Saying Goodbye To The Season

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Bible, change, Christian, coffee, devotional, encouragement, faith, flower, God, goodbye, grace, inspiration, Raising The Mug, seasons, travel, vacation, wisdom

Summer comes and goes so fast. The beach vacations, picnics in the parks, hot lazy afternoons playing barefoot in a stream, all eventually come to an end. A time of extensive growth and greenery gives way to cooler temperatures and shades of brown. There’s something sad about the change in the season. It’s not that I mind fall, it’s actually my favorite season of the year. But the end of summer is like saying “goodbye” to a good friend that you won’t see again for nine months.

The word goodbye is a little bit of a mystery to me. It is derived from the phrase, “God be with you.” It implies a parting or leaving from a place or person. What’s so good about being apart? What’s so good about leaving a person or place that you dearly love?

Girl on the beach taking sunrise photos

The world is full of wonder and excitement. We love exploring new things and experiencing events with people who are close to us. One thing that makes saying “goodbye” so hard is that it requires release. It means we must release the thing we love; we can no longer have the thing we have enjoyed. It doesn’t necessarily mean we can never go back; there’s always next year’s summer vacation. But it won’t be the exact moment that we just experienced. The people and places will have changed; age and progress wait for no one.

About twenty-five years ago, I experienced a time of intense spiritual growth. I read the entire Bible and portions of it over and over again. I couldn’t be satisfied. Even while I was in the midst of this time, I knew it wouldn’t last. I knew that God was teaching and preparing me for something important in my immediate future. Today I believe that it was to own the cabinet shop. He knew the incredible stress I would experience from owning a business. Without a firm relationship with the Lord, I would never have succeeded.

Many times I have wished I could go back to that season in my life; I miss the closeness that I felt with God. I don’t believe God is any further away; he hasn’t abandoned me, nor I him. But that particular moment can never be lived again. It was a gift for that time; a gift I will never forget.

The seasons remind us that life is full of changes; some are sad but most are good. God never intended for us to remain the same; he wants us to grow both physically and spiritually.

Our summer flower garden…….. looking sort of tired

Daniel 2:20-21 – NIV

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
    wisdom and power are his.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;
    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.

I am thankful for the changes that God has brought me through. And I am thankful for the lessons learned along the way.

The mug is raised today as a toast to the season! May you enjoy today and never look back with regret!

 all verse quotes courtesy of biblegateway.com

Stains – A Permanent Removal Solution

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amusing, Bible, Christian, clean, coffee, devotional, encouragement, faith, forgiveness, God, grace, guilt, inspiration, peace, shame, solution, stains

The other day I put on a brand new shirt. Within 30 minutes I had spilled something on the front of it that left a permanent stain. Oh, man! Come on, really?! It’s not that the shirt was all that valuable, a $4.00 t-shirt from Walmart. But it was brand new! It wasn’t even broken in yet.

My mother used to tell me, “Lean over your plate so you don’t spill food on your clothes!” Guess I didn’t learn that lesson. I still don’t lean well.

Everyone does things they regret. They may not regret it at the time they commit the act, but later…… when they’ve had time to reflect on their actions or their words…… then guilt sets in.  It may be a day, a week, or even years; but guilt has a way of catching up with us. When it does, it likes to bring its partner …shame.

Guilt and shame are a dynamic duo. They remind us of our failures over and over again, like little dribbles of stain that have run down your shirt and won’t wash out. We try different solutions to make them disappear, but they just keep coming back. We need a permanent solution to remove our stains, and God provides it.

Psalm 32: 1-5 – NIV

1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven,
     whose sins are covered
2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them
     and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3  When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
     through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
     my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
     I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Isaiah 61:7 – NIV

Instead of your shame
    you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours.

God forgives us when we ask. He removes our guilt and shame as far as the east is from the west. He replaces our filthy stained clothes with clean ones and washes us whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7)

Today’ mug is raised to those in need of forgiveness. May you find relief and peace from the memories that bring you shame.

All verse references courtesy of biblegateway.com

The Perfect House

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Bible, Christian, coffee, contractor, devotional, encouragement, God, heaven, home, house, inspiration, paint

Around 1989. From left to right – Brad Claxton, Gabe Hinton, Zach Hope, David & Mark Bailey, Aubrey Claxton Willis.

In 1983 we built our first house. It was only 1200 square feet, nothing grandiose, but it was ours. Jane and I thumbed through lots of magazines to get ideas. In the process, we came across a picture of a wood-sided house with a soft grey color. This was it; this is what we wanted our house to look like, at least the exterior. So we drove to the paint store recommended by the builder, carrying the magazine along for a color match. The next day we handed the chosen paint chip to the builder and thought nothing more about it.

A few days later, I went to check the progress of the construction. As I drove down the street, I saw that the house had been painted……… completely painted…….. blue……….. sky blue……… not the beautiful grey we had imagined. I was stunned. There was a small crowd of neighbors standing in the street when I pulled up. All of them had their mouths hanging open, with the same stunned look on their faces. One of them said in a dazed voice, “They painted it blue. Why did they paint it blue?”

My question exactly………

When I got home, I informed Jane of the bad news. We called the contractor to let him know the painters used the wrong color. He was certain that we were mistaken because he had gone to pick the paint up himself. We arranged to meet him at the house the next afternoon. When we arrived, he showed us the paint chip that we had chosen. He held it up to the side of the house……… He was correct; it was exactly the same color as the chip………… sigh!

Unfortunately, we were building the house on a tight budget and couldn’t afford to have it repainted. So…….. we lived the next eight years in a sky blue house. Once we got past the shock, it wasn’t so bad.

There’s a Spanish word that I really like – anhelar – it means to long for, to yearn for intensely. When you’ve been away from home for a long time, like for example the first time you move away from your parents, you long to return home, especially at holidays. Although I’ve never served in the military, I would expect that soldiers who are stationed overseas would have that same intense desire to be home.

Every family wants to have their own space, a place they call home, a place they turn to for solitude and peace. Maybe its something that God puts in every heart, a desire to be home, in our real home. God’s desire is for us to long for heaven, which is his home.

Psalm 27:4 – NIV

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

We may spend lots of money and effort trying to make our homes perfect. But there will never be a perfect home for us on earth. Our home is in heaven.

The mug is raised today to those who long to be home. May the Lord keep you until you return home safely.

All bible verses provided by biblegateway.com

My Wild Pony Ride

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amusing, Bible, children, Christian, coffee, crazy, devotional, encouragement, faith, fear, gallop, God, grace, hope, inspiration, pony, Raising The Mug, ride

photo courtesy of http://www.torange.us

Things rarely happen the way you imagine. We plan and scheme, and anticipate the moment, only to be disappointed by the results.

At six years old, I dreamed of being a cowboy. My heroes were Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger, and Gene Autry. I had my cowboy boots, my spurs, my cowboy hat, my six shooters……… But I lacked one essential element……… a horse. I could pretend my bicycle was a horse, but somehow, it just wasn’t the same. I could never be a real cowboy without a horse.

One day my father told me we were going to my cousin’s house so that I could ride a real horse! They lived on a farm about an hour away. I put all of my cowboy gear on and hopped in the car. I could hardly contain my excitement! On the ride over, I day-dreamed of galloping through the fields with the horse’s mane blowing in my face.

When we arrived at the farm, I saw that my uncle had the horse (which was actually a pony) already saddled. My uncle began to give each of us a ride while he walked in front holding on to the reins. Hmmmmm………… not exacted what I had envisioned. I waited impatiently. When it was my turn I announced that I was going to ride the pony by myself. My uncle was a little surprised. “Are you sure?” he asked. I answered with great determination, “Yes, I ‘m sure.” I guess my dad must have nodded that it was alright. They set me on top of the pony and handed me the reins.

I don’t think anyone expected what happened next. I promptly slapped the reins, kicked my feet and yelled, “Hyah!”

The pony took off like a rocket with me bouncing along on top trying to hold on for dear life! Everyone else was momentarily stunned; then they all chased after me in hot pursuit. In reality, it must have only been a few seconds, but it seemed much longer. I decided I was done with this pony trick. So, I jumped off…………. right into a briar patch……….. the pony kept going……….

It’s so easy to set ourselves up for disappointment. Our expectations are way too high. The problem is we place our hope in things that are unreliable, like people. People are frail and weak and rarely perform the way we want them too. I’m a perfect example; if I haven’t disappointed you yet, it’s only because you don’t know me well enough. Give me an opportunity, and I will.

Romans 5:1-5 – New American Standard Version *

 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God………. and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Misplaced hope only brings disappointment; but hope in God produces a deep fulfillment and joy, knowing that he is faithful and reliable to give us all he has promised.

The mug is raised today to the cowboys and cowgirls of the world, both young and old. Yeeha!

* All Bible verses provided by BibleGateway.com

Toofless Wonder

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accident, amusing, Bible, broken teeth, camping, children, Christian, coffee, dentist, devotional, encouragement, faith, God, hospital, humility, inspiration, jeep, parenting, smile

There’s nothing worse than being awakened from a dead sleep on a Friday night by the phone ringing and a voice on the other end saying, “Mister Claxton, your son has been in an accident and we think you should come to the hospital immediately.” My heart skipped a dozen beats; it sounded serious, maybe even life threatening. I told Jane we needed to get dressed and rush to the hospital. Brad had been in an accident.

The person who called never identified himself, nor did he give any indication of the severity of the injuries. It was all left to our imaginations.

Brad had gone camping that weekend with a group of friends. They were in a remote location of Oconee County called Skull Shoals. At about midnight, they decided it would be fun to drive wildly on the park’s dirt roads, all piled into one Jeep. There wasn’t room for everyone to sit inside; some were perched on top. Brad was clinging to the back, standing on a luggage rack attached to the bumper.

It was a foggy night and no one in the group was familiar with the roads. I’m pretty sure some alcohol had been consumed, which didn’t add any clarity to the popular thinking. They were going too fast and the driver ran through an intersection and hit a tree. The person on top was catapulted forward onto the hood of the Jeep, shaken but unharmed; Brad smashed his face into the rear glass window.

When we arrived at the hospital, Brad was in the emergency room being checked. As it turned out, the person who called wasn’t a policemen, it was the driver of the Jeep. And to our relief, the only injuries Brad sustained were four broken teeth. While he didn’t look so handsome, he would live to see another day.

Within a few hours of the accident

Brad – Summer 2014

 

 

People spend a tremendous amount of money and energy on their images. We all want to look attractive. We have hair products, tanning products, make up, jewelry, etc. We pay our orthodontists to make our teeth perfect. We exercise and diet to have toned bodies. And for many of us, these things become idols, things more important to us than the one who created us.

Philippians 2:3-4 – NIV

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

Isn’t it vain to focus so much attention on ourselves? Our selfishness prevents us from seeing the people around us and those whose needs are greater than ours.

Brad was fortunate because the driver had good insurance. After several oral surgeries, he didn’t look like the Halloween ghoul pictured above. He actually was able to laugh at himself and had a little fun with the busted mouth for a few weeks…….

The mug is raised today to the dentists of the world who dedicate their careers to give us beautiful smiles and healthy teeth! 

all verse quotes provided courtesy of biblegateway.com

Mutants No More

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amusing, Bible, boats, change, children, Christian, coffee, devotional, encouragement, faith, God, grace, inspiration, merry-go-round, motion sickness, mountains, mutant, parenting, Raising The Mug, whirlybird, world

I didn’t realize until it was too late………. after the ceremony……. after the cake………..on our honeymoon……… I discovered I had married a mutant…………. a mutant with motion sickness.

Dec 1962 I was almost 3 years old. I was sitting on a whirlybird; the harder you pump this beast the faster it spins round and around!

See, the really weird thing is, I grew up loving wild unnatural jolts to the body and fifty foot free-falls that thrust your stomach up into your throat. You know, like roller coasters and the wheelie at the county fair. Even as a kid in school, we had toys on the playground like the merry-go-round and the whirlybird. We’d get those things spinning so fast you couldn’t walk straight for an hour afterward.

It all came to an abrupt end on our honeymoon in the mountains……… I noticed it the first time I came around a hairpin curve driving like James Bond. I heard a moan from the right side of the car, “Did you say something dear?” Then I pulled over at one of those beautiful roadside vistas, flung the car door open, jumped out with my hands in the air and shouted, “Look at that fabulous view!” The mutant opened her door and threw up…………

Yes, life as I once knew it was over…… no more wild rides through the hills; no more roller coasters at amusement parks; oh and boats……… boats were definitely OFF the list.

Every once in a while, I would test to see if anything had changed. Like for example, the snorkeling tour I once booked for our family. How was I supposed to know that the captain would deliberately bounce the boat up and down ferociously as we crossed the waves?! Half of the passengers on board were suffering from the same mutation as my wife….eh, hem….motion sickness.

So what does this story have to do with life? Well…. I have a confession……. I’m a mutant too. For that matter, you’re a mutant; we’re all mutants. All of us have been changed from the original creatures that God intended us to be. We are now mutated forms, creatures that have been infused with sin. This mutation has caused grief for mankind since the days of Adam. Sin distorts and poisons all that it touches, leaving a wake of destruction behind.

So what are we to do? God’s plan has never changed; we are to put our faith in Jesus. He removes our sin and sinks it to the deepest part of the ocean, never to be found again. (Micah 7:18-19)

I don’t know exactly how or when, but the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians about a time, when we will all be changed back to our original design, a pure design, God’s design.

1 Corinthians 15:50-52

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

I can’t wait for that “twinkling of the eye” moment when I will be changed back to the creature God intended me to be. The mutant will be no more!

Today’s mug is raised to all who pray for change in the world. Someday all will be made right!

all verse quotes provided courtesy of biblegateway.com

Storefront Facade

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Bible, Christian, coffee, devotional, drum corps, encouragement, facade, faith, fruit, God, inspiration, one way, Raising The Mug, shopping, wisdom, witness

When I was a new Christian, I was consumed with “Jesus paraphernalia.” Not that they’re necessarily bad to own, but religious icons don’t add anything to your spirituality. One of my favorite symbols was a finger pointing up with the phrase, “One Way” below it. I had lots of “One Way” stuff: stickers on my school books, pencils, t-shirts, metal buttons, etc.

There were at least two problems with me proclaiming my faith by carrying all that stuff around: I was too immature and I was self-righteous. I hadn’t developed any real “fruits of the spirit;” no self-control, no gentleness, no goodness, etc. While I said I believed in Jesus, I hadn’t learned to follow him faithfully. Inside the walls of my church I could be “good.” But once I stepped across the threshold back into the world, I quickly digressed into a life of compromise.

One day I showed up for band practice wearing one of my favorite t-shirts with the finger on it. While we were taking a break from rehearsal, one of the other drummers said to me, “You know you’d be a really cool dude if you’d lose that front.” I didn’t know what he was talking about. He pointed to my shirt and said, “That front you’re wearing. You don’t believe it, so why do you wear it?” ……………..ouch.

That was a life-changing moment for me. After thinking about it, I realized I was a storefront façade; a pretty place to window shop with empty shelves inside. His words cut deep and made me take a hard look inside; I wanted to change.

I didn’t make a 180 degree turn overnight, but little by little I began to experience God’s grace in a new way. I realized that I could never be good enough to completely satisfy the demands of the God’s Law. But I didn’t have to; Jesus did it for me. Understanding this gave me the freedom to live for Christ because I wanted to, not because I had to.

God’s love for us is not based on our performance. However, Jesus did say that you can tell a tree by its fruit; the evidence of a saved heart is the love you exhibit towards others. We shouldn’t be a façade! There should be something of value inside, some substance to our faith.

Matthew 12:33 – NIV

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

If you struggle to be strong in your faith, don’t lose hope; we all struggle. But God is understanding and he always forgives!

Mugs up!

all verse quotes provided courtesy of biblegateway.com

Pull Me Off The Edge

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amusing, Bible, canyon, Christian, coffee, devotional, dizzy, encouragement, faith, fear, God, grace, heights, inspiration, Protection, Raising The Mug, travel, waterfall

Grand Canyon, October 2012

I wasn’t always this way, but I’m afraid of heights. If I get too close to any serious drop, I get vertigo. My head starts spinning around, and I go into panic mode. Even just looking over a railing in a mall or hotel sometimes makes me nervous.

Gaby Glory – Grand Canyon 2012

A couple of years ago, some friends from Mexico, Gaby & Norma Glory, toured the Grand Canyon with Jane and I. It was absolutely breathtaking. One of the things that surprised me about the park, however, was that anyone can walk right up to the edge of the canyon, as you can see from this photo. I didn’t care for that at all. The whole time Gaby was on the edge, I kept saying, “Come back, come back…….”

My wife was a traitor too. She did the same thing.

Waterfall at Watsons Mill State Park

I enjoy photography. Earlier this summer, I drove over to Watson’s Mill State Park to take some pictures of the covered bridge and shoals. There were too many people playing in it that day, so I wandered down a hiking trail until I came upon the remains of an old power mill. The mill was gone, but the manmade waterfall was still there. I wanted to take a full-length picture of the waterfall, but I couldn’t find a good location. The picture below shows the fall, only it drops a lot further than what is visible. I climbed out on top of the wall that is in the background……. bad idea. I started getting dizzy. It suddenly occurred to me that I was all by myself, and I hadn’t told anyone where I was going. I don’t think my family would have appreciated my body being found weeks later at the bottom of a 50 foot waterfall. It was a good time to get down.

Sometimes fear is logical; God gives us a natural aversion to things that are potentially dangerous. At other times, it’s a hindrance. Take, for example, the story of David and Goliath. Day after day, Goliath taunted the Israelite army to send a volunteer out for a man-to-man combat with him. No one was willing to take the challenge……… except David. He was no more than a young man, maybe 14 or 15 years old, yet he had confidence that the Lord would protect him.

1 Samuel 17:32 & 37 – NIV

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him………… ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

David’s courage is quite impressive, and as we all know, he was correct. Not only did God rescue David, he rescued the entire nation because of David’s faith and bravery.

Today’s mug is raised to the timid. Have faith! The Lord will rescue!

 all bible verses provided by biblegateway.com

Sinkhole or Solid Rock?

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Bible, children, Christian, coffee, creation, devotional, encouragement, faith, fear, foundation, God, grace, grass, inspiration, landscape, listen, Protection, Raising The Mug, sand, sinkhole, travel, words

The land where our house sits used to be flanked by two large gullies, one on either side. When we built the house, it was common practice to fill large holes with debris from the property and or unused building materials. Around 1995 that practice was outlawed.  But since ours was constructed in ’93, the contractor filled the two gullies with the debris. Once the house was completed, the landscapers smoothed out the areas and packed it down with their bulldozers. Then, they planted grass, and all was well ………… until about ten years later.

photo courtesy of National Geographic News

We noticed the ground began to sink where one of the gullies had been. We weren’t too concerned and contributed it to erosion. It wasn’t until my wife was mowing the yard one day that it became apparent. There was more below the surface than was visible from above. Or should I say, there was less below the surface than was visible from above. As she was walking behind the push mower, the ground suddenly caved in and she fell into a deep hole up to her waist. Upon further inspection, we discovered about a twenty-foot wide area that was mostly a thin crust being held together by a few supporting lumps of dirt and roots. We could only assume that the debris had completely decomposed or that the rain had washed the dirt out below the grass. To be continued …….

We were in Guatemala in May of 2010 when a similar event happened, only on a much grander scale. The country had been pummeled by Tropical Storm Agatha. I remember walking through waist-high water to get to my friend’s house for a visit. There was tremendous damage in the area near Antigua where we were staying. To the south-west, mudslides from Volcan Agua destroyed portions of the village of San Miguel Escobar; roads and bridges were completely washed away.

On the front page of the paper, we saw the picture above. It was unbelievable. In Guatemala City, a large sinkhole, 66 feet wide by 100 feet deep, had swallowed an entire three-story building. In an article from Discovery.com, scientists warned that this was not a sinkhole, (from Discovery.com/earth) but was the result of the city being built on soft volcanic ash. They fully expect that it will happen again. And again.

photo courtesy of Discovery.com

In chapter 7 of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told a parable about two men who built houses: one built his house on rock while the other built his on sand. The story ends like this:

²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

No one would deliberately build a house on a foundation that they knew would wash away in a rain storm. Why would you risk that kind of ruin? Yet when we ignore Jesus, that is precisely what we are doing. It does us no good to hear his words if we don’t put them into practice.

Back to our own sink-hole story……. Jane and I paid to have a dump truck load of dirt brought in to fill the hole and level it out again. So its safe to visit us; you don’t need to worry about being swallowed up by the earth.

Today’s mug is raised to those who are living on unstable ground. May you turn to Jesus and his words to find a firm foundation on which to build your life!

Kaboom!

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amusing, Bible, burn, Christian, dynamite, encouragement, explosive, fire, gasoline, inspiration

Frank was a large man……… a very large man. He was the first employee I ever hired at my first cabinet shop. He had a great sense of humor and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him, but he had a drinking problem. He never tried to hide it; in fact, it was quite the opposite. He fully admitted his problem ……. he loved beer. Once he told me that he drank at least one six-pack every night. I’m pretty sure that he topped that limit more than once during the year and a half we worked together.

The little shop where we built the cabinets was extremely small, about the size of a two car garage. There really wasn’t room for one person much less two. But we managed, me with my little frame and Frank with his big one.

One thing that is true for every wood shop is that you create waste. Pieces of scrap wood begin to pile up and if you don’t figure out how to use them or discard them, they become a hazard. It’s against the law today, but in 1983 in Oconee County GA, it was okay to burn left over wood without a permit. (Today the stuff has to be hauled to a landfill.) After cutting cabinet parts for a couple of months, we had collected enough pieces for a sizable bonfire. One winter day, when there wasn’t much to do, I instructed Frank to go out back and burn the scraps. He busily collected the last scraps that were still in the shop, then began trying to light the fire. He wasn’t having much luck; I guess the wood was a little damp from being outside. Finally his frustration peaked; he noticed a gas can in the corner and decided that would do the trick. I warned him to be careful with gas; it has an unpredictable way of igniting.

( I suppose I should take a break from the story for one moment and explain something for those of you who don’t know the properties of gasoline. Every firefighter in America will tell you, “Never use gasoline to start a fire.” The chances of getting severely burned are extremely high. It’s not the liquid gas that ignites; it’s the fumes. Don’t ever use gasoline to light a fire!)

Wile E Coyote – produced by Warner Brothers Studios

 I don’t remember if Frank was intoxicated that day. All I know is he ignored my warning; he began to empty about three gallons of gasoline all over and even around the pile of wood…………….. The match never made it out of Frank’s hand……… at the first spark ……….KABOOM !! It sounded like someone dropped a bomb on us. The explosion literally shook the glass in the window panes of the business next door causing everyone inside to rush out to see what happened.  When they saw the 15 foot high flames, they thought for sure our shop had experienced an explosion and was on fire. If Frank had actually gotten hurt, it wouldn’t have been funny  ………….. fortunately, he wasn’t hurt. The memory of that large man dancing to get away from those flames is permanently branded on my brain. I can’t think of it and not laugh.  And there was Frank, looking sheepish ………. with all the hair singed off his face.

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…..

The Greek word for “power” in this verse is dunamis which is the same word from which we derive “dynamite.” The idea Paul is trying to convey is that the gospel doesn’t just cause a spark in our hearts; it has the power to ignite a chain reaction that propels us for the rest of our lives.

Today’s mug is raised to all the fire fighters of the world.  May they remain cautiously unafraid and may the Lord keep them safe!