Sleeping with the Elephant

It was Pierre Trudeau who compared living next to the United States as being in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast might be, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.  And at no time is that truer than during the US presidential elections.  And we’ve seen plenty of twitches and grunts since this campaign began.

Regardless of how you may feel about the two candidates or who you may think the Americans should or should not elect, I would remind that God is still on His throne and neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have the power to dethrone Him.

So I would suggest that in the days ahead, as we sleep with the elephant, that we need to hang onto our blankets and pray that God’s will be done.

And for all the doomsayers, on both sides of the campaign, at the end of the game we all need to understand and claim the reality of Psalm 20:7:” Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

Today there are those who trust in parties and policies but as God’s people we ultimately need to trust in the name of the Lord our God. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Who is in your web?

Have you had enough spiders this fall? It is incredible the number of arachnids we have around the outside of our house right now. Mind you, having lived in Australia for four years—where you could saddle the spiders and ride them like ponies—these aren’t a particular threat.


It’s not the spiders that I mind; live and let live, right?  It is the webs. There is nothing more annoying and frightening than walking into a web, unless it’s the thought you had in Australia: that what spun the web could weigh as much as a small puppy. Yuck! 


Spiders aren’t the only things that have webs. So do we! Webs of influence and webs of relationships that are all interconnected to the centre—you.  I was told recently that, on average, churched believers have a relationship of some kind with seven people who aren’t in church or in Christ. It might be a co-worker or someone you share a hobby with. It might be the parents of your kids’ friends or a relative. Who is in your web? 


Maybe it’s time you actually took the time to see who you could introduce to your church and who you could introduce to your Lord. After all, it might make an eternity of difference.  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

All Fixed

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Apparently you can correct some of your youthful indiscretions.  I recently read about a new trend in plastic surgery; earlobe reconstruction, really . . .  earlobe reconstruction.

One plastic surgeon says that he has been doing four or five of the one hour procedures a month, and it seems to be gaining popularity.  It is a relatively simple operation that repairs the large holes left from having the earlobes punched out and stretched to accommodate large spacers. 

If only all of our past decisions could be fixed as quick and easy as fixing an earlobe.  Some things will always leave marks that can never entirely be erased.  Things like tattoos, poor choices in relationships and addictive behaviors can sometime mark us for life, but while the physical reminders may stay with us, spiritually we can be made new.

After a number of really bad decisions, David’s prayer is recorded in the Psalms, “Wash me God, and make me whiter than snow”.   God answered David’s prayer and God will answer the same prayer for us.

We may have to pay a physical price for the mistakes and choices we made in our past, but the Bible assures us that the spiritual consequences can be erased just for the asking.  The question is; have you asked?

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Gone. . .

For twenty years he was right there and she didn’t have a clue. 

Two decades ago Rita Wolfensohn’s life changed when her 29 year old son Louis moved out of the family home.  From that point on mother and son had no contact with each other.  That changed last month when the legally blind, elderly woman was hospitalized and her sister-in-law, Josette Buchman went to her home to pick up some personal belongings to take to the hospital.   Josette found the home in complete disarray, and to her shock discovered the fully intact skeleton of her nephew lying on a mattress on the floor.  Still dressed in jeans and a shirt, it was as if he had laid down and never woke up.

One police source commented “It’s like some reverse ‘Psycho’ scene,” but unlike Norman’s fetish with his dead mother,  Mrs. Wolfensohn maintains that her son moved out and authorities say the man died of natural causes.

What a tragedy.   The greater tragedy is that for twenty years Rita thought her son had cut her out of his life and no longer loved her.

The lesson here is to always make sure the ones we love know that we love them, that we always show it and that we always we say it.

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.