It's Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial beginning of summer when Emily
Post gave women permission to once again wear white clothing. (I think. I
really don't know this for a fact.) Fortunately our small city is amply
decorated with flags reminding us of what Memorial Day is really about. It
is a day to remind us of the tremendous price paid through the decades that
we might live in a land of liberty.

Memorials are important. Without them we have a tendency to become absorbed
in the now and forget very important things. Christianity has many
memorials. Jesus established many of them for us. The last night He was
with His disciples He explained to His disciples the real significance of
the Passover bread and wine. They are memorials of His sacrifice for us that
we might live forever.

There is baptism, a memorial of the death of our old, sinful self and the
rebirth of someone filled with the Holy Spirit and dedicated to continued
spiritual growth.

There is the Sabbath, a memorial of creation. Each week this memorial
reminds us that the God who died for us is the very God who created us. He
has taken responsibility for His wondrous creation. See Exodus 20.

Easter Sunday is a memorial of His resurrection. He conquered death and
promises if we will have faith in Him we too shall conquer death. How
grand.

Christmas is a memorial of His advent. It does not matter that we do not
know the real date. What matters is that we establish a memorial lest we
forget.

Memorials are important for us. We must stop our regular life activities
and remind ourselves where we have come from and where we are going.

If you are like me most of the disputes in which we are involved occur
because of misunderstandings. Sometimes we mistakenly misspeak and before
we have an opportunity to rectify it, it has been taken negatively by
another and we are off to the races. I can think of some really big
disappointments that began with great intentions. However, because we
cannot read minds we allow our feelings to be hurt and our response isn't
very positive. We think we have been slighted when it was the last thing the
other person wanted. Failed attempts at humor are a major source of hurt.
As a teacher I am most guilty of this. I joke with students only to see
tears well up in their eyes. Then I am crushed.

I have always loved Hebrews 4:12. God "is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart." There is no chance for misunderstandings with God.
He knows. Just as it is impossible for us not to be understood, it is also
impossible for us to lie to Him. We shouldn't tell Him we love Him when we
are genuinely angry at Him. Well, maybe we should. Allow me to take that
back. We can love someone and simultaneously be angry at them. Parents and
children experience this multiple times and He did instruct us to call him
"Father."

Most of the time I am comforted by the idea that He totally understands me.
Often we have feelings that are very difficult to articulate and while it
might be useful to do so, we don't have to. He knows. He knows the
intents of our hearts. That's a very sweet thought. It is like honey.

One of the great wonders of the human mind is the ability to create the
world it wants. We see the things that support our worldview and are blind
to the things that do not. If we see the world as a hostile place our mind
will focus on slights and will spin things into a negative. Paranoia comes
on a sliding scale from one to ten. Some of us are so anxious for this age
to come to an end and for the second coming of Jesus to occur we see "Signs
of the Times" everywhere. They are usually negative because that fits an
end time worldview. See Matthew 24.

Then there are those who do not believe the world is any worse off now than
it has ever been. The wars and earthquakes and threats of violence fit into
a pattern of history that has been with us for thousands of years.
Increased numbers are merely the product of better reporting in an age of
instant worldwide news coverage. For these people the world has always been
a dangerous place, so live with it.

There is a third kind of person who, while not being a total Pollyanna, sees
the blessings they have and are grateful. While they recognize bad things
do happen, those bad things are far outnumbered by good things. They
minimalize bad things and refuse to let them set the tone for their life.
They long for the second coming but are happy to make the best of what is.

There is such a wealth of incidents, good and bad, our minds are
intriguingly capable of defining, with an overwhelming amount of evidence,
the history and present we desire. The most difficult educational framework
to design for schools is social studies. Just whose viewpoint will be
emphasized in the limited number of pages a history book can contain?

Yesterday I admitted that for all these years I did not know one is not
supposed to congratulate a bride for getting married. Today someone who
read my confession accused me of being uncouth. Wow. I don't want to be
uncouth. I want to be couth. Merely thinking that made me aware that in
all my years I have never been called couth. Actually, I have never called
anyone couth. It's a nice thing to be but somehow doesn't sound that nice.
I'm going to try it out. Next time I see someone being sophisticated I am
going to say, "How couth of you." I hope I don't get punched in the mouth.

Actually Jesus was accused of being uncouth. They said, "This man eats
with publicans and sinners." Now that is very uncouth. How about Matthew
23 where He calls the religious establishment a bunch of snakes who are
really like nicely polished tombs that are filled on the inside with rotten
body parts? Ouch! Now that is uncouth. It really is no wonder why they
wanted to get rid of Him. He embarrassed them in front of their
congregation.

Then there was a time when He told Peter that Peter was playing the part of
the Devil by trying to discourage Him from going to the cross. Once when
the woman who was anointing His feet with very expensive ointment was
ridiculed, Jesus defended her by telling His host to leave her alone because
he, His host, had not done so much for Him.

While I really don't think Jesus went around deliberately being uncouth, He
did have His moments. Most of the time He was filled with sympathy and
care. See Matthew 14:14.

While I cannot remember a specific occasion I most likely have committed a social indiscretion through the years. Only today did I learn that one is never to congratulate a bride. Only the groom is to be congratulated. To congratulate is to express joy over one's accomplishment. To congratulate a groom is to be joyful that he has won the heart of his intended. To congratulate a bride would mean she finally got her man and is saved from spinsterhood. Humm?!

The above logic presents an interesting idea regarding Revelation 19. John portrays Jesus as the Bridegroom and we are His bride. We are not to be congratulated upon receiving our salvation. It is Jesus who is to be congratulated for winning us. We are the object of His wooing. He is the one who paid the horrendous price that we might be His. He is the one who chases us and will not let us go. He is the victor and the glory belongs to Him. We are the ones taken to His house. We are the ones bound into the family of God.

The one thing that makes Christianity different from all other religions is not our moral code. Other religions have high moral standards. What makes Christianity different is it is the only religion that proclaims the truth that from the foundation of the world God has been pursuing us. Other religions proclaim the mistaken notion that God can be found by us if we sacrifice enough and perform penance for our sins. Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock." We do not need to go on pilgrimages to find that door. It is in our minds all the time.

For an entire week we have had a tiger swallowtail butterfly filling our yard with glorious beauty.  He reels among the blooming rhododendrons and azaleas.  We have been granted the pleasure of most of its life for it only takes a month from egg to aged adult.  That doesn't leave it much time to brighten the corner where it is.   It reminds me of the poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, "My candle burns at both ends. It will not last the night; but ah, my foes, and oh, my friends it gives a lovely light."

One of the smartest men I have ever known passed away recently.  As I pondered his death I could not but think of the tragic waste that lay in that coffin.  He was a scholar, an administrator and a great preacher.  He used to sit on the platform with me at church and follow the scripture reading in his Hebrew or Greek Bible.  He was an awesome, friendly, caring man.  His candle burned brightly.  He decorated life with his presence.  If it were not for the promises of Jesus I would be the most depressed of all men.  However, Jesus leaves us no room for despair.   All of that talent and all of that study was not in vain nor was all that learning for a brief moment in time.  It is forever.  It is not to lay fallow but to live again and breathe again and shine again.  All that we attain now is a stepping stone for a bigger and better tomorrow.  God is into growth.  

My tiger swallowtail will soon be dashed to the ground in a summer storm or suffer some similar fate.  I wish it could know how much it was appreciated.

One of the stages of human development is object permanence. If the baby can't see you, you do not exist. That's why peek-a-boo is so much fun. We keep popping in and out of their life. I could very well be wrong but I think I saw a version of this last night with our five month old lab, Annie. She was being naughty and I called to her to get down. Instead of getting down she hid her face so she could not see me. Was she thinking if she could not see me, I could not see her? This is not the first time she has done this.

I think some people are like this with God. If they can't see Him then He doesn't exist. Or if He does exist perhaps He won't see them if they don't see or look for Him. However, like Annie and me, I could still see her whether she thought so or not and God can still see us whether we think so or not, or whether we like it or not. We are quite visible to Him.

Jonah discovered there wasn't any place to hide. And the Psalmist said, "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." 139:8 The point is very simple. We are watched. God is hoping He will catch us doing something good so He can enjoy watching us reap the good results. As for being punished for doing something bad, He doesn't have to do that. He can merely allow us to reap the negative results for our bad decisions.

(Is there anyone out there who remembers "Nowhere To Run" by Martha and the Vandellas sung in 1965?)

We've all ordered pizza over the phone.  It wasn't something new or unique when I called Papa John's this evening.  Twenty minutes later I was walking in the door ready to do battle.  The price they quoted me on the phone was quite a bit more than the sign on the door that said, "Any Large Pizza - $10."   But wait; they didn't have my order.  It was then that I realized I hadn't called Papa John's.  I had called Papa Gino's.  How I wish I had called Papa John's.  Their pizza was so much cheaper.

Now back into the truck and on my way to Papa Gino's, Frank Sinatra started to sing, "My Embraceable You", which of course contained the line, "Come to papa, come to papa do."  My grandchildren call me "papa" as they also call their other grandfather "papa."   I even heard a sermon where the preacher said Jesus referred to His father as "papa."   There are just too many papas around.

Or are there?  Is that even possible?  If God loves me as much as I love my sons and their children then I'm okay.  I'm in a very safe place.  I couldn't help not thinking of Romans 8 where Paul says, we "received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ."  The word "Abba" is well translated as "papa."  This personal fatherhood of God is a very New Testament idea.  Jesus wanted us to know what God is really like.  There really can't be too many papas.

More than once Ronald Reagan said in relationship to our relationship with the USSR, "Trust, but verify."  After repeating it at the signing INF Treaty Mikhail Gorbachev responded, "You repeat that at every meeting."  President Reagan said, "I like it."   Me too.

I especially like it in our relationship with God.  Over and over God expects us to trust Him but He does not expect us to do so without some personal verification.  Hebrews 11 says, "Faith is the substance of things unseen."   Please note even though unseen there is substance.  When Jesus called Peter, James, John and Andrew to follow Him, He had just filled their nets with fish.  He was saying I know you have family responsibilities. Follow me and those obligations will be met.   Earlier He said to them, "Come and see."   

God does not expect blind faith.  God gave us minds to use and He expects us to verify.  He does not want us to follow just anyone or anything because we have some unverified trust.  God backs up His word with evidence.  However, He always leaves that last little bit that is sometimes called "a leap of faith."  While I love the song Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so, I also realize that is for children.  Paul says, "Now that I am a man I think like a man."   Men, big people, are tasked to give a reason for our faith.  Peter wrote, "Always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you." We are not the blind following the blind.  We trust, but being the big people that we are, we verify.

There is a wonderful concept found in Hebrews 3:14.  It reads, "For we have become partakers of Christ. . ."  John 1 tells us that God, The Word, became flesh and dwelt among us."  This is an intriguing exchange.  God takes on humanity and humanity takes on divinity.  Note the tense used in Hebrews 3:14.   "We have become."  This is not a future thing that occurs when this mortal puts on immortality.  See I Corinthians. 15.   This is something for us to experience now.

So what are the implications of such an experience?  First of all, divinity is righteous.  Since we are not righteous in actual experience at least we are forensically.  God declares us righteous with room to grow.  The entire Christian walk is about becoming.  Second, divinity is eternal.  We are still mortal but the promise is so sure we can claim to have started living forever.  See John 5:24 where we are promised we have already crossed over from death to life.  Third, divinity participates in all manner of blessings.  If we are partakers of Christ a whole cornucopia of blessings becomes available to us right now.  We could start with stress reduction. Our future is secure.  He holds us safely in His hand.  We can eliminate guilt and its accompanying anxiety.  The elimination of stress will result in a host of physical benefits.  Stress is extremely devastating to most, if not all, of our systems. We should be happier making us nicer people and thus we can enjoy a wider circle of friends.   The list can go on and on.

"Partakers of Christ."  It's a marvelous reality.  Let's not only look forward to what God has for us but let's not neglect the joys of the present.

My dog Annie and I were thoroughly enjoying some freshly baked sugar cookies
when I noticed an ant crossing the patio.  Not being able to resist I made
sure a tidbit fell on the ant's path.  He or she, I don't know how to tell
the difference, stopped dead still and then ever so slowly approached the
morsel.  If my ears had been sensitive enough I am sure a lot of sniffing
was going on.  Hefting the delight high overhead the ant scurried along her
way.  She must have been thinking, "Just wait until they see this. This has
to be the best discovery ever."

Every once in a while God drops a tidbit of intellectual or spiritual truth
and the finder usually thinks he has unveiled the greatest truth of all
time.  God watches as he scurries off to tell the world and of course to
take credit.  Ideas are the world's most precious commodity.  Ideas advance
civilization.  The progress of theology, philosophy and science depend upon
minds building on the shoulders of the great thinkers of the past.
Knowledge is a progressive product.  Each new generation is not more
intelligent than those who came before but each new generation can think
more complexly as they advance older ideas and modify them for clearer
understanding.

Proverbs 4:18 says our paths shine more as we move ahead.  God, the source
of knowledge and truth, shares tidbits with us allowing us to grow.  Out of
the infinite reservoir of His mind comes enlightenment. He hopes we will use
the new ideas to become better people and to improve the quality of life and
understanding of all humanity.  Sometimes we think we are so smart; however,
the truth is God is sharing.

On occasion we have moments of cacophony in our home.  We have a bonging grandfather clock, a clanging antique clock from my wife's grandparents and a chiming clock from my father's mantel.  There are times when they all are wound and set to the same time.  By the time ten or so comes around there is a lot of noise.  We really should set one a minute early, one on time and another a minute late.  That way we could appreciate each one's unique quality.

They remind me of people, each eager to proclaim their point of view and none being patient to allow the others time to express their ideas.  Perhaps it is my inability to simultaneously listen to two or three threads of logic, but I have little tolerance for people speaking over the top of another.  Occasionally, in class I have to referee some impassioned students and fortunately being the teacher I have the clout to make them take turns.

I am so glad God is so omni.  If only one percent of the world's population prays that still means God has to listen to 68,000,000 prayers a day.  That works out to a few more than 47,000 a minute.  I do not believe God has teams of angels handling this enormous task.  I do believe each of us get personalized attention from God Himself, our Father.   And just how does He do this?  I don't have the slightest clue because my finite mind cannot grasp the power, the wisdom, the intellect and the creativity of such an infinite being.   

Psalm 91:15 is a grand promise, "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:"  

When I was a boy my parents bought a new couch.  It was a big deal.  It looked very nice in our living room.  That was part of the problem.  It looked so nice my mother was determined to keep it that way.  To do so she put clear plastic covers over it.  They were cold and crinkly when you sat on them and after sitting for a while they became hot and sticky.  To top it off they were reflective and really uglified the couch.  She always said she was saving the couch for special occasions and should one arrive she would remove the plastic covers.  To my memory we never had a special occasion.

I remembered this when a few days ago I got into a friend's car and noticed they had floor mats on the floor mats.  I figured they were saving the original floor mats which were saving the car's carpet for an occasion when someone special would ride in their car.  Obviously I wasn't that someone special.

I would like to make a case that the most special people in our lives are the people we see everyday.  They are our children, our spouse and other members of the family.  The special people in our lives are the ones who love us enough to put up with our idiosyncrasies on a daily basis.  They are the ones who bear with us when we become intolerable and they are the ones who can laugh not only with us but better yet at us.  If you are saving something special for some stranger to visit you, please stop it.  Get out those dishes and take the floor mats off the floor mats. See Romans 12:10-13

While waiting for a traffic light to turn green I noticed a sign with the big letters, "FREE."  Strewn around it was some of the most despicable junk I had ever seen.  I was hoping others had already taken the things of substance, if there ever was any.   The scene set my mind to thinking about yard sales and what a great story someone could write about God having a universe sale.  There could be an array of used angel robes, antique crowns, old record books that have since been replaced with a computerized record keeping system and a planet or two.   If earth was for sale it would seem to deserve a big "Free" sign.  There could be an explanation paragraph.  "Well used, extremely polluted, rebellious population prone to warring, shaking a lot and running out of resources."   However, no such sign would exist because God already purchased Earth.  It seems strange that He would have to purchase that which He made.  He paid dearly.

And why would God pay the price of the cross?  John 3:16 answers, "For God so loved the world."  Isn't that amazing?   God must be like the man at a flea market who purchased an old painting because he saw the great value of the frame.   God must see something here we don't see.  God sees potential. He sees souls, while not yet great, but indeed on the way to becoming great. God loves great souls.  

And what is a great soul?  Is it someone with tons of talent?  Not really. The talent can be added later.  A truly great soul is one who is willing to allow God to do scads of interior decorating.  The end product will be out of this world.

I watched a carpenter finish off a project by putting trim around the base of the floor. He was adding something. But I thought getting a trim, as in a haircut, was taking something away. Upon reflection I remembered each December we trim a tree. There we go adding something. I used to sail with a friend who trimmed his sails. He neither added nor subtracted but adjusted. When I fly an airplane I trim the moveable surfaces to take pressure off the yoke and fly level without help from me. I then remember getting thoroughly trounced at tennis and my opponent told me he trimmed me. A negotiator trims, finds a neutral position between two opposing parties. My wife has recently lost twenty pounds and is looking very trim. I need to keep this devotional limited to three hundred words and so I trimmed it down from three hundred and eighteen words.

It is a wonder anyone ever learns English. God trims me. He trims away my sins. He trims me with good works. I hope. He never trounces me. He just watches me trim myself, self-destruct. He trims, fine tunes, me to ease me through life's journey with as little pressure as possible. God never trims by taking a neutral position about me with Satan. God is very much on my side.

Because I want the very best for you but do not know your specific need; therefore, I am going to pray a prefect prayer and ask that God will trim you today. He will take away or add or adjust anything you need. May He trim away your sins and trim you with glorious character growth.

Philippians two is a wonderful chapter. In it Paul challenges us to have the mind of Jesus by being humble and obedient. When he comes to verse fifteen he urges, "become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." The NIV translates the last part "shine like the stars in the universe."

Hollywood stars are people who shine by pretending to be someone they are not. If they are really good at it they receive a small gold plated statue. God's stars shine not by pretending but by becoming. Each day we grow into the likeness of our Jesus, who according to Hebrews one, made the entire universe. Instead of winning a small gold statue we win the ultimate prize, we win a crown of eternal life.

Notice the goal God has for us is to become harmless while living in a perverse world. Because of the way we are that is almost impossible. So often we ignorantly harm others. We don't know the backgrounds of those whom we contact and we thoughtlessly say things that pierce hearts. Ignorantly we belittle someone and not only make them feel small but useless. As a teacher with a captive audience I have to be so careful and yet despite my care I still on occasion cause tears.

It is not easy to be harmless. To be so we, first of all, need wisdom. We need to understand others' sensitivities. Secondly, we need a desire to be a nurturer. Thirdly, we need to learn to express ourselves in non-judgmental caring language. All this I have found is quite impossible without the indwelling Spirit of God's love.

I am such a loser.  I lose my glasses, my wallet, my memory and the latest was the key to my office.  Yesterday I exhausted every reasonable possibility for where I might have left it.  I even dreamed last night that it was on the floor of my car.  Guess what.  Dreams don't always come true. It wasn't there this morning.  

We use keys for almost everything - doors, cars, computer access. The list can go on and on.  Often times the most difficult key to find is one that will open our understanding to human relationships.  Counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists make a very good living trying to help us in this area. When we were young we looked for the key to the heart of that someone special.  

I sometimes hear preachers tell me they have the key to Daniel 11.   I even believe I have the key to salvation and living forever.  His name is Jesus. It is very simple and yet ironically it is also complicated.  Seventeen times Paul uses the word "mystery" in connection with the Gospel, righteousness, faith, godliness and iniquity.  It really is mysterious how the death of one righteous man can satisfy justice for the sins of billions. See Romans 5:17.   While I certainly will not be foolish enough to challenge God over what appears to be a disparity of right and wrong, I will accept. I think I will spend much of eternity trying to understand God's concept of justice.  It seems so biased in our favor.  I want the key to all these mysteries.

And, oh yes.  I now have the key to my office.  This morning my wife found it in the dog's water dish.  Aren't puppies fun?

There are those who by not understanding think non-violence is weakness. They could not be more wrong.  It is natural to hit back.  It is instinctive.  To turn the other cheek takes enormous strength. First, one must combat nature.  Second, one must be brave enough to be hit again. Third, one must have the mental discipline to understand the immediate result could be very damaging but the long term result will be victory.  The great civil rights struggle in this country would have written a far different story had Dr. King taken to the streets with arms.  

The Sermon on the Mount challenges us with the highest of ideals.  It is a recipe for constructing God's ideal human.  Should we rise to such standards it might possibly stir God to do the same for us that He did for Enoch. Genesis 5:24 says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."  Apparently one day God must have said, "This man Enoch has become so much like us, we cannot allow him to die.  Let's bring him home." In I Thessalonians Paul speaks of people being taken to heaven without seeing death.  He says, "We which are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds to be with the Lord."  

Something that has puzzled me through the years is the large number of "Christians" who are so militant.  What would happen if we really did take Jesus at His word and feed our enemies and give them what they need?   Who would ultimately win?  I cannot believe that Jesus is wrong and yet I have people tell me I am naïve.  We are called to an unnatural standard.  Hit me and I'll hit you back.  Sorry about that.

                 

My wife was first to spot it. There in the parking lot was a panel truck with the following message on the side, "Dent Redemption - We make it whole." Then in smaller font it said, "Paintless Dent Removal." Jesus touched the eyes of a blind man and he saw. He didn't use paint but He did use mud and spit. Interesting. See Mark 7 and 8. A leper came to Him missing body parts. Jesus made him whole. The litany can go on and on. The point is Jesus makes people whole. He takes out our dents and He doesn't paint over our sins. He actually removes them. See I John 1:9.

I understand if I am cremated my wife will not only get my ashes but she will also receive my metal knee and metal hip. That should make an interesting urn. I certainly will never need any of those things ever again, because according to Paul in I Corinthians 15 my resurrected body will be whole and as different from this imperfect one as a seed is from what grows from the seed.

The fact is we do get dents as life moves along. Some of them are from our own stupidity and other dents happen because others run into us. Our souls take on experience and become very unique because of the dents. While God never dents us He does take advantage of our self and other imposed dents to make us better people. In Romans 8 Paul wrote that all things work together for good to those that love God. Sometimes that is very difficult to understand but by faith we believe it is true. Jesus is the ultimate dent redeemer.

I'm not sure if there was any of the original road surface left and yet it was paved.  For over a half a mile we drove over patch upon patch upon patch.  Actually I should reword that sentence and exchange the word "drove" with the word "bounced."  I wondered how many years and how many road crews it took to create such a wonder.   Since there didn't seem to be any habitation along that stretch I figured it would be a long time before the State of New Hampshire would give up and repave.

I was reminded of socks and blue jeans when I was a boy.  My mom was a great patcher.  And indeed I do recall patches on patches.  Today my students come to class with holes in their jeans and they maintain the jeans are brand new.  Humm?  What company is going to the Salvation Army and repackaging old pants?  They must be laughing all the way to the bank at our gullibility.

Obviously Jesus knew about patching. In Matthew 9:16 He said, "No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse."  He was referring to the need to replace the old system with a new one.  Putting patches on the old way of earning heaven wasn't going to work.  Grace was about to take the place of obedience.  This is not to say obedience isn't important.  Obedience is the key to an abundant life because His laws are based on His wisdom.  To disobey is to ask for trouble. But all of us have sinned and come short. The only way salvation will ever work is if it is totally replaced with grace.  The road to heaven was repaved.

It was 82 degrees and the neighborhood was amazingly quiet.  There were no chainsaws off in the distance and Logan Airport must have been routing incoming planes from some other direction.  It was then that I heard it coming.  It was the most wonderful sound ever on a really warm evening; "Turkey in the Straw" played by an ice cream truck.  Ever so slowly it neared, pausing occasionally for some eager little boy or girl.  Like a Pavlovian dog I began to salivate.  As it rounded the corner at the bottom of my hill I began to fantasize about all the choices.  I knew the side of the truck would be covered with pictures of ice pops, fudgecicles, frozen malts, good humor bars and ice cream sandwiches.

My wallet!  Where was my wallet?  Oh, good.  He paused down the hill.  One of those great kids on my street must have stopped him.  But where was my wallet?   Now he was coming again.  Closer and closer, louder and louder was "Turkey in the Straw."  Ah, there it was.  There was my wallet.  Scooping it up on the run I made for the front door.  It was locked!  As I fumbled with the latch I heard him pass.  Running out onto the lawn I realized to my horror I was too late.  He never saw me in his rearview mirror.  I was one of the five foolish virgins.  I had waited too long.  There I stood with my wallet in hand but the ice cream man had come and gone.   The afternoon grew quiet again as the sounds of "Turkey in the Straw" faded into the silence of a quiet New England neighborhood. Please see Matthew 25:1-13.