Joel Stiff's Adventure

We have spent the last week between two exotic locations: Shipshewana, Indiana and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Shipshewana is a small town with a large Amish and Mennonite populations. Pigeon Forge is a tourist town on the edge of the Smokey Mountain National Park. Both are nice places with lots to do and see. They are each quite unique in flavor and attractions. They are also both quite different from where we live in Flint.

The question is always asked when traveling, “Is this a place I would like to live?” Nicole asked this of me this week. Between Pigeon Forge and Shipshewana, where would I rather live. I frustrated her with my answer. I replied that either would be fine and i couldn’t choose one over the other.

It’s just that I have learned something in my forty years that she hasn’t yet in her sixteen. I’ve learned that the scenery, the attractions and the recreational opportunities pale in comparison to who else lives there.

If I am not around the people I love and who love me, there isn’t much to draw me there.

I heard some very good news about a family I love very much.

This good news is going to change their lives in the most unbelievable ways.

Life will never be the same for them and good for them.

There is something about our sinful, self centered nature that begrudges good news for others.

We begin to ask questions such as, “Why them?” or “Why not me?”

Jealousy and envy are the root of these questions. Jealousy is the frustration that good things are happening for others instead of ourselves. Envy is when the frustration runs so deep that we even try to derail the goodness that has happened to others. Think of scratching the neighbors new car because you weren’t able to have one. After all, if you cannot have one, why should they?

The Bible teaches that self centeredness is to be diminished. Instead it teaches that we are to be glad when others celebrate and mourn when they are having a tough time.

Congratulations to my celebrating family today.

Romans 12:15: Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

If you’re going to jump from an airplane you have to trust that your parachute will deploy.

You’ll never see it deploy if you don’t jump.

If you want to see God do big things, you have to be willing to jump out of the plane.

If you’re not willing to jump, don’t complain that your chute doesn’t work.

The chute will work just fine, but it doesn’t work at all until you jump from altitude.

Don’t complain that God never shows up in your life if you’re not willing to let Him prove Himself.

Little Debbie.

Yes, that Little Debbie, the snack cake lady.

Before you think I’m being disrespectful, I asked Shannon if I could use this title.

She gets the joke. She’s not uptight like those of you who are aghast right now.

Anyhow, I was walking through Meijer’s tonight picking up some eggs, sausage and pain reliever. On my way to the eggs, there were two employees putting away large stacks of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. I began to walk past and then stopped abruptly. I said, “Let me make your job a little easier” and took a box. When I got home, I told the family that God had led me to buy a box of cakes.

Truth is, God didn’t lead me to do anything. I saw, I coveted, I purchased, I ate. It was pure happenstance that I passed by.

My point tonight is that we often make claims that aren’t true to avoid taking responsibility for our actions.

We decide we want something and we say God led us. We do something really stupid and then say that the devil is troubling us. God and the devil take a lot of blame for our choices.

Now I believe in the sovereignty of God and the temptation of the devil.

I also believe that many times it is of our own doing that things are not what they ought to be in our lives.

Next time, before you place blame, make sure it is going where it deserves to go.

One exception, it is Little Debbie’s fault that my waist isn’t a 32 anymore.

Parents establish rules because they love their children. We taught our young children to stay out of the street to keep them from being struck by an automobile. The rules were in place because we loved them.

Their willingness to obey our rules demonstrated their love to us. They cared about what we wanted from them. They respected our wishes because they love us.

In any relationship where there are rules and boundaries or an authority and a submissive, love will make the difference between obedience and disobedience.

Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” At first this may sound manipulative, but once we understand that love is the basis for the commandments, it will be our love that produces a willingness to obey.

I was in a toy store today and found an entire section of small toy tractors. They were old school steel and rubber construction, like the old Tonka trucks used to be.

The unique thing about these tractors was that they were exact replicas of John Deere tractors. Models from decades ago through today.

Who buys these toys? Men who used to drive or currently drive them as an occupation. Women whose men drove them. But mostly children whose parents drive them. That’s the market that struck me.

Some little boy or girl wants a miniature version of what mom or dad drives for work.

I hope that my life’s work so inspires my children that they want to do what I do both now and later.

A friend of mine asked if I am using the new B.C. glasses I was given or if I am showcasing them as collector’s items.

I am most definitely using them. They were made to be used.

Of course, using them runs the risk of possibly having these ones also break.

They may, but they may not. Truthfully, they could get broken just sitting on a shelf too. Safety is not a guarantee.

This is a choice we make in life many times a day. If I step out, I may get hurt. If I stick my neck out, my head may get chopped off. Peter could have said, “If I climb out of this boat, I may drown.” But great things are not accomplished by those who fear to leave the front door of their home. Great things are accomplished by those who dare to go out into the world and see what kind of difference they can make.

It is a scary time for Shannon and I as parents. Our children are getting older and will be driving soon. They will be able to get jobs soon. They will be going to college soon. We have always encouraged them to push beyond their perceived limitations, but now we are the ones getting cold feet.

As it is with us, so it is with our children. If they are not allowed to venture out and yes, possibly even get hurt, they will never grow. They will never become stronger. They will never make a difference.

The numbers are not in favor of adventure seekers. For every Peter that walks on water, there are eleven men who stay in the boat.

If you attempt anything at all, there is risk. But we are here to make attempts, not sit on a shelf.

A ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.

CB lingo is unique. So is the use of the word “lingo”, I suppose. It consists of using clever phrases to communicate a message while thinly veiling its true meaning. Consider it a special kind of secret code. When a driver or home base operator is looking for someone to talk to, he would key the mic and ask if anyone had their ears on.

Jesus used this phrase a lot, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

He was asking if anyone was connecting with what He was saying. Did they understand it? Did it ring true with them? Were they picking up what he was laying down?

Anyone who is familiar with attempting to spread ideas on the internet wonders this same thing.

If I post a cartoon, a picture of a plate of food or a complaint about people I don’t like, the attention the post receives is off the charts. I will get scores of “likes” and comments in the dozens.

If, however, I post something requiring thought, consideration or necessitating more than five seconds attention, I may as well be talking to a wall.

So the decision I must make is, do I write what is most helpful and beneficial or do I write what will most resonate with the masses?

The masses desire the equivalent of intellectual junk food. Just another reason to walk the narrow road.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew twenty-five speaks of the parable of the talents. The master gives different amounts of talents to his servants and then departs. He intends for them to mind those talents for him in his absence. He prefers that they invest them and give him an increase.

Once he does return he finds that two of the servants have doubled the amount he entrusted to them, while one simply buried the single talent to ensure he didn’t lose it.

The first two are commended for their hard work and effort. They hear this commendation, “Well done thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

The last one is rebuked. He hears this condemnation, “Thou wicked and slothful servant…”

Of the two options, I believe most Christians would want to hear, “Well done.”

But the only way you get to hear “well done thou good and faithful servant” is if you faithfully serve.

This life is given to us to serve Jesus, not sit and wait for His return.

One – most of what we fear doesn’t exist. The boogeyman is fictional. Ninety-nine percent of our worries never happen.

Two – almost all fear is centered around loss. So the person who has surrendered everything to the Lord has nothing left to lose. Nothing to lose means nothing to fear.