Nov

Now What

Fri Nov 4th 2011 @ 3:00 am

So I’m sitting across the table from this guy I’d never met before and he’s asking why I’m so unhappy: And I’m thinking to myself, “How did he know? Does he have some kind of X-Ray vision that can see into my soul?” I’m also wondering if maybe he is into some kind of weird cult. I mean, how could this guy have known what was going on inside me? I had worked very hard to conceal the emptiness in my gut and to build a bullet-proof front: Fast Eddie, the high rolling, hard charging, party guy. As far as the world knew, I had it all: Money, fun and good times. I never let anyone inside that façade. So how did he know?

Turns out, Ken wasn’t weird; just the first to see through my veneer and the first to have the courage to confront me. That lunch went on for two hours and we never did get around to eating a meal or to discussing business. I don’t remember everything we talked about: I do remember hearing him say, “It doesn’t have to be like this for you” and “There is another way.” He explained that the so-called “cult” he belonged to was something called a non-denominational Christian church…whatever that was…and that he was something called an Evangelical. All of which freaked out members of the media and advertising communities: Hence the rumors about belonging to a cult. He didn’t hand me any gospel tracts and he didn’t preach to me. But my head and my heart were churning with thoughts and emotions.

Suddenly, Ken noticed the time and said, “Good Grief…I’m thirty minutes late for a meeting!” So we paid the check and left. As I mentioned last week, the restaurant was on the ground level of the building in which Ken’s radio station was located, so he needed to get on the elevator while I needed to exit to the parking lot. We walked together to the elevator, which was almost full when he got on. He turned to face me and, just as the elevator doors were closing between us, he looked me in the eye and said, “I love you.” The doors slammed shut and he was gone. I stood there, staring at the closed elevator doors. I was thunderstruck. What just happened?

I walked slowly out of the building into the parking lot. As I approached the Cadillac convertible that I had always been so proud to drive; it no longer seemed very special. Nor did all the gold jewelry I was wearing. Or the expensive clothes and shoes. In fact, at that moment, none of the things I had worked so hard to accumulate seemed to be worth much of anything. It all seemed like such a waste. Whatever Ken had said to me had penetrated. There had to be more to life than this.

As I stood by my car, I looked up and said, “Jesus, if you’re up there and you’re real…all I want is peace and happiness. You can have all my money and all my stuff: just give me peace and happiness.” Ka-Bam! It was like I’d been zapped by a bolt of electricity! I felt five thousand pounds lift off my shoulders and I was walking on air! I wanted to shout! I wanted to jump and dance. I started to cry from sheer joy. There I was…a grown man sitting in his car in a parking lot on one of the busiest street corners in town, laughing and crying like a madman and talking to this invisible Jesus. It’s a miracle no one called 911. Finally, I calmed down.

That’s when a huge question filled my consciousness: now what? I didn’t have a clue.

Epilogue

You never know when someone might catch a dream from you.
Or something you say may open up the windows
of a mind that seeks light;
The way you live may not matter at all, But you never know, it might.

And just in case it could be that another's life, through you,
might possibly change for the better with a better and brighter view,
it seems it might be worth a try at pointing the way to the right;
Of course, it may not matter at all, but then again, it might.

Thought for the Day

Don't worry when you stumble. Remember that a worm is about the only thing that can't fall down.

Turn the radio on

Listen to God & Ed’s Excellent Adventure on the Radio. Monday through Friday at 4pm on “The Word,” 98.5/99.3 FM. Or listen on-line at KLGO.net. It’s the place for Christians of all varieties to hang out and be loved, entertained and uplifted.

semi-interesting fact

A giraffe can go without water longer than a camel can.

Joke Du Jour

An older man was on the operating table awaiting surgery. He had insisted that his son-in-law, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. He was about to receive the anesthesia when he asked to speak to the surgeon.

"What is it?" asked the son-in-law.

"Don't be nervous, do your best, and just remember, if it doesn't go well, if something happens to me, my wife is going to come and live with you and your family."

Cool Music

Cool songs you’ve never heard on radio. Check the player on the upper right, click and brighten your day.

Questions I ask myself:

If a fly has no wings would you call him a walk?

Really?? Actual News Stories

The Doomsday Preacher speaks The latest statement released by Harold Camping is an audio recording. In it, Camping responds to the fact that Oct. 21 failed to be the day of the Rapture and the destruction of the world, as he had predicted it would be. "Why didn't Christ return on Oct. 21? It seems embarrassing," he said in the audio address. "But God was in charge of everything. We came to that conclusion after quite careful study of the Bible. He allowed everything to happen the way it did without correction. He could have stopped everything if He had wanted to." Camping also apologized for saying that "people who did not believe that May 21 should not be the Rapture date, probably had not been saved."
Mr. Camping has staunchly claimed since 1992 that he had discovered a special numerical system in the Bible that allowed him to calculate the exact dates of certain events, such as the Great Flood, the Crucifixion and the day of Jesus Christ's return to Earth. Camping first falsely predicted that the world would end on Sept. 6, 1994, then again on May 21, 2011, and finally on Oct. 21.

Bless my what?

Town Hall officials have asked priests to bless all the manhole covers in their town to stop them being stolen by scrap metal thieves. Councillors in Lodz, Poland, replaced all 4,000 of the town's manhole covers after the new ones had been blessed at a church service to keep them safe. Town sewage department president Wlodzmierz Tomaszewski explained: "Lodz's holy patron is Saint Faustina who walked the streets helping the poor and underprivileged. "By blessing the manhole covers we are blessing the streets and spreading her goodness," he added. But locals think the project is money down the drain. "If they think a few prayers will keep all those new manhole covers safe from thieves they need to think again. There won't be one left within a month," said one.

Do not pass go Man stabbed over alleged Monopoly cheating There is no card in Monopoly that advises a player to stab another.

There is, however, one that orders you to go to jail. And that's where a New Mexico woman found herself after a game of Monopoly with her boyfriend and 10-year-old son turned bloody. Convinced he was cheating, Laura Chavez, 60, of Santa Fe, N.M., grabbed a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabbed Clyde "Butch" Smith. According to the arrest warrant "[The boy] stated his grandma, Laura, and [her boyfriend] were both drinking beer while playing the game (of Monopoly.) [The boy] further advised that during the time they were playing the game, his grandma and [her boyfriend] started to argue because she thought [the boyfriend] was cheating at Monopoly." After police responded to a call at the home they found 48-year-old Smith "bleeding heavily from his head and right wrist area." Chavez - who police say admitted stabbing the man - was arrested and charged with aggravated battery on a household member with a deadly weapon, battery upon a peace officer, assault upon a peace officer and resisting or evading a police officer. Smith, meanwhile, was hospitalized in stable condition

Point to Ponder

Have You Been Dis-Appointed? The word "disappoint" comes from an old French word meaning to remove someone from office--to dis–appoint one who had been previously appointed to a position. Those who are fired or "dis-appointed" suffer crestfallen feelings of discouragement. Hence our English word disappointment. This is one of the most difficult emotions to reconcile. We all know how it feels to lose a game, fail at a task, be rejected in a relationship, miss an opportunity, or lose a job. The Bible says that hope deferred (disappointment) makes the heart sick (Proverbs 13:12).
But we're also told God will never disappoint us and that His love never fails. According to Romans 5, we can glory in tribulation because tribulation produces perseverance, which leads to character, which develops hope--and God's hope never disappoints because the Holy Spirit sheds His love abroad in our hearts.

Someone once said "disappointments" are "His appointments." He has a way of working all to our good. If you're struggling with disappointment today, claim the love of God and the promise of Romans 5:5.

There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.
F. W. Faber

Are you kidding me???

The number of times the word, "God" appears 3,358 times, while the number of times the word, " Lord" appears is 7,736.

Groaner

On an extremely windy day, a short, thin man was sweeping debris from the front walk of his store. It was so windy, and he was so light, he was having a rough time trying not to be blown away. Suddenly he hit upon an idea. He gathered heavy rocks and put them in his shoes. Then he continued with his work, repeating to himself, "Now I weigh me down to sweep."

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Remember, Christianity is more about walking than about talking