate break-in and cover-up.  Eventually, he resigned in disgrace, having been the only President in United State's history to resign from the office. All of these people were caught in their lies.  Their lies entrapped them.  The loose ends of their false stories tripped them up and became their undoing. Lies leave loose ends.  Someone knows the truth....

I'll be honest, I was scared. In August 2006, after much prayer and discussion with my wife, we decided God had called me to quit my job in order to pursue a full-time ministry position.  At the time, I had been a full-time sports writer for seven years and a part-time youth minister for almost four years.  The dual role took it's toll on me physically and on our marriage. I remember walking into my editor's office, letter in hand, announcing my resignation.  I agreed to stay on until they found my replacement or I found another job.  I figured that would take about a month.  By mid-December, I was knee-deep in basketball season and had not landed another job, despite a couple of interviews. That Christmas was scary.  I didn't know if we should buy Christmas presents or toss everything we had into savings.  We had a mortgage, plus car payments and credit card debt.  How would I pay all those bills if my replacement at the paper walked throug...

I've never been on rough seas. In my limited experience boating (I've only been on a boat three times in my life, and one was a "glass-bottom" boat to see dolphins), I've never experienced rough waters.  I've never sailed during a storm or tried to ride out the waves. So I have little personal experience to draw on in the story of Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14.  Being a bit of a weather geek, I know the worst part of any tropical storm is the water.  In fact, most of the damage from hurricanes occurs because of tidal flooding or storm surges.  Katrina's destructive power came from the flooding of New Orleans, not the winds.  Hurricane Andrew devastated the Miami area, with most damage occurring because of flooding.  As the hurricane churns the water, the waves become increasingly higher, causing high waves of water to slam into shore when the storm makes landfall.  It causes beach erosion and destroys structures located on the bea...