The Daily Detour

Love is in the air this Valentine's Day weekend

...and for Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher it's been in the air for a long, long time. At ages 104 and 102 respectively, Herbert and Zelmyra were married in May of 1924 and have enjoyed 86 years of wedded bliss.

In our current age of starter marriages and "irreconcilable differences" it's refreshing to see two people whose committed love for eachother has stood the test of time. Herbert and Zelmyra serve as a wonderful example to those of us who are navigating our way through marriage.

And to top it all off, the Fishers are tweeting. That's right, they have a Twitter account (@longestmarried) and are offering their time-tested advice to other couples over the Valentine's Day weekend. So, if you have a question, the love Drs. are in the house. :)

Tribute to our wounded warriors

Someone sent me this YouTube video of the performance at the 2009 ACM by country singer, Trace Adkins and the West Point glee club. I was blessed to see this performance when it was originally broadcasted and posted on it then about one of the many reasons why I love country music (e.g. We'd be hard-pressed to see such a genuine tribute at the typical Hollywood affair). It's certainly worth watching again. And more significantly, it's a good reminder for all of us about the ongoing sacrifices being made by our military men and women. Thank you again to those who serve... 

A tribute to Haitian missionary

As I mentioned earlier this past week, my good friend, Jeanne Acheson-Munos, was killed in the earthquake in Haiti. And her husband, Jack, was seriously injured and is recovering in a Miami hospital. When I heard about her death, I wrote a brief letter to the editor to The Indianapolis Star as small tribute to Jeanne and Jack's dedication to the Haitian people.

The editor saw fit to publish the letter in today's paper. My hope, as I wrote in the letter, is that we can admire Jeanne's self-sacrificing approach to life, and hopefully, follow her example as we have opportunity.

It's being called THE most powerful moment in Catalyst history...

In my previous post, I shared about the Compassion International presentation at Catalyst where Jimmy from Kenya met his sponsor, Mark, for the first time. Here is a video showing that incredibly powerful moment. (And here's the image that captured it all.) Watch it and be moved to action!

An unforgettable moment at Catalyst '09

Over at Learning How to Love, Brad Ruggles offers his post-event tips entitled "Catalyst for Dummies". Some very practical after-action steps that any Catalyst attendee can, and should, consider when we all get home and debrief from the event. But he also asks about what was the favorite part?

As I shared over on Brad's blog, it was difficult for me to narrow it down because there was so much rich content. That said, I was particularly moved by the Compassion International presentation situated between two of Friday's main speakers. A formerly sponsored child through Compassion, Jimmy Wambua, was interviewed on stage by Catalyst emcee Ken Coleman. He shared his story with the 13,000-member audience.

When Jimmy was only four years old, his mother became ill. His father was not in the picture and given the state of his situation, he resorted to scavanging for food and whatever else he could find to simply survive. Then, at age seven, his mother took him to live with an aunt, while she went to try to find help. That is when she came across Compassion International. She came back and got Jimmy and took him to the Compassion organization.

That was when Jimmy got his first letter from Mark, which he proceeded to read to us from the stage. Mark described himself as a 20-year old college student. He talked about how much he enjoyed being able to start a friendship with little Jimmy. But he also wanted to introduce Jimmy to the greatest friend of all, Jesus.

After reading the letter, Jimmy explained that he eventually gave his heart to Jesus. And with Mark's support over the years, Jimmy explained that Mark had essentially saved his life. Jimmy is now studying at Moody Bible Institute, with plans to eventually go back to Kenya to serve his own people.

After hearing Jimmy's compelling story, Ken Coleman then asked if he had ever talked with Mark or met him. Jimmy said he hadn't. It was at that moment that Mark walked out on the stage and toward Jimmy. When Jimmy laid eyes on him, they quickly approached eachother and embraced for a long time. After literally 3-4 minutes of extended embrace, Ken was unable to continue the interview and poor Jimmy slumped to the floor crying almost-uncontrollably. Mark knelt next to him and put his arm around him until everyone could get some composure. They were eventually able to finish out the interview before making their way off stage.

In terms of sheer raw human drama, it was one of the most poignant moments I have ever personally witnessed. To see the one whose life has been saved being embraced by the one who affected that life so deeply was gripping. It reminded me of the power of true Christianity lived out, that a young college student would faithfully give of his time, money and resources to save the life of a stranger. Then again, is that not what Jesus did for all of us, whether we even know Him or not? Absolutely amazing!

"Greater love has no one than this..."

"than he lay down his life for his friends," said Jesus (John 15:13). Would you be willing to demonstrate this kind of love--to lay down your life for your friend? What about a kidney...for a stranger? That is exactly what Bill Eiler decided to do, and in the process, he set off a chain of events that allowed multiple people here in Indiana to receive life-saving kidneys. It is an incredible story of sacrifice.

I asked Jean whether or not she would gie a kidney to someone in need. She said she probably would. Honestly, I'm not sure what I'd do. What about you? Imagine what the world would look like if we each treated eachother in this way.

A refreshing display of sportmanship

Maybe you have already seen this story, but if not, I pass it along to you for some encouragement. The incident involves high school football player Matt Ziesel, a young player with Downs Syndrome who was part of the team but was never able to play. He was so enthusiastic that he suited up with pads and helmet every game, ready and willing to get into the game, but he only road the bench. Until this week. In a blow-out game, both teams worked to make it an unforgettable night for Matt.

On a related, more serious note, imagine if Matt's parents had followed the admonition of people like bioethicist Peter Singer and had eliminated people like Matt whose lives Singer has deemed as "not worth living". So many opportunities lost...

UPDATE: My apologies to any of you who clicked the link above and were taken to a Bonhoeffer book at Amazon. A technological oversight brought to my attention by one of our alert readers. The problem is corrected now and should take you to this very heart-warming story (and a link to the video of Matt's touchdown run).

High school hero

Kaleb Eulls is a typical high school senior (other than being one of the top high school football players in the country). On Tuesday he became something more, a genuine hero who saved 22 lives. When confronted by a distraught 14-year old female student wielding a .380 semi-automatic handgun, he acted decisively to get the students around him off the bus through the emergency exit in the back. But he wasn't done. He then proceeded to tackle the girl when she became distracted for a moment and managed to disarm her.

Understandably, Eulls is being hailed as a hero for his calm thinking and quick reaction to the situation. And he has become a household name across the country.

I, for one, am always intrigued by such stories, wondering, "What would I have done in a similar situation?" I am currently reading a very interesting book, The Survivors Club, in which the Ben Sherwood explores the secrets and science of survival. He describes different types of people and how they generally respond to emergencies. Clearly, Kaleb Eulls falls into the top 10 of the 10-80-10 scale. Those are the people who "will handle a crisis in a relatively calm and rational state of mind."

You never know when you will find yourself in a situation that demands action. Twenty-two young people owe their lives to Kaleb Eulls because he acted with complete selflessness. No matter where you fit on the survival scale, we can all be thankful for people like young Mr. Eulls.

UPDATE: By the way, the middle 80 on the 10-80-10 scale is the second band of people who will "quite simply be stunned and bewildered" and experience what is called "brainlock". The bottom 10 is for those people who, Ben Sherwood writes, "you definitely want to avoid in an emergency. Simply put, the members of the third band do the wrong thing...They make the situation worse. They're the ones who lose control of themselves. In plain terms, they freak out and can't pull themselves together." (p. 48) The most important question is, which category describes you? :)

A most unexpected wedding video :)

One of our TDD readers posted this unexpected wedding video on FB. After watching it (more than a few times at the repeated requests of my boys--Yeah, this is what we do when Daddy and the little fellas stay home on Thursdays, watch wedding videos :), I decided to pass it along to you. It reminds me of what a blessing marriage (and the wedding celebration) is. As I watched the bridal party and listened to that great song accompanying their entrance, my mind was also brought back to my own wedding (and how much I love my own wife). What a great beginning to the rest of one's life!

UPDATE: In honor of all things marriage today, a special shout-out goes out to two of our TDD readers down in the Leyen's Den in Charlotte. Congratulations, Tim and Erin, on 15 years together. Are we all really getting that much older? Yikes! :)

Just when you wonder where the money's gonna come from...

I was going to put up a different post today, and then the miraculous intervened. It's one of those things that has to be shared (in my opinion). Our family was sitting around the breakfast table this morning doing our family devotions when a person walked up to our door. It happened to be a member of the church where I was formerly on staff. When I greeted him at the door, he said that he woke up today and felt God compelling him to help us out (as he pressed a check into my hand). He said he wasn't even sure where our house was, but told God, "If you want me to do this, then you have to help me find their house." (As he got closer, he said he knew he had found it when he saw the used cars--read "the usual Crane clunkers"--in our driveway. :)

Sure enough, God helped him find his way to our door. And unbeknownst to him, it was just in time. As most of you know if you've been tracking my employment progress on this blog since my departure from pastoral ministry, I've been looking for a long-term job for about 13 months now. I had no way of knowing when my season of ministry ended at the church, that the economy would tank during this process, which has only exacerbated our situation (and simultaneously has fostered a greater dependence on God). But as I've also shared from time to time, God has always proven faithful in taking care of our needs, even to the point of the mysterious and miraculous.

During this past year, I have been doing a wide variety of odd, part-time jobs--let's see, chopping wood, writing, speaking, doing a paper route, driving an Iraqi refugee to/from work, painting, lawn-mowing, working in a print shop, and more wood hauling :). All while filling out applications, doing interviews, and pursuing every feasible lead for a long-term job. As you might imagine, we haven't been living in the lap of luxury, but we also haven't been forced to live in our van down by the river either. But there have been some times when things have gotten especially tight, and we are currently in one of those seasons right now. And every time, just when we begin to wonder, while fighting the temptation to succumb to the stress, God comes through.

I say all of this not to impose on the generous sensibilities of you the audience. I simply want to share again how God continues to miraculously intervene on our behalf in the most unexpected ways. I wrote the other day about faith and how a Christian's faith is built over a lifetime of experiences. These are exactly the experiences I was talking about, those times in life when God demonstrates His presence, His care, His concern, and His sovereignty. These are the times which further solidify the anchor to which my faith is moored. This check is not going to pay off our grad school loans or anything like that, but that's what makes this circumstance especially amazing. Because it is just enough to get us over the hump, and it confirms that God cares not only about the major life crises--like when a person's life is in danger or a family is forced to bury their son--but He also cares about the little things. And it continues to make me wonder, "What kind of God is that?", that He would care enough about the little things to cause one of His followers to meet the needs of another.

We happen to be the beneficiaries of that generosity this time, and it challenges me to continue to trust God for the unforeseen future. But I'm also reminded of the importance of being so in tune with God that I can hear His call in a morning to go find someone else in need and bless them in like fashion. Those are challenges for all of us Christ-followers, I suppose.