Well, you probably guessed by now that this is a fictitious story, but hopefully it has caused you to think about what actions you take as you go about your daily walk. Have you just been “going about”, or are you making an extra effort to do God’s work? The Bible says we should be continuously acting as disciples for Christ. (Mark 16:15-20) Some are like the fictitious man above, and some are not. I learned a long, long time ago when I was in the Boy Scouts, to “do a good turn daily”. I still try to fulfill that Boy Scout motto each day. Do you?

                             Grandpa, Watch This!! Fall is approaching and one of our Grandchildren Caleb, is off to California Baptist University in Riverside. It seems like only yesterday that I was holding him as he looked into my face with those sparkling baby blue eyes. The eyes have changed a little, but they still have that inquisitive twinkle that says volumes about his character. One thing that hasn't changed about Caleb is that he always wanted to make sure that we didn't miss anything about him as he grew up. Let me try to explain a phenomena that only Grandparents will understand. From the very time they can recognize you, the only thing they really want from you is your time. When Caleb first was learning to talk he used to say "Grandpa, watch me". Then he would make sure I was watching as he demonstrated his latest life experience. When he first learned to walk, he wanted me to watch; when he learned to count to ten and learned his alphabet he wanted to show me; when he first learned to ride his bike; and when he had a new report card, he came right over to show us; and when he got new shoes or a new shirt, it was "Grandpa, look at this." When he played baseball, he wanted us to watch, ditto for basketball, track, piano and guitar, and other activities like science projects, or playing in the school and church music groups. As Caleb grew and the years flew by, his interests changed and so did the subject matter of "Grandpa, watch this." He came over to show us his spiderman costume for his high school senior float, and he couldn't wait to show us a new guitar and a new song he had written or a difficult chord fingering he had mastered. In the pool he wants me to watch each new crazy dive he "invents", including asking for an Olympic type score for each attempt. (Of course he gets all 10s from me) We are so blessed to have our grandkids close by so we can see them grow each day. Many of our friends have to travel far and wide to see theirs. When they do see them, you can bet the grandkids want them to watch everything. God expects us to cherish each one as he grows, and to make the most of the time we have with our grandkids. The early years fly by so fast, it's almost like your life is flashing by in fast forward. Our friends, Church and family have great expectations for Caleb. He will have new and exciting experiences at University as God watches over his new routine. We look forward with anticipation as he learns about complex issues to share with us. He will be home from time to time, and you can count on one thing. He will have his latest accomplishment with him, and he will say, Grandpa, look at this! You can also count on him receiving another 10.0 score from his Grandpa.

Marbles Anyone? My Sunday School teacher was teaching on the changes in Paul's life after he was converted from an unbeliever to one of Jesus' strongest advocates. One of our classmates shared that his life was dramatically changed when he was saved and he gave up all his sinful habits. He said he stopped drinking, smoking, doing drugs, and stopped his carousing habits, when he became a Christian. Now he shares the Good News of Christ's salvation in his daily walk. It's hard for me to relate to that. Let me try to explain. I was saved at age ten. I had not yet developed the bad habits mentioned above. Now don't go telling everyone that Grandpa Dick was a perfect boy. I did my share of not-so-nice things. With three sisters to pester, I was a busy kid. We had bicycles, sling shots, bb guns, and a bag of marbles. My Mom had advice for each activity: Watch out for cars while on your bike; Don't sling rocks at people or pets; Don't shoot anyone's eye out; and if you play marbles, don't play "keepers." Maybe I should explain about marbles. Marbles is a game of skill. Each kid puts an equal number of marbles into a circle sketched in the dirt. The kids take turns using a "shooter" marble to try to knock marbles out of the ring. "Keepers" means that if you knock a marble out of the ring, you get to keep it. A good shooter could end up with all the marbles from the other kids. Sinful?? I guess you could call it gambling, and mother thought it was awful and didn't like it and reminded me daily not to play for "Keepers". I guess at that stage of my life playing marbles "Keepers" was my worst sin. ( Not that I was perfect by any stretch of the imagination) When I was saved, I thought about what sinful activities I would need to give up. When I shot my sling shot, I hardly ever shot at people or pets. (Except once when I shot at one of my sisters---and missed) When I used my bb gun I NEVER shot anyone's eye out, and from the day I was saved, I continued to play marbles, but never again did I play "Keepers". Becoming saved is a life changing experience. Each of us will want to give up our sinful activities and thereafter keep our eyes on Jesus. If you are still lost, I hope you will see the right thing to do is to follow Jesus. And if you play marbles, don't play "Keepers".