STRAINING AT THE OARS
Other than a paper route, my first job was digging postholes on a ranch. After day one, every muscle in my anatomy ached, and despite wearing gloves, my palms sported blisters on top of blisters.
I wonder if that’s how Christ’s disciples felt? After Jesus supernaturally fed 5000 people, they headed home across the Sea of Galilee. The gospel of Mark reports that in the midst of their voyage, his followers encountered rough waters, and were “straining at the oars”—all night long. The text states, that “shortly before dawn” they saw Jesus walking on the water, and terrified, thought he was a ghost. Makes sense. What would most folks think, seeing a being wearing a sheet, floating on a lake in a storm?
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WE'VE ALREADY WON
The Major League baseball season has concluded, and now the playoffs are underway. Shortly before the regular season ended, a few teams had such good records that they had already clinched a spot in the playoffs. Even if they lost all their remaining games, they had mathematically qualified. Those games had no effect on the outcome of their regular season. Their spot was secure, and they could not lose it. Imagine how it would feel to be on one of those teams. You could relax and play the remaining games the way baseball was intended, simply for the love of the game, instead of the fear of losing. As followers of Jesus, that’s where we are. We’ve already won.
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LOOKING BACK...ONE YEAR LATER
I woke up this morning thinking of Linda. One year ago today, she died. For the past week, I’ve felt as if a dark cloud was hanging over me, dreading this day. But now that it’s here, my heart overflows with joy. I miss Linda terribly, especially at night. I miss having someone to come home to, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to snuggle with. But I’m slowly healing, and life is good.
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POWER FROM ON HIGH
In September of 2021, the citizens of Denton, North Carolina found themselves without electricity. The cause wasn’t a storm or a transformer malfunction. The power outage resulted from a snake that slithered into a Duke Energy substation. Somehow the reptile created an electrical connection, causing sparks to fly, starting a fire, and shutting down everyone’s power. The culprit was fried in the process. (https://www.newsweek.com/entire-town-nearly-left-without-power-after-snake-started-electrical-fire-1629986)
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THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I'VE EVER DONE
One year ago, as Linda was approaching the end of her life on earth, I penned this article, which I’ve adapted for this week. It’s one of my most popular blogs.
During the time when Linda struggled with her health, I poured my energy into serving her. At times I grew weary. Bone weary. One night, as I was pouring out my heart to God, he met me with a comforting word. I didn’t hear an audible voice, but he spoke just as clearly to my heart, as if a heavenly megaphone had belted out his words. “Serving your wife is the most important thing you’ve ever done.” That certainly gave me pause. Then he continued, “More important than helping baptize 400 people in Ethiopia. More important than preaching in dozens of villages in India. More important than the work you’ve done in recovery programs.”
I found this thought hard to accept.
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FEASTING OR DUMPSTER-DIVING?
Anyone hungry? How about trying a cotton candy burrito: consisting of Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Loops, marshmallows, Skittles, Mini M & M’s gummy bears and sprinkles, all wrapped in a cotton candy shell.
Doesn’t tempt your taste buds? Then try chomping down on a pizza burger: a sixteen-ounce Angus patty, with two pepperoni pizzas for buns. Or indulge in a smoked turkey leg, stuffed with dirty rice, covered in Cajun gravy and green onions. Two words: Alka Seltzer.
These menu items are actually served at NFL stadiums. With the football season “kicking off” last week, perhaps we can indulge our appetites in these delicacies, although my culinary desires are much more basic.
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DANCING WITH HIPPIES
I was sitting home—lonely, bored, and melancholy—watching reruns of Gilligan's Island. My girlfriend had dumped me, and my friends were busy. I learned of a rock festival in downtown Seattle, so I took a chance and drove in. I positioned myself on a grassy knoll near the stage.
In front of me a group of hippies were dancing in a circle, arms locked together. They invited me to join them, and I stepped forward, merging into the circle. After a few moments,
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A NEW IDENTITY
Some of us are “blessed” in life with being known by our middle name. My full name is Olin Barney Cargile III. I still recall the first day of school when my teacher called me “Olin.” I looked around to see who she was talking to. Going by my middle name doesn’t complicate my life at all … except with the IRS, DMV, all government offices, credit card companies, the bank… Okay, you get the picture.
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