Solitaire

I look at my computerized-Solitaire winning percentage.  37%.  Not very high.  But I don't feel like I have much else to do, so I keep playing.  And keep playing.  About fifteen games later, I finally stop, convicted that I could probably find something more productive to do.  But before I leave the game, I look at my winning percentage one more time.  Guess what?  It's still 37%.  Well over thirty minutes of my life and nothing changed - you can't even tell I spent time playing Solitaire.  Thirty minutes of my life had been used up without any lasting significance.

"Everyday is a bank account

And time is our currency

So no one's rich, nobody's poor

We get twenty-four hours each

So how are you gonna spend

Will you invest or squander

Try to get ahead 

Or help someone who's under?"

"Life Means So Much," by Chris Rice, raises a thought-provoking question.  How are we going to spend our lives?  We have less time than we think.  "What is your life?" James asks us.  "For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14).  When I was little, time seemed to drag by very slowly.  Adults always told me that time flies, but I found it hard to believe.  At the end of our lives, though, we will be surprised how quickly we have spent our days.


It has been estimated that, by the end of a sixty-five-year-life, the average person will have spent nine years watching television.  Nine years spent sitting in front of a television tube.  Other ways we waste our time are more subtle: a little daydreaming here, watching the same YouTube video four times in an hour, or a game of Solitaire that turns into ten games.  Sports, movies, chit-chat, gossip; our time is spent "mulling over things that won't live past today" (Casting Crowns, "Here I Go Again").  What about purpose and vision? Where is our passion for a life that glorifies God?


While there is nothing inherently wrong with TV, sports, or Solitaire, why do we spend such great amounts of time on activities that have no eternal significance?  God calls us to pray without ceasing, study to show ourselves approved (so that we can be able to give an answer for the hope that is in us), and make the best use of the little time we have - and we're squandering so much of it on activities that have no eternal purpose.  We must use our time to do what God has called us to do.


As Chris Rice's song continues, "Teach us to count the days/Teach us to make the days count" ("Life Means So Much," Chris Rice).  While, again, there is nothing wrong with a game or two of Solitaire, may I always remember that playing a game is not what makes a day count.  Obedience to God and diligent working to do His will is what determines a day well-spent.  May we always be careful to, as Paul entreated, "Look carefully then how you walk...making the best use of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Only, Part Three

Read Part One Here
Read Part Two Here

"I've called three different nursing homes - I haven't found one with an Esther Powell," Mrs. Stevens told Logan and Larissa.

"Great!" Hallie interjected as she hung up the phone. "Good Shepherd Nursing Home has an Esther Powell in Room 223," she informed the others. "The receptionist said that we can visit anytime!"

"That's great, Hallie," Mrs. Stevens told her daughter. "Let's get ready to go and Larissa can ask her parents if she can come, too. But we need to remember, even though we have some of Mrs. Powell's pictures and diaries and we know quite a bit about her, she doesn't know us or anything about us. We don't know how her health is, either. Let's remember to take it slow and be understanding."

~~~

Once everyone was in the car and they started for Good Shepherd Nursing Home, Hallie opened the diary Mrs. Powell wrote when she was twelve years old and began reading. "August 3, 1929. Today I met Mrs. Anderson. She is about eighty years old. She was kind. She gave me a wooden figurine. Love, Esther." Hallie closed the book and wondered what it would have been like to be twelve years old in 1929.

"We're here!" Mrs. Stevens announced.

~~~

"Here's Room 223," Larissa whispered to Hallie.

"Go ahead, honey. We're right behind you," Mrs. Stevens assured Hallie.

Hallie knocked on the door. "Come in," they heard a feeble voice say. Slowly, Hallie opened the door.

"Mrs. Powell?" she asked.

A frail woman looked up from her reading. "Yes?" she answered.

"My name is Hallie Stevens; my family and I live in your old house. We found some things that might be yours."

Logan brought the box of mementos to Mrs. Powell. "Oh, yes," Mrs. Powell gushed excitedly. "My, these bring back memories," she smiled as she picked up some of the old photos.

For a moment no one spoke as she lovingly looked through her long-lost treasures. Finally Mrs. Stevens broke the silence. "Mrs. Powell, if it's okay with you, we would love to hear more about these," she gently suggested.

Mrs. Powell leaned back in her chair. "My husband George and I got married in 1939, right before World War II. We were married fifty-three years."

"Where did you get this?" Hallie asked, handing Mrs. Powell the wooden figurine of an open Bible.

Mrs. Powell fingered the decoration in her hands and read softly, 'Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.'" After a moment's pause she continued. "A lady named Mrs. Anderson gave this to me," she said.

"Oh," Hallie remembered. "I read about her in one of the diaries."

"Yes!" Mrs. Powell smiled at Hallie. "My parents became Christians when I was around your age, largely due to Mrs. Anderson's example and testimony. Mrs. Anderson gave this to me to remind me to spend my one short life only on things that matter."

"Did you?" Logan spoke up.

Hallie glared at Logan. "That's not very polite," she whispered.

Mrs. Powell noticed Hallie's reprimanding look. "Oh, no, I'd love to answer his question," she interrupted them. "No, young man, unfortunately I didn't. I was a Christian, but I didn't count the days."

"Count the days?" Larissa was confused.

"Yes; Psalm 90:12 says, 'So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.' All of us have a limited time on earth. When I was your age, it felt like my adult years were decades away, but once I was an adult, the years passed by all to quickly. I wish I had realized that at your age." Mrs. Powell looked at Hallie. "I wish I had followed the advice of this figurine when I was younger. Life is short - we want to live it for a purpose, and only Jesus Christ is a purpose great enough." Mrs. Powell handed the figurine back to Hallie. "Here, I want you to have this. When you see it, remember me, and remember that life is short."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Stevens asked.

"Definitely," Mrs. Powell asserted. "I want to give it to someone who will remember - and live - its message."

"Thank you," was all Hallie could say as she felt the privilege of receiving what had been given to Mrs. Powell many years before.

~~~

That night, before bedtime, Hallie settled into her bed with her diary and opened it to a blank page. She started to write, but then paused and picked up a wooden figurine of an open open Bible. Hallie read what was written under the Bible: "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last." Hallie set it down and began to write. "Today I met Mrs. Powell. Psalm 90:12 says..."

Thursday's Thought

"Wherever you are - be all there."
Jim Elliot

Only, Part Two

Read Part 1 here

"Logan, are you okay?" Hallie called out a little anxiously to her brother. Without any light, she couldn't tell what had happened.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Somehow the cat got up here with us," Logan explained. "I saw something moving behind the boxes; when it dashed out, it scratched me and caught me off guard. I accidentally hit the switch on the lamp, so the lights went out."

"All that was caused by a cat?!" Larissa questioned as Logan turned the light back on.

"Yeah - I mean - no, no," Logan caught himself. "it was a specially trained dog from the Corlat Resistance. It's called a D-8 and it's the most vicious dog man has ever known."

"That's more like it," Larissa teased.

"So, what's in the CR notebook?" Logan asked, changing the subject. "Battle plans? List of spies?"

"Sorry, Logan - it looks like a little girl's diary," Hallie answered, as she was the only one who had actually looked at the notebook so far.

"What - that's it?! It must be a decoy!" Logan decided.

"Yeah, that's it. Just a little girl's diary. But I like reading it. Here, on May 8, 1925, she wrote, 'Today I got a necklace from Aunt Pearl. I want to wear it to church tomorrow. Love, Esther.'"

"That's it? For the whole day?" Logan asked. "Girls," he scoffed.

"Logan, the notebook and the decoration might belong to the previous owners - we need to get it back to them," Hallie pointed out.

"Haven't you already lived here a long time?" Larissa asked.

"Several years..." Hallie began thoughtfully.

"...but there were still previous owners," Logan finished. "Was the previous owner named 'Esther'?" he asked.

"I can't remember," Hallie said slowly as she tried to remember. "I just remember the names Mr. and Mrs. Powell."

"Okay, let's look around up here and see if there is something else from the same girl," Logan strategically suggested.

Everyone spread out and started opening boxes. "Wow, Logan - is this you?" Larissa held up a framed baby picture. "Look at those ears!"

"Yeah," Logan grinned sheepishly. "But you should see Hallie's - she had the curliest hair in Parker county!"

"Hey, here's something," Hallie interrupted Logan and Larissa's laughter. "It's a wooden box I haven't noticed before - oh, look!" she exclaimed as she opened it. Logan and Larissa hurried over to her. "It's full of old black and white pictures, some letters, and a couple of diaries."

"Can you imagine living in such an hold house," Logan asked, for once a little distracted from his mission. Larissa giggled at the change.

"We need to show this to Mom," Hallie decided, definitely the most focused member of the trio.

~~~

"Mom, look at this!" Logan yelled. "We found a metal box in the basement and it had a diary that a little girl wrote a long time ago so we ran upstairs to see if the attic had anything else of hers and Hallie opened this box that had more diaries and some pictures and we think it might have belonged to the Powells."

"Wow," Larissa commented on Logan's explanation. "Nice delivery."

"See, Mom?" Hallie pulled out a black and white wedding picture. "On the back it says, 'October 14, 1939: Mr. George and Mrs. Esther Powell'. The Powells were the previous owners! We need to find them and give it back!"

"I see," Mrs. Stevens examined what the showed her. "I would sure want it all back."

"There's also this beautiful wooden figurine of an open Bible. Below the Bible it says, ''Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last,'" Hallie held up her favorite item from the box.

"Look at this, Hallie," Mrs. Stevens pointed out. "This birth certificate says Esther Wilson - it must be Mrs. Powell's maiden name. Did you see the birthdate?"

"No," Hallie answered curiously.

"It says May 24, 1917. That would make her ninety-three years old."

"Wow," Hallie said softly.

"Is she still alive?" Logan asked. No one answered.

To be continued...

Only, Part 1

“So, what do you wanna do?” Hallie asked her friend Larissa.

“I dunno. What do you want to do?

"We've done it all. We went swimming, played Monopoly, Scrabble, and we've watched lots of home movies."

"Hi, guys. Do you have the other walkie-talkie, Hallie?" Logan walked in on the bored friends.

"Sure do; here it is. What are you up to?"

"Oh, nuthin'. I'm just reporting on a solo mission to infiltrate enemy lines and discover the secret passageway to the classified headquarters of the Corlat Resistance. Mom's agreed to be my back-up, so she needs the other walkie-talkie in the living room."

"What?!" Larissa exclaimed.

"I think he's exploring the basement," Hallie explained.

"Don't you already know what's down there?" Larissa questioned.

Hallie glanced at her brother and grinned. "It depends on the way you look at it."

"Girls have no imagination," Logan muttered.

"Hey, can we go with you, Logan?" Hallie asked.

"What?" Larissa didn't agree.

"No, really, it'll be fun!" Hallie insisted.

"Okay, but remember: Corlat Resistance (or CR) agents are everywhere; we can never be too careful. And don't forget - we're looking for the key to the Dorex Hall Entrance."

"Got it," Hallie agreed solemnly.

"I'll never understand you guys," Larissa commented as she followed them apprehensively.

~~~

Larissa second-guessed her agreement as she quietly crawled across the cold basement floor - in the dark, of course. ("Lights?! And let the CR agents know we're coming?" Logan had said.)

"Hey, look, guys - it's a tunnel. I've never noticed it before, Hallie," Logan observed, whispering.

"It's not a tunnel," Hallie whispered back. "It just sticks back a few feet. See?"

"Oh. The CR agents must have blockaded it," Logan decided.

Larissa rolled her eyes. "Always a theory," she complained.

"Ow!" Hallie yelped.

"On guard, CR agent! You have met your match!" Logan jumped to his feet.

"What is it, Hallie?" Larissa ignored Logan as he poked among the boxes with a yardstick, looking for hiding agents.

"It's a box - a metal one. I hit it with my toe."

Persuaded that no CR agents had detected their presence, Logan returned to Hallie and Larissa. "Maybe it holds the coveted key to the Dorex Hall Entrance!" he gushed.

"Oh, pleeeeease," Larissa complained to Hallie.

"Let's open it and find out," Hallie suggested, still interested in the contents of the box. Logan held a flashlight over the box as Hallie worked open the rusty latch. "Sorry, Logan, no key. Just a notebook and a wooden decoration of some kind. It says, 'Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.'"

"Let's get this back to Alpha Force Headquarters and examine it further," Logan suggested.

"Great - will there at least be light?" Larissa asked.

~~~

As they stood at the entrance to Alpha Force Headquarters, Larissa wasn't so sure that headquarters would be an improvement.

"The attic? The attic is Elf Force Headquarters?" she couldn't help sounding disappointed.

"Alpha," Hallie corrected her. Logan mumbled something about girls.

"As a still-rising officer of the Alpha Force, I don't visit headquarters often, but Hallie's discovery will be well worth my superiors' attention," Logan informed Larissa with the air of a decorated army general. "As for me," he continued, "while my findings have often been sent in documented form, this is only my second time to visit headquarters in person."

"He helped Dad with spring-cleaning last year," Hallie explained in a hushed voice to Larissa.

"I've never really liked attics," Larissa confided hesitantly as Logan brought down the ladder. "They're dark and boring, and -"

"Boring?!" Logan was appalled at the thought. "Girls," he sighed.

Once they were in the attic, Logan made his way through boxes over to a rafter where a lamp hung and turned it on. Larissa and Hallie found a set of folding chairs and set them up for the three of them.

"Okay," Hallie thought aloud as she opened the box. "Are you coming, Logan?"

"Yeah," he said absent-mindedly, as he was obviously watching something among the boxes. Hallie and Larissa pulled out the notebook and opened it. "Aaaah! Ow!" Logan cried out. Hallie gasped as the lights went out. Larissa screamed.

To be continued...

Beyond All Measure

"'Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends'" (John 15:13). In a culture full of love offered at a lower price, such sacrificial love isn't often asked for - and rarely given. Yet, no greater love exists.

In the Old Testament, God asks, speaking of Israel, "'What more was there to do for My vineyard, that I have not done in it?'" (Isaiah 5:4).  God gave Israel all she could need: fertile land, peace from neighbors (when Israel was faithful and obedient), priests and prophets, and a way to know the God of everything.  "'I have loved you with an everlasting love,'" God told His people. "'Yet you have not listened to Me...'" (Jeremiah 31:3; Jeremiah 25:7).

When Jesus came, He spent His life glorifying God by loving those He met. He taught them, healed them, served them - giving His time, energy, wisdom, patience... "Now...when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end" (John 13:1). He spent His life loving and when the time came, He showed the extent of His love by willingly giving His life.

Love songs abound as well as differing opinions on what love is. In 1 John, we find God's definition of love: "By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us... " (1 John 3:16). The entire Bible is written from a loving God to people who never deserve that love yet have always received it. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1). When we wake up every day, we should count the many blessings we have received from our loving God. The One who created the entire universe has lovingly given us opportunity to pursue a close relationship with Him. God has given us salvation, His Word, family, an education... On top of all that, He proves His love a thousand other ways a day that we often take for granted. The most often-quoted verse in the Bible speaks of God's great love for us, stating that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16, emphasis added). As Stuart Townend wrote,

"How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure,

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure."

A Friend for Megan

Hallie walked down the street to her house after taking a stroll around her neighborhood.

"Hi, Hallie!" she heard as she approached her house.

Hallie turned. "Hi, Megan," she said with a little disappointment. Megan was a little younger than Hallie and followed her around whenever possible. Hallie thought Megan was nice, but having her around constantly quickly became annoying.

"Can you play?" Megan asked excitedly.

Mentally, Hallie searched for a good excuse. Relieved, she thought of one. "I really need to go help my mom get lunch ready," she explained.

"Oh," said Megan, sadly.

"Maybe I can play later," Hallie offered, now that she felt a little sorry for Megan.

~~~

After lunch that day, Mrs. Stevens went into Hallie's room. "Hallie," she began. "Do you remember when we talked about Megan Howell's parents' mission trip?"

"Yeah," said Hallie as she remembered. "They're going to Russia for three weeks, right?"

"That's right," Mrs. Stevens answered. "Mr. and Mrs. Howell have given a lot of money and spent a lot of time and effort helping a church there get started. They want to spend a couple of weeks in Russia to meet the people and see how things are going."

"Sounds great," Hallie said.

"Well, the Howells need a place for Megan to stay while they're in Russia, and your dad and I talked it over and told them she could stay here."

"What?!" Hallie responded quickly. "For three weeks?! Three weeks with Megan here? Mom, she's going to follow me around everywhere and look through everything in my room and talk constantly..."

"I know, honey, I know, but your dad and I talked about it and this is a way we can bless the Howells. As Christians, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus told His disciples, '"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another'" (John 13:35). Just like the believers in the early Church helped each other (see Acts 4:32), this is our opportunity to do the same for the Howells. I know it won't be easy, honey, but this is our opportunity to glorify God by loving His children."

"Okay, Mom," Hallie sighed, still disappointed. "I guess I'll see what I have that Megan would enjoy doing."

"Great idea," Mrs. Stevens smiled.

~~~

Hallie cleaned her room as she thought about what she and Megan could do for three weeks. We could play with my old dolls and watch that movie I LOVED when I was her age, she thought. After that, the ideas just kept coming. We could play that board game, uh, what was it? Oh! "Honey House!" Maybe she would like that bowling game that's been in our storage room for forever... Hallie remembered the verse her mom had talked about: "'By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another'" (John 13:35). Lord, please help me to be able to show Your love to Megan while she is here, she prayed.

~~~

One week later, Mrs. Stevens went upstairs to Hallie's room where Hallie and Megan were giggling uncontrollably. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Megan thinks my baby pictures are hilarious," Hallie explained. "And come to mention it, I did look kinda funny," she smiled. Megan burst out laughing again.

"Well, I'm glad you girls are having fun!" Mrs. Stevens smiled. "Megan, I just got a call from your mom and she said that everything is going great. Only two more weeks and they'll be home!"

Hallie smiled at Megan and then looked at her mom. "It'll fly by," she said.