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Category: Geography

What Goes Around Comes Around

What Goes Around Comes Around

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What Goes Around Comes AroundWisconsin’s House on the Rock owns the largest indoor carousel in the world. That merry-go-round is huge!

  • 269 carousel animals
  • More than 20,000 lights
  • 182 chandeliers

A carousel always returns to its starting point. So does anything that moves in circles. All demonstrate what goes around comes around.

We often see what goes around comes around in daily life as well.

  • If we hurt others, we can expect hurt.
  • If we help others, we can expect help.
  • If we ignore others, we can expect to be ignored.

We believe people should get what they deserve. We think rewards and punishment should be based on behavior. But life is not always fair. What goes around comes around is not always true.

  • We don’t always reap what we sow.
  • Sometimes people hurt us when we don’t deserve hurt.
  • Other times people help us when we don’t deserve help.

Therefore, we must decide:

  • Will we love people, regardless of how they treat us?
  • Or will we give them control by acting like them?

Let’s start more circles of kindness and forgiveness. What do you think?

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV).

Please comment below on ways you have seen people show kindness in recent days.

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Don’t Fence Me In

Don’t Fence Me In

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Don't Fence Me InIf animals could talk, I think most would say, “Don’t fence me in.” Farmers and ranchers regularly repair fences where cows, horses, or other animals escape.

We may not have physical fences around us. Yet, many of us feel fenced in by circumstances:

  • Responsibilities
  • Other people
  • Lack of personal space
  • Little time alone

Because of that, we can understand the popularity of the 1934 cowboy song “Don’t Fence Me In.” Robert (Bob) Fletcher of Montana wrote the original lyrics. We can still enjoy much that he wrote about in parts of our great country today.

  • We explore wide open spaces.
  • We drive for miles without seeing another person.
  • We feel free.
  • Our minds, as well as our bodies, can roam.

Whether we like country life or not, we desire freedom. We want to go, do, and speak as we please. We don’t like people telling us what we can and cannot do.

However, a fence has more than one purpose. We focus on what a fence keeps inside. Equally important is the danger it may keep outside.

With no limits, we live in total confusion. We need fences (rules) to provide order and protection.

Our freedom must do no wrong.

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil” (1 Peter 2:16).

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Stand Firm

Stand Firm

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Stand FirmThe lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia reminds us to stand firm.

Built in an area of great beauty, its original purpose had nothing to do with beauty. Like all lighthouses, it had work to do.

  • Stand tall enough to be seen by ships at sea.
  • Spread its light so it could be seen at night.
  • Monitor weather conditions.
  • Warn ships of danger.

Because of their locations, lighthouses face attacks from water, wind, and erosion.

Their personal dangers never keep them from doing their job.

They stand firm – never moving, never quitting.

Because of personal differences, people sometimes disagree.

We can handle those disagreements three ways.

  1. Compromise.
  2. Accept the other person’s position.
  3. Stand firm.

Either of the first two will work, if they cause no harm. I usually prefer those choices.

However, if harm will result from the first two, we must stand firm. Regardless of the consequences, we must refuse to change our thought or actions.  We must not move. We must not quit.

Like lighthouses, we have work to do.

  • Make the truth visible.
  • Apply it to current conditions.
  • Warn others when they approach danger.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV).

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Rock Bottom

Rock Bottom

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Rock BottomHave you ever hit rock bottom, when you have gone as low as you can go?

Rock bottom may mean you have lost any or all of the following, plus more:

  • Money
  • Home
  • Job
  • Friends
  • Family
  • Self-respect
  • Energy
  • Desire to live

Our suffering may be no fault of our own. However, we often hit rock bottom because of poor choices. In addition, we may have to hit the bottom before we see the need to change.

At the bottom, we realize we can’t keep making the same mistakes. Like hiking to the bottom of Bryce Canyon, going down is easier than going up. Yet, in order to survive, we must get out. So one step at a time, we slowly make our way to the top.

Once we make it, we look back and understand how far we have come.

At the same time, poor choices may continue to tempt us. When that happens, how do we keep from hitting rock bottom again?

  • Remember where we were and where we want to be.
  • Don’t go places that will tempt us.
  • Don’t spend time with people who will tempt us.
  • Find support from people who have also come up from the bottom.
  • Base our lives on a foundation that is as solid as a rock.

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 18:2 NIV).

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Off the Beaten Path

Off the Beaten Path

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Off the Beaten PathIf you have an opportunity, watch cattle. Few stray off the beaten path.

They line up, single file, and walk the same path every day. The grass on that path becomes beaten down and dies.

That seems funny, because most cows have an entire field to explore. However, think about our own behavior.

  • Notice families on vacation.
  • Check interstates that lead to well-known tourist attractions.
  • Compare restaurant chains to little-known cafes.

Cars line up like cattle, one after the other, all with the same destination.

I challenge you to go off the beaten path.

  • Skip the crowded beaches, amusement parks, and restaurants.
  • Learn to read a map instead of depending on another person or devices’s directions.
  • Choose an out-of-the-way place to visit.

Tiny crooked roads led to some of our family’s greatest adventures.

  • We crossed mountains, crept down dirt roads, and explored small towns.
  • We traveled miles without a sign of civilization.
  • We discovered one-of-a-kind festivals and art shows.
  • We drove a highway many consider the most scenic in America.

All these we found by looking on a map and saying, “That looks interesting.”

We enjoy the well-worn, high traffic areas too. Yet, nothing compares to the little known jewels we found off the beaten path.

Look for those scenic, relaxing places away from the crowds. While you’re at it, seek spiritual refreshment found only in moments alone with God.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).

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From Here to Timbuktu

From Here to Timbuktu

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From Here to TimbuktuFor a long time I thought Timbuktu was just a funny sounding name that symbolized any distant place.

If I wanted to tell someone how hard it was to get somewhere, I said it was like going from here to Timbuktu. That’s a lot farther than from here to yonder.

Imagine my surprise when I learned Timbuktu actually exists.

I also learned this town in Mali, West Africa is not the farthest from my home. Neither is it the hardest to reach.

I still love the name. Timbuktu has a unique sound, don’t you think?

A few years ago, a niece told me she has a friend who worked in Mali. I had a Timbuktu connection!

As my knowledge of geography grew, so did my awareness of my worldwide responsibility.

Whether I live here (wherever here may be for me) or around the world, I am one with other citizens of earth. We are all creations of our mighty God.

What a joy to love my brothers and sisters from here to Timbuktu!

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1 NIV)

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