I plan on going caving in Howard’s Waterfall cave sometime in the next month. If you are interested, fb message me. Probably a Saturday. I have been in the cave 20 times over the past 60 years. It is safe and exciting, or it can be dangerous, whatever you make of it. We’ll be inside for 2 hours or so. Bring a flashlight with fresh batteries and another set of batteries in your pocket. Long-sleeved shirt with long pants. That’s it. We’ll assemble here in Chattanooga. Let me know.
Monday morning, I was on Daily Hill Road going up over Daily Hill in Ringgold and saw a box turtle creeping south across the road. When he saw my car approaching, he stopped and pulled back into his protective shell. But his shell was no match for an oncoming van, so I stopped and flagged down the van (who saw the turtle dilemma). I picked up the turtle, waved a thank-you to the van driver and we drove off. Inside the car. on the floorboard, the turtle continued south (or tried to). I pulled over at the next intersection, found a bucket in the trunk, and relocated the turtle to the bucket. When I got to Marleen’s house, the turtle was still going south (inside of the bucket). I got him a little tomato (to Marleen’s consternation) planning to take him to my grandson’s house for display. But Tuesday morning, I felt sorry for the little guy. He had taken only a few bites out of the tomato, but he was still trying to go south, and the tomato was on the north side of the bucket. What determination! … or stupidity, or stubbornness. So, I took him back to Daily Hill to continue his journey. I released him on the south side of the road and pointed him in the right direction … south. Hey, are you as determined to follow the Lord as that turtle was to go south?! Paul was laser-focused on serving the Lord and said in Philippians 3:13&14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Hey are you laser-focused on serving the Lord today? Put God first in your life, and you’ll never be sorry that you did.
While at the celebration service of Miss Myrna Smith this past Sunday afternoon, I heard many sweet stories and stirring challenges, but I was intrigued by a one-word concept that her granddaughter, Tait, used. She used the word “equity”. When someone pays their house payment, a portion goes to interest (money paid monthly to the bank for making the loan) and a portion goes to principal (the actual amount that was borrowed). And over time, the increasing principle that is paid (and accumulating value) is called equity. The same is true in relationships. We should invest time, kindness, and effort into giving to others before we ask others for favors. Dr. Gary Chapman calls it a love tank. When we are kind to others (our emotional equity) they will be kind to us. When we are loving toward others, they will be loving toward us. But we must contribute to this emotional equity (their love tank) before we can make a withdrawal. Jesus explained it this way in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” The more you give to others, the more that they will be inclined to give to you. The tighter you are with your good deeds, the harder it will be when you ask for help the next time that you move to a new apartment. Especially if you have a piano. Think about it and be kind today.
