Lessons learned in my childhood:
- Don’t put chocolate bunnies in a sunny window.
- Count your eggs before you hide them.
- Dogs can’t eat chocolate.
- Ants love chocolate.
- Don’t eat the prettiest eggs first.
- Make Dad be careful the first time he mows.
- Share with your sister.
Things I learned when I was older:
Christ is risen.
Like Him we rise.
Christ is real, always with us.
I hope all of you have had a chance to truly meet Christ on a personal level. If not yet, I hope that experience awaits you. It doesn’t have to be in church—in fact it rarely happens there. For my son, it happened one morning walking across the basement.
The first time I truly met Christ I was alone in my bedroom at night. I was supposed to be confirmed in church the following morning, though this was my second confirmation, a different church from the one I grew up in. I awaited the next day with absolute dread. I was secure in my belief in God and Jesus, but not at all sure I wanted to be committed to a particular breed of church.
As I worried over the issue, a tremendous feeling of peace came over me. The phrase often used is “peace that surpasses understanding.” It’s difficult to comprehend the meaning of that phrase unless you’ve actually experienced it. It overwhelms you, and there is no doubt in your mind whatsoever of its origin. Then He spoke to me. “Wait. When it is time, I will show you the way.”
That’s it. No further elaboration. I didn’t need it. The words came into my mind, but they were as distinct and clear as if my ears had heard them. And I knew exactly who said them. I knew then I shouldn’t show up for confirmation the next morning.
My failure to appear caused quite a kerfuffle. The minister came to visit my parents, wanting to know why I hadn’t shown up to join the church. I told him the truth. “I don’t feel the presence of God in your church.”
If you can imagine, he told me, “You’re being idealistic. You can’t feel the presence of God.”
I was stunned. I am still saddened that there are many pastors leading their congregations in blindness, because indeed, not only have they never felt the presence of God in their own lives, they don’t even believe it’s possible.
I knew because that night before was not the only time I’d felt the presence of God, though it was the first (and only) time I was spoken to. When my family moved from the suburbs of Kansas City to a rural area, I began attending a small rural church. My Sunday School class was relegated to the room near the top of the bell tower. It was hot—no air conditioning vent up there—and there was a wasp’s nest in the ceiling.
Yet the first time I joined the class, I felt it—that feeling of warmth, peace, and acceptance. I knew God was in that room. Unfortunately, I did not feel that in the church I had planned to join.
Many years later, I stepped through the sanctuary doors of another new church—and instantly knew I had found home. It had been so long since God had told me He would show me the way, that I had completely forgotten about that. After attending the church for a while, I did remember, and realized He had kept his promise. Not the next day, or the next year, but when the time was right. His time.
So I pray for all of you my friends that you my be led to the right path at the right time—God’s time.
These little guys must have a calendar in their heads, though this one was two days early. Normally, I can count on the first one showing up on April 15, and they disappear in unison on October 15. Last fall they left a full two weeks early, prompting me to stock up for what I thought would be a terrible winter. It wasn’t terrible, but we did have two six-inch snows, the most we’ve had since we moved to our sweet country retreat in Southwest Missouri in 1999. While we were trying to build our house, we had two 11-inch snows a week apart. Haven’t seen anything like that since. Figures, since it set our building efforts back by two weeks and cost us a bundle of extra money for the out-of-state construction crew.
Conferences like this one always help get me back on track when I’ve fallen off. The hotel, The Orleans, was amazing—biggest one I’ve ever seen (first-hand) let alone stayed in. The first floor was a full casino. My friend Prix, who attended the conference with me, tried her hand at Roulette.
The hotel was largely alligator themed. My favorite bar had a giant alligator head sticking out of the front. I took a photo, but didn’t have my glasses on, so it didn’t turn out well (not because I’d been drinking, you understand). However, this is a pic of my favorite statue at one of the entrances.
In addition to learning a lot, I had the chance to reunite with my west coast cousins whom I hadn’t seen for over 60 years. We had soooooo much fun. Left to right below, Page, Jan, and me. Can you see the family resemblance?
Brian Dawes, author of Life According To Brian, has been places and done things few of us can imagine, and a lot of us, including me, probably wouldn’t want to. 
The picture of Brian’s book with the gas mask is a case in point. Brian was attending University in Queensland, Australia, home for the holidays in Bahrain during the First Gulf War. The Bahrain government had issued gas masks to its citizens in case of an attack from Iraq. The English speaking “ex-pats” in Bahrain were avid partiers, not to be deterred by the threat of attack, so they had “gas mask parties.” Everybody had to bring their own gas mask as well as copious amounts of booze.
At thirteen he managed to convince his parents to allow him to return to Bahrain and attend school there. Before long, however, he heard from a friend that a boarding school in Scotland, aptly named Colditz (after the infamous prison in ‘the Great Escape’) was a pretty good school, and off he went. It didn’t hurt that his grandmother lived in the area. Not that being at a better school changed his behavior much. In Chapter 4: Halfterm Mayhem—Saving the Family Name, the boys spend their school break at a house owned by his ‘unaware’ parents, who were still living overseas. The first night they create a new tradition by getting drunk and jumping off the bridge into the freezing river at 2:00 a.m. The next day, they decide on a toga party, using Brian’s mother’s new sheets, in appropriate colors of bright pink, blue, green, and yellow, and partying on the lawn where the geriatric neighbors are certain to see and report to his grandmother. When they see gran on her way, they sneak out to the local pub, still in togas, of course.
his buddy Firthy head to Thailand. In Brian’s words, “Bangkok is best described as utterly chaotic, think manic beehive with the Queen on her period, shouting orders outrageously drunk and high on LSD. General disorder is the dish of the day.” No spoilers here. I’ll let you read the rest of the story yourselves, and see how the “safe hands” bit works out.
In Uganda, Chapter 40, Two Fools Attempt Croc Suicide—My Favorite Flip Flops, Brian and his buddies hire guides to take them fishing in search of huge Nile Perch on the Nile river, where the crocodiles were larger than their boat. Brian’s friend caught the Perch, but Brian landed this monster catfish. Not sure it couldn’t have eaten the boat.
computer—often alien with alien symbols, and with a few educated guesses hacks the computer system and saves the world. My experience with technology is… well, not so great.
Also saw the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum there. I thought the tickets were a little pricey, but turned out to be worth it. The cave tour is with electric golf carts, much better for my knees. It was a much smaller cave than I was expecting, but the trail was beautiful, with several impressive waterffall.
According to the shuttle driver it’s the largest in the U.S., although that would be in large part because it focuses primarily on the Ozarks. Most of the museum is actually Native American exhibits, with a few skeletons of prehistoric animals thrown in. We didn’t get pictures in there as the lighting wasn’t ideal, and I assumed we weren’t supposed to use a flash, though I didn’t see any signs.