A memory surfaced the other day. You see, I used to be a pretty adventurous kid. With heroes like Indiana Jones and Luke Skywalker you are BOUND to try some stupid stuff sometimes!
When we lived in Africa, my parents owned a Land Rover. This mode of transportation is NOT comfortable at all, but is purely for the purpose of getting to “hard-to-reach” places! Because of this purpose, one of the main additions is a ladder on the back which leads to a luggage rack on the top.
One day, a missionary friend borrowed the Rover to go into town. As he pulled away, that beautiful ladder called out my name! I couldn’t turn down an opportunity for an adventure, so I sprinted after the Rover and launched myself onto the ladder.
“Wow,” I mused, “I did that PERFECTLY…just like the stuntmen in the movies!”
As the Rover accelerated, my pride was quickly replaced by a question, “How do the stuntmen get OFF these things?!”
I knew that I had to get off quickly. Luckily, the road beneath me was dirt and we were only traveling at maybe 10-15 mph.
As I jumped, I formed a plan to run as fast as I could when my legs made contact with the ground. That way, I would not fall.
I learned a lot about physics (and myself) that day! It is NEAR IMPOSSIBLE to match speed with a vehicle after jumping off of it! As a result, I went tumbling…kicking up dust in the process.
As I lifted myself up off the ground, insult was added to injury as I heard, “Look at the silly white boy! Hahahahaha!”
But they were wrong. My face was no longer white…it was red with embarrassment!
I wonder how many other people were adventuresome as kids? Did anyone else ever try a stunt like this? Or did anyone else ever try to jump off their house and float down using an umbrella (a la “Mary Poppins”) ? That doesn’t work, either! So, got any stories?
Wacky stuff from the fun, exciting, depressing, easy, hard, anxious, happy world of youth ministry!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The first Christmas was not about shopping malls. It was not about credit or presents, but about a PERSON!
This simple fact reminds me that I need to be thankful for many PEOPLE in my life. I am thankful for my son Fischer and our time together. I am thankful for my insanely beautiful wife! I am thankful for the kids in my youth group and my church family. I am thankful for my ministry buddies. I am thankful for my extended family. I am thankful for teachers through life so far. I am thankful that a REAL baby named Jesus was born many, many years ago.
Who are YOU thankful for?
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