I have been helping out with our local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) about 2 1/2 years. It's great to see these teenagers put their faith on display at such an early time in life. They have been a source of energy for me, mainly because when I was that age I had Jesus as my savior, but there was very little evidence. Congratulations to the graduating seniors of Fairview High School and especially those that were in the FCA. I will not have much face-to-face contact with them, but we can stay in touch through Facebook and emails. I look forward to the newcomers next semester.
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It was the kindergarten teachers birthday and the students decided that they would each buy their teacher a gift.
The first student, whose parents own a florist shop, gave her a present. She held it and said "I guess that it is flowers". "How did you guess?" asked the little boy. She laughed and thanked him.
The second student, whose parents own a candy store, gave her a present. She held it and said, "I guess that is some candy."
"How did you guess?" asked the little boy. She again laughed and thanked him also.
The third student, whose parents own a bottle shop, gave her a box which was leaking. The teacher touched the liquid with her finger and tasted it. "Mmmmm is it wine?" she asked.
"No," said the little girl.
So she tasted it again. "Is it champagne?" she asked.
"Noooo," replied the little girl, "It's a puppy."
much love, Dennis
There was an old country preacher who had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought along the line of choosing a profession. Like many young men, then and now, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do- and he didn't seem overly concerned about it.
One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. What he did was, he went into the boy's room and placed on his study table these three objects: a Bible, a silver dollar, and a bottle of whiskey.
"Now then," the old preacher said to himself, "I'll just hide behind the door here, and when my son comes home from school this afternoon, I'll see which of these three objects he picks up. If he picks up the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a businessman, and that would be o.k. too. But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a drunkard - a no-good drunkard and Lord, what a shame that would be."
The old man was anxious as he waited, and soon he heard his son's footsteps as he came in the house whistling and headed back to his room. He deposited his books on the bed, as a matter of routine, and as he turned around to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table.
With a curious set in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. What he finally did was, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped it into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink...
"Lord have mercy," the old man whispered, "He's going to be a politician!"
I have friends who are politicians and I hope they don't think this is directed at anyone in particular.
I am beginning to feel very comfortable speaking in public, sharing my faith and explaining my circumstances. There are occasions when my voice will become very weak and I really don't understand why. Fortunately, I have never had a problem on the occasions where I publicly share. A couple of times at our weekly FCA meetings, my voice has diminished. That is not too much of a problem because I am in a secondary leadership position. Linda is the sponsor and the primary leader.
I recently spoke at an event sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It was a collaboration of several FCA groups from different towns and it was also open to the public. The day before I was to speak, my voice began to deteriorate. I prayed that I would be able to be understood and just before I was introduced, my friend Max prayed over me, asking for my message to be heard and understood.
As I began to speak, my voice was not any better. I can normally stringing together 4-6 words before taking a breath. That night for most of the time 2 words were all I could put together. I had to cut short much of what I had planned on saying.
I really felt like I had let down the Lord, the people in attendance and those who are part of the group that I help with in Fairview. When Cheri and I returned home, I told her that I was very disappointed in myself.
I'm very thankful to have a wife who listens to God. She reminded me that as Christians we have an enemy, Satan.
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that you may have life, and have it to the full
I was actually allowing Satan to steal my joy and it was my decision whether or not to accept my attempt at speaking as a success or a failure. I had spent many hours composing and revising what I had planned for that evening. I did my best and that is what God was expecting me to do.
It was kind of like I was standing at the edge of a tall building, getting ready to jump into a huge pity party. I thank God for my wife and her advice in this situation. There was no pity party that night or any time since then. I did my best and I am counting on God to handle the things that I could not do that evening. I am going through the valley, but I'm not setting up camp and staying in the valley. I continuing my journey on through.
Much love, Dennis
Last Thursday was the end of FCA for this school year. I really enjoy meeting with these high schoolers. They are very diverse bunch. Some of them are always adding to the conversation and some sit and listen. One thing that I've never seen, is one of them not paying attention to what is going on. I'm sure it's because they have the option of attending and if they're not interested, they don't show up. Linda Zimmerman (The Group Leader) and I have talked about some of this bunch being very reluctant at the beginning of the year and now they are comfortable participating and praying out loud. That's very encouraging. One thing that I've noticed is that some of them wear Christian themed shirts.
Here are a few of my favorites
Sometimes T-shirts and bumper stickers can be misleading. Here is an example.
Driving along a busy street, a man became aware of an impatient woman who was tailgating him. She was so close that when he had to brake to allow some children to use a pedestrian crossing, she almost crashed into him.
Furious at being delayed, she sounded her horn and began waving her fists in a disgraceful exhibition of a road rage.
Before she could move off, she felt a tap on her window. It was a police officer who ordered her to step out of the car.
He then asked her to come down to the station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and put in a cell.
A couple of hours later, after vehicle checks had been carried out, she was told that she could collect her valuables and that she was being released without charge.
The woman was extremely indignant at her arrest and demanded an apology.
The officer responsible explained the reason for the mistake. "You see, madam, I pulled up behind your car while you're sounding your horn and loudly cursing the driver in front of you. Then I noticed the 'Follow Jesus, Not Me' sticker on the rear window, the 'God Is Love' sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the boot. Naturally, I assumed that you had stolen the car..."
Much Love, Dennis
